Sports

The Canton girls JV Green team has been nearly unbeatable during the 2016-'17 season, posting a 14-1 record overall. Canton added four of those victories at the recently completed Edgewood Tournament, posting wins over Quitman, LaPoynor, Sulphur Springs and Paris North Lamar to win first overall. Coach Glenn Neal stated, "The girls continue to find a way to win and overcome obstacles. The team played to their strengths and played together to move to 14 - 1 on the year. We are proud of the way the girls encourage each other and work together." Team members include Mackenzie Rutledge, Larissa Holloway, Brynlei Cunningham, Soffie Welty, Olivia Norrell, Madison Baugh, Ashley Riffe, Chelsea Dollinger, Haleigh Gurley and Sara Medford."

The Canton Eaglettes shouldered a heavy load last week, taking on Tyler Grace Dec. 6 before making the nearly three-hour trip to compete at the Jarrell Tournament Dec. 8-10.

Canton turned a narrow halftime lead over Tyler Grace into a runaway Dec. 6, outscoring the Cougars by 22 points in the second half of a 66-40 win.

Neither team could get separation in the early going, with Canton taking a 13-9 lead after eight minutes of play.

The pattern continued into the second quarter as each team scored just 10 points to maintain a 23-19 Eaglette lead entering the half.

Both offenses began to find their groove in the third quarter, combining for 34 points as Grace cut their deficit down to 39-37.

Canton took any chance of a Grace comeback out of the equation in the fourth quarter, putting together their best quarter offensively and defensively. Led by Courtney Roberts, the Eaglettes ran wild over the Cougars to close out the game on a 27-3 run.

The Canton Eagles found themselves with a rare weekend off Dec. 8-10, getting to enjoy some time away from the court while county rivals Van and Wills Point both participated in tournaments. 

The tables will turn Dec. 15-17, however, with the Eagles set to return to tournament action at the Bryan Mewbourn Tournament in Martins Mill.

Canton has been placed in Pool C, alongside Cedar Hill TC, Graford and Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill.

The Eagles are scheduled to begin their tournament run today (Dec. 15) with a game against Cedar Hill. Canton will play twice Dec. 16, taking on Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill and Graford.

The Canton Eaglettes endured the expected growing pains of fielding one of the youngest rosters in all of District 13-4A this season, finishing just outside the playoffs in a talented district that included perennial state title contender Rains, as well as Wills Point, Van, Mabank and Brownsboro.

With all volleyball matches completed, District 13-4A coaches released their list of Superlative and All-District honorees. Not surprisingly, district champion Rains took home four Superlative honors, while also placing three players on the All-District First Team. Canton rivals Van and Wills Point each took home one Superlative honor, with Alli Lloyd and Kamree Clark earning a share of Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Superlative winners included:

-District MVP: Shelbi Sheppard, Rains; Charlotte Bradshaw, Rains

-Offensive POY: Kailey Currington, Mabank

-Defensive POY: Kamree Clark, WP; Alli Lloyd, Van

The Canton girls JV Green squad continue to show progress in becoming a team. The girls have played eight games so far this young season and won all of them. 

More importantly they are learning to play together and their unselfish play has been fun to watch.

Since winning the Mabank tournament the girls have had wins over Fairfield, Venus, Quitman varsity, Texas High and Lindale. 

The girls met the host team in the Winnsboro Hoopfest Tournament Championship game.  The game was an exciting contest with the host team coming out on top to give the Canton team their first loss of the season.

Coach Glenn Neal stated, "The girls are sharing the basketball, playing together, learning to play defense and manage to give the ball to the open girl to take advantage of the opposition. Each night several girls are stepping up and showing grit. This approach means that everyone is doing their job and making the team more important than the individual.

District 6-4A football coaches released a partial list of Superlative and All-District recognition prior to the Thanksgiving holiday which were subsequently published in the Dec. 1 edition of the Canton Herald.

An additional list of honorees was made available this week, including: Jared Busch, First Team All-District utility player; Ivan Nelson, Honorable Mention All-District lineman; Kyle Adams, Honorable Mention All-District lineman; Robert Riley, Honorable Mention All-District lineman; Jeremiah Bradway, Honorable Mention All-District lineman; Dylan Cox, Honorable Mention All-District running back.

The Canton Eaglettes got their first taste of tournament action in Winnsboro Dec. 1-3, taking on a field that included Longview, Sulphur Springs, Whitehouse, Gilmer, Saltillo, Rains, Winnsboro, Commerce, Pine Tree, Texas High and Lindale as part of the 2016 Hoofest Tournament.

The Eaglettes finished the tournament with a second-place finish overall, coming up just short in the championship game of the tournament against Lindale.

Canton opened the tournament early Thursday morning with a win over a very quick 5A Texas High team. They followed that up with a complete domination of Lindale by a score of 51-22. The Eaglettes controlled every quarter, and all 12 members of the roster contributed to the win.

The Canton Eagles made their way to Edgewood Dec. 1-3, competing against 11 other teams as part of the 50th annual Jack Shellnut Boys Basketball Tournament.

Canton, champions in both 1998 and 1999, opened this year’s tournament by taking on the Quinlan Ford Panthers at 9 a.m. Dec. 1. After a slow start in the first quarter, the Eagles high-pressure defense began to find its way, guiding the team to a 73-55 victory over the Panthers.

Canton returned to the court the following day for its second and final pool play game, narrowly coming up short in a 56-55 loss at the hands of Scurry-Rosser.

Due to the tournament’s tie-breaker format, Canton was placed in the Gold Bracket by allowing fewer points (111) than either Scurry-Rosser (117) or Quinlan (134).

Playing nearly 12 hours after their early morning contest Dec. 2, the Eagles fell 64-52 to a talented Sunnyvale squad. The loss moved Canton to the third place game against tournament-host Edgewood.

The Canton Eaglettes received a combined 32 points from Kenley Nixon and Hannah Manry against Venus Nov. 21, rolling to an impressive 66-27 win over the Bulldogs.

Canton nearly got all the offense it would need in the first quarter, racing out to a 22-9 lead after eight minutes of play.

The Eaglettes continued to dominate in the middle stages of the contest, holding Venus to a combined 10 points in the second and third quarter to extend their advantage to 56-19 entering the fourth.

The Eaglettes coasted from there, outscoring the Bulldogs 10-8 in the final frame to secure the 66-27 win. 

With the season over for all District 6-4A teams, coaches released their list of Superlative and All-District honorees for the 2016 season. Wills Point, which finished district with a perfect 5-0 record overall, topped all other teams taking home three Superlative honors. Superlative winners included:

-District MVP: Sloan Rodberg, WP

-Offensive POY: Devondrick Bynum, Lincoln

-Defensive POY: John Kalala, Lincoln

-Offensive Newcomer of the Year: Jacob Moore, WP

-Defensive Newcomer of the Year: McGwire Martin, Canton

-Coach of the Year: Greg Cranfill, WP

First Team All-District honorees by team included:

-Wills Point: Caden Bennett, QB; Brandon Smith, RB; Brody Bushnell, OL; Lamont Thomas, OL; Nathan Johnson, WR; Demontre Hill, utility; Vincent Tobias, kicker; Tyriq Burnett, DL; Gage Dunn, DL; Ben Bradshaw, DL; Bryan Mitchell, LB; Trey Patterson, LB; Tanner Smith, CB