Northern Tier Sports Report

Athens Canton NEB Sayre Towanda Troy Wyalusing Youth College Preview/Wrap-Up Opinion

NTL FOOTBALL: CANTON PULLS AWAY FROM WELLSBORO IN SHOOTOUT (2024-10-12)

Northern Tier Sports Report
CANTON — It was a shoot-out in Canton as the Warriors pulled away from Wellsboro for a 46-34 win in NTL football action Friday.

“It feels good,” Canton coach Tyler Sechrist said about ending their 3-game losing streak. “It wasn’t a clean win, we made a lot of mistakes, but it feels good to get back on the winning track.”

Holden Ward returned from injury and certainly made his presence known with two rushing touchdowns, a receiving touchdown, and even a passing score. Ben Fitch also had a big day with three passing touchdowns, a receiving touchdown, and a pick six.

“I liked how the offense looked tonight,” Fitch said. “We got a big weapon back in Holden, which opens up everything. He’s a great athlete, and that really opened up our offense. Really, we executed well in a lot of plays, and we scored on them.”

Both teams racked up the yards, with Canton edging out Wellsboro 398-395. Fitch was 6-for-9 for 163-yards and one interception to go with three touchdowns, while Ward was 1-for-2 with the 71-yard scoring pass to Fitch.

Ward also ran for 78-yards and two scores on nine carries, while hauling in two passes for 10-yards and a score.

“He’s a difference maker,” Sechrist said about Ward. “You can see it when he’s on the field. He’s explosive, we’re a different team with him out there, and it just allows us to do different things on offense.”

Bailey Gardner led the team on the ground with 88-yards on 13 carries.

Aydin Holcomb had 141-yards and two touchdowns on just three receptions on the day for Canton.

Griffin Morral had a big day for Wellsboro, throwing for 261-yards on 17-for-25 passing with four touchdowns, and an interception. He also ran the ball for 85-yards and a score on 12 carries, while Ryder Bowen had 17 carries for 49-yards.

Marek Mascho had five catches for 99-yards and two scores, while Kody Enck had four catches for 98-yards and two touchdowns. Bowen hauled in five catches for 39-yards.

It was a slow start to the night with just one touchdown in the first quarter, a 3-yard pass from Fitch to Ward with 4:06 on the clock. Alexis McRoberts added the point after for the 7-0 lead.

Things picked up quickly in the second with six touchdowns between the two teams.

Morral tied things up with a 15-yard pass to Mascho six seconds into the second quarter. Jonathan Carl hit the point after for the 7-7 score.

Two minutes later Fitch hit Holcomb on a 54-yard scoring strike to make it 14-7 after the McRoberts kick.

At the 8:18 mark Ward busted out a 42-yard run to pay dirt to make it 21-7 after McRoberts’ extra point.

Wellsboro rallied with Morral hitting Mascho on a 56-yard touchdown pass at the 7:23 mark. Carl’s kick made it 21-14.

Fitch’s pick six followed with 5:05 on the clock, though the extra point was no good. The Hornets kept it a one score game as Morrall ran off a 58-yard touchdown run with 4:07 left in the half.

The point after was no good for a 27-20 Canton lead at the half.

Canton started the third quarter strong as Ward ripped off a 16-yard scoring run with 9:20 on the clock. Then, with 6:53 left in the third, Fitch hit Holcomb on an 84-yard pass play. McRoberts’ point after made it 40-20.

Just before the horn Morrall hit Enck on a 35-yard scoring strike. The conversion was good for a 40-28 score going into the final frame.

Less than a minute into the fourth is when Ward hit Fitch for a 71-yard strike.

“It mixes things up, keeps people on their toes,” Fitch said about the role reversal.

The 2-point conversion failed for 46-28 scored.

With under a minute to play Morral hit Enck on an 11-yard scoring pass for the 46-34 final.

Canton (4-4) gets back to .500 with the win, and returns home with Sayre next week.

“We’re looking to get Sayre next, get that one, and then we’ll look on from there,” said Sechrist. “But just continue to try to get healthy and gearing up for districts.”

CANTON 46, WELLSBORO 34

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

C: Ben Fitch 3-yard pass to Holden Ward (Alexis McRoberts kick), 4:06

Second Quarter

W: Griffin Morral 15-yard pass to Marek Mascho (Jonathan Carl kick), 11:54

C: Ben Fitch 54-yard pass to Aydin Holcomb (McRoberts kick), 9:53

C: Holden Ward 42-yard run (McRoberts kick), 8:18

W: Griffin Morral 56-yard pass to Marek Mascho (Carl kick), 7:23

C: Ben Fitch interception return (kick missed), 5:05

W: Griffin Morral 58-yard run (kick missed), 4:07

Third Quarter