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Canton Dominates Sayre in the mud

Tagged under: District 4, News

| September 30, 2018


CANTON-Mud covered their uniforms, hands and faces as Canton players stood along the sideline following Friday’s football game.

The team’s fans never felt they looked so good as they stood and saluted the players. This was an old-school look, an old-school performance. This is what Canton football was built upon long ago.

And the glory days look like they are returning.

A stifling defense allowed just 74 yards, Michael Smithers accounted for two second-half touchdowns and Canton scored 18 unanswered second-half points Friday at a packed Miller A. Moyer Stadium as it blanked Muncy, 18-0 in a District 4 Class A heavyweight showdown of unbeaten. Timmy Ward caught a 52-yard touchdown and intercepted two passes, while Canton (6-0) took control of the race for homefield advantage throughout districts.

“Hard, tough-nosed Canton football,” two-way starting lineman Garrett Storch said. “That is what we’re aiming for right here.”

“We’re putting them back on the map with our team,” linebacker Nick May said after making eight tackles, including two for loss. “We’re not quitting. That’s the main thing. We’re not quitting this year.”

That was evident in the first half when Canton held Muncy scoreless on three possessions inside the 30-yard line, including two inside the 15. The Warriors fought off the ropes, started landing some second-half haymakers and then delivered the knockout blow in the fourth quarter when Smithers hit Ward with a 52-yard touchdown and Uriah Baillie followed a series later, connecting with Dennis Saar on a 29-yard touchdown that made it 18-0.

Make no mistake, Canton has bigger goals than winning this game that was hyped all week. The Warriors, who clinched their first winning season since 2011, are seeking a league title and their first district championship since 1990. Still, this win was one to savor and Canton players did their best to take in an atmosphere they had not seen before, especially a year ago when they went 3-7.

This certainly was one to remember.

“This is great for Canton football,” Canton coach Tyler Sechrist said. “It’s been a drought and the community is really rallying around this whole thing. It fuels the fire.”

Muncy was denied its first 6-0 start of the 2000s and suffered a devastating blow midway through the second quarter when four-year starting quarterback/safety Coleman Good injured his throwing shoulder while trying to avoid a sack. Good, who led District 4 in passing through five weeks, did not return and coach Sean Tetreault said Muncy will know more Monday after Good has an MRI.

Even when Good was in, Canton’s defense sparingly allowed yards. Take away a Christian Good 46-yard catch and run and the Indians were bottled up throughout the first half. Not having Good only complicated things against a defense that recorded its second straight shutout. Kolby Moyer, an excellent tight end, moved to quarterback, but Ward and Levi Gaiotti intercepted second-half passes as Canton started dropping the hammer and closing out a big win.

“It hurts not having No. 8 out there as a coach on the field, but we preach next man up,” Tetreault said. “Kolby Moyer is a very talented quarterback. Kolby would be a starting quarterback for many teams in the area. This is one hiccup in the road and we’ll be OK.”

Christian Good’s 46-yard first-quarter catch helped Muncy reach the 4-yard line late in the first quarter, but Storch dropped Mike Kustanbauter for a 5-yard loss on first down. Two incompletions, sandwiched between a run for no gain, followed and Canton delivered its first big stop.

Christian Good intercepted a pass on Canton’s next offensive play and Muncy was back in business at the Warrior 8-yard line. Again, the Warriors dominated. A holding penalty and three incompletions doomed the Indians. Dylan Wilt provided a spark minutes later, returning a punt 25 yards to the Canton 30. This time, Ben Knapp (2 sacks) dropped Wilt for a 10-yard loss on an attempted end-around pass before Storch hit Paul Pepper for a 3-yard loss. Good was hurt on the next play as Canton nearly had the sack and forced a punt.

Canton’s offense took over in the second half, but it was those three defensive stops that changed the game.

“We knew we had to get our job done on the line and on defense,” Storch said. “We knew that if we kept being persistent that it would pay off for us.”

“When they were doing that we told ourselves they can’t do this anymore on our field,” May said. “This is our home in front of our crowd and we can’t let that happen. We worked together as a team to finish off the game.”

Canton scored its first touchdown after a snap sailed over the Muncy punter’s ahead midway through the third quarter. The Warriors recovered at Muncy’s 11 and Smithers ran three straight times, scoring from a yard out and giving Canton a 6-0 lead.

Smithers (109 passing yards) and Baillie (92) then delivered big third-down plays to help Canton break things open. Smithers threw a laser-like pass on 3rd-and-15, hitting Ward in stride as the all-state receiver outran the defensive backs and scored on a 52-yard strike. A series later, Baillie gave Saar a chance to make a play in the end zone and the converted linemen made a spectacular one, leaping high, ripping the ball from the cornerback and scoring the game-clinching 29-yard touchdown on a 3rd-and-9 play.

The way Canton’s defense was playing, that 18-point lead felt more like a 48-point cushion. Canton held Muncy to minus-3 yards on 19 second-half plays. Even taking way the botched snap that resulted in 26-yard loss, Canton held Muncy to two first downs and 23 yards. It was a performance as complete as it was impressive.

Muncy defensive lineman Dakota Haueisen also stood out, making a career-high 11 tackles, many at or behind the line of scrimmage. Those are the positives Muncy will try building on as it prepares to play Montgomery in the Old Shoe Game next Friday. The Indians are not out of the race for homefield advantage and also could see Canton again come November.

“We’ve been here before and they were ready to go and it just got away from us toward the end. Canton made some great, big plays and we just couldn’t overcome them,” Tetreault said. “Canton had a game plan tonight and we’ll bounce back.”

Canton 18, Muncy 0

Muncy  0 0 0 0-0

Canton 0 0 6 12-18

Third Quarter

C-Michael Smithers 1 run (kick failed), 4:19

Fourth Quarter

C-Timmy Ward 52 pass from Smithers (pass failed), 11:46

C-Dennis Saar 29 pass from Uriah Baillie (kick failed), 9:57

TEAM STATISTICS             M            C

First Downs                        6              14

Rushes-yards                29-10      38-77

Passing yards                     64           201

Total yards                          74           278

Comp-Att-Int                3-17-3     9-20-1

Fumbles-lost                      0-0          2-1

Penalties-yards              8-70       11-76

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Muncy, Mike Kustanbauter 15-41; Coleman Good 1-7; Ben Pepper 8-7; Ethan Gush 1-1; Dylan Wilt 1-(-10); Kolby Moyer 2-(-10); Team 1-(-26). Canton, Levi Gaiotti 9-43; Michael Smithers 14-30, TD; Uriah Baillie 7-24; Carson Stiner 5-7; Timmy Ward 2-0; Team 1-(-27).

PASSING: Muncy, Good 1-9-1, 46 yards; Moyer 2-8-2, 18 yards. Canton, Smithers 5-9-0, TD; 109 yards; Baillie 4-11-1, TD, 92 yards.

RECEIVING: Muncy, Christian Good 2-55; Dylan Wilt 1-9. Canton, Ward 3-93, TD; Ben Knapp 3-49; Dennis Saar 1-29, TD; Cooper Kitchen 1-19; Gaiotti 1-11.

INTERCEPTIONS: Muncy, Christian Good. Canton, Timmy Ward (2), Gaiotti.

SACKS: Muncy, Gavyn Eisenhower. Canton, Knapp (2).

RECORDS: Canton 6-0. Muncy 5-1.

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