Warriors Triumph over Patriots a Second Year in a Row

In the closest game of the season to date, the Warriors chopped down the Coventry Patriots and added a new swath to the reservation land.  28-27 was the final score, the the Canton boys had the fans anxious even after the last seconds had drained from the clock.  With Coventry scoring a touch down on a 5 yard run into the end zone, the clock ran out, and it was up to the Coventry kicker to tie it up with the extra point.  The Canton defense rallied; putting pressure on the Coventry offense.  The placeholder who couldn't take the pressure let the ball slip and the pigskin bounced out from his grip and under a Warrior's diving body.  The game was over and the Canton Fans went wild.

Head coach Paul Philippon has
turned the Warriors into a
winning machine
(image via Canton Patch)

In the first quarter Canton took off to a great start. Cam Daley, junior multi-purpose player made the touchdown and Eddie "Meltdown" Melton made the extra point. Eddie would go on to make three more extra points that game, possessing the consistency that the Coventry special team just couldn't match. In years past, the Canton squad was one that would always go for the two point conversion, failing more often than not. Melton has become proficient as a sophomore, ensuring Canton's kicking success for the remainder of the season and the two years to come, provided that current Sophomore Matt Bangs can step up to fill Senior Jake Wood's role as the long snapper.  Parent Scott Daley, who never misses a game, couldn't speak more highly of Jake, "those field goals and extra points would never be possible without Wood, he snaps it perfectly every time." 

The second touchdown was just as fantastic as the first. Senior Keith Wilson received a pass out on the sidelines, tightly marked. He jerked quickly to the side evading the outstretched greasy fingers of the Coventry defense-man.  Wilson turned a foot gap into a 2 yard gap as he raced down the field, covering 30 yards in a blink of an eye. In an act of desperation a Coventry player dove, missing Wilson by inches and crashing face first into the ground. Not only was the poor Patriots head hurt, but his pride took a beating as well.

The events that followed left the Canton Fans and Players in a fit of worry. Coventry utilized its fantastic running game to capitalize on 3 touchdowns and 21 points.  Senior-Quarterback Eric Scott recognized the lethality of the Patriot's Offense, "there was no doubt we couldn't stop it."

Despite the inability to stop the Patriots, the old saying came through, the best defense is a great offense.  Dan Delos reminded the Canton fans of just that.  With a strong run through the opposition Delos's touchdown and Melton's extra point drew up the score to 21-21.

What happened next was unbelievable. After regaining possession, Canton made a drive toward the end zone.  When in range, on the final down, Junior Sebastian Gumbs made a 20 yard or so touch down pass to Jake Wood. That's right, not Eric Scott or even back-up Cam Dale,y but the receiver Seby Gumbs made the pass.  In a delightful series of events, Canton scored its second touchdown in the fourth quarter, rallying from a touchdown down to a touch down up.  The score was 28-21.

The rest is history. In an impressive drive, Coventry managed to score a final touchdown in under two minutes, but just couldn't match the Wood-Scott-Melton trio's consistency.  

In a side story, Canton High School provided a fan bus packed with students that provided a fan section, now known as the Tribe/ Wigwam depending who you talk to.  They went wild the whole game, cheering the 'C-town' and  "Lets go Canton" chants interspersed with some bubbly trial-runs of others.  A new tradition of using the "FSU-Seninole War Chant" or "Atlanta Chop" upon Canton touchdown was established at this game.  The students felt it melded nicely with the warrior theme.

Post-game the fan bus was in an ultra-mild fender-bender in the parking lot causing an hour or so delay while the police report was filed. No one was hurt and the fans were real troopers.  The biggest trooper of them all was Athletic-Director Dee Stephan, who took her own time to make sure the students could support the team.  If you see her in the halls or around town, be sure to thank her for all the work she has been doing.