NTL FOOTBALL: CANTON HOSTS ATHENS FOR HOME OPENER (2024-09-05)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
Canton (2-0) finally gets to play at home as they host Athens (1-1) in a throwback 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon kick-off.

After two long road trips - technically three since they had to go to South Williamsport twice - Canton is excited to play in front of their fans.

“We are ready to play at home for the first time this season on old, traditional Saturday 1 p.m. kick-off,” said Canton coach Tyler Sechrist.

They face an Athens team that bounced back from a tough week one loss to South Williamsport by beating Northwest in their home opener last week.

“Athens has a good looking football team with a lot of playmakers who are getting better as they get more varsity experience,” Sechrist remarked.

Slowing down Athens’ speed with be paramount to keeping them out of the end zone.

“We will need to play disciplined defensively, and tackle well,” said Sechrist.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Athens — Control Canton’s playmakers. The big play was Canton’s friend in their win over South Williamsport last week, as they hit for 19 and 35 yard scores. The Wildcats can’t afford to give up too many big plays or risk being buried.

Canton — Win the turnover battle. They won the turnover battle against South, and that was key for pulling out their win. The last thing they want in what looks to be very wet weather is putting the ball on the ground.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Connor Davidson, Athens, QB — Davidson has turned into a big play threat this season, and is somebody that Canton hasn’t quite faced yet this year.

Holden Ward, Canton, A — Ward is Canton’s go to athlete - he could be at quarterback, running back, or wide receiver - and had a big catch against South. It’s on defense, though, that he makes his biggest impact, getting two tackles for loss last week.

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