BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
CANTON — Turnovers are a double-edged sword in football, and Canton felt both sides of the blade on Saturday. They used two first half fumble recoveries to end promising NP-Mansfield drives, but then gave the ball back three times in the second half as the Panthers rallied for a 24-14 win in NTL football action.
“We gave up the ball too many times,” said Canton coach Tyler Sechrist. “We gave them too many possessions, and their playmakers were able to make plays and it cost us.”
The biggest turn around came when Rylan Wesneski hit Ryder Route for what looked like a 75-yard touchdown catch and run. However, Route was caught from behind at the 1-yard line and stripped by NPM’s Colton Pellett.
The Panthers recovered the ball in the end zone for the touchback, then scored on a 74-yard run by Luke Kreger, on 4th-and-4 no-less, to take the lead, and kept it.
The Warriors had five turnovers in all compared to NPM’s three, wiping out a strong day from Bailey Gardner, who had 168-yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Wesneski added seven carries for 36-yards, while Dawson Burgess ran the ball six times for 20-yards.
Route had two catches for 86-yards while Wesneski had a 21-yard reception.
For three quarters Canton contained NPM’s rushing attack, holding them to just 61-yards at the half, but in the end the Panthers ran or 268-yards on 51 carries.
“We did alright, but then (Kreger) broke loose,” said Sechrist. “Playmakers are going to make plays, and we knew that he was their guy to go to. He’s helped their team win some big games with some big plays, and he did again here today.”
Kreger finished with 164-yards rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries while Sudan Benner had eight touches for 99-yards. Noah Musser added 38-yards on 13 carries.
Through the air Bradley Brook was 6-for-11 for 45-yards with an interception, with Patrick Youmans hauling in two catches for 19-yards.
It took the Panthers just 13 seconds to get on the scoreboard as Pellett found space down the right side of the field for 84-yards. Brody Grinnell added the point after for a 7-0 lead.
Canton opened their ensuing drive with a 57-yard Gardner run, but it ended with an Aumick interception. However, the Panthers handed the ball back to Canton inside the Warrior 20-yard line as Gardner fell on a fumble.
After a Warrior 3-and-out ended with a short punt due to a bad snap NPM took over at the Canton 30-yard line.
The Warrior defense held, though, keeping NPM to a 28-yard field goal attempt by Grinnell that split the uprights, finishing off the 7-play scoring drive.
Canton’s ensuing drive ended with another Aumick interception, but then they forced NPM into a 3-and-out.
The offensive struggles continue as Canton went 3-and-out, however, Jake Pepper recovered a NPM fumble at his own 35-yard line to end a promising Panther drive.
Canton would end up punting off that drive, but got the ball back when Grant Jennings picked off a Brooks pass.
Starting at the NPM 43-yard line and with Wesneski under center, Canton was able to generate some offense as they used eight plays to get into the end zone on a 5-yard Gardner punch up the middle.
An 18-yard Wesneski run down to the 15 was the key play of the drive as Canton was running low on time, scoring with just 18.6 seconds on the clock.
Alexis McRoberts hit the point after and it was 10-7 at the half.
The Warriors got the ball to start the second half and a 48-yard Gardner run on the second play of the drive got them down to the NPM 29-yard line. Things ended there, though, as on fourth down defensive tackle Raiden Wimpelberg hauled in an interception for the Panthers.
NPM’s ensuing drive got to the Canton 35-yard line, but a pair of false starts and a sack by Pepper forced them into a 4th-and-24 at the 50. A bad snap on the punt ended with Canton tackling the punter, takin over at the Panther 32-yard line.
They only needed one play to take the lead as Gardner tip-toed down the left sideline 32-yards into the end zone. McRoberts hit the point after and it was 14-10 with 3:14 left in the third.
Benner was able to give NPM a jolt in their ensuing drive, running 47-yards down to the Canton 31-yard line. Things stalled there, though, as they turned the ball over on downs.
Canton appeared to extend the lead as Wesneski found Route on an inside seam through the defense. It was off to the races to the end zone with Pellett catching Route from behind at the 1-yard line, stripping the ball. NPM fell on it in the end zone, getting the touchback and saving a touchdown all in one play.
The ensuing NPM drive didn’t start off too promising, though, as holding call backed them up. Brooks hit Pellett on third-and-long to make it 4th-and-4 at the Canton 26-yard line.
The Panthers elected to go for it, giving it Kreger on a sweep to the right side. He out sprinted two would be Canton tacklers to the edge, and found a seam down the right sideline 74-yards to paydirt.
Grinnell hit the point after for a 17-14 NPM lead with 9:07 left.
Starting at their own 20 Canton used a 21-yard hook-up from Moore to Wesneski to get out the 41, but a Canton fumble on the next play was scooped up by Pellett, ending the drive.
NPM then went 60-yards in eight plays, ending with a 3-yard Kruger touchdown run with 2:56 to play to go up two scores. The key play was a 29-yard Benner run on third-and-8 to get to the Warrior 3-yard line.
Canton got to midfield on their ensuing drive but turned it over on downs there, with NPM running out the clock.
Canton (1-4) travels to Montgomery this coming Friday, with the Red Raiders getting a win over Wyalusing this past weekend.
“We’ve just got to get better at the small details,” said Sechrist. “Just football knowledge, mental mistakes, penalties, turnovers, all that stuff is hurting us from these close games.”
He’s also hoping to see the younger players keep growing as the season continues.
“There’s some improvement, but there’s a lot of things we need to work on,” remarked Sechrist. “We’ve got a lot of growing to do, but we’ll get at it, and get to work this week.”
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NORTH PENN-MANSFIELD 24, CANTON 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
N: Colton Pellett 84-yard kick-off return (Brody Grinnell), 11:47
N: Brody Grinnell 28-yard field goal, 1:42
Second Quarter
C: Bailey Gardner 5-yard run (Alexis McRoberts), 18.6
Third Quarter
C: Bailey Gardner 32-yard run (McRoberts kick), 3:14
Fourth Quarter
N: Luke Kreger 74-yard run (Grinnell kick), 9:07
N: Luke Kreger 3-yard run (Grinnell kick), 2:56
Individual Stats
NP-Mansfield
Rushing
Luke Kreger 24-164-2, Noah Musser 13-38, Sudan Benner 8-99, Bradley Brooks 3-(-16), Team 3-(-17)
Passing
Bradley Brooks 6-11-45-0-1
Receiving
Patrick Youmans 2-19, Luke Kreger 1-8, Colton Pellett 1-8, Kaiden Pellett 1-5
Canton
Rushing
Bailey Gardner 14-168-2, Dawson Burgess 6-20, Rylan Wesneski 7-36, Owen Moore 2-1
Passing
Rylan Wesneski 1-4-75-0-1, Owen Moore 2-11-19-0-0-2
Receiving
Ryder Route 2-86, Rylan Wesneski 1-21
Team Stats NPM Canton
Rushes/Yards 51/268 29/225
Passing Yards 45 94
First Downs 18 11
Fumbles/Lost 7/2 3/2
Penalties/Yards 7/45 4/45
Interceptions: NPM (Charles Aumick 2, Raiden Wimpelberg), Canton (Grant Jennings)
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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