The Golden Bears Junior Varsity Football Team Kicked off against the Massena Red Raiders on Monday evening, Sept. 25 on John Oliver Football Field in Canton.
The Bears Offense would strike first, as Sophomore Quarterback Landon Perry finds Freshman Kolby Todd deep for a Golden Bear Touchdown! A physical Massena defense would hold the bears to only six points at the end of first quarter. Next, Perry would find Sophomore Ty Galusha for another Golden Bear Touchdown right before the half. Bears up 12-0 going into halftime.
In the third quarter both teams flexed their defense as neither team would score. At the end of the third quarter, Sophomore Captain Hayden Towle caught a strong Massena running back on what looked to be a break away touchdown from behind, keeping the Raiders off the scoreboard. In the beginning of the fourth, Sophomore Daniel Richardson received a pass from Todd, and sprinted his way into the end zone for the final Golden Bear Touchdown!
Final score on John Oliver Football Field: 18-0 Bears
Landon Perry threw for 200 yards and tallied 2 touchdowns.
Kolby Todd finished with 1 touchdown, and 12 tackles.
Daniel Richardson 1 touchdown.
Ty Galusha 1 touchdown.
Parker Hurlbut finished with 5 tackles for loss, and a total of 10 tackles.
Hayden Towle led the Bears in rushing with 14 carries for a total of 80 yards and racked up 12 tackles.
Asias Frison and Ayden Ashlaw shared 10 tackles.
Ben Kenna secured 5 tackles and grabbed an interception for the Golden Bears Defense.
“It was a great win this week for the boys,” Towle said after the game. “We focused on playing strong throughout the game and fixing our mistakes from the week before. We scored in the first couple of minutes of the game which created a huge momentum throughout the game. We definitely still have room for improvement and will focus on that this week before replaying Massena.”
“I think we played great on both sides of the ball, offense was scoring when we needed it and defense kept coming up with big plays to hold a shutout,” added Freshman Captain, Murphy Burke. “I think we played aggressive and didn’t stop pushing until the final whistle which is why we came out with that win.”
“It was a well fought game,” Offensive Coordinator Jake Fenlong said. “We had some struggles that were tough to overcome, but we did so as a team. These guys played their hearts out and battled through injuries and illness to beat a big Massena team that we haven’t beaten in quite some time. I’m proud of each and everyone of these guys with how hard they practiced the past couple of weeks and the results speak for itself.”
“The guys have really bought into what our coaches have been saying and it showed today,” Head Coach, Rico Dobbs said. “I am extremely grateful for our Offensive and Defensive Lineman Coach Josh Duck, who has set a high standard for the guys up front (Lineman) as they provided plenty of time for our skilled guys to make plays on both sides of the ball. Coach Fenlong (Offensive Coordinator) called a great game and the defense held strong all game. We look forward to seeing Massena again on Monday!”
Photos of this game are available for purchase, courtesy of Jay Berkman: https://jayberkman.smugmug.com/2023-Football/JV-Football-Massena-at-Canton
