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The Canton Warriors opened their home schedule Friday night against the South Williamsport Mountaineers, but despite an early lead, the Warriors were overwhelmed by a relentless Mountaineers offense, falling 31-14.

Canton started strong in the first quarter. Facing third-and-15 deep in Mountaineer territory, quarterback Rylan Wesneski delivered a strike to Garren Rathbun, converting for a first down and setting up prime scoring position. A few plays later, Wesneski went back to the air, finding Ryder Route streaking downfield for the touchdown. Alexis McRobertsdrilled the extra point, giving Canton a 7-0 lead.

The momentum began to shift in the second quarter. South Williamsport’s defense broke through, forcing a safety to get on the board at 7-2. On the ensuing possession, the Mountaineers pieced together a steady drive. Quarterback Cole Gerber connected with Caleb Johnson on a deep pass to reach the red zone, setting up Garrett Lorson, who powered over the goal line for South’s first touchdown. Kaiden Paulhamus added the extra point just before halftime, giving the Mountaineers a narrow 9-7 advantage.

In the third quarter, South Williamsport took control of the game. Lorson broke free on a huge run to extend the Mountaineers’ lead, and the successful two-point conversion made it 17-7. Moments later, Cade Lusk took a handoff and sprinted untouched for another score, pushing the lead to 24-7 with just over four minutes left in the quarter.

South wasn’t finished. In the closing seconds of the third, Gerber fired a bullet over the middle to Levi Butler for the Mountaineers’ final touchdown of the night. After the extra point, South Williamsport held a commanding 31-7 lead.

Canton showed fight in the fourth quarter, putting together a late scoring drive. Backup quarterback Owen Mooreconnected with Wesneski in tight coverage to reach the 1-yard line. On the next play, Bailey Gardner punched it in for the Warriors’ final score, closing the gap to 31-14.

With the victory, South Williamsport improved to 1-1 on the season, while Canton fell to 1-1. The Warriors will look to rebound next week when they travel to face Athens on Friday, September 5th.