BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
SAYRE — It wasn’t pretty but a win’s a win as far as Canton football was concerned after their 21-14 victory over Sayre in NTL action Saturday.
It was a tale of two halves as it was the Air Warriors in the first half building a 21-0 lead only to watch Sayre chip away to make it 21-14 midway through the fourth quarter.
Canton’s defense stopped two straight Sayre drives after that, though, to preserve the win.
“A long time - since week one - so it’s nice to get to win,” said Canton coach Tyler Sechrist. “It wasn’t a pretty game, we had a lot of penalties, a lot of mistakes; we had chances where we were up 21 at the half and could just finish it off, but I give Sayre a lot of credit - they played hard. Our guys hung in there, and were able to get the W.”
Freshman quarterback Owen Moore had three touchdown passes on the day - all in the first half - as he went 9-for-20 for 199-yards for three scores and an interception. It wasn’t quite the ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ but it was the best Canton fans had seen this season.
“All the experience he’s got this year is just going to help him,” Sechrist said. “We had three other freshmen out there, too, so all that experience is going to help.”
Monte Whitehead had three catches for 99-yards and two scores, as Ryland Wesneski had a 50-yard touchdown catch. Leeland Tubach added two receptions for 39-yards.
On the ground Tubach had five carries for 33-yards, Wesneski added five touches for 26-yards, Moore had 10 carries for 28-yards, and Dawson Burgess ran the ball five times for 18-yards.
Sayre leaned on Hudson Malanoski as he finished with 24 carries and 101-yards, while going 7-for-20 for 86-yards with two scores and two interceptions.
Declan Barry started at quarterback, going 3-for-9 for 20-yards, while he hauled in three catches as a receiver, amassing 21-yards and a score.
Quin Chandler had three catches for 19-yards and a touchdown, while Brayden Vorhis added three receptions for 62-yards.
The two teams traded ineffective possessions to start the game, while Sayre’s second time with the ball saw them drive 57-yards to the Canton 20-yard line before the Warriors forced them to turn it over on downs.
Canton’s ensuing drive was only two plays, but the second was an 84-yard strike from Moore to Whitehead to put the first points up on the scoreboard. The point after had a fumbled snap but Moore found Ryder Route for the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 lead with seven seconds left in the frame.
The two teams traded turnovers on their next possessions, followed by Canton forcing Sayre to punt from their own 15-yard line.
Taking over at their own 43-yard line the Warriors went 11 plays to pay dirt as Moore found an uncovered Whitehead for a 6-yard scoring strike.
The key play was a 23-yard pass play from Moore to Tubach on first-and-30 to set up a first down. A few plays later Canton drew Sayre offsides on fourth-and-1 to get down inside the red zone.
McRoberts nailed the extra point and Canton led 15-0 with 3:25 left in the half.
Sayre’s ensuing drive ended on a turnover on downs at mid-field, setting up Canton’s 1-play scoring drive as Moore hit Wesneski for a 50-yard strike.
The point after failed but the Warriors led 21-0 going into the half.
The tide seemed to turn at the half as Sayre opened things up by forcing a Canton 3-and-out.
Taking over at the Warrior 47-yard line Sayre would need eight plays to get into the end zone, scoring on 4th-and-6 from the 14 when Malanoski hit Chandler for a 14-yard touchdown pass.
The 2-point conversion was no good but Sayre cut it to 21-6 with 4:40 left in the quarter.
Canton’s ensuing drive ended on a turnover-on-downs, but the Warriors would force Sayre to punt as the two teams headed into the fourth quarter.
Sayre’s defense stopped Canton again with their offense taking over on the Warriors 40-yard line.
This time they went 60-yards on six plays, using a facemask call and a roughing the pass flag to get down to the Canton 14-yard line.
Four plays later on second-and-goal from the one Malanoski hit Barry for a scoring strike, then found Chandler for the 2-point conversion to make it 21-14 with 5:52 left in the game.
Canton’s ensuing possession ended with a punt, but Sayre would turn it over on downs at midfield.
The teams then traded turnovers - Canton a lost fumble followed by Malanoski getting picked by Route - before Canton turned it over on down at the Sayre 34-yard line with 2:02 left to play.
Sayre’s final drive was a thriller as on 4th-and-10 from the 34 Malanoski hit Vorhis for a 24-yard strike where it was called a dual possession as both players had a hold of the ball.
After a 10-yard pass play the Redskins got down to the Canton 32-yard line.
However, they didn’t get any further as the Warriors forced three straight incomplete passes, followed by Moore ending any hope of a comeback with an interception.
Canton (2-7) now stares down Troy (8-1) with the Old Shoe on the line this coming week. Sechrist knows it’ll be a tall task but they’re not going to shy away from it.
“They’re a really good team, and we’re just going to go play the Old Shoe Game, and have fun,” he said. “That’s going to be my message to them, give it everything we’ve got. We’ve just had a rough year with injuries and younger players, but it was nice to get the win tonight.”
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CANTON 21, SAYRE 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
C: Owen Moore 84-yard pass to Monte Whitehead (Moore pass to Route), :07
Second Quarter
C: Owen Moore 6-yard pass to Monte Whitehead (Alexis McRoberts kick), 3:26
C: Owen Moore 50-yard pass to Rylan Wesneski (pass failed), 2:00
Third Quarter
S: Hudson Malanoski 14-yard pass to Quin Chandler (conversion failed), 4:40
Fourth Quarter
S: Hudson Malanoski 1-yard pass to Declan Barry (Malanoski pass to Chandler), 5:52
Individual Stats
Canton
Rushing
Owen Moore 10-28, Ryland Wesneski 5-26, Leeland Tubach 5-33, Dawson Burgess 5-18, Monte Whitehead 1-(-1)
Passing
Owen Moore 9-20-199-3-1
Receiving
Monte Whitehead 3-99-2, Leeland Tubach 2-39, Dawson Burgess 2-14, Ryland Wesneski 1-50-1, Ryder Route 1-(-3)
Sayre
Rushing
Hudson Malanoski 24-101, Declan Barry 6-3, Riley Johnson 4-7
Passing
Hudson Malanoski 7-20-86-2-2, Declan Barry 3-9-20-0-0
Receiving
Brayden Vorhis 3-62, Declan Barry 3-21-1, Quin Chandler 3-19-1
Team Stats Canton Sayre
Rushes/Yards 26/124 36/97
Passing Yards 199 106
First Downs 11 12
Penalties/Yards 14/125 9/55
Fumbles/Lost 5/2 3/2
Interceptions: Canton - Ryder Route, Owen Moore; Sayre - Brayden Vorhis
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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