Sports
Kanoff Passes Test at Harvard-Westlake
The junior quarterback throws for three touchdowns in the season opener.
If Friday night's opening game is any indication, a very productive season lies ahead for Harvard-Westlake High quarterback Chad Kanoff.
The Wolverines junior, who resides in Pacific Palisades and was a multi-sport star at , completed 22 of 43 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-27 home defeat to Venice. Kanoff is one of several Palisadians on the team.
It appeared Harvard-Westlake was headed for an upset victory after Kanoff deftly avoided a rush, scrambled out of the pocket and found Clinton Hook wide open in the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds remaining that tied the game 27-27.
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"We were trying to work the right side, I rolled right and saw that the safety was out of position," said Kanoff, who replaced returning senior standout Max Heltzer as the starter with two games left last year and ended the season with 863 yards and eight touchdowns. "I saw that [Clinton] had gotten behind them and I just let it go. I was afraid I overthrew him."
The Wolverines, who had opened a 21-0 lead in the second quarter, needed only to convert the extra point to regain the lead, but a bad snap forced Kanoff, the holder, to roll right and throw. His pass was batted down and the score remained tied.
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Then, Harvard-Westlake Coach Vic Eumont decided to attempt an onside kick to try to get the ball back. It almost worked, as the Wolverines appeared to recover the ball, but the officials ruled that a Harvard-Westlake player illegally touched it before it traveled the necessary 10 yards and Venice was awarded possession at the Wolverines' 49-yard line.
Afterwards, Kanoff backed his coach's decision.
"I was 100 percent for it," he said. "We had all the momentum and we knew weren't going to be playing overtime. We were playing to win."
Two plays later, SMU-bound wide receiver Gabriel Marks scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left to lift the Gondoliers to victory. Still, it was an impressive performance by Kanoff, who was sharp from the outset, hitting fellow Palisadian and St. Matthew's alumnus Chris Sebastian on a 32-yard slant on the Wolverines' first play from scrimmage.
Sebastian, a junior wide receiver and cornerback, finished with six catches for 64 yards.
"It's real fun playing with Chris," said Kanoff, who is also the team's punter and boomed several kicks Friday. "I've known him since pre-school at St. Matthew's. We knew what we [were] doing out there, we executed very well in the first half, but we don't believe in moral victories. We can learn from this and next time we won't give a lead back."
Another Palisadian who plays a key role for the Wolverines is senior co-captain Charlie Porter, who graduated from St. Matthew's a year ahead of Sebastian and Kanoff. An All-Mission League selection as a junior, Porter had 52 solo tackles, 33 assisted tackles, nine pass deflections and two interceptions last season.
Other Palisadians on varsity are senior wide receiver/cornerback Will Reagan, senior defensive end and kicker Wade Clement. Tenth-grader Quinn Luscinksi, a tailback and outside linebacker, could see playing time on varsity.
"I learned a lot last year but it's a whole different team this year," said Kanoff, a 6-foot-3, 175-pounder blessed with a quick release and excellent mobility, as reflected by his 34 rushing yards in the first half Friday. "It's a new offense and I think we'll continue to get better as the season goes along."
Also playing in Harvard-Westlake's program, at the JV/freshman level, are ninth-graders Matt Douglas, Hudson Ling and Bryce Terman.
St. Matthew's has been like a feeder program for Harvard-Westlake in recent years, as many former Falcons have gone on to play football at the private high school in North Hollywood, including 2010 Wolverines alums Jackson Ligouri and Andrew Goldberg and 2011 graduate Daniel Edelstein, whose younger brother Matt is a junior offensive/defensive lineman and long snapper this season.
Evan Meister, a star on Harvard-Westlake's lacrosse team, played tight end for the football team his sophomore year. Last year, Nick Lenard was a punter/kicker and Chase Klein was a running back.
Harvard-Westlake will try to bounce back Friday when it hosts Fairfax of Los Angeles.
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