Eagles Survive Late Rush In Quinlan, Win 38-36 To Go 4-1

QUINLAN — Canton’s latest victory nearly got away.

Holding a 38-14 lead going into the fourth quarter almost was not enough. Quinlan Ford rallied to within a whisker of tying the game, but the Eagles had enough at the end to hold on for a 38-36 win Friday night at Lytal Field.

The saving grace for the Eagles came courtesy of Trent Termin, who smacked down a potential game-tying two-point conversion pass from Ford quarterback Kyle Stone with 1:19 to play.

After Nathan Morris recovered an onside kick from the Panthers, Termin picked up a pair of 5-yard rushing gains to secure the win for the Eagles.

Saving the lead late was actually the second time Termin came up with a huge defensive play. On the final play of the first half, he picked off a Stone pass into the end zone as the Panthers’ threatened to take the lead at the break.

Canton Head Coach Lance Angel noted the tremendous importance of both defensive gems.

"Sure, we wish we could have played better," he said. "But we got the stop right before the half at the one and then we get the big stop knocking down the pass on the two-point play, and that wound up being the difference in the game."

The way the Eagles played in the third quarter, it seemed such drama was unlikely to develop.

Holding an 18-14 edge at halftime, Canton completely dominated play during the 12 minutes that followed. The Eagle defense held Ford to just 23 yards total offense and Anthony Gomez and Chase Deanda registered quarterback sacks.

Tanner Smith went 55 yards on a punt return to set up an 8-yard touchdown pass from Chance Wallace to Termin two plays later.

Canton padded its lead further in the third quarter with an 11-year touchdown run by Jacob Harris and another Wallace-to-Termin TD pass, this time for 5 yards.

But the winless Panthers proved to have plenty of fight left in them in the fourth quarter.

"The second and third quarter, our kids executed defensively. That fourth quarter, there were just times we didn’t, but they stepped up and made plays when they had to," Angel said.

Stone came alive in the final frame, carrying the ball for big gains and connecting on touchdown passes to brother Kevin Stone and to Cody Williams after Beau Welch came up with a big interception at the Canton 25.

With Stone tacking on a pair of two-point conversion plays, one on a run and the other a pass to Tim Chumley, the Panthers were back in business at 38-30 with 7:07 to play.

"We know better than that…we let them fight back into it. We let our guard down," Angel said.

The Eagles tried to get something going on offense once again, but Ford’s Kevin Stone and Justin Bremer teamed up for a third down sack of Wallace, forcing Canton to punt.

Kyle Stone went to work once more, mixing his running plays with two completions to Colten Baxter and one to Al Balliette. The Panther quarterback scored on a 5-yard run to give Ford a shot at tying the game.

That the comeback was not completed did not damper the praise of Quinlan Ford Head Coach Derek Alford for his players after the game.

"You play a game like that, you can’t be prouder of your kids and how they fought back," he said. "We overcame the halftime deal where we came up short. We get down early in the second half and then come all the way back and come up three yards short at the end.

"It’s tough but we’ve got tough kids. This is all going to come back and become a positive when we get into district," Alford added.

Although Canton took the game’s first lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Wallace to Jonathan Huddle on the opening drive, the Panthers seized the lead and the momentum quickly thereafter.

Kyle Stone found Baxter for a 20-yard pass play on the third play of the drive, then cashed it in with a 27-yard TD pass to Garrett Crosby. Manuel Castilleja added the extra point to move Quinlan Ford in front, 7-6.

The Panthers started with great field position at the Canton 49 on their second possession and drove down to the Eagle 2, where Colton Scott scored.

Castilleja’s extra point made it 14-6 with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

However, Canton answered in the second quarter, catching the Ford defense off guard with a trick play on fourth-and-8 at the Panther 47.

Wallace tossed a long lateral to Huddle, who then threw back the width of the field on a forward pass back to Wallace. The Canton quarterback rambled 47 yards for a touchdown at the 7:03 mark.

Later in the quarter, the Eagles got some help on their next drive from Panther penalties — one personal foul and one pass interference call on third down — and Wallace dumped a 1-yard touchdown to Harris to give Canton an 18-14 lead.

Kyle Stone led the Panthers on a quick march downfield in the final minute before halftime. His pass found Balliette for a 28-yard gain to the Canton 18.

Two plays later, Stone threw to Zach Witherspoon, who was stopped at the Eagle 2 with 20 seconds left.

Scott moved the ball a yard closer to the goal line. On the next and final play of the half, though, Canton’s defensive line got pressure on Stone, whose off-balance throw landed in the grasp of Termin as the halftime horn sounded.

Both Canton and Quinlan Ford have a bye this Friday and will begin their respective district schedules on Oct. 9.