Eagle Offense Rolls,60-35 Over Reicher

CANTON — No amount of rain was going to ground Canton’s aerial attack Friday night.

One week after having a game called off at halftime because of a storm, the Eagles brewed a storm of their own in whipping Waco Reicher, 60-35, at Norris Birdwell Stadium.

Canton quarterback Chance Wallace and receivers Trent Termin and Roy Denbow combined for arguably the best night of their careers. Wallace lit up the Cougars for 386 yards passing on a 16-for-21 completion rate, Termin and Denbow combining for 300 yards receiving.

Wallace credited the coaching staff for providing sound preparation through the week.

"I just got to give credit to the coaches. They set us up, they prepare us for this, and they pick apart the defense so good and then they get us prepared for Friday night…they put us in a position to execute the offense so well," he said.

Wallace was gushing about his two teammates who accounted for six of the Eagles’ eight touchdowns on the night.

"They are making plays out there," Wallace said. "My job is pretty easy. I just got to give them a chance to catch the ball and they’ll do it."

With an offensive line led by B.J. Arthur, Austin Reynolds, Seni Lajqi, Anthony Gomz and Dan Monus giving Wallace plenty of time in the pocket, Reicher simply could not keep up in the secondary.

That work by the linemen was duly noted by Canton Head Coach Lance Angel after the game.

"We knew that was probably the best defensive line we were going to see, so the o-line did a great job," he said.

If there was a downside to the Eagles’ performance, it was not being able to put away the game as early in the second half as they desired.

Reicher quarterback Matt Hicks almost single-handedly kept the Cougars breathing during that time. With the Reicher defense continuing to struggle, though, the closest the visitors ever got was 15 points on two occasions.

"That’s something that we’ve got to get better at. Reicher is a good football team and we knew that coming in, and that’s what a good team is going to do. They never quit and they kept fighting," Angel said.

Hicks rolled up 202 yards rushing on 33 carries with four touchdowns, and passed for 97 yards and one TD.

There were plenty of hints early, though, that the night would belong to Wallace and the Eagles.

Canton’s opening drive took just more than two minutes and ended on a 23-yard dart to Denbow. Jonathan Huddle, who ended the night 7-for-7 on extra points and tacked on a 25-yard field goal late, made it 7-0.

Reicher answered quickly as a 41-yard romp by Hicks got the Cougars deep into Eagle territory on the first play from scrimmage. Hicks later scored on a 1-yard run and added a 2-point conversion run to give Reicher an 8-7 edge.

However, the good vibes for Reicher faded quickly. A gutsy fourth down call at midfield —a running play with Termin — paid off big.

The Eagle back and offensive line caught Reicher off guard and Termin got down to the 19. On the next play, Wallace found Denbow again in the end zone. Termin caught a two-point pass from Wallace to make it 15-8.

Jesse Bengston, Devin Faber and Chase Deanda made three big stops to force Reicher out on three plays and a punt. It didn’t take long — two plays — for Canton to pad its lead.

Wallace threw a zinger down the left sideline toward Termin, who made a phenomenal catch over a defender in front of him and cashed it in for a 70-yard touchdown on the final play of the first quarter.

A 4-yard TD pass from Wallace to Termin extended Canton’s margin to 29-8 after the Huddle PAT. Hicks scored to pull Reicher back within two touchdowns, but the visitors suffered another deflating punch in the final minute before halftime.

Despite backing themselves up 20 yards on three consecutive penalties, Canton posted another TD before the break, Wallace lofting a pass to Denbow in the corner of the end zone.

The game took an interesting turn in the third quarter when Reicher recovered an onside kick after Hicks’ third touchdown of the evening.

Wilder and Roppolo stepped up once again defensively, though, and a bad snap on third down forced a punt.

From there, it was a touchdown track meet. Canton got its first rushing touchdown from Jacob Harris on a 2-yard carry, only to have Hicks answer again for Reicher with a 4-yard touchdown run.

A big 36-yard reception by Canton’s Nathan Morris and a 15-yard toss from Wallace to Huddle two plays later set up Termin’s 2-yard carry into the end zone to start the fourth quarter.

Hicks responded by unloading a 55-yard touchdown pass of his own to Josh Wrzesinksi and added a two-point conversion run to get the Cougars closer once more, 50-35.

The Canton defense would allow no more from that point and, with time running out on Reicher, refused to give up any more big pass plays.

Ethan Vestal chalked up Canton’s final touchdown on a 15-yard run with 7:36 left in the game, and Huddle’s field goal put an exclamation point on the win with 3:05 remaining.

Canton will travel a short distance northwest this Friday in visiting the Quinlan Ford Panthers at 7:30 p.m.