Canyon senior receiver Rudy Sattler receives a celebratory hug from head coach Matt Lovorn and a congratulations from special teams coordinator Josh Quebe after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Lubbock Cooper.
Tim Ritter/The Canyon News
Jessica Sattler never questions the determination and drive of her oldest son, Rudy, when it comes to proving people wrong.
In February, following a leg injury, doctors told Rudy that he more than likely would not be able to play football during his senior season with his Canyon teammates.
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Wrong thing to do when it comes to telling a young man that his days in August-December would be spent on the sidelines cheering on his teammates instead of padded up scoring touchdowns and intercepting passes with his Eagles jersey on.
All it took was that lack of belief in Sattler to prove that doctor wrong and make 2026 Homecoming a memorable night.
Sattler’s late touchdown reception from Canyon senior quarterback Brox Hacker midway through the fourth quarter closed the door on a 49-24 victory over Lubbock Cooper Thursday night before 6,500 fans at Happy State Bank Stadium.
“Oh, I felt amazing with my team behind my back … ready to congratulate me,” Sattler said on the touchdown reception that put Canyon up 42-17.
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“This feels amazing to finally get back out there, so I can do what I do. … It’s been 6 1/2 months since I got injured and I’m finally back.”
Canyon head coach Matt Lovorn was one of many glad to see Sattler back in his No. 11 jersey on that sideline and in the game making plays.
“I was the most excited I’ve been in a long time,” Lovorn said when Sattler scored in the fourth quarter. “Rudy’s had a long, long journey that he hadn’t got to. He’s been working his tail off just to get on the field and sure enough, man, he may have helped him play tonight.”
Back in February and on through the rehabbing process, Sattler kept proving people wrong. He was doing the little things that would quicken his progress toward getting back under those Friday night lights.
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“The doctor said I wasn’t going to play,” Sattler said. “I said … I understand … but I’m proving you wrong. … I’m going to come out and play this year.”
Hacker, one of two Eagle football seniors on the 2026 Homecoming King court with Levi Mullins, was happy to have Sattler back on the field and providing him with another capable weapon at wide receiver.
“I haven’t thrown to this guy (Sattler) in a while, but that bond from JV year was definitely still there … it felt great,” Hacker said. “I’m so happy for him.”
Thursday night, Canyon scored first on Austin Turner’s 2-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter to put the Eagles up 7-0.
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Lubbock Cooper answered right back on a rushing touchdown that tied the game at 7-7.
In the second quarter, Hacker’s 55-yard pass to Will Kilgore set the Eagles up inside the Pirates’ 5 yard line and Trip Miller finished off the scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown run that pushed the margin to 14-7.
Lubbock Cooper, with time ticking down in the second quarter, booted an 18-yard field goal to narrow the deficit to 14-10 at halftime.
Canyon’s offense, throughout the game and really in the second half, fired on all cylinders with Turner and Miller doing the damage in the running game.
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“I think the biggest word is just execution and that’s where we go out and do every drive. We might have to punt, but at the end of the day, we respond and we get back to doing what we do,” Hacker said.
Lovorn reiterated the importance of Canyon’s offense trusting each other and sticking to the fundamentals.
“There’s a lot of trust there,” Lovorn said between Hacker and his offensive line, running backs and receivers. “It’s a lot of trust. You can’t have anything great without trusting between each other.”
Up 14-10 at halftime, Lovorn pointed out some things that needed to be fixed, but mostly, it was just about finishing.
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“We talked about a few things that they (Lubbock Cooper) were doing, and we had to adjust a few things … but there wasn’t a need for a new plan. Just the way we were going to attack them a little bit different,” Lovorn said.
“Our guys stayed with it and they just executed the plan.”
Midway through the third quarter, Turner’s second touchdown of the game went for 10 yards and Lane Burton nailed his third extra point to put Canyon up 21-10.
Lubbock Cooper continued to stay on the heels of Canyon with another rushing touchdown that cut the deficit to 21-17.
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A rushing touchdown by Miller made it 28-17 and Turner’s third touchdown run quickly catapulted the score to 35-17.
“The word in the second half was unselfish. Those guys are just playing for each other right now, and good things are happening,” Lovorn said.
Canyon tacked on two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter … a long pass from Hacker to Sattler … and a 5-yard touchdown by Sam Rodriguez to secure the 49-24 victory.
“Beating Lubbock Cooper, that’s a very respectable program. I love the heck out of Chip Darden and we’ve got a great relationship. To get a win against those guys is really good for us,” Lovorn said.
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“(More than anything) it’s a confidence builder and it’s a trust builder.”
Canyon (3-1) continues its tough non-district schedule at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25 against Sanger in Vernon.