Home Page Sports

CANTON — If there is one constant on this Warrior team, it’s tough defense and Riley Parker running all over everyone he comes in contact with. That was true again on Friday night as the Warriors shut-out the Wellsboro Hornets 35-0.

Parker ran for a season high 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
​
“We had a good night, the line was blocking well all night. We played really well as a team,” said Parker.

​Canton Coach Tyler Sechrist recognizes how special Parker’s night was.

“He was on a different level tonight, sometimes when you watched him last year, it was almost like he was a video game, just the way he moved and the way he bounced off guys, he has that burst. He had a great night,” said Sechrist.

In addition to running the ball well, good team defense is also one of the staples of teams that play well into the post-season.

“We take pride in our defense, it’s one of the things we really practice a lot. When we can get a shut-out against a good with with some good athletes, it feels good,” stated Parker.

Getting wins at home against NTL schools, is always a good way to start the year.

“That’s a good win for us, that’s a quality Wellsboro team, they have a lot of good athletes. I’m proud of our effort and
I am proud of our execution, ” said Sechrist.

Canton held Wellsboro to just 113 total yards on the night.

The Warriors opened the scoring after a 40 yard pass connection between Austin Allen and Weston Bellows set up the Warriors in great field position.

On the next play, Allen appeared to be sacked but shook off a Wellsboro defender and scampered all the way to pay dirt on a 21 yard run. The Bailey Ferguson kick was good and the Warriors took a 7-0 lead.

Later in the quarter, a Parker 66 yard touchdown run put the Warriors up 14-0.

Parker would open the second quarter with a boom, rumbling all the way to pay dirt on a 45 yard run pushing the Warriors lead to 21-0.

Parker wasn’t done, Parker took the ball on an inside handoff, bounced off not one, but two defenders before putting on the afterburners and finding the end zone making it 28-0.

Late in the second quarter, Wellsboro was forced to punt but the punt was blocked by Brennan Taylor and he fell on it in the end zone for the Warriors final score of the night making it 35-0.

Hayden Ward had 45 yards rushing in the game. Allen passed for 40 yards on one attempt and Ferguson finished 1-2 for three yards.

The Warriors will be back in action next week when they travel to Towanda to face the Black Knights. The last time the Warriors played in Towanda was when they opened the state playoffs against Steel High.

​Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.