What a season Canyon Lake football has had up to this point.
A 4-1 record in District 8-3A and tied for the district lead with Wimberley and tonight’s opponent Burnet.
The Hawks took care of business last week by defeating Fredericksburg 14-7 to clinch a playoff berth, so tonight’s game has championship written all over it.
Whoever wins the game — Canyon Lake or Burnet — could win at least a share of the district title.
Burnet can win the title outright with a win over Canyon Lake and a Wimberley loss and the Hawks can win the title outright with a win and a Wimberley loss.
Who would have thought that we’d be talking about Canyon Lake in that kind of championship context a year removed from a 1-9 season in 2008.
New Braunfels coach Chuck Caniford wasn’t surprised in the least by the turnaround by Canyon Lake.
“(New Braunfels) locked up with coach (Matt) Monzingo’s Pflugerville Connally team a few times and I walked away with a lot of respect for him and his teams,” Caniford said. “His teams are always very prepared and well-coached. I knew he was the right man for the job at Canyon Lake and knew he’d get that football team going quick.
“He’s built a good foundation and they know what it takes to win. This is great for the area. It really shows that Comal County has some really good football teams here.”
The Hawks are in a fine position to take a huge step forward with their program if they can pull off the upset of Burnet, who are on a 3-game winning streak and have just one district loss to Wimberley as the only blemish on their district record.
Bulldog quarterback Dillon Chafin has a solid arm and has five receivers to choose from to keep the Hawk secondary busy all night.
Canyon Lake’s Zach Henshaw could be the key to a Hawk upset, as the sophomore running back has rushed for 896 yards and seven touchdowns this season and is only 104 yards from becoming the first 1,000 yard rusher in Hawks history.
If Monzingo can control the clock by getting solid yards out of Henshaw on first down then that should open up the passing game for quarterback Ross Wagliardo, who has shown that he can find the open man when given time.
