Eagles Shocked By Edgewood Again, 34-21

On a beautiful night for anything you might want to do, Canton and Edgewood Fans gathered to see their teams do battle.

Only the Edgewood fans would leave happy in what could be classified as a big early-season upset as the Bulldogs prevailed, 34-21.

Edgewood opened the scoring after taking the ball over on downs from Canton on their own 40. The Bulldogs promptly drove the ball downfield on four plays for the go-ahead score and set the tone for the rest of the night.

Ethan Rutter connected on a pass to Colten Hinton for 39 yards and Mario Bustillos added the extra point to make it 7-0 with 6:23 showing in the first quarter.

The ensuing kick would go to the Canton 35 where Canton went on the march for a 10-play, 65-yard drive of its own to knot the score at 7 with 2:42 showing in the first. Trent Termin scored on an 18-yard run and Jonathan Huddle kicked the extra point.

On that drive, the Bulldogs appeared to have the Eagles stopped on the drive with a third-and-27. But Chance Wallace’s pass intended for Termin drew an interference penalty to give the Eagles a first down at their own 34.

Then a series of pass plays from Wallace to Termin and Ethan Vestal moved Canton to the Edgewood 18. Termin got the ball on an inside reverse and shifted his way through the defense for the TD.

Edgewood followed with a good return from Clay Haltom from the 15 to the Bulldog 39. Then, on the opening play of the series, Rutter looked to his left, stepped up to avoid pressure and threw a perfect pass down the right side of the field to Haltom for a 61-yard touchdown.

Bustillos added the PAT and the Bulldogs would never trail the rest of the game, leading 14-7 with 2:30 to go in the first quarter.

Hinton turned in a defensive touchdown on a 28-yard interception return to extend Edgewood’s lead to 21-7 after the extra point from Bustillos at the 1:35 mark.

Canton got the ball moved it for six plays and 15 yards. This time, a short punt gave Edgewood the ball at its own 43.

Eight plays and 67 yards latter the Bulldogs would lead 28-7. This time Rutter moved the ball with short passes and short runs to get down to the Eagle 23.

Again, Rutter would avoid the pressure, step up and throw to Rogers, who wrested the ball from a Canton defender for the score. Bustillos added the PAT with 7:02 to go in the half.

The Eagles would again go on the move with Wallace creating space and completing passes. He went 5-for-8 on the drive, accounting for all 35 yards, but again the Bulldog defense would stiffen and force the Eagles out as they tried to convert on fourth-and-long.

The Bulldogs’ Ethan Medelle forced Wallace to throw before he was ready on second down. Then, three straight passes in the direction of the DB Rogers were knocked down, ending the Eagles’ drive at the Bulldog 28.

However, on first down Haltom would take to his right side where Canton’s Allen Plunk and Anthony Gomez would meet up and strip the ball from Haltom at the Bulldog 47.

With just 48 seconds showing, Vestal would help get the ball down to the Bulldog 34. On fourth-and-two, Wallace hit Termin on the out route. Termin broke the tackle of a Bulldog defender and scored with 36 seconds remaining in the half, Huddle added the PAT and the halftime score was 28-14.

The Eagles received the second half kick. But a high and short kick by Bustillos was recovered by Hinton at the Eagle 36.

The Bulldogs would not be able to capitalize on the essential turnover but they were able to run the clock down to 9:03 in the third on eight plays and 20 yards before they turned the ball over on downs.

The Eagles took over on their own 16-yard line, but a quick three-and-out and a 31-yard punt from Huddle gave the ball back to the Bulldogs at their own 47-yard line.

This time Rutter showed near perfection on the night and drove his Bulldogs down for another score. He was 3-for-3 on the scoring drive of five plays and 53 yards, ultimately hitting Hinton, who ran the post pattern for the 30-yard TD, Bustillos would miss the PAT and the Bulldogs led 34-6 with 5:17 showing in the third.

The Eagles would muster another drive and move the ball 50 yards on four plays on the strength of Wallace’s arm and legs this time. But at the Bulldog 32, Vestal was stripped of the ball and Bustillos recovered at his own 22 with just less than five minutes in the quarter.

The Bulldogs started to grind the clock with a host of runners. They took the ball and ran off nearly five minutes of the third quarter.

However, the fourth quarter began with a fourth-and-two, an illegal procedure penalty to back up Edgewood five more yards and an incompletion that gave the ball to Canton at its 34 with 11:31 to go in the game.

Canton would go seven plays and 45 yards before stalling out again and turning the ball over on downs with 10:10 to go.

Again, Wallace carried the load with 32 passing yards on the 45-yard drive. This time, though, Edgewood’s Kiin Tuma sacked him for an 11-yard loss to force Canton to second-and-long before three straight incompletions.

At their own 22, the Bulldogs were unable to move the ball and were forced to their only three-and-out on the night.

With 7:27 in the game, the Eagles showed they were not ready to quit. They moved the ball promptly into scoring position and handed the ball to Termin for the 9-yard TD run.

Wallace helped sustain the drive with a 22-yard scramble on third-and-long. The Bulldogs did appear to have them stopped but Canton would not be denied this time. Huddle would add the PAT and the score stood at 34-21.

However, Edgewood ended the game with 16 plays, running out the clock as the Bulldogs got down to the 1-yard line before kneeling down to finish off the clock.

Rutter finished 21-for-25 for 287 yards and four TDs. He also had no interceptions on the night. Hinton was on his game as well, scoring two receiving touchdowns and accounting for four receptions for 81 yards,

The Bulldog defense was a key as well as they did give up many yards but were able to stop Wallace and company when they got to the Bulldog side of the field.

Tuma added two more sacks, Rogers knocked down six passes and Hinton intercepted a pass for a TD.

The Eagles were led by Wallace with a steady night of passing and running. Wallace was 21-of-24 for 257 yards, one TD and one interception. He also rushed the ball seven times for 74 yards.

Termin was able to make an impact on both sides of the ball were he was able to keep Rogers at bay. On offense, he ran the ball just three times for 25 yards but accounted for two rushing TDs on the night. He also caught the Wallace TD pass and accounted for six catches and 70 yards.

Friday, Edgewood will host another Bulldog team from Eustace at I.T. James Memorial Stadium in Edgewood. Canton will travel to Kaufman on Friday.