In Canton on Saturday afternoon
All photos courtesy of Jay Berkman
The Canton varsity football team struggled to find an offensive rhythm for the first three quarters of their season opener on Saturday, falling to Route 11 rival Potsdam 30-8 in a non-league contest at John Oliver Field in Canton.
Matthew Schwartzfigure scored on touchdown runs of nine and 55 yards to give the Sandstoners a 16-0 lead at halftime. Ian Van Wagner added a five-yard quarterback keeper to push the lead to 24-0, and Liam Miller-Lynch capped Potsdam’s scoring with an 86-yard scamper late in the third quarter.
Canton quarterback Charlie Todd scored on a four-yard run, with Ryan Faunce punching it in on the 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter.
“Potsdam executed their game and controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the day,” said Rico Dobbs, who was patrolling the sidelines for the first time as the Golden Bears’ varsity coach after serving at the JV and modified level for several years. “We had some guys do great things but will need to execute better and play more physical up front. That will be our main focus this week as we prepare for St. Lawrence Central.”
After Schwartzfigure scored on the Sandstoners’ first drive, the Golden Bears’ defense came up big on Potsdam’s second drive, forcing a fumble that Conner Clifford recovered on Canton’s 12-yard line.
Canton responded to Schwartzfigure’s second touchdown of the game with a promising drive, moving the ball 77 yards on 17 plays before stalling out on the Sandstoner 3-yard line. The Golden Bears converted a 3rd-and-20 with a 25-yard pass from Todd to Parker Hurlbut, and John Wilcox kept the drive alive with a 35-yard run on 3rd-and-19. Todd later converted a 4th-and-3 inside the 10-yard line to give the Bears a 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line.
Potsdam drove the ball 82 yards on 13 plays on its first possession of the second half, capped by Van Wagner’s touchdown run.
After the Golden Bears’ next drive stalled, Todd, in his first game taking on the punting duties, got a great bounce on a 56-yard punt to pin Potsdam at its own 14-yard line, but Miller-Lynch busted through the line for an 86-yard score on the very next play.
Canton found the end zone on its final drive of the game. Todd found Hurlbut for another big play to start the drive, this time for 29 yards. Wilcox carried the ball seven yards on the next play, setting up Todd’s touchdown run.
Wilcox led the Golden Bears rushing attack, totaling 72 yards on 12 carries. Todd was 6-for-15 passing for 89 yards, with Hurlbut amassing the lion’s share of those yards with 76 yards on three catches.
Faunce led the Canton defense with eight tackles, while Wilcox had seven including one for a loss of three yards.
Miiller-Lynch had 170 rushing yards on 13 carries for Potsdam, with Schwartzfigure adding 109 on 10 attempts. Van Wagner threw just one pass in the game, hitting Brodie Delany for a 6-yard gain. Delany led the Potsdam defense with seven tackles, including two-and-a-half sacks for 19.5 yards.
Canton, who will face Potsdam in a league contest later this season, will travel to Brasher Falls to face St. Lawrence Central in its Northern Athletic Conference opener on Friday night. Opening kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
