Cowboys senior running back Keyshawn Wooten was a blur on the field at Canyon High School.
Wooten had everyone well-acquainted with the back of his jersey as he ran past all players in Friday’s 42-0 win over Castaic, earning the Cowboys their first win of 2025.
Wooten rushed for an absurd 326 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 touches.
“The O-line, they just really blocked effectively tonight,” Wooten said. “I’m very proud of what they’ve done for me tonight.”
Canyon (1-5, 1-1) took a couple of drives to get in rhythm but once the team settled in, it was all Cowboys. Wooten took advantage of multiple holes thanks to his offensive front. The senior back housed a 23-yard rushing touchdown and ran in a 97-yard score on his very next touch in the second quarter.
The Cowboys were well-backed-up after an interception from cornerback Jeremiah Herreres but Wooten just needed a little space to scorch the Coyotes (0-5, 0-1). The senior showcased all night that he could do it all with broken tackles all over the field as well as both shifty and power running.
“He can do it all,” said Canyon coach Ken Holsenbeck. “He’s such a fabulous running back. We’ve had some troubles up front a little bit this year, that’s maybe not gotten him going in some of our games the way we would have liked. But obviously, tonight, we were able to execute that well, and he knows how to take advantage of it. That’s for sure. He’s a great kid, too.”
The Cowboys showcased their depth at running back as senior Semaj Richardson and sophomore Benicio Wright continued the ground-and-pound game. Richardson broke free for a 49-yard rush one play before taking in a 19-yard rushing touchdown on the next, while Wright broke through the line for a few big runs and got into the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown late in the game.
Castaic moved the ball well throughout the night but just couldn’t find the end zone. Coyotes quarterback Aidan Mojica made some big pass plays in the loss but Canyon’s defense made more, with two interceptions and three sacks to earn the Cowboys’ program its first shutout in eight years while Castaic has now been scoreless through three games.
Noberto Gonzalez added 1.5 sacks on the night while Mason Richardson brought down the team’s other interception and kicked the game’s only field goal with a 31-yarder.
“Our defense played great up front,” Holsenbeck said. “The key was we wanted to make sure we shut down the run and then take advantage of the pass game when we could. They executed that very well tonight and did a great job.”
Cowboys quarterback Carson Soria played well in both the passing and ground game highlighted by a smooth 43-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.
Castaic coach Sirr Guy Shakir has said over and over that this season will be one of growing pains but has been proud of the team’s effort and tough mentality week in and week out.
“They’re giving us what they got,” Shakir said. “It’s frustrating, obviously when you work hard, you try to keep your focus, you come out and things don’t go the way you envision. But that’s just once again, part of the maturation process.”
Canyon also entered the night winless and shared the struggles of keeping their heads up high through a slow start.
“It was very difficult for us, but we just had to push through it,” Wooten said. “We had some things that we had to work on in other games. We just had to bring it to each game and each game was an improvement from every other game.”
The Cowboys were also dominant the first half in last week’s loss to Golden Valley, so Holsenbeck preached playing a consistent four quarters at the halftime break.
“I told them at halftime, ‘You guys showed me last week you could play one good half football,’” Holsenbeck said. “I challenged them tonight can they make it into a whole game, and they did.”
Castaic guard Jacob Perez exited the game with a leg injury, potentially impacting the already small-rostered Coyotes heading into a short week.
“Everything starts with physicality for us,” Shakir said. “With us having low numbers, it’s always a juggling act with how intense you want to be in practice. But we got to do that because it’s got to translate on Fridays and, in next week’s case, on Thursday.”
Canyon will look to carry some momentum into next week’s home Foothill League battle with Saugus while Castaic returns to Canyon High on Thursday to face Golden Valley. Both games kick off at 7 p.m. at Canyon High School.
“I want to see some more energy just how we felt this week,” Wooten said. “I want to see our guys’ heads up high, but not too cocky.”
