Eagles Fall To Lindale In Seesaw Battle, 42-35

Canton’s promising start at the beginning of Friday’s game against the Lindale Eagles was spoiled by missed opportunities, and an equally potent Lindale offense.

The game was a back-and- forth affair, with both team gaining more than 520 yards of offense, but Lindale made the plays in the end, scoring a 42-35 win, and moving both team to a 2-2 record.

After returning the kickoff, Canton quickly launched into a series of attacks. On first-and-ten from the 30, Trent Termin caught a 42-yard pass from Casey Bell, moving the Eagles to the Lindale 28.

Within three plays, and only 1:01 into the game, Canton receiver Grant Franklin received a 32-yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good, and Canton led 7-0.

On Lindale’s first possession, their first pass of the night was intercepted at the 34-yard line by Lucas Fortner.

Canton took advantage of the turnover when Casey Bell ran it in from 29-yard line. After the PAT, Canton led, 14-0, with 9:56 remaining in the first quarter.

"The good news is we played so well early," Canton head coach Lance Angel said. "We haven’t been playing well early, and we stressed that to the kids, playing hard from the opening kickoff, and they responded. We got the early score, and the interception, and we were in a position to go up 21-0 before we fumbled on the one. That left the door open for Lindale."

The Lindale offense got untracked on their next possession, moving from their own 37 to the Eagle four, picking up four first downs along the way. Travis Rhea scored from the four, and with 4:05 left, the score was 14-7, Canton advantage.

Another Canton drive was foiled by a fumble, giving Lindale the ball at their own 13. The Eagle defense held though, forcing a punt from the Lindale 32.

Canton then moved into Lindale territory, and on first-and-ten from the 36, Bell launched a pass to receiver Keavon Milton for 35 yards. Bell pushed it over from there, and after the PAT, Canton led, 21-7.

Lindale scored again with 4:00 left in the half, and the teams went into the locker room with the score 21-13.

Lindale received the second half kick off, and moved from their own 37 to the Eagle one. Quarterback Nathan Simmons carried it over from there.

Another turnover by Canton resulted in another Lindale touchdown, and their first lead, 25-21.

Canton answered after the kickoff, passing their way to the Lindale 34-yard line. Bell hit Milton with a scoring strike from there, and the visiting team regained the lead, 27-25.

Lindale pushed back in front early in the fourth, with a 35-yard field goal, and a 28-27 lead.

"It was one of those games where we weren’t stopping them and they weren’t stopping us," Angel said. "We had three opportunities inside the 30-yard line to score and didn’t get it done. That’s something we’ve got to fix."

Another turnover by Canton on their next possession resulted in a 34-yard touchdown by Lindale, extending the lead to 34-27.

Canton then moved the ball to the Lindale one-yard line. Facing a third down form there, Bell scored again, and after a successful two-point conversion by Devon Talley, Canton led 35-34 with 4:20 remaining in the game.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued, however. Lindale answered with another touchdown, and with just over a minute left, took a 42-35 lead.

Canton attempt for one more comeback ended in an interception, and Lindale held on for the win.

"That’s a tough one to lose," Angel said. "With 470 yards of offense, we should score 47 points."

It’s hard to complain, though, because the kids played so hard, and it was a great game, but we have some things to fix."

"Casey (Bell) had a good game, and the whole offense is starting to gel. We’ve got to continue to work on the run game, but Lindale had 11 guys within five yards of the line of scrimmage. So we had to throw it."

Canton has an open date scheduled this week, but they will host Crandall for homecoming on October 5.