In Canton on John Oliver Field Saturday, Canton 41, Plattsburgh 34
All photos courtesy of Jay Berkman
Talan Green caught three touchdown passes, and Carter Shatraw scored on the ground and on a fumble recovery and return to lead the Canton varsity football team to a 41-34 win over Plattsburgh in a non-league contest on Homecoming Weekend on Saturday on John Oliver Field.
After the Hornets scored on their first possession of the game to take a 6-0 lead, the Golden Bears dominated the remainder of the first half, scoring four touchdowns to build a 28-6 lead at the break. Plattsburgh battled back, closing the lead to 35-34 early in the fourth quarter and regaining possession with just over eight minutes to play, but Caleb Murcray forced a fumble in the Plattsburgh backfield on the first play of the drive. Shatraw recovered the ball in stride and scampered into the end zone to give Canton a 7-point lead, and the Golden Bears’ defense held the Hornets scoreless for the remainder of the game to secure the win.
Green bookended Canton’s scoring run in the first half, hauling in touchdown passes from Charlie Todd of 54 and 53 yards. Shatraw and Brandon O’Shea added goal-line touchdowns on the ground.
Plattsburgh quarterback Daniel Hartmann connected with Dominic Deangleo for the Hornets’ first three touchdowns of the game, including 47- and 69-yard scores on their first two drives of the second half, to cut the lead to 28-18, but Todd and Green connected for their third touchdown of the game and sixth of the season late in the third quarter to give the Golden Bears some breathing room and the Canton faithful a chance to breathe a sigh of relief.
That moment was fleeting, however, as Plattsburgh’s Max Filosca returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards down the left side before Oliver Dollman tracked him down and tackled him at the Canton 2-yard line. Hartmann scored on a QB keeper on the next play, and Ryan Colburn scored a touchdown on a 40-yard interception return on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut Canton’s lead to one.
Trailing by just seven points, Plattsburgh put together a 14-play drive that ate up more than five minutes of the fourth quarter but was hampered by penalties and was only able to travel 30 yards down the field before the Golden Bears got the ball back on downs and O’Shea was able to convert a 3rd-and-1 to allow Canton to run out the clock.
Green finished the game with 189 receiving yards on seven catches for a career-best three touchdowns, while Dollman caught five passes for 46 yards. Todd was 12-for-22 for 235 yards passing with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Shatraw and Josh Ayrassian were a solid 1-2 punch on the ground for the Golden Bears, with Shatraw gaining 65 yards on 15 carries and Ayrassian netting 44 yards on 11 carries.
Deangelo gave the Golden Bears secondary problems all day, totaling 194 receiving yards on six catches with three touchdowns, accounting for nearly 80% of Hartmann’s 246 passing yards.
Dollman led the Golden Bears’ defense with seven tackles, including five solo efforts. Green, O’Shea and Donovan Anton each had four tackles.
Aidan Richardson led the Golden Bears’ special teams efforts, recovering his own onsides kick for the third time this season, while Murcray recovered another late in the first half. Green was 3-for-3 on PAT kicks in his first attempts of the season.
Coach Bill Porter commented, “We had solid contributions from many individuals today. We knew how talented the Hornets skill players were and made every effort to not let them make a run at us in the second half. This obviously did not happen. I was proud of the resiliency in our players, however in the face of this adversity. We stuck together, did not point fingers at the mistakes of others and simply kept fighting. Playing well enough down the stretch to win is a sign that our young team is improving. Our best football is yet to come!”
Canton will take a 2-5 record into its final regular season game on Saturday at home against Massena. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Below are scenes from the “real football” game including members of the Central Division leading boys soccer team. The game was called by the voice of Canton Football Coach Mike Wentworth during halftime. The game ended in a tie and we understand that the tie breaker will occur this coming Saturday during halftime of the Bears football game versus Massena! You won’t want to miss it!
