ALISO VIEJO – The Canyon football program has had a tough couple of seasons. A strong statement to open the season is always helpful.
The Comanches passing game did just that.
Senior quarterback Christian Lundsberg threw for 409 yards and six touchdowns in the Comanches’ 54-20 victory over host Aliso Niguel on Friday night.
Three of Lundsberg’s touchdowns went to Kayvon Monfared, who caught six passes for 216 yards to go with his three scores.
“We watched a lot of film to find their weaknesses,” Lundsberg said. “We executed and stuck to the game plan. We had a good week of practice and did what we planned.”
Canyon (1-0) scored first thanks to a 2-yard TD run by Kyle Krause, but the Wolverines tied the score with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Najm to Jack Gill.
Postgame interview with Canyon coach Phil Hughes, who gets his first career win tonight!@ocvarsity @ComancheSports @canyonYOST @Canyonfootball2 @coachHughesV @CoachKaravedas pic.twitter.com/UIBAqBw2Lq
— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) August 20, 2022
The Comanches then scored 40 unanswered points after the TD pass by Aliso Niguel (0-1).
Lundsberg spread the ball around during the first half, throwing a touchdown to three different players.
“I think at halftime, we had five touchdowns to four different guys,” said Canyon coach Phil Hughes, who earned his first career coaching win.”We were spreading the ball really well. Our stats guy had us pretty even at halftime, so I was very pleased with how efficient Christian was and how well he operated the offense. He did what a three-year senior starter is supposed to do.”
The Wolverines scored their second TD in the third quarter with a 3-yard run by Luke Jones.
Lundsberg responded with his sixth touchdown pass, to Monfared, before coming out of the game before the third quarter ended.
The lopsided victory was something the Comanches hadn’t experienced in a while.
Postgame interview with Christian Lundsberg of Canyon. 6 TD passes for 409 yards in their victory!@ocvarsity @canyonYOST @coachHughesV @Canyonfootball2 @ComancheSports pic.twitter.com/I6R1osUmwj
— Manny Alvarez (@MAlvarez02) August 20, 2022
“People have thrown disrespect at us, at what has happened in the past,” Monfared said. “We’re changing that with coach Hughes around. This is a different mentality, from the weight room to last Saturday for film. I have never seen so many people excited to be up at 7 am for film.
“This is a great team to be a part of. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this team.”
Najm completed 11 of 24 passes for 140 yards and a TD. Gill rushed for 58 yards on 13 carries for Aliso Niguel, while Gavyn Nobles caught two passes for 68 yards.
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Fox Haugen caught nine passes for 81 yards and a TD for the Comanches, and Colin Chu caught 10 passes for 70 yards and a score.
Krause caught two passes for 54 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 19 yards on five carries and a TD.
Canyon will play at Irvine on Friday, Aug. 26, while Aliso Niguel will host Rancho Mirage on the same night.