NTL FOOTBALL: CANTON TRAVELS TO TOWANDA FOR THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (2024-09-26)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
It’ll be a match-up of two 3-2 teams on Thursday as Towanda welcomes Canton for a 7 p.m. kick-off.

Both teams are coming off tough losses, as the Warriors fell 19-16 to Montgomery, while Towanda dropped a 56-13 game at undefeated Troy.

Despite the setbacks both teams aren’t taking the other lightly.

“Towanda is having a good season, and is playing at a high level at  the mid-point of the season,” said Canton coach Tyler Sechrist.

“I think Canton is a really good football team,” remarked Towanda coach Jamie Wecker. “Their offense is led by a really good QB. He is a strong runner and is a very patient passer. Their RB is a big, physical runner, and they have some nice weapons at receiver position. They give a lot of different looks offensively, so preparing, especially during a short week, is a challenge. Defensively, they are athletic and fly to the ball.”

After another rough start defensively, Canton held Montgomery scoreless in the second half a week ago. They’ll have their work cut out for them with Towanda quarterback Riley Vanderpool.

“We need to play fast on defense,” said Sechrist. “Swarm to the ball and not miss tackles.”

The Knights had a strong start last week, turning Troy over on their first possession, then driving down the field. They’re hoping for more of that this week.

“We did start out strong last week, the thing we need to do is be more consistent with playing at a high level,” Wecker said. “We have to be able to finish drives offensively, and we have to be able to get off the field after third downs defensively. The other thing we are working on is limiting the big plays.”

Offensively Canton will be hoping for a little more consistency this week after they struggled some against the Raiders.

“On offense we need limit mistakes and get the ball in the hands of our playmakers,” Sechrist said.

Despite last week’s lopsided loss Wecker believes his team can put it to good use against Canton this week.

“That was a tough game, but I was really proud of how our team figured out a way to stick together and continued to fight,” he said. “Hopefully, they build on that ‘fight for the guy next to you’ mentality. If they can, I think we can continue to improve as a team.”

KEYS TO THE GAME

Canton — Win the time of possession. The best way to slow Towanda’s offense down is to play keep away. If Canton can keep can force Riley Vanderpool to play more defense than offense that’ll give them a good chance at coming out with a win.

Towanda — Keep the passing attack going. The past couple of weeks Towanda has shown off a budding passing attack. This can only help them set up those big runs for Vanderpool, especially since it’ll keep Canton from loading up the box.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ryland Wesneski, Canton, LB — Wesneski had five tackles last week, including one for a loss. His play on defense will be key to slowing down Towanda’s offense.

Will Shrawder, Towanda, WR, CB — Shrawder was targeted early on offense last week and to much success. If he can get a couple early completions it’ll really set up Towanda’s big play offense as the game goes on.

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