Tigers Come Up Short In Canton, 27-24

A team of skydivers descended with the American and Texas flags to start the renewed Canton-Wills Point football rivalry.

The game itself was even more spectacular.

Clashing for the first time since 2004, the two squads put on an unforgettable District 14-3A opener that went to the Eagles, 27-24.

Wills Point looked nothing like a winless team, putting the Eagles (4-2, 1-0) on the ropes with a go-ahead touchdown drive with 3:11 left in the game.

With Chance Wallace at quarterback, though, that was plenty of time for Canton to retake the lead. The Eagles did just that on a 24-yard TD pass from Wallace to Roy Denbow, his only catch of the night.

"It all came down to that last moment. I was open a couple of times and we never could connect, but there at the end we found each other," Denbow said.

The Tigers (0-6, 0-1) geared up for one last drive trying to get at least into field goal range. However, Canton’s defense had one last big play in it and caused Wills Point running back Lewis Battles to fumble the ball on the second play.

Grant Franklin recovered it at the Eagle 33 and Canton ran out the remaining 1:18 on three plays.

"Offensively, the whole group did a great job on that last drive," a relieved Canton coach Lance Angel said. "We had some chances to score in the first half that we didn’t take advantage of and it almost came back and cost us.

"Defensively, they just stepped up and made a play, and that’s what you’ve got to do," he added.

Take nothing away from Battles, who bewildered the Eagle defense throughout the second half to finish with 135 yards on 16 carries.

Wills Point quarterback Trent Jurica scored twice on 1-yard runs and rolled up 86 yards on 13 carries. Starting running back Austin Teel added 65 yards on 17 carries before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury.

Head coach Kevin Garvin said he was trying to establish the running game, believing a more balanced attack would be needed.

"Lewis Battles stepped up and did a great job…He was kind of pushed into that role. He stepped up and handled that role," head coach Kevin Garvin said.

He praised his team for what he termed "a never-say-die attitude."

"I couldn’t be more proud of our kids and our coaches for putting them in a position to succeed…They played non-stop, four quarters, all the way to the very last play," Garvin said.

Canton set the tone for the rest of the evening with a bombshell play on the opening kickoff return: A field-wide lateral by Jonathan Huddle to Alex Williams, who took it 90 yards into the end zone.

Peter Renegar connected on the extra point.

"We had practiced that play every week and decided by the sixth game that it was time to use it," Angel said. "Jonathan Huddle made a perfect throw."

If it was meant to shake up the Tigers early, it did not work. Wills Point stormed back with a 64-yard scoring drive capped by Teel’s 17-yard carry.

Tyler Wicks tied the game on the extra-point kick with 6:13 to go in the first quarter.

It looked as though the Eagles would go right back on top, but the Tiger defense shut the door on fourth-and-goal from the 2, taking down Wallace on a keeper before he could cross into the end zone.

The Tigers would stop Canton inside the red zone again just before halftime when Marquis Bunch picked off Wallace’s pass at the Wills Point 3.

It kept Canton from extending a 14-10 lead at that point. The Eagles had scored with 8:22 left in the second quarter on a 43-yard Wallace-to-Devon Talley touchdown pass.

Wills Point answered with a 26-yard field goal by Wicks.

Battles, Teel, Alex Anderson, Steven Cunigan, Tanner Sistrunk, Garrett Kinney and Bobby Faulkner all turned in great work defensively for the Tigers.

Canton eventually extended its lead with the third quarter’s only scoring play, a 24-yard TD toss from Wallace to Franklin.

That drive started at the Tiger 30, thanks to an earlier Wallace punt that his teammates downed at the 4-yard line. Canton stonewalled the Tiger offense to force a kick from the end zone.

Renegar’s PAT attempt was blocked, though, keeping it a 20-10 game with 1:17 remaining in the quarter.

That is when Battles took center stage in the Tiger running game. He took Wills Point quickly into Eagle territory on gains of 16 and 26 yards.

Six plays later at the Canton 1, Jurica was able to reach out over the goal line with the ball to score. Wicks kicked the extra point to cut the Eagles’ lead to three.

Later, Wallace nailed another punt to the Wills Point 4, but this time the Tigers rode the rushing of Battles and Jurica downfield as time ticked away in the fourth quarter.

Jurica’s second TD carry and Wicks’ extra point gave the Tigers their first and only lead of the night.

What would be the winning touchdown drive for Canton was aided by a defensive holding call on a third-and-10 pass attempt.

From the Wills Point 49, it took Wallace just two plays to put the Eagles back in front. The touchdown pass to Denbow came immediately after a shovel pass through traffic to Zack Cummings for 25 yards.

Canton will travel to Eustace this Friday hoping to stay atop the district standings. Wills Point returns home to face Kemp. Both games will start at 7:30 p.m.