CANTON — Canton coach Tyler Sechrist knew his players couldn't take on Sayre's big back Hudson Malanoski up high, so they made it an emphasis to tackle him down low and it paid off as they held him to just 67-yards on 15 carries in their 20-7 win over the Redskins during NTL football action Friday.

"Defensively, I thought we played tough tonight," Sechrist said. "That's what Sayre wants to do, Coach Kapichok has those guys playing really hard for him. They have some big, strong kids, and they want to pound the ball, and I told the guys, 'big backs don't like getting hit in the legs,' so we focused on tackling him low and rallying to the ball, because if you try to take him up top, he's going to get three or four more yards."

And the Warriors defensive backfield played tight all night, forcing Sayre's Declan Barry into a 5-for-27 performance for 77-yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Brayden Vorhis was his top target with three catches for 59-yards and a score.

"We put them in a position where they needed to throw, and I think that's the position you want to put them in."

That made up for Canton's inconsistent night on the offensive end. It was feast or famine for the Warriors as they looked hard to stop on their three scoring drives, but on the rest of their possessions Sayre did a good job getting in their way, and, at times, it was the Warriors getting in their own way.

They finished with 11 penalties for 100-yards, including two flags that wiped away a touchdown and a 2-point conversion.

"We made a lot of mistakes like we have all year," said Sechrist. "Owen (Moore) was a little off tonight. There were about three passes that could have been some big plays, but that's part of football. We just missed them, and I give Sayre credit, they played hard tonight."

Moore was 12-for-17 for 164-yards with one touchdown, while leading the team on the ground behind 43-yard effort on 11 carries. 

Jaiden Ortiz (six carries, 28-yards) and Aaden Dowling (five carries, 28-yards) both had touchdown runs.

Six different Warriors hauled in passes, led by Dowling's four catches for 61-yards and a touchdown. Rylan Wesneski added three catches for 35-yards, and Bailey Gardner had two catches for 37-yards.

Canton got the opening kick-off and marched 70-yards down the field in just over two minutes to pay dirt.

The 8-play drive ended with an Ortiz 5-yard scoring run up the middle, with Ortiz's 24-yard to get inside the Sayre Red Zone the key play of the drive. 

A Moore 10-yard pass to Monte Whitehead on third down also kept the drive alive.

Sayre's ensuing drive saw them scratch and claw their way to the Warrior 40-yard as they converted one fourth-and-short.

Eventually, back to back incompletions saw them forced to punt.

The second Canton drive ended in a 3-and-out, setting Sayre up at the 50-yard line.

The Redskins picked up one first down but not a second as Brayden Tucker dropped Sayre's Braydan Northrup 5-yards deep on 2nd-and-five to eventually force the punt.

Sayre returned the favor on the ensuing Canton drive as on third-and-short a duo of Redskin linebackers brought Ortiz down behind the line of scrimmage to force a punt.

This back and forth continued over the next two drives until Sayre took over at their own 44-yard line and went 56-yards on five players to get into the end zone.

A 37-yard hook-up of Barry to Vorhis on third-and-long got the Redskins to the Canton 20-yard line. 

Two plays later Vorhis fought off Canton pass interference to haul in a 20-yard scoring strike from Barry.

Malanoski's kick was good, and it was 7-6 Sayre with 4:31 left in the half.

Falling behind lit a fire under Canton in their next drive as Moore ripped off a 15-yard run on the first play from scrimmage.

Two plays later he hit Rylan Wesneski for a 21-yard gain, with two plays after that Gardner ran 13-yards to get inside the Sayre Red Zone.

Once there things started to unravel as a chop block call wiped a touchdown off the scoreboard. On the next play Malanoski sacked Moore 6-yards deep for a third-and-25 at the 27-yard line.

Moore got 13 yards of those back on a run, then, on fourth-and-long, Moore hit a diving Dowling for a 14-yard gain down to the Redskin 1-yard and a fresh set of downs.

Dowling punched in the touchdown to finish off the 10-play scoring drive. Another penalty wiped away the 2-point conversion, but Canton was back on top 12-7, which would be the halftime score.

Sayre got the opening kick-off in the second half and went on a 12-play drive that eventually stalled at the Canton 41-yard line. The Redskins were able to convert two fourth-and-shorts, but  the possessions ended in three straight incompletions.

Canton's ensuing drive saw them fumble the ball away on third down with Sayre taking over at the Warrior 43-yard line.

Canton's defense responded, forcing another turnover-on-downs at the 28-yard line. 

However, four plays into their drive Canton once again fumbled the ball away to Sayre, with the Redskins taking over at the Warrior 44-yard line.

That drive would in a punt, which is how the next two drives ended.

The Warriors finally got the breathing room they needed as they took over at their own 49-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage Moore ran 22-yards to get inside the Sayre 30-yard line. After a holding call backed them up Moore found a wide open Dowling, who snuck out of the backfield, for a 40-yard scoring strike with 6:51 left to play.

Moore would find Rylan Wesneski for the 2-point conversion, and it was 20-7.

Sayre's ensuing drive ended two plays in with a Leeland Tubach interception, but the Redskins got one final chance as Malanoski blocked a Canton punt near midfield.

Canton's defense, though, forced four straight Sayre incompletions to get the ball back.

Sayre forced another punt, but Canton got this one off, pinning the Redskins down at their own 17-yard line with just under three minutes to play.

Barry ended his incompletion streak with a 13-yard pass to Quin Chandler, but two plays later Dowling stepped in front of a Barry pass, and Canton was able to kneel on it the rest of the way.

Canton will start a stretch next week where they play three of their next four games on the road. It starts with a trip to Muncy, though the Warriors like where they're at, sitting at 4-2.

"That's a good place to be," Sechrist said. "We've got four tough games left, but our goal is to improve. They're taking seven this year for districts, and we could possibly get a home game. Hopefully we can stay healthy, and have enough guys to play in the playoffs."

CANTON 20, SAYRE 7

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C - Jaiden Ortiz 5-yard run (kick failed), 9:28

Second Quarter

S - Declan Barry 20-yard pass to Brayden Vorhis (Hudson Malanoski kick), 4:31

C -Aaden Dowling 1-yard run (conversion failed), 1:10

Fourth Quarter

C - Owen Moore 40-yard pass to Aaden Dowling (Moore to Rylan Wesneski), 6:51

Individual Stats

Sayre

Rushing

Hudson Malanoski 15-67, Tucker Green 4-12, Braydan Northrup 4-1, Declan Barry 2-(-9)

Passing

Declan Barry 5-27-77-1-2

Receiving

Brayden Vorhis 3-59-1, Tyrese Hayes 1-5, Quin Chandler 1-13

Canton

Rushing

Jaiden Ortiz 6-28-1, Bailey Gardner 4-8, Aaden Dowling 5-28-1, Rylan Weseneski 1-0, Owen Moore 11-43, Team 4-(-10)

Passing

Owen Moore 12-17-164-1-0

Receiving

Aaden Dowling 4-61-1, Rylan Wesneski 3-35, Monte Whitehead 1-12, Bailey Gardner 2-37, Leeland Tubach 1-6, Brayden Tucker 1-15 

TEAM STATS Sayre Canton

Rushes/Yards 36/66 31/97

Passing Yards 77 164

First Downs 8 12

Penalties/Yards 6/45 11/100

Fumbles/Lost 3/0 4/2

Interceptions: Canton - Leeland Tubach, Aaden Dowling

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