CANYON HIGH'S DILUIGI STILL REGION'S TOP RUNNING BACK.

Byline: GERRY GITTELSON

As things turned out, J.J. DiLuigi was not ready to relinquish the crown. The Canyon High football star was bound and determined to prove he's still the area's king running back even though rival Delano Howell of Hart had scored a lot more touchdowns heading into their showdown last Friday in the Foothill League opener at College of the Canyons.

Playing with the dogged determination of a man on a mission, DiLuigi rushed for 193 yards in 27 carries and scored four touchdowns -- including a 49-yarder -- in a 41-25 victory.

His performance outshone Howell, who also scored four times but managed just 52 yards on 19 carries, plus five receptions.

A Daily News midseason report last Sunday proclaimed Howell to be ``the best of the best'' at the halfway point of the season.

But DiLuigi, who scored a league-record 43 touchdowns last season and eight through five games this year, took exception.

``J.J. felt challenged. He wanted to show the football community he was that good,'' Canyon coach Harry Welch said. ``J.J. had begged me to start on defense, too. That's how much he wanted to be on the field on Friday night.''

DiLuigi, who has committed to BYU, has 851 yards rushing, 18 receptions and 12 touchdowns for Canyon (4-2, 1-0). That puts his team in good position to win the league title now that rival Hart (3-4, 0-1) is out of its way.

``I never predicted a win, but this puts us in a very strong position,'' Welch said. ``Obviously, we knew that whoever lost that game would be a long shot at best to win the league championship.

``By winning, we're certainly in the driver's seat. I respected Hart and continue to respect Hart, but I thought we had a good game plan.''

Canyon's strategy was not complicated. The Cowboys simply wanted to contain Howell, who entered with 20 touchdowns, and to feed DiLuigi as much as possible.

It worked.

Much of the pregame hype surrounding the Canyon-Hart showdown was focused on impact transfer Kenny Shanahan, a multipurpose standout from Stockdale of Bakersfield, whom many considered one of the Central Section's top players.

Shanahan, a 5-10, 212-pound senior, made his first start at linebacker and soon made his presence known by sacking quarterback Alex Pettee in Hart's first series.

After the first quarter, Shanahan moved to safety and came through with one of the biggest plays of the night when he ran down speedy Michael Davis near the goal line after Davis recovered a fumble and sprinted down the right sideline.

``Kenny Shanahan? I'm starting to fall in love with him,'' Welch said. ``He has speed I didn't realize he had. He was well behind Davis, who has very quick feet. You just don't see many 200-pound football players with that kind of speed.''

Hailed as a savior after winning his first four games, new Alemany High football coach Dean Herrington -- a former offensive coordinator at Hart and College of the Canyons and a younger brother of Hart head coach Mike Herrington -- has been given a dose a reality.

He's suffered two consecutive defeats, including a 41-7 loss Friday to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.

``The first loss to Cathedral was a tough loss because we were up (by 14 points). That game against Notre Dame, we made some mistakes but that was the most physical team I've ever faced,'' Herrington said.

It won't get much easier for Alemany, which had won just 15 games in six seasons prior to Herrington's arrival. The Warriors from Mission Hills face defending Div. I champion Loyola of Los Angeles this week.

``Oh, it's going to get tougher,'' Herrington said. ``We're making good strides but we've got to get better.''

The Hart-Valencia football rivalry, which resumes Oct. 27 after a Hart bye week, has divided the Lien family.

Michael Lien, a junior, is a starting linebacker at Valencia, while his cousin, Tommy, is a Hart JV offensive lineman.

``They talk a lot of trash during family get-togethers,'' said Tommy's father, Ed.

Hart is selling used football jerseys for $50 as a fundraiser, but by the time I arrived at the souvenir stand Friday, someone had snatched up No. 85, which was the jersey of my stepson, Rico Lapid.

Lapid was a receiver on Hart's 2001 team and I was hoping to surprise him with his old jersey as a gift.

Now I guess I'll have to wait until it shows up on eBay.