NTL FOOTBALL: CANTON ROLLS PAST HANOVER (2021-10-23)

Northern Tier Sports Report
HANOVER — Canton shook off a slow start, and leaned on their defense, to pull away from Hanover Area 60-7, and improve their record to 9-0 in football action Friday.

“We came out and didn’t look very good at the start,” said Canton coach Tyler Sechrist. “We did about everything wrong that we could, but we got it out of our system.”

Two interception returns for a touchdown in their first four scores helped, too.

“I think a lot of it was our defense,” said Sechrist. “We scored more points with our defense on those interceptions, and that gave our offense some time to get rolling.”

Riley Parker led Canton with nine carries for 153-yards and a touchdowns, as Hayden Ward had four carries for 63-yards and two scores. Hudson Ward had five carries for 51 yards and a score, Ben Fitch had three carries for 54-yards and a score, and Cooper Kitchen had four touches for 12 yards and a touchdown while Bailey Ferguson chipped in with a 4-yard rushing touchdown.

All told, Canton ran for 352 yards, overcoming three lost fumbles in the process.

Brenen Taylor led off the scoring with a 47-yard interception return with 3:03 left in the first quarter. Ferguson added the point after and it was 7-0 Canton.

However, Hanover struck back as Jake Zola hauled in a 78-yard scoring pass from Christian Torres. Zola added the point after, and it was 7-7 with 1:30 left in the quarter.

After his big catch, though, Zola only had two more receptions as Torres finished with just four completions on the day.

“We could tell where we wanted to go, and we knew we could stop the run,” said Sechrist. “Zola is a good receiver, so we figured that’s where they wanted to go when they needed a big play, so we put coverage over top of him.”

A Hayden Ward 30-yard scoring run with :59 seconds on the clock put Canton back up 14-7 after the Ferguson kick.

“The biggest thing about those interceptions was putting pressure on the quarterback and making them throw under pressure,” said Sechrist.

Then, with 10:48 left in the half Cooper Kitchen ran one in from 10-yards out. Ferguson’s kick was good and it was 21-7.

Hayden Ward would return a pick 40-yards to pay dirt on Hanover’s ensuing drive. Ferguson added the point after for a 28-7 lead.

A Ferguson 4-yard run, a Hudson Ward 37-yard run, and another Hayden Ward run, this time from 24-yards out, ended the second quarter scoring for Canton as they led 48-7 at the half.

A Parker 80-yard run, followed by a Ben Fitch 41-yard run finished out the scoring for the Warriors.

Canton will now host Troy next week for the Old Shoe, while the NTL Division-I title is also on the line.

“We’re just going to prepare like we have all year,” said Sechrist. “These kids have been all in all year, and that’s what we’re going to be this week.”

PHOTO CAPTION: Canton’s Riley Parker runs the ball…PROVIDED PHOTOS

Can   14   34   12   0   —   60

Han   7   0   0   0   —   7

First Quarter

Can — Taylor 47 interception return (Ferguson kick), 3:03

Han — Zola 80 pass from Torres (Zola kick), 1:30

Can — Ha. Ward 30 run (Ferguson kick), 0:59

Second Quarter

Can — Kitchen 10 run (Ferguson kick), 10:48

Can — Ha. Ward 40 interception return (Ferguson kick), 9:51

Can — Ferguson 4 run (kick failed), 9:36

Can — Hu. Ward 37 run (Ferguson kick), 6:41

Can — Ha. Ward 24 run (Ferguson kick), 1:27

Third Quarter

Can — Parker 80 run (kick failed), 7:19

Can — Fitch 41 run (run failed), 3:09

Team Statistics

                                Can        Han

First downs              12           6

Rushing-Att-Yards   33-352  41-40

Comp-Att-Int            2-3-0     4-9-3

Passing Yards         41         117

Total Yards             393        157

Fumbles-Lost         3-3          3-2

Penalties-Yards      6-40       3-15

Punta-Avg.              0-0         5-22.6

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Can — Parker 9-153, TD; Ha. Ward 4-63, 2 TDs; Fitch 3-54; Hu. Ward 5-51, TD; Ho. Ward 4-16; Kitchen 4-12; Ferguson 1-4, TD; Sakers 1-0; Team 2-(-1). Han — Herbert 14-57, Shortz 2-0, Shamaski 10-(-4), Vega 9-(-5), Torres 3-(-8), Team 3-0.

Passing: Can — Kitchen 1-2-0, 26; Fitch 1-1-0, 15. Han — Torrez 4-9-3, 119, TD.

Receiving: Can — Hu. Ward 1-26, Ho. Ward 1-15. Han — Zola 3-117, TD; Shortz 1-2.

Interceptions: Can — Taylor, M. Davis, Ha. Ward.