Cathedral Phantoms football kept the visiting Canyon Cowboys off the scoreboard on Friday.
While the Phantoms showcase a host of talent you’d expect from an elite program, Canyon coach Ken Holsenbeck doesn’t blame the shutout on any X’s or O’s from the game. The coach simply believes his players need to have more confidence and believe they can compete with a team like Cathedral.
“The reality is that we have a group of coaches that believe that we can compete with teams like Cathedral,” Holsenbeck said in a phone interview. “We need the players to start believing that and we’re not quite there yet.”
The Cowboys started strong and kept the contest a one-possession affair until the Phantoms capitalized on some turnovers in the second quarter, leading to a 49-0 win.
Canyon’s offense struggled to get much going while Cathedral’s passing game shined. Phantoms quarterback Jaden Jefferson finished the night 17-of-24 with over 300 yards and four touchdowns.
Quintin Hale did most of the damage with four receptions for 116 yards and a pair of TDs.
Canyon kept battling but couldn’t find enough rhythm for a score as the team was on the wrong side of a night with two picks, 10 tackles for a loss and three sacks.
Holsenbeck still feels good about where his team’s at despite two lopsided losses in the non-league portion the season. Should Canyon get more confidence, the coach believes his team is right on track to compete in the Foothill League in just two weeks’ time.
“I feel good about where we’re at, and I’m looking forward to see how we get through the harder part of the schedule,” Holsenbeck said. “We’re learning how to compete against high-level opponents, which will help us through league. The reason why we schedule these opponents is for our kids to believe that they compete at a high level. It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about getting better each week. It’s about understanding at the level of which we need to be able to compete.”
Cathedral will host Chaminade on Friday while Canyon returns home to host Palm Springs. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. kick-offs.
“We got to clean up the things we didn’t do well but I’m looking forward to seeing how we do next week, in our last non-league game,” Holsenbeck said.
