Second Half Comeback Falls Short for Bears on Senior Day

In Canton on Saturday afternoon, Massena 24, Canton 12

All photos compliments of Jay Berkman and Gwen O’Shea

Brandon O’Shea and Charlie Todd scored fourth-quarter touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Canton varsity football team back after the Golden Bears surrendered the first three touchdowns of the game in a 24-12 loss to Massena on Canton’s Senior Day at John Oliver Field on Saturday afternoon.

The defensive line for the Bears was tough on Saturday!

Massena quarterback Conner Eastwood connected on touchdown passes of 28 and 38 yards with Garrett Weir and Dominic Murtagh, respectively, before scoring on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line with less than three minutes to play in the second quarter. Eastwood also connected with Weir on a pair of two-point conversions and ran in a conversion of his own to give the Raiders a 24-0 halftime lead.

Senior Captain Brandon O’Shea with the tackle.

When one of the players commented at halftime to forget about the score…. it was a new game tied 0-0! Although his intentions were to be positive and lead his team back into a good mindset with the remark, Coach Porter contradicted the statement and said something to the effect, ” No the score is not 0-0!!……. it is 24-0 and we are down!…. When we all decide to own the fact that we were outplayed and out coached on both sides of the ball and start fighting our way back into this game, we can expect more of the same!”

The Bears responded and came to the field with new life. Despite losing Carter Shatraw and Talan Green to injury, other guys stepped up and started to move the football. O’Shea got the Golden Bears on the board on the first play of the fourth quarter, rumbling through the Massena defensive line and pushing his way through the Raiders’ linebackers for a 15-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 24-6.

Todd added the second touchdown for Canton with just 2:02 left in the game, scoring on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

Quarterback Charlie Todd with the roll out pass.

Canton’s defense shined in the second half; Caleb Murcray forced and recovered a fumble, Mathew Bradish-Hayes had an interception, and the team collectively allowed Massena to gain just 28 yards and two first downs on offense in the final two quarters.

Senior defensive end Caleb Murcray forced and recovered a fumble on Saturday.

Oliver Dollman and O’Shea both finished with a team-best nine tackles. Todd added an interception in the first half and broke up a potential touchdown pass in the back right corner of the end zone to keep Massena scoreless on the Raiders’ second drive of the game.

Oliver Dollman with the push upfield following the catch.

Bradish-Hayes led Canton with 22 yards on seven carries, while O’Shea netted 20 yards on four rushing attempts. The Golden Bears struggled to get their passing game on track, as standout wide receiver Talan Green was sidelined for much of the game with an injury. Todd finished the day 9-for-22 passing for 44 yards with four interceptions. Dollman led the Canton receiving corps with three catches for 17 yards.

Mathew Bradish-Hayes behind the blocking of Josh Ayrassian.

Coached Porter remarked following the game, ” I am very proud if this team. People will judge us by our record and we’ll need to live with that. Those of us close to this team understand the obstacles and challenges we have faced and overcome. Losing some two-way starters like Ryan Faunce, Lukas Smith and John Wilcox certainly did not help our cause, however it was great to see others step up to fill their void and contribute in a positive manner. Like I said, we’ll be judged by our record, however our record does not speak to the heart and the growth of this team, nor does it speak to the fact that if we had made a few more plays in each game, that record could have been much different. We lose 11 very important young men but look forward to working with he 20 returners and a JV group which is very talented. We love our seniors and will miss them very much”.

Canton finished the year 2-6 overall and 1-5 in Northern Athletic Conference play, while Massena improved to 5-2, 4-2, and will host Potsdam in the Section X Class B semifinals on Friday night.