Canton finishes off win over Wellsboro

By: Brian Fees  /  September 11, 2007  /  Photo: Brian Fees

TROY - When lightening forced the teams off the field on Saturday night the Canton Warriors found themselves ahead 8-2 with just over four minutes left in the half.

When the teams resumed the game Monday evening, Wellsboro wasted little time tying the game as they found the end zone with 4:08 left in the half as Cameron Jones hit Jake Coolidge on a 14 yard touchdown. Wellsboro's two-point try failed and the game was tied at 8.

The two teams continued to keep things close until late in the fourth quarter, but a couple of big defensive plays, along with a strong running game allowed Canton to improve to 2-0 with a 24-16 victory.

"It is the first time in my tenure here that we are 2-0, so it feels great," Canton coach Miller Moyer Jr. said. "We just have to keep taking things one game at a time."

After Wellsboro tied the game, the Warriors quickly answered, needing just 1:01 to find the end zone again as Reese Holmes hit Kasey Lyon on a 15 yard touchdown pass. Nick Petrowski ran in the extra point and Canton took a 16-8 advantage.

In the third quarter, Wellsboro fought back as Pat Driebelbies found the end zone on a tough 22 yard run, before Jones hit Colton Acorn on the two-point conversion to tie the game with 8:13 left in the game.

Wellsboro quickly got the ball back as Steve Mengee picked off a Holmes pass giving Wellsboro excellent field position.

On the first play of the drive, Wellsboro fumbled the ball and Tyrell Wheeler and Justin Brown quickly converged on the ball to give possession back to the Warriors. After Wellsboro got the interception, Wheeler thought the Warriors might be in trouble, but he never believed they were out of the game.

"I thought maybe they were going to score a touchdown there and take the lead," Wheeler said. "But, I thought we could come back and score a touchdown ourselves."

When the fumble hit the grass, Wheeler said the Warriors just all knew they needed to get to the ball.

"The whole team wanted it, everyone was aggressive," he said.

After regaining possession of the ball, it was Wheeler who capped off a strong Canton drive, that relied almost exclusively on the ground game.

"They (Wellsboro) gave it to us for the better part of the first half, but in the second half we really went at them," Moyer Jr. said.

Wheeler found the end zone with 4:23 left in the game, as he went in from six yards out. Holmes hit Lyon with the two-point conversion and the Warriors led 24-16.

"I told the kids after the game, I'm proud of how they came back and played hard," Moyer Jr. said. "They tied the game and we could have packed it in, but they kept fighting hard and they came right back."

Wellsboro got the ball back knowing they needed a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the ballgame, but Lucas Bailey had other ideas as he came flying in and picked off a Jones pass on the first play of the drive.

"That wasn't even my guy," Bailey said of the play. "I saw him loft the ball up there and I thought I had a chance so I went for it."

From there it was the Canton rushing attack that pounded away at the Wellsboro defense as the Warriors picked up first downs and ran out the clock.

"It was great, with Brock (Parker) pounding up the middle and me and Baily going around the end, we ran well at the end," Wheeler said.

One of the signature plays of the night may have been a Parker run which ended with the Canton senior initiating a hard hit with a Green Hornets defender.

"That was great," Moyer Jr. said. "You might tackle him, but you were definitely going to pay."

Canton almost sealed the game away with a touchdown as Wheeler tossed a halfback option pass with under two minutes to go. Wheeler had a perfect throw, but the receiver was unable to hold on and Canton ended up running out the clock.

"I thought it was going to be caught, it was so exciting," Wheeler said of almost tossing a touchdown pass.

Canton got 92 yards from Justin Brown on the ground, while Wheeler had 48 yards and Parker had 13, while Bailey finished with 11.

Holmes threw for 76 yards on the day and Parker and Bailey each had two grabs for 29 yards, while Lyon had two catches for 18 yards.

One of the keys for the Warriors was the play of their line against the Green Hornets.

"Our line is in good shape," Wheeler said. "They really did a good job."

Wellsboro got 63 yards from Driebelbies on the ground and Coolidge had 23 yards on the day. Jones threw for 74 yards and Acorn had six grabs for 60 yards, while Coolidge caught the 14 yard touchdown.

Bailey and Corey Peterson each had interceptions in the win.

"It feels really good to start 2-0, but we have to keep it up," Bailey said. The Warriors will travel to South Williamsport on Friday, while Wellsboro will host Athens.