West Ranch Wildcats football only had the lead for five seconds Friday night against Canyon, but they were the most important five seconds of the game.  Trailing for the entirety of the contest at College of the Canyons’ Cougar Stadium, the Wildcats (4-5, 2-3) got a late touchdown catch from junior TJ Dennis to stun the Canyon Cowboys (3-6, 1-4), 27-21, and remain in the hunt for the third and final automatic playoff spot in the Foothill League.  With the game tied at 21-21 and only 30 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, sophomore quarterback Blake Johnson, nursing an elbow injury to his throwing arm suffered earlier in the game, was able to make two clutch passes. The second of those was a 43-yard strike to Dennis, who caught the ball at the 15 before evading the entire Canyon secondary en route to the winning score.  West Ranch quarterback Blake Johnson (13) looks for an opening during the first quarter of Friday’s game against Canyon at College of the Canyons on Oct. 25. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “Honestly, it was just a good ball from the quarterback, you know what I mean,” Dennis said. “The O-line blocked when they needed to … I just got a God-given gift right from there, man. I just took what they gave me and it worked out in our favor.”  The Wildcats found offense hard to come by after star senior running back Luke DePerno exited with an apparent shoulder injury after the first drive of the game. But the Wildcats were able to step up in the clutch on both ends of the field, blocking a field goal to set up the game-tying score and then forcing a turnover on downs with good coverage on what could have been a game-sealing touchdown pass, allowing for Johnson and Dennis to play the parts of heroes.  West Ranch trailed 21-12 with 10:32 to play in the game before rattling off 15 unanswered points. Canyon running back Jayce Johnson (1) runs in Canyon’s second touchdown during the second quarter of Friday’s game against West Ranch at College of the Canyons on Oct. 25. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “We always say, ‘next guy up,’” said West Ranch head coach Chris Varner. “You know, that’s just it. That’s what you do in football.”  Junior Joshua Wagner opened the scoring for Canyon, latching onto a pass from senior quarterback Sebastian Martinez for a 16-yard touchdown.  The Cowboys doubled their lead in the second quarter when junior Jayce Johnson ran a sweep 2 yards into the end zone.  Canyon converted on two of its three drives into the red zone in the first half. The Cowboys were in scoring position on their first drive, but a penalty and a couple of sacks pushed them back.  West Ranch got back into the game late in the first half when Blake Johnson made a huge fourth-down conversion, hitting senior Gabe Cotti in the end zone from 35 yards out. The PAT attempt was blocked, though, and Canyon led at the half, 14-6.  Canyon wide receiver Joshua Cambaliza (10) runs the ball during the first quarter of Friday’s game against West Ranch at College of the Canyons on Oct. 25. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal From that point on, West Ranch just kept clawing back. And when things looked to be turning Canyon’s way, the West Ranch defense made a play.  Junior defensive end Max Piccolino was at the heart of that, in the face of Martinez seemingly every play.  “In my opinion, he’s the best defensive lineman in the league,” Varner said. “You know, double team him, triple team him — they run away from him, they do what they can, but he’s tough to stop once he gets going.”  Blake Johnson finished with 177 passing yards, three touchdowns and an interception. He ran in the game-tying score from 2 yards out with 2:09 to play before leading his team to victory on the next drive to cap off senior night.  “I didn’t want to let my team down coming into this game,” he said. “Playing, doing my best, getting hurt — it’s just an injury, I could recover from that, but I’m never gonna get this game back with all these seniors again.”  West Ranch defensive back Sebastian Gonzalez (36) tackles Canyon running back Semaj Richardson (24) during the second quarter of Friday’s game at College of the Canyons on Oct. 25. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Wildcats quarterback said he isn’t sure what is wrong with his elbow, only that it definitely hurt to throw the ball.  “That’s clutch,” Varner said. “He’s a 15-year-old kid. People forget that.”  Martinez threw for 159 yards and a touchdown. Junior Semaj Richardson led the Cowboys with 69 rushing yards.  Junior Aidan Lynch led the Wildcats with 30 rushing yards and touchdown in DePerno’s absence. Cotti had 100 yards on four catches to lead West Ranch in receiving.  Canyon quarterback Sebastian Martinez (2) runs the ball during the first quarter of Friday’s game against West Ranch at College of the Canyons on Oct. 25. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Canyon looked to seal the game with a pick six from Cambaliza in the fourth, but those were the only points the Cowboys got in the second half. Another interception later in the quarter led to no points.  “It was just remembering that we were brothers, you know,” Dennis said. “This is a brotherhood that we form over here at this program, and it was just something that we didn’t want to let go so easy, especially on senior night.”  West Ranch plays Valencia next week after the Vikings beat Castaic on Friday. The Wildcats need a win and some help to get third place in the league, though, as Golden Valley beat Saugus to remain a game ahead of West Ranch.  Canyon can be the team to provide that help, as the Cowboys play Golden Valley next week.  Canyon wide receiver Joshua Cambaliza (10) catches the ball during the second quarter of Friday’s game against West Ranch at College of the Canyons on Oct. 25. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The post West Ranch football wins it late over Canyon  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.