CANYON COMING BACK; COWBOYS ARE RETURNING TO WINNING WAYS.

Byline: Patrick Hipes Daily News Staff Writer

In the darkened cubicles that hold English classrooms at Canyon High, Harry Welch sits and watches, still breathing Shakespeare and Cowboys football.

It was Welch who turned Santa Clarita football into Canyon football in the mid-1980s. In a stretch that seems incomprehensible these days, his teams won 46 consecutive games between 1983 and 1986and took Southern Section titles in '83, '84 and '85.

It is Larry Mohr who, in his fifth season, is on the edge of returning the Cowboys to the level of success that once was the norm.

In the 1980s, with Hart and Saugus close by, Canyon led the region through the decade with style and substance, drawing 10,000 fans routinely to Hart-Canyon games at College of the Canyons. Some people said the three schools were the best neighboring football programs in the nation.

``Canyon football, to me, was about players that were incredibly committed and dedicated,'' said Welch, who had Mohr and Valencia head coach Brian Stiman as assistants. ``The teams did all the little things and they took pride in their potential.''

The talent pool and success swooned beginning in 1992, however, when Welch's last teams finished 7-4 and 6-5.

Now, after five tough years, Canyon is back in a big way in 1998, playing with heart and fire under Mohr and, at 3-1 entering Friday's homecoming showdown with sixth-ranked Alemany, is impressing again.

``It's our attitude, really,'' offensive lineman Josh Bardon said. ``We're becoming more of a team. We understand what our strengths and weaknesses are.''

The Cowboys, ranked No. 10 by the Daily News, have beaten nemesis Crescenta Valley already this season and almost knocked off No. 2 Westlake on the road Friday. With a revamped defense and a deep running game, Canyon hopes it is on a one-way trip back to Santa Clarita dominance and maybe, just maybe, to the way it used to be.

``Football is very big here,'' Mohr said. ``I don't know if there's a mystique, but there's a lot of pride with our students, faculty and administration.

``Of course, we had some lean years here,'' he added. ``A lot of (our recent success) is because of better athletes than we've had in the past.''

In the beginning, Mohr's obstacles were many. His hiring coincided with the opening of Valencia High, which drained the Cowboys of precious talent and reminded the former Thousand Oaks High assistant of what Westlake did to the strong Lancers program when it opened in the late '70s.

In addition, the school's move from the Golden League to the rougher Foothill League meant Canyon had to play in the Southern Section's tougher Division II.

The little things built up. Mohr's first team finished 3-6-1, the program's first losing season since 1975. The next three seasons the Cowboys were a combined 15-16, a far cry from the 81-13 mark Welch's teams put up from '82 to '88.

``I think that what those teams did was amazing,'' Mohr said. ``But what they've done may never be duplicated. I don't think that record will ever be broken. As good as Hart is now, they never did what (Welch's teams) did back then.''

Though the Cowboys might never match those gaudy numbers, Mohr's version isn't so shabby nonetheless. With former Saugus head coach Jack Bowman running the defense, Canyon shut out Highland in Week 2 and held high-powered Crescenta Valley scoreless in the second half of a 21-10 victory.

``The defense is catching up to the offense,'' defensive end Ryan Davey said. ``Coach Bowman has helped a lot. Last year, we had the talent, but we were playing like a bunch of individuals.''

The proof came at home against the Falcons, a CV team that beat a 2-0 Cowboys team in 1997 and turned a promising season into an average one. Trailing 10-0 at one point, Canyon rebounded with a combination of run and pass, scoring 21 unanswered points against a team that had won 14 consecutive regular-season games.

``It's always going to be a game played at a high level,'' Crescenta Valley coach Alan Eberhart said of the Cowboys. ``It's something you always get when you play Canyon. They get the kids and put them into the system and you have to rise to that level or they'll crush you.''

Ah, it must be nice for the Cowboys to hear that again.

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Photo

PHOTO Coach Larry Mohr, with his Canyon High players before the Westlake game, has had a hard act (Harry Welch's) to follow.

Tina Gerson/Daily News