THE LAST WORD BELONGED TO ZERO

DONTE DJ TODD DELIVERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL INCLUDING THE GAME SEALING INTERCEPTION AS CANYON SPRINGS BEATS PATRIOT 25-21 AND MOVES TO 2-1

MORENO VALLEY, CA — When Canyon Springs needed somebody to finish the game, No. 0 finished it.

Patriot had one final opportunity. Canyon Springs was protecting a four-point lead. One possession separated the Cougars from a hard-earned victory and the possibility of watching it disappear.

Then Donte DJ Todd made the play.

The junior defensive back came away with the interception that shut the door, putting the finishing touch on Canyon Springs' 25-21 victory over Patriot and completing a night in which No. 0 had already made his presence felt on offense. Canyon Springs improved to 2-1 with the win.

It was an appropriate ending because Todd had already changed the game once.

Playing receiver, the 5-foot-9, 150-pound junior turned his only reception into an 82-yard touchdown, producing nearly half of Canyon Springs' 190 passing yards on one explosive play. It was the first receiving touchdown of his varsity career.

Then, when the Cougars needed a defensive answer late, he supplied that too.

Touchdown on offense. Interception to finish it on defense.

That is the type of two-way impact Canyon Springs believed Todd could provide entering the season. His ability to stretch the field vertically has become much more than a preseason projection through three games.

But Friday night was bigger than one player.

It was a statement about the kind of football team head coach Kyle McFadden is developing at Canyon Springs.

A COMPLETE OFFENSIVE RESPONSE

The Cougars did not simply survive Patriot. They produced.

Canyon Springs finished with 398 yards of offense, 190 passing and 208 rushing, giving the Cougars the type of offensive balance that becomes increasingly difficult to defend when both sides are functioning together.

Senior quarterback Angel Robles was efficient, completing 7 of 10 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown while adding 50 rushing yards and another score. In a four-point game, Robles was responsible for two touchdowns while completing 70 percent of his attempts.

Then there was Jaxon Taylor.

The senior running back gave Canyon Springs exactly what a balanced offense needs: legitimate production on the ground.

Taylor rushed for 110 yards on only 10 carries.

That is 11 yards per carry.

When a quarterback is throwing for 190, a receiver can flip the field for an 82-yard touchdown and a running back is averaging 11 yards every time he touches it, an offense begins forcing a defense to defend every inch of the field.

That is where Canyon Springs looked different Friday.

There was not one answer. There were several.

Robles could hurt Patriot through the air or with his legs. Taylor provided the downhill production. Todd provided the explosion. And the Cougars finished with more than 200 yards rushing while still threatening vertically.

THEN THE DEFENSE WENT TO WORK

Patriot quarterback Dax Fulmer had success of his own, passing for 223 yards and a touchdown while adding two rushing scores. But Canyon Springs continually made him work for it.

The Cougars recorded three sacks, and they came from three different defenders.

Dominic Castro. Joseph Turner. Trey Bratton.

One each.

That matters.

A defense built around one pass rusher can be schemed around. A defense generating pressure from multiple places becomes much more difficult to solve.

Canyon Springs' pass rush was a group effort, with Castro, Turner and Bratton each getting to the quarterback.

And after four quarters of trading blows, the defense still needed one more play.

That responsibility eventually found No. 0.

Todd had already beaten Patriot vertically. This time he read the football from the other side.

Interception. Canyon Springs football. Ball game.

There are statistics that describe a performance, and then there are moments that define it.

That was the defining moment.

THIS START IS BECOMING SOMETHING

Canyon Springs is now 2-1, and the path to that record says something about this group.

The Cougars opened their season on the road against St. Anthony and won 20-13. That victory extended a Canyon Springs road winning streak that dated back to 2024. The offense produced 145 passing yards and 136 rushing yards in the opener.

Week 1 brought adversity.

Fallbrook came into Moreno Valley and handed Canyon Springs a 24-7 loss. The Cougars were limited to 106 passing yards and 102 rushing yards.

Friday answered an important early-season question: How would Canyon Springs respond?

With nearly 400 yards of offense. With 208 rushing yards. With three sacks. With an explosive touchdown from No. 0. And eventually, with No. 0 making the play that ended it.

That is a response.

MORE THAN ONE NAME

Todd deserves the spotlight for how Friday ended, but one of the encouraging signs for Canyon Springs is how many names are beginning to matter.

Robles has accumulated 584 total yards in the statistics currently posted and leads the Cougars in that category. Aaron Triplett is averaging 55.7 receiving yards per game, while Taylor is averaging 59 rushing yards per game.

On defense, junior linebacker Isaiah Cano is averaging 8.0 tackles per game, while the Cougars have gotten disruptive plays from multiple levels of the defense.

That is important for a program attempting to move from competitive to consistently dangerous.

It cannot always be one star. There have to be answers throughout the roster.

Canyon Springs is beginning to show them.

NO. 0 IS BECOMING A PROBLEM

Still, Friday belonged to DJ.

Todd's early-season role has already been unusual.

Against St. Anthony, he was credited with 145 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 72.7 percent of his attempts, while also recording 33 receiving yards. Against Patriot, he showed up as the explosive receiver Canyon Springs expected him to become.

Now add the defensive side.

That versatility changes the way a player is viewed.

Todd is not simply a receiver who can make a play. He is not simply a defensive back. He is becoming one of those high-school football players whose number has to be located before every snap because Canyon Springs can find different ways to put him in position to affect a game.

Friday provided the clearest example yet.

One catch. 82 yards. One touchdown. And when Canyon Springs needed to close the door, one interception.

That is a night people remember.

THE COUGARS ARE 2-1 AND STILL BUILDING

Canyon Springs has scored 52 points through three games and sits above .500 heading into its September 11 road matchup with Westminster.

There is still plenty to clean up. There will be tougher nights. There will be possessions Canyon Springs wants back.

But the Cougars have already shown they can win on the road, respond after a loss, run for more than 200 yards, create explosive plays through the air and generate pressure defensively.

And now they have shown something else. They can finish.

Friday night, with Patriot searching for the play that could steal the game, Canyon Springs needed one athlete to step forward.

No. 0 did.

Donte DJ Todd had already provided the explosion. Then he provided the ending.

Canyon Springs 25. Patriot 21.

And when it was finally time to close the book on the Cougars' second victory of the season, the last word belonged to Zero.