Tyler Piester is an ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Canyon View High School for AZPreps365.com

WADDELL– Canyon View closed out the regular season Thursday with a 32-8 victory over Tolleson Union on Senior Night. With the win, the Jaguars finished the year with four straight wins and an 8-2 record, the best in program history. 

The final rankings and the state tournament bracket will be announced on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Jaguars senior quarterback Brady Scott led the balanced offensive attack, completing 16 of 26 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Scott also rushed for 54 yards. 

Scott credited his teammates for the team's offensive success.

“We definitely have an amazing group of guys around me,” Scott said. “My receiving and running back corps are some of the best in the state, and during region play they have really stepped up.

“I also want to give some credit to my offensive line. This is the best group I’ve ever played with.” Scott said. “They’re right there running with me, and blocking for me. I love them.”

Scott’s first touchdown came with 6:56 left in the first quarter, with a 4-yard pass to junior receiver Braylon Anderson. Scott later connected with senior running back D.J. Sims Jr. on a 14-yard pass to send the Jaguars up 26-0 at the half.

Canyon View's ground game proved equally effective with Sims rushing for 53 yards and a touchdown with 2:51 left in the second quarter. Senior running back Derek Vasko also found the end zone on a 4-yard rush in the first quarter.

Special teams made their mark on this game as well. Jaguars junior kicker Austen Honsa added a pair of field goals in the third quarter, a 20-yarder with 9:15 left and a 31-yarder with 5:51 left. 

Tolleson Union got on the board in the fourth quarter with a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as Canyon View’s defense recovered a fumble in the final seconds of the game to seal it.

Jaguars coach J.R. Alcantar is proud of his team’s performance, but he now turns his focus on getting his guys ready for the playoffs.

“We just need to be more disciplined,” Alcantar said. “Penalties kill us. Whoever we play next, we can’t give them free yards. We’ve got to play smart.”

Wolverines coach Rich Wellbrock acknowledges that his team had chances early but couldn’t capitalize.

“Our offense just didn’t do what we needed,” Wellbrock said. “We had some opportunities early that we just kind of let go.”

Despite the loss, Wellbrock is proud of how resilient his team has been through a challenging stretch in which the Wolverines have dropped their last four games.

“In the last four weeks it’s been rough, but they kept fighting, they kept coming to practice, and they kept caring about each other,” Wellbrock said. “That’s huge for us. Hopefully we can build on this.”

Canyon View (8-2) now awaits its playoff opponent, while Tolleson Union (6-4) will wait to see if it earns a playoff berth.