Canadian ready to take on stout Wall squad in 3A D-II quarterfinals

"It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish."

Who knows where the statement originated from, but it fits this year's Canadian Wildcats perfect.

The Wildcats entered the season with sky-high expectations, but, through the first three weeks, they found themselves under .500 at 1-2. They were handled by Bushland 47-21 before losing in overtime to Elk City (Okla.) 37-36.

Things weren't looking great.

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That was then, but this is their now: 11-2, winners of 10 straight in which they've averaged 59 points per game with the slimmest margin of victory being 42-14 and getting ready for a Class 3A Division II quarterfinal round game at 7 p.m. Friday against Wall at Lubbock-Cooper High School in Woodrow.

So, what happened after that slow start to trigger such an amazing run?

"Early on in the year we really kind of beat ourselves with penalties and things like that," Canadian coach Chris Koetting said. "We just weren't very disciplined, but we got that cleaned up. It's been good since then. We knew things were going to come together and that we had a really good team, we just had to learn how to practice better and we did that."

It's also helped that Canadian has had such a solid group of individual players to rely on.

Junior quarterback Camren Cavalier has been a sensational dual threat as he's thrown 27 touchdowns and just eight interceptions while rushing for 1,316 yards and 31 touchdowns. Preston Miller has been his top target with 60 catches, 1,176 yards and 15 TDs.

"Camren has made great strides," Koetting said. "In the past, we really haven't run the quarterback a whole lot, but this year he's a game changer when he runs the football. He's done a great job throwing the ball as well. … Preston is really good at setting defenders up and has really good hands. He's become a better blocker too. He's doing a great job."

If you look at a list of statistical leaders in the Panhandle, compiled by the Amarillo Globe-News, you'll notice that there's a good deal of players from Canadian listed on the defensive categories.

Linebacker matt McLanahan led in tackles during the regular season and has 192, including the playoffs, with 42 going for a loss. He also has six sacks on the season.

It's not just the McLanahan show. Eric Avila has 171 tackles with 34 for a loss and five sacks, D'Wayne Moran had 165 tackles, 40 for a loss and 12 sacks, Wyatt Davis has 126 tackles, 33 for a loss and four sacks, Jed Davina has tallied 119 tackles, 28 TFLs and 11 sacks, and Nathan Wagner has put up 100 tackles, 19 for a loss and 10 sacks.

So, it goes without saying that the Wildcats like to hit.

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"It starts upfront," Koetting said. "Our defensive line is really stout. It's been hard for people to run the ball against us. McLanahan is just a tackling machine. We had some struggles in the secondary last year and they've really improved and are playing really well. Everything just seems to be coming together right now."

Canadian better hope that's true given the opponent it has next.

Wall enters Friday's contest at Lubbock Cooper High School with a record of 11-1. The Hawks' lone loss came in week two against Cisco, 18-14 and has won playoff games over Tornillo (forfeit), Childress (44-10) and Idalou (30-0). They run a triple-option with Nathan Pepper leading that attack (1,065 yards, 15 touchdowns) and the defense likes to rush the passer with Brylan White (10 sacks), Dylan Gidney (eight sacks) and Logan Thomas (five sacks).

All of that is to say that while the Wildcats have gotten used to dominating their opponents, they shouldn't assume they can do the same against the Hawks.

"It's been a few years since we've played in the fourth round," Wall coach Houston Guy said. "We're excited to get back here. It's always a feather in your cap for your program if you can make it this far, but we'd like to play a couple more weeks if we get fortunate enough and play good enough. I think we're peaking at the right time and playing our best football right now. We're excited about that."

Guy knows that the Hawks have to be ready as well.

"(Canadian) is crazy good," he said. "Defensively, they're fast and physical upfront and they're going to fly to the football. Offensively, they're going to put a lot of pressure on you with the speed of the game that they play. Their offensive line is big and physical up front and they've got a good quarterback who can run it. They pose a lot of problems to a defense when they take the field."

CANADIAN VS. WALL

Class 3A Division II quarterfinal playoff game

When: 6 p.m. Friday

Where: Lubbock Cooper High School, Woodrow, Texas

Records: Wall 11-1; Canadian 11-2

Coverage: Follow @Hpisani91 on Twitter for live updates, plus post game video, stories and photos to appear on amarillo.com.