Sports

The Canton Eaglettes started their December out on the right foot against Edgewood, controlling every facet of the game in a 65-13 rout of in-county opponent Edgewood Dec. 1.

Defense was the name of the game for the Eaglettes, with Edgewood being held to four points or less in each quarter played.

The veteran Eaglettes set the tone early against an Edgewood team light on varsity experience, building up a 25-4 lead after the first quarter.

Second quarter play mirrored that of the first, with Canton’s balanced attack extending the lead to 50-7 entering the half.

The Eaglettes closed play by outscoring Edgewood 15-6 in the second half, closing out the 65-13 win over the Lady Dogs.

Leading scorers for Canton included Courtney Roberts with 15, Hannah Welty with 12, Kenley Nixon and Lilly Nelson with 9, Taylor Tidwell with 7, Destiny Johnson with 5, Hannah Manry and Mattie Tullos with 3 each and Payton Williams with 2.

The Canton Eagles and Edgewood Bulldogs took the hardwood in Canton Dec. 1 for an early season showdown. Despite competitive play early on, Canton got the best of Edgewood with big plays down the stretch for a 60-48 win over the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs got the better of Canton in the first half, building up an 8-7 lead after one quarter of play and 22-17 lead entering the half.

Led by Logan Nace and Jackson Malone, the Eagles began their trek down the comeback trail by cutting four points of the Edgewood lead over the course of the third quarter.

With the game hanging in the balance, Canton put together its best effort on both ends of the court to shake free from the Bulldogs. The Eagles outscored Edgewood 26-13, closing out a hard fought 60-48 win over the visiting team.

Jackson Malone finished as the leading scorer for Canton, putting in 16 points. Logan Nace added 14, and Tre Fitzgerald added 7 points.

The UIL released their conference cutoff numbers for the 2016-2018 reclassification and realignment Nov.20.

Schools with enrollments between 723-1,099 will be placed in Class 4A Division I (the large school designation) and schools with enrollments between 480-722 will be placed in Class 4A Division II (the small school designation).

The Canton Eagles will remain in Class 4A Division II with a reported enrollment of 620.

The specific 2016-18 district alignments will be released on February 1 for football and basketball. District alignments for other activities will be released in the order of their seasons.

Wills Point, which has played the past two football seasons in the large school designation, had a reported enrollment of 716. Beginning in Fall 2016, the Tiger football team will now compete in Class 4A Division II.

The Canton Eagles got one of their first tests of the 2015-’16 season Nov. 28 with an appearance at the Woodman Life TABO Classic in Whitehouse against Bishop Gorman.

Despite a solid start and a three-point halftime lead, the Eagles couldn’t sustain their momentum and fight off the Crusaders in a 56-48 loss.

Canton put together its most productive offensive quarter in the first, outscoring Bishop Gorman 14-13 for an early lead.

The margin grew modestly in the second, with strong play by Logan Nace guiding the Eagles to a 26-23 lead entering the half.

Led by the efforts of Judah Bell, Jake Smith and Nic Vandiver, the Crusaders fought their way into the lead by outscoring the Eagles 15-9 coming out of the break. The same trio once again became the reason for Bishop Gorman’s success in the fourth quarter, guiding the team to a 56-48 win over Canton.

The Canton Eaglettes have put together several impressive efforts to open their season in recent weeks, playing well enough to find themselves as the 11^th ranked 4A girls team in the state this week according to the latest TABC High School Basketball Rankings.

The most recent statement game delivered by Canton came just before the Thanksgiving break Nov. 24, with an impressive 63-20 demolition of Tyler All Saints.

Play in the early going was highly competitive, with the Eaglettes edging out to a 15-10 lead after just one quarter of play.

Things changed drastically from that point on as Canton’s defensive pressure proved too much for All Saints to handle. The Eaglette charge began in the second quarter with Canton outscoring All Saints 21-2 to turn a five-point game into a 36-12 runaway entering the half.

The Canton Eaglettes improved to 2-0 on the season Nov. 17, turning a fast start on both ends of the court into a hard fought 47-38 win over the Fairfield Lady Eagles.

Canton couldn’t have asked for a much better start in the contest, turning good defense into fast break opportunities and a 17-5 lead after one quarter of play.

Fairfield put the brakes on any attempt by Canton to turn the game into a runaway however, slowing the tempo down to take the second quarter 11-9. Heading into the half, Canton held a 26-16 lead over the Lady Eagles.

The Eaglettes returned the favor to Fairfield in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Eagles 12-9 to take their largest lead of the night (38-25) entering the fourth and final quarter.

Fairfield was able to make a mini run against the Canton advantage, but never seriously threatened as the Eaglettes closed out a 47-38 win to stay perfect on the young season.

The Canton Eagles were undoubtedly the comeback kids of the Van Zandt County football scene in 2015, rallying time and time again from tough circumstances to put together a bi-district championship winning season.

After starting the season with a disappointing 0-3 record, the Eagles showed their resiliency by finishing their season with six wins in their final nine contests. Along the way, Canton rallied from a 19 point deficit to top rival Wills Point, a 16 point deficit against Emory Rains in sloppy conditions for a key district win, and a 13 point deficit against Gladewater in the bi-district round of the playoffs to move on to the Area round and a date with the Lorena Leopards Nov. 20.

The Eagles came painfully close to adding yet another chapter to their thrilling season against the Leopards, nearly rallying back from a 14 point deficit against Lorena before falling 35-28 at the final whistle Friday night.  

With the UIL State Volleyball Tournament winding down and all District 14-4A teams officially done for the season, coaches released their list of Superlative and All-District honorees last week.

As expected, Canton and Rains, who tied for the district title (the Eaglettes finished as the top seed by virtue of their win a tie-breaker), dominated Superlative honors.

Superlative recognition went to:

-MVP: Payton Williams, Canton

-Hitter: Lauren Gomez, Canton; Ashley Gowin, Rains

-Setter: Shelbi Sheppard, Rains

-Blocker: Corley Cole, Rains

-Libero: Courtney Slider, Canton

-Defensive Player of the Year: Courtney Luckett, Rains

-Newcomer of the Year: Hope Williams, Brownsboro

-Coach of the Year: Liz Ramsey, Canton

First Team All-District Honorees included:

-Brownsboro: Lexie Houston, Madison Montgomery and Amber Walker

-Canton: Lilly Nelson and Jenna Stanley

The Canton Eaglette basketball made it look easy against Kilgore Nov. 13, outscoring the Lady Dogs in all four quarters to coast to a 66-19 win.

Canton came out of the gate on fire, seizing control on both ends of the court to take a 14-2 lead after just one quarter of play.

Things didn’t get any easier for the Lady Dogs in the second quarter, with Eaglette players performing even better on the offensive end to extend their advantage to 35-4 at halftime.

The third quarter would be the most competitive stretch between the two teams as Canton outscored the Lady Dogs by just two points, 11-9.

With the game firmly in Eaglette control, Canton players unleashed another impressive stretch of play to outscore Kilgore 20-6 in the fourth quarter and secure the 66-19 win.

In total, 10 different Eaglette players registered points in the contest.

Canton entered the contest as a slight underdog, having finished District 5-4A play as the third seed behind defending state champion Gilmer and Bullard in the final standings. Gladewater, on the other hand, ended District 6-4A play on a high after notching a co-district championship finish.