The Canton Bears Modified Football team came away with a 44-12 win over Tupper Lake in a game that featured plenty of big plays on both sides of the ball. Canton came out strong from the start and kept the pressure on throughout the game.
The A unit offense got things started on the very first play of the game, as Mak Brassard connected with Gavin Brown for a 65-yard touchdown pass on a play action QB bootleg.
The Bears defense then came up with some big plays of its own. Brassard recorded a tackle, Brown came up with a sack, and Laden Nolan added a tackle. Ian Taylor then made a big play by intercepting a pass on fourth down.
Canton’s offense continued to move the ball as Connor Hicks broke off a 38-yard run up the left sideline before punching in the touchdown on a 2-yard run. Nolan added a field goal. Back on defense, Landyn Clifford came up with a big 15-yard tackle for loss, while Hicks added two more tackles for loss on the same series, forcing Tupper Lake to punt.
Gavin Brown opened the next Canton possession with a 17-yard run. On the very next play, Brassard broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run, but the score was called back because of a penalty that occurred 30 yards away from the play. Brassard answered right back with another 25-yard run before connecting with Clifford on a 10-yard touchdown pass in the flat.
To finish the first quarter, Brassard added a sack and Nolan recorded another tackle before the B team took over to start the second quarter.
The B unit came out and continued the momentum the first unit had built. Jackson Bullock recorded a tackle, while Landon Huntley came up with a big tackle for loss. On offense, Huntley started things off with a 12-yard run, followed by a 14-yard run from Nolan Archer. Ryder Peets then connected with Huntley for a 7-yard pass, Archer added another 8-yard run, and Peets scrambled for 8 yards of his own.
The Bears were stopped just short of a first down on fourth down, but they weren’t on defense for long. Peets forced a fumble that was recovered by Archer. Zayden Martin finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run, and Brassard added another field goal. Gaige Timm and Huntley also recorded tackles to keep Tupper Lake from getting much going.
Tupper Lake then broke loose for a big scoring play, but Canton answered back as Jaxon Shippee intercepted the two point conversion attempt.
Huntley appeared to break loose for a 65-yard touchdown on Canton’s first offensive play, but once again, the touchdown was called back because of a penalty. Hicks followed with an 18-yard run, and Huntley picked up another 18 yards. Peets then connected with Huntley on a pass before finding tight end Ben Bristol for an 11-yard touchdown.
Tupper Lake added another quick score, but the Canton offense immediately answered. Clifford broke loose for a 65-yard touchdown run of his own, giving the Bears another big play.
The Canton defense continued to make plays, with Shippee, Hicks, and Nolan all recording defensive stops. Brown then came up with an interception to give Canton the ball back.
Brassard took off with a 35-yard run before Tupper Lake decided to call the game with 8:00 remaining in the third quarter, giving Canton the 44-12 victory.
The Bears had big plays from both the A and B units and showed a ton of energy throughout the shortened game. It was a great team effort from start to finish.
Players of the Game — shown as listed in photo (L-R)
Connor Hicks — 58 rushing yards, 1 TD, 2 TFL, 3 total tackles
Ryder Peets — 8 rushing yards, 18 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 1 forced fumble
Gavin Brown — 17 rushing yards, 65 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 1 sack, 1 INT
Laden Nolan — 2 FG, 3 tackles
Stats from the rest of the team
Mak Brassard — 60 rushing yards, 75 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, 1 FG, 2 tackles, 1 sack
Landyn Clifford — 65 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 10 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD, 15-yard TFL
Ian Taylor — 1 INT
Landon Huntley — 30 rushing yards, 7 receiving yards, 1 TFL, 2 tackles
Nolan Archer — 22 rushing yards, 1 fumble recovery
Zayden Martin — 7 rushing yards, 1 TD
Ben Bristol — 11 receiving yards, 1 TD
Jaxon Shippee — 1 INT, 1 tackle
Jackson Bullock — 1 tackle
Gaige Timm — 1 tackle