Rustlers win thrilling overtime opener

Golden West (1-0) dug deep into their offense and made some clutch plays on defense en route to a thrilling overtime victory of 27-21 over College of the Canyons (0-1) at LeBard Stadium.

Golden West started out with the ball, and the drive blew up in its face as the long snapper airmailed sophomore punter Brett Beighton. Beighton fell on the ball on the Rustlers' 10 yard line setting up Canyons for its first score of the game. The Cougars came out in the Wildcat offense and sophomore Matt Bowen rushed for a 1 yard score.

After the Canyons score, the Rustlers would lead a great drive of its own. Freshmen quarterback Chris d'Entremont led the charge downfield and ended with a 38 yard touchdown pass to freshman Nik Little. Golden West would take advantage of a Cougar fumble on the ensuing kickoff as the Rustlers recovered the ball on the 14 yard line. Golden West would score thanks to a 9 yard pass from d'Entremont to sophomore Kyrel Brown to take the lead.

Golden West would score again in the second quarter courtesy of a Robert Cruz 2 yard touchdown run in the second quarter and hold the lead through most of the game.

Momentum shifted harshly toward Canyons in the fourth quarter as the Cougar offense caught fire and the Rustler defense fell apart. Canyons quarterback Tony Dawson took over the game through the air throwing two touchdowns to freshmen Vincent Strange. The first one was a 6 yard pass, and the second one was for 19 yards after a blocked punt to tie the game at 21-21.

Golden West got the ball back on the kickoff in what should have been the final drive of regulation. But, Hays fumbled for the second time and the ball was recovered by Canyons on the 30 yard line with 1:06 to go. The Rustler defense put up a great fight, but Canyons was close enough to kick a game-winning field goal with 3 seconds left. Then a miracle happened, the kick was blocked by freshman David Patterson and the game went into overtime.

Canyons started with the ball and the Rustler defense was ready for a stop as freshmen Vallemond German intercepted a tipped pass to shift the momentum toward Golden West. The Rustlers put its faith in Cruz and after a d'Entremont 13 yard gain, Cruz ran in the game-winning 7 yard touchdown.

Golden West plays its next contest on Saturday, Sept. 14 against L.A. Harbor College at 1 pm at LeBard Stadium.