CANTON — Sayre had a solid start to the game, but gave up four second-quarter touchdowns as they fell to Canton, 55-13, during NTL football action Friday.

“We didn’t play great football tonight,” said Sayre coach Ricky Lindblad. “We felt like we could come in and compete with these guys, we talked about it all week. We have to grind out practices in order to cash in on Friday night, and, unfortunately, we didn’t do that tonight.”

Jamier Kole had a strong day on the ground, rushing for 86 yards on eight carries with a score, while Nick Pellicano hauled in four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.

“Jamier got going there in the second half,” said Lindblad. “Karter (Green) took a lot of hits, stayed upright, made that pitch happen to Jamier, who took it to the house for a touchdown. Nick played well, we knew he was going to get extra eyes on him, we just need that next guy to come up, and make a big play.”

Green was 6-for-18 for 97 yards with a touchdown. He finished with minus-24 yards rushing, but take away the sacks, and he had 32 yards on the ground on nine quarterback runs.

Canton had nearly 500 yards of total offense, as Ben Fitch was 8-for-10 for 226 yards and three scores through the air, while running four times for 68 yards and a touchdown.

Holden Ward had six carries for 60 yards with a score, along with three catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.

Aydin Holcomb had three catches for 69 yards and a score, amd Zach Colton hauled in two receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown.

Bailey Gardner added four carries for 38 yards and a score.

Sayre’s opening drive ended in a 3-and-out with Canton taking over at their own 43-yard line. The Warriors would need just 5 plays to go the 57 yards to paydirt, finished off with a 24-yard scoring run by number 24, Gardner. 

Sayre stopped their 2-point conversion, though, for a 6-0 lead with 7:51 on the clock.

Green had some nice runs on Sayre’s ensuing drive, rushing the ball five times for 21 yards, but was stopped on fourth-and-short deep in Canton territory.

Sayre’s defense returned the favor, forcing a Canton 3-and-out, and giving them the ball back on their own 46-yard line.

A good return on a Sayre punt set the Warriors up at the 50-yard line, and they needed just four Ward rushing plays to hit paydirt, ending with a 7-yard Ward run with 11:55 in the second quarter.

Alexis McRoberts hit the point after for the 13-0 lead.

Sayre’s ensuing drive fizzled out at midfield, forcing a punt with Canton taking over at their own 8-yard line.

This time they needed nine plays to go 92 yards to the end zone. A 10-yard run from Gardner on third-and-4 kept the drive going, with the Warriors hitting paydirt on a third-and-8 when Fitch found Holcomb for a 37-yard scoring strike.

McRoberts’ kick was good for the 20-0 lead with 6:34 on the clock.

Sayre fumbled the ball away on their ensuing drive, setting up Fitch’s pass to Ward in the flat, with Ward going 77-yards to the house. McRoberts hit the extra point for a 27-0 lead with 4:41 left in the half.

After another Sayre punt, Canton would need just three plays to go from midfield to the end zone. Setting up the score was Fitch hitting Colton, who weaved his way 51 yards down the field to the Sayre 4-yard line. Colton then finished off the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch from Fitch, and McRoberts’ kick made it 34-0 with 2:37 left in the half.

The Warriors took that lead into the locker rooms, and came out to take the second half kick-off.

Sayre tried an onside kick, but it went to Michael Beers, who rumbled all the way down to the Sayre 6-yard line. 

Canton let him finish off the run, punching it in from 6-yards out on the next play for the score. McRoberts’ kick was good to make it 41-0 with 11:46 to play.

The two teams would trade empty possessions after that, with Sayre finally getting a big play. On the first play from scrimmage at the Canton 48-yard line, Green was wrapped up but managed to get the toss off to Kole, who cut through the Canton defense for the score.

Carter Bleilier hit the point-after for the 41-7 score with 6:30 on the clock.

Canton needed just four plays to answer, going 65 yards to paydirt as Fitch found a seam up the middle for a 44-yard scoring run. McRoberts’ kick was good for the 48-7 lead with 3:33 on the clock.

Sayre would take over at their own 49-yard line and used a 21-yard pass play from Green to Declan Barry to get to the Canton 30. 

After a Kole 14-yard run, Canton’s defense stiffened, forcing a fourth down. That’s when Green hit Pellicano for a 7-yard scoring strike for the 48-13 scored with 11:18 left to play.

The final touchdown of the game came when Holcomb took the ensuing kick-off 79 yards to the house. McRoberts’ kick was good for the 55-13 score with 11:04 left in the game.

Sayre (1-8) will now face Athens for the Rusty Rail, and Lindblad is hoping to see an improvement from this week.

“Our line has to play better,” he said. “Overall, as a team, we’ve got to tackle better. We know their quarterback’s a good runner, eyes are going to be on him, so we’ve got to make sure we control the line-of-scrimmage and play tough football.”

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IN PHOTO 1: Sayre’s Jamier Kole. IN TOP PHOTO: Sayre’s Nick Pellicano. … PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING.

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C: Bailey Gardner 24-yard run (conversion failed), 7:51

C: Holden Ward 7-yard run (Alexis McRoberts kick), 11;55

C: Ben Fitch 37-yard pass to Aydin Holcomb (McRoberts kick), 6:34

C: Ben Fitch 77-yard pass to Holden Ward (McRoberts kick), 4:41

C: Ben Fitch 4-yard pass to Zach Colton (McRoberts kick), 2:37

C: Michael Beers 6-yard run (McRoberts kick), 11:46

S: Jamier Kole 48-yard run (Carter Bleiler kick), 6:30

C: Ben Fitch 44-yard run (McRoberts kick), 3:33

S: Karter Green 7-yard pass to Nick Pellicano (kick failed), 11:18

C: Ayden Holcomb 79-yard kick-off return (McRoberts kick), 11:04

Karter Green 6-18-97-1-0

Jamier Kole 8-86-1, Karter Green 19-(-24), Riley Johnson 3-8

Nick Pellicano 4-58-1, Jamier Kole 1-8, Declan Barry 1-21

Ben Fitch 8-10-226-3-0, Holden Ward 0-2-0-0-0

Holden Ward 6-60-1, Ben Fitch 4-68-1, Bailey Gardner 4-38-1, Aydin Holcomb 5-27, Dawson Burgess 3-12, Brayden Tucker 1-(-1), Rylan Wesneski 4-44

Aydin Holcomb 3-69-1, Holden Ward 3-102-1, Zach Colton 2-55-1

Rushes/Yards 30/68 28/254

Passing Yards 97 226

First Downs 8 20

Penalties/Yards 2/20 9/67

Fumbles/Lost 3/1 1/1