NTL FOOTBALL: CANTON SLIPS PAST ATHENS, 27-19 (2019-09-20)
Valley Sports ReportATHENS "” Canton QB Uriah Bailie broke loose on a 97-yard TD run to put unbeaten Canton ahead for good in the third quarter, and the Warriors held on for a 27-19 win over Athens here Friday night at Alumni Stadium.
"We played with a lot of heart, and a lot of emotion," said Athens coach Jack Young. "We had our opportunities, but we came up short.
"If we can learn from our mistakes, we proved we can play with the best," added Young. "Canton has some very experienced players who make plays for them, and we proved we can play with them."
Canton opened the game with a 50-yard scoring drive, capped by Bailie's 3-yard TD run to give the Warriors a 6-0 lead.
The Wildcats answered with a seven-play, 66-yard drive to take a 7-6 lead.
Freshman QB Mason Lister completed three passes in the scoring drive, hitting senior Keegan Rude on a 16-yard connection, and sophomore Shayne Reid twice for 50 yards, including a 26-yard TD with 5:58 left in the first quarter.
The Warriors fumbled on their first play of the ensuing possession, and senior linebacker Tanner Dildine pounced on it for the Wildcats at the Canton 44.
On the next play, Lister hit Rude in stride for a 56-yard TD pass to give Athens its second TD in 20 seconds, and a 13-6 lead.
"We were throwing the ball quick, and avoiding their pressure, and we were having success," said Young. "We were trying to get match-ups, and we did.
"Canton was trying to switch things up on us, and I thought (QB) Mason (Lister) did a great job locating the match-ups," he noted. "We had big plays to Keegan Rude, Shayne Reid, and J.J. Babcock through the air.
"We could not run the ball out of the spread tonight, but we did have some success when we tightened things up," added Young.
After an exchange of punts, Canton moved the ball deep into Wildcat territory, but a Rude interception at the 3-yard line ended the threat.
Two plays later, however, the Wildcats fumbled the ball away, giving the Warriors the ball back at the Athens 3.
Bailie scored on a 3-yard run to trim the deficit to 13-12, and Dildine picked off the conversion pass to preserve the Wildcat advantage.
On the ensuing possession Athens drove to the Canton 24, but turned the ball over on downs.
On the Wildcats' final possession of the half, they drove to the Athens 14, but sophomore Jared Peterson picked off a Bailie pass to end the drive.
Athens took the second-half kickoff and drove into the Canton red zone, but Bailie stepped in front of a Lister pass at the Canton 3 to end the threat.
On the next play Bailie broke loose on a 97-yard TD run, then tacked on the conversion run to give the Warriors a 20-13 lead with 6:58 left in the third quarter.
"(Canton) made a few adjustments at halftime, and popped a few runs on us," said Young.
"The backbreaker was the run by their quarterback (Uriah Bailie). We had them pinned at their 3-yard-line, and he broke one for 97 yards," he noted. "That was a back-breaker ... it really hurt us. When you have a young football team, that's one of those plays, our body language changed and we struggled for a little bit after.
"At the same time, we were able to come back from it," added Young.
After forcing Athens to punt on its next possession, Canton drove 64 yards to the Athens 3, before fumbling the ball away.
Six plays later, J.J. Babcock ran under a Lister pass for a 74-yard TD on the last play of the the third quarter, but a bad snap on the PAT allowed Canton to maintain a 20-19 lead.
The teams exchanged punts to start the fourth quarter, but Canton's punt pinned Athens at its 3.
The Warriors defense forced another punt, and took over at the Athens 35. Six plays later, Bailie scored on a 4-yard run, and Ben Knapp added the PAT to make it 27-19 with 3:45 remaining in the contest.
Athens went three-and-out on the ensuing possession. Following an Athens punt, Canton was able to run out the clock.
Lister completed 12 of 29 passes for 268 yard, three TDs, and one interception, with Rude hauling in five receptions for 135 yards, and Reid added four grabs for 47 yards.
The Wildcats managed just 25 yards on 25 carries in the game.
"I was super-proud of our kids," said Young. "We battled and showed we can compete with anyone."
Bailie rushed for 230 yards and four TDs on 29 carries, and Carson Stiner added 79 yards on 14 carries.
Athens, now 1-4, travels to Wellsboro Friday.
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IN PHOTO 1: Athens senior Keegan Rude. ... PHOTOS COURTESY OF MATT PATTON.
