NTL FOOTBALL: CANTON CONTINUES THEIR STRING OF STRONG PLAY IN WIN OVER WYALUSING (2022-09-30)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportWYALUSING — Canton looked about as good as they have all season, beating Wyalusing 51-13 to stay undefeated during NTL football action Friday.
The Warriors led 44-0 at the half, having out gained the Rams 231-22 by that point, and even got a special teams score on a punt snap that went out the back of the end zone for a safety.
“I was proud,” Canton coach Tyler Sechrist said about the effort. “We’ve preached all week we’ve got to come in and execute - be sharp, keep improving. I think we did that, I think we looked really, really good in all facets of the game with the starters.”
Canton running back Riley Parker had himself a game, scoring half the times he touched the ball. He finished with six carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns, while also picking off a pass on the defensive side of things.
Austin Allen was 6-for-8 for 60 yards and a score, while Allen and Weston Bellows both had touchdown runs.
Hayden Ward had two catches for 23 yards and a score, Hudson Ward finished with 25 yards on two receptions, and Bellows had two catches for 12 yards.
In the second half Ben Fitch took over, going 2-for-4 for 30 yards with a score, while also rushing for 44 yards on five carries. Zach Colton had two catches for 30 yards and a touchdown.
Wyalusing can take solace in the fact that they are the first team to score against Canton since week one, punching the ball in the end zone twice in the fourth quarter to excite their homecoming fans.
“We could have kept the shutout if we kept our starters in there,” Sechrist said. “Wyalusing’s got a lot of injuries, they don’t have many guys to switch in, so they’re playing a lot of their starters, which is fine, but our JVs just couldn’t hold them out there.”
Joey Gonsauls once again proved to a spark plug on offense, as he had two catches for 33 yards and a score, while also running the ball 10 times for 61 yards.
Parker Petlock was 5-for-11 for 81 yards under center, with Alex Hunsinger scoring a rushing touchdown. Gus Taber had two catches for 18 yards, while Cade McMicken had a 30 yard catch.
Despite giving up the points Sechrist was glad to get his reserves some quality varsity minutes.
“I’d like to have kept that shutout streak going, but I’ll take that trade off, coming out of here with a healthy varsity team, and getting younger kids that experience - it’s huge for down the road,” said Sechrist.
Wyalusing went 3-and-out to open the game, as Canton took over on the Ram 28-yard line. On their second play from scrimmage Parker hit the trap, and ran 28-yards up the gut to pay dirt. Bailey Ferguson added the point after, and it was 7-0 with 10:18 on the clock.
The Rams got a little something going on offense on their next possession, as Gonsauls ran 30 yards for a first down on a 4th-and-2 off a fake punt.
However, the Warrior defense stiffened, forcing Wyalusing to punt - for real this time - and took over at their own 34-yard line.
Four plays into the drive Parker ran for a 53-yard touchdown, once again up the middle, with 4:27 on the clock. Ferguson’s kick was good, making it 14-0.
After another 3-and-out for the Rams the Warriors had good field position at the Wyalusing 45-yard line.
This time they took to the air, as three straight Allen passes led them to pay dirt. The first was 19-yards to Hayden Ward, the second 22-yards to Hudson Ward, and then, on first-and-goal, a 4-yard pass to Hayden Ward for the touchdown. Ferguson’s kick was good, and it was 21-0 with 1:53 left in the opening quarter.
On the Rams’ ensuing drive a horse collar call against Canton got them another first down, two plays later a Liam Franklin pass off a halfback toss was intercepted by Parker.
Starting at the Wyalusing 36-yard line, the Warriors needed just six plays to get into the end zone, this time on an 8-yard Parker run, to make it 28-0 after Ferguson’s kick with 8:38 left in the half.
The key play was an Allen to Bellows 12-yard passing play on third-and-10, one where Bellows’ second and third effort got them the first.
The Rams were backed up on their ensuing drive, and were forced to punt from their own 2-yard line. Bellows returned it to the Wyalusing 8-yard line, setting up a three-play scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard Allen quarterback sneak. Ferguson’s kick was good, making it 35-0 with 5:59 left in the quarter.
Penalties and negative plays saw Wyalusing get backed up against their own goal-line again, and this time they didn’t punt off as the snap went over the punter’s head, for the safety.
That gave Canton a 37-0 lead with 4:05 to play.
The Warriors then got the ball off the ensuing kickoff, and went 35-yards on two running plays to pay dirt. The first was a 12-yard Parker run, followed by a 23-yard Bellows touchdown rush.
