Canton 4 – OFA 1
The final home opener on Roger Dusharm field was on Wednesday, and the Bears hosted the visiting Blue Devils. Canton came out strong, and dominated early against the young Blue Devils. However, the recurring offensive frustration was yet again the story in the first half, as many chances were spoiled by the Blue Devil defense.
Junior Ethan Francey flicked one off of his head over the goaltender, but an Ogdensburg defenseman was waiting on the goal line to boot it away. Other well-struck shots seemed to hit the goalie right in the chest every time. At the half, the Bears were winning in all aspects of the game except on the scoreboard.
As the offensive frustrations continued, tensions between the two bitter rivals began to boil over the top. A Blue Devil red card set OFA down to only ten players, giving the Bears an advantage.
Senior Josh Aldous scored off a designed play, ripping Senior Owen Hall’s pass from just outside the 18 yard box into the left corner, to put Canton on top, 1-0. The Bears sustained the pressure for the next several minutes, but OFA finally got a solid opportunity to score and didn’t miss it. With the score knotted up at one apiece, the Bears really began to bare down.
Francey capitalized off of a weak Blue Devil goal kick, burying it into the back of the net. Junior Jonney Mclear continued his unbelievable offensive start by scoring off of a pass from Senior Brad Frank. Mclear now has a total of five goals and three assists early into the season.
The offense didn’t stop there, as Senior Nolan Bombard flicked one into the top right corner off of a pass from Senior Nate Romano for his first career varsity goal. The Bears went on to win, 4-1, and Sophomore goalie Jackson Ames had 4 saves in the win. Nolan Bombard won both the coveted Booster Club Sportsmanship Award and player of the game.
Canton 4 – Malone 1
Canton traveled to Malone Saturday morning to face off against the Huskies. Looking for another Section X win, the Bears came out of a cannon in the first half. Unlike previous games, the Bears capitalized on their chances early. Getting a free kick just outside the 18 yard box, Coach Caufield called a play that he had implemented less than 24 before. Hall slid one directly on Junior Ryan Jones’ foot, and he pounded it home to give the Bears the early lead.
The Bears passing and possession control was impeccable at the beginning of the game. Jones penetrated into the box and rolled a perfect pass onto Senior Vincent Nelson-Fuse’s foot, who scored to put the Bears up 2-0 at the half.
Once again the Bears had control of the game. Four minutes into the second half, Frank scored off of a pass from Junior speedster Jacob Rosales. Frank later contributed to another goal, as he assisted an Ethan Francey goal later in the game.
The Huskies scored one to spoil the shutout, but other than that it was all Bears. Junior Saverio Sergi played a real strong game for the Bears at center halfback, and was deemed player of the game. Ames recorded five more saves in the winning effort.
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