Warriors stymie Hornets, win 26-0.

presented by:

CANTON - In a sloppy game fraught with penalties and turnovers, Canton was able to get enough offensive momentum and timely play on defense to blank Wellsboro 26-0 in high school football action Saturday.

"We were pretty sloppy at times," Canton coach Miller Moyer Jr. remarked. "At other times we didn't look bad. You have to expect that when your playing freshmen and sophomores and you have juniors that don't have a lot experience."

Despite the lopsided score from Canton's win last season, Moyer knew his team would be mentally ready for Saturday's game.

"Every year's a different year," Moyer said. "The guys that played for us last year have graduated and they had guys that have graduated."

The Hornets couldn't overcome their mistakes, though.

"We did a pretty good job of shooting ourselves in the foot," Wellsboro coach Steve Boyce said.

He also credited the Warriors defense for their lack of offense.

"Canton's always a tough school because they run that nine in the box," Boyce remarked. "They won't out size you and they won't out muscle you but they always seem to be there."

Canton's Ben Pepper used his feet and arm to beat the Wellsboro defense. He threw for 123 yards and a score on 5-for-10 passing while also rushing for 106 yards on 12 carries.

The game started off ugly as on Canton's first possession they turned it over on a fumble after a botched hand off.

Wellsboro took over on Canton's 32-yard line but fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, resulting on a two-yard loss, then were hit with a penalty on their second play. The Hornets would eventually punt the ball away without getting a first down.

The Warriors would get some momentum going on their second drive. After two short runs quarterback Ben Pepper scrambled for 12 yards to give Canton it's first first down. From their the Warriors chipped away at the Hornets with runs of four yards, three yards and four yard for another new set of downs. Jordan Campbell then busted off a 10 yard run for Canton, followed by a five yard run by Scott Rockwell to put the Warriors in Wellsboro territory.

After a one yard loss, Canton had a 3-and-6. To make matters worst, they muffed the snap but Pepper was able to turn nothing into something with a seven yard gain and another first down.

However, things came to a screeching halt as on a second-and-8 another strong Pepper run was brought back due to an illegal block. The penalty pushed the Warriors back 15 yards, too much turf to make up and they were eventually turned it over on downs.

However, Wellsboro's offense couldn't get going. Their runs on first and second down netted a loss of two yards. Thomas Johnston was able to rip off a 10 yard run on third down but it wasn't enough to keep the drive alive and the Hornets punted again.

The Wellsboro defense stepped up on Canton's next drive. Johnston had a big punt of 49 yards, pinning the Warriors down inside their 20-yard line. After allowing gains of two and four yards on the first two downs the Hornets forced Pepper into an incomplete pass and Canton punted.

The Hornets had prime field position but hurt themselves with straight illegal procedure penalties which pushed them back to their own 36-yard line.

Wellsboro quarterback Ben Shaw did get some positive yards, though, hitting Johnston for a 25 yard gain and the team's first first down.

After runs of two, one and five yards Wellsboro was faced with a fourth-and-2 situation inside Canton territory. They elected to go for it, with Johnston appearing to pick up the first. However, it was called back due to a holding penalty. On the fourth-and-12 the Hornets went for it but the Shaw screen pass to Dan Saniga was sniffed out by the Canton defense and the drive was stopped.

The Warriors began the next drive poorly. A holding call on the first play pushed them back 11 yards. On first-and-21 Pepper was able to hit Wes Moore for a 10 yard pick up but still faced a long first down.

That's when the senior quarterback broke his team out of its funk.

Pepper found a seam and scampered for 47 yards on the following play, taking the ball deep inside Wellsboro territory to the 13 yard line. Campbell followed that up with a nine yard run to put them inside the five.

They sputtered there for the next two plays, getting no yards on the next run, followed an illegal procedure call to push the ball back to the nine yard line.

Pepper then called his own number, found a hole and ran the nine yards to pay dirt, putting the first points up on the board.

The Brian Jannone extra point was good and Canton led 7-0 with 8:06 left in the first half.

Wellsboro's ensuing drive was once again full of penalties.

After two runs of one and four yards, they faced a third-and-4 when three straight penalties pushed back into a third-and-20 situation.

Shaw came through, though, finding Johnston for a 23-yard gain and a first down. It looked like the Hornets might try to strike back but once again their run game was stymied by Canton's defense. Wellsboro rushed for a total of four yards the next four plays and turned it over on downs.

The Warriors' took advantage.

On the very next play Pepper hit Ryan Kutz for a 58 yard touchdown pass play. The extra point was blocked but Canton now led 13-0 late in first half.