Ferguson’s kick was good, and that gave Canton the 44-0 halftime lead.
Canton would receive the second half kick-off, and marched down to the Wyalusing 14-yard line, but a holding call, followed by a tough Ram defensive stand, forced Canton to turn it over on downs.
Wyalusing would go 3-and-out on their ensuing drive, setting up Canton at the Ram 25-yard line.
Wyalusing, though, turned them over on downs with a goal-line stand, as, on 4th-and-2 from the 2-yard line, they stopped Canton back Aydin Holcomb for a 2-yard loss.
The Rams would punt again, as Canton would set up at the Wyalusing 20-yard line. This time they took advantage of the good field position, as on the second play from scrimmage Fitch hit Colton for a 22-yard scoring strike in the front corner of the end zone. Ferguson’s kick made it 51-0 with 10:20 left to play.
A good return from Franklin on the ensuing kick-off set the Rams up at Canton’s 38-yard line.
They would need just five plays to get into the end zone, a 25-yard pass from Petlock to Gonsauls - who made a leaping catch - to get some points on the board. Zach Fenton added the point after to make it 51-7, breaking Canton’s streak of four straight shutouts.
After forcing a Canton punt on the next possession, Wyalusing went on one final scoring drive, going 80-yards to the end zone.
It started with a 15-yard Gonsauls run, followed by a 30-yard Petlock to McMicken passing play. Three plays later Petlock hit Taber on a 9-yard pass to set up the 5-yard Alex Hunsinger touchdown run.
The kick was no good for the 51-13 final.
Wyalusing (2-4) will look to rebound next week as they travel to winless Wellsboro (0-6) for their homecoming.
Canton (6-0) will have their own homecoming next Friday as they welcome Montgomery (1-5), who is riding a 3-game losing streak.
After the Red Raiders Canton will get into the meat of their regular season schedule, facing Athens, Jersey Shore, and Troy in the final three weeks of the season.
Despite that, Canton isn’t taking any team for granted.
“We just focus one game at a time,” said Sechrist. “We’ve got to come out every game healthy, and come out of every game being a better football team. That’s our goal at this point.”
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PHOTO CAPTION: Canton’s Hayden Ward hauls in a touchdown pass…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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Canton 51, Wyalusing 13
Canton 21 23 0 7 - 51
Wyalusing 0 0 0 13 - 13
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
C - Riley Parker 28-yard run (Bailey Ferguson kick), 10:18
C - Riley Parker 53-yard run (Ferguson kick), 4:27
C - Austin Allen 4-yard pass to Hayden Ward (Ferguson kick), 1:53
Second Quarter
C - Riley Parker 8-yard run (Ferguson kick), 8:38
C - Austin Allen 1-yard run (Ferguson kick), 5:59
C - Wyalusing punt goes out the back of the end zone for safety, 4:05
C - Weston Bellows 23-yard run (Ferguson kick), 3:30
Fourth Quarter
C - Ben Fitch 22-yard pass to Zach Colton (Ferguson kick), 10:20
W - Parker Petlock 25-yard pass to Joey Gonsauls (Zach Fenton kick), 7:23
W - Alex Hunsinger 5-yard run (kick no good), :59
Individual Stats
Canton
Passing
Austin Allen 6-8-60-1-0, Ben Fitch 2-4-30-1-0
Rushing
Riley Parker 6-121-3, Weston Bellows 1-23-1, Hudson Ward 4-35, Austin Allen 3-3-1, Ben Fitch 5-44, Holden Ward 3-9, Michael Davis 4-27, Bailey Ferguson 1-2, Ryland Sakers 2-5, Aydin Holcomb 4-(-6)
Receiving
Hayden Ward 2-23-1, Hudson Ward 2-25, Weston Bellows 2-12, Zach Colton 2-30-1
Wyalusing
Passing
Parker Petlock 5-11-81-1-0, Liam Franklin 0-2-0-0-1
Rushing
Joey Gonsauls 10-61, Alex Hunsinger 10-10-1, Ayden Hunsinger 4-3, Parker Petlock 4-(-16), Liam Franklin 2-0
Receiving
Joey Gonsauls 2-33-1, Gus Taber 2-18, Cade McMicken 1-30
Team Stats
Canton Wyalusing
Rushes/Yards 33/263 30/58
Passing Yards 90 81
First Downs 16 9
Penalties/Yards 8/82 6/55
Interceptions: Canton-Riley Parker