With just over three minutes to go in the second quarter, things didn't look good for the Hornets. They got even worse when Shaw was caught in the backfield for a seven yard loss.

However, Johnston found a hole in the Canton defense and ran for 20-yards, picking up a first down. Three plays later, on a third-and-5 Shaw hit Saniga for 29 yard gain, putting them on the Canton 26-yard line.

A 12-yard run by Chase Barnes put the Hornets in the red zone, but time was ticking away. With less than a minute to go in the half, Barnes' number was once again called but Warriors defense held him to three yards. Shaw then threw an incomplete pass, followed by a Wellsboro holding call that was denied by the Warriors. On fourth-and-6, Shaw looked to his favorite receiver, Johnston over the middle in the end zone, but the ball skidded off his out stretched finger tips and Canton went into the locker room up 13-0.

Wellsboro got the ball to start the second half, but once again their offense sputtered. Even with a Canton penalty, the Hornets failed to get a first down and were forced to punt it away.

The Warriors, though, had found their stride.

On second-and-6 Pepper hit Ryan Ball for a 40 yard pass play that put them on the Wellsboro 34-yard line. A 14 yard rush by Pepper on the next play put them to the Wellsboro 20-yard line.

The Hornet's defense stiffened there, though. They caught Pepper in the backfield on the next play, then forced an incomplete pass on second down. Shaw then stepped in front of a Pepper pass on third down, picking it off at their own three-yard line.

The positive momentum didn't last for long, though. On the ensuing play Johnston lost the ball, which was picked by Canton, giving them the ball on Wellsboro's nine-yard line.

Wellsboro would return the favor. After three short runs Canton faced a fourth-and-goal from the four-yard line. A pitch by Pepper was mishandled and Johnston picked it up. He ran it back to the Canton 45-yard line, giving the Hornets some life.

Canton's defense remained stout, though. They forced Wellsboro back 12 yards on the next three plays, with the Hornets drive ending with a punt.

The Warriors couldn't get much going on their drive as well. After a holding penalty on first down Canton couldn't get the yards back and were forced to punt it away.

On the ensuing Wellsboro drive Shaw found Kieron Smethers for a 28 yard gain putting the Hornets on the Canton 21-yard line.

Once again the Hornets drive stalled as they failed to get much on a two runs, followed by two Shaw passed falling incomplete and Wellsboro turned it over on downs.

With the high heat beginning to wear on the two teams, Canton decided to let their run game finish off the Hornets.

On the ensuing drive they drove 83 yards on 15 carries capped off on a Campbell punch into the end zone on a third-and-goal to effectively put the game away for Canton.

The two-point conversion failed but Warriors went up 19-0 with 6:01 left in the game.

Wellsboro came out throwing on their next drive but on second down Shaw's pass was picked off by Kutz. Taking over at the Hornets' own 48-yard line, Canton stuck to the running game. On their second play Campbell ran for 22 yards to put the Warriors down to the 23-yard line. A 13 yard run by Scott Rockwell a few plays later made it first and goal for the Warriors. Backed up on their own goal line Wellsboro hung tough, but on fourth down Rockwell punched it in from two yards out with 1:00 left in the game.

After the Jannone extra point Canton led 26-0.

On the game's final drive Wellsboro came out in the spread formation to try and put some points up on the board, but a second down pass by Shaw was intercepted by Canton's Moore to end the game.

The Warriors finished wtih 277 yards on the ground off 48 carries. Campbell had 74 yards on 12 carries, Rockwell amassed 39 yards on 10 carries while Moore added 35 yards on eight carries.

For Wellsboro, Shaw was 6-for-17 for 126 yards threw the air but also had two picks. On the ground, Johnston had 12 carries for 52 yards to lead the Hornets.

Despite the loss, Wellsboro coach Steve Boyce liked what he saw out there from his team.

"One thing we came in and preached on this season was family," Boyce explained. "We had a lot of fighting on the sidelines and in practice last season, pointing fingers when things went wrong. Today we didn't have that, everybody was stepping up and supporting each other."

In total offense Canton out gained Wellsboro 422 yards to 178, which made up for their two lost fumbles and 10 penalties.

Next week Canton has to travel to North Penn. It may be more difficult for the Warriors to get their running game going against the Panthers.

"They got some awful big fellows over there," Moyer remarked. "They have some big people here. We have to see. You take it one game at a time."

Wellsboro will be hosting Montgomery next Friday and hope they can get some of the kinks worked out.

"If all 11 guys are firing on the same cylinder, we can move the ball and we did that," Boyce said. "When we more break downs in places it's tough for us. At times it looked great and at times we sputtered because we weren't firing on all cylinders."