Sports

The Canton Eaglettes showed no shortage of grit throughout the 2017-'18 season, battling their way to a 30-6 record overall and a 9th place ranking among all 4A teams in the most recent Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Weekly Rankings heading into their Area round playoff matchup against the Henderson Lady Lions Feb. 16.

Canton’s season would come to a close against Henderson, however, as the Lady Lions managed to overcome a game-tying three-pointer just before the final buzzer to edge past the Eaglettes in an overtime thriller, 61-56.

Freshman point guard Alexis Calderon was stellar for Henderson in the first quarter, connecting on several long three-pointers and contested shots in the lane to help the Lady Lions establish a lead that would last much of the night. Through one quarter of play, Henderson led the Eaglettes 24-16.

Van Zandt County boys basketball teams will face a tall task if they hope to match the performance of the county's varsity girls basketball teams during the bi-district round playoffs after the Canton Eaglettes, Edgewood Lady Dogs, Martins Mill Lady Mustangs and Van Lady Vandals all posted double-digit wins to advance to the Area round of the playoffs.

Bi-district round matchups involving county schools will include:

-Canton: The Canton Eagles were a hardluck team throughout much of the District 13-4A calendar, narrowly falling short against some of the district's toughest teams. The Eagles turned the page late, however, winning two of their last three games to advance to the bi-district round of the playoffs for a game against District 14-4A Texarkana Pleasant Grove beginning at 8 p.m. Feb. 20 at Mt. Vernon High School.  

The Canton Eaglettes added yet another accomplishment to what has already been a stellar season on the hardwood this week, capitalizing on a shut down defensive effort to top the Paris North Lamar Pantherettes 37-19 in bi-district round action Feb. 12.

First quarter play proved to be anything but crisp offensively as each team struggled to find consistency with a myriad of missed shots and turnovers. Canton managed to get the better of North Lamar in the early going, getting four first quarter points from Hannah Manry to take a slim 6-3 lead after eight minutes.

Canton fared better on the offensive end of the court in the second quarter, scoring 10 points to extend their lead to 16-10 entering the half.

Points from five different players, including six from Mattie Tullos helped the Eaglettes pull away in the third quarter as Canton outscored the Pantherettes 14-6 for a double-digit advantage.

The Canton Eagles entered play last week with their back against the wall, desperately needing wins to put themselves back in the hunt for a playoff berth with just three games remaining in District 13-4A play. Canton would deliver arguably its two best showings of district play against Wills Point and Emory Rains, avenging an earlier loss against the Tigers before completing the season sweep of the Wildcats.

Canton opened its district-closing three-game homestand against rival Wills Point, controlling play from the opening tip for a 56-38 win.

The Eagles were the aggressors throughout the early stages of the contest, drawing multiple fouls on Tiger defenders to build a 18-9 lead after one quarter. Canton continued to build on their lead in the second quarter by outscoring the Tigers 17-11 for a 35-20 halftime lead.

Wills Point struggled to recover from the halftime defecit, never seriously threatening the Eagle advantage in the 56-38 loss.

Canton took two more steps forward in their quest to finish district play with a perfect record last week, picking up wins over both the Van Lady Vandals and Brownsboro Bearettes to improve to 28-6 overall including 9-0 in District 13-4A.

The Eaglettes, ranked ninth overall among all 4A teams in the state according to the latest Texas Association of Basketball Coaches weekly rankings, made it look easy against their chief rival Van, building up a big halftime lead and never looking back in a 66-24 win at home Jan. 30.

Canton set the tone early in the contest, aggressively driving to the rim over and over during the first quarter to build up an 18-7 lead. The formula continued into the second as Canton continued its dominance on both ends of the court to extend their advantage to 36-14.

The waiting game for athletic directors and coaches came to an end Feb. 1 as the University Interscholastic League announcing which districts teams across the state will be calling home for the 2018-2020 athletic seasons.

In a previous press release, the UIL announced conference cutoff numbers for the 2018-2020 reclassification and realignment period as follows:

-6A: 2,190 and above

-5A: 1,150 – 2,189

-4A: 505 – 1,149

-3A: 222 – 504

-2A: 105 – 224

-1A: 104.9 and below

The Canton Eaglettes continued to show themselves as the class of District 13-4A over the past week, scoring double-digit wins over Emory Rains and Mabank to push their season record to 26-6 overall and their district record to a perfect 7-0 with three games to play.

Canton struggled to shake free of the Rains Lady Cats throughout much of the early going Jan. 23, eventually finding another gear in the second half to pull away for a 60-39 win.

Rains held firm in the first quarter, playing the visiting Eaglettes to a 10-10 draw after eight minutes of play. Canton began to find some breathing room in the second quarter, getting a better showing at both ends of the court to build a 23-19 lead entering the half.

Van Zandt County schools were well represented in Van Jan. 27 with three local schools, Canton, Grand Saline and Van, all in the field of this year's Van Invitational Powerlifting Meet.

Canton posted the best finish among local schools in the team competition, placing third overall behind Gilmer and Athens in the varsity girls division and fourth overall in the varsity boys division behind Corsicana, Gilmer and Athens. Grand Saline finished eighth overall in the varsity girls division and ninth in the varsity boys division and Van finished 10th overall as a team in the varsity girls division and eighth in the varsity boys division.

Individual boys results included:

-123 lb. weight class: George Charcas, Canton, third place, 705 lbs. lifted

-132 lb. weight class: Jose Lopez, Grand Saline, third place, 665 lbs. lifted

-148 lb. weight class: Hunter Williams, Canton, fourth place, 785 lbs. lifted

The Canton Eaglettes passed their first District 13-4A test of the 2017-’18 season with flying colors, getting all the points they would need in the first half of a 58-28 win over the visiting Rains Lady Cats Jan. 5.

Canton, red-hot all season long, made short work of the Lady Cats Friday night by taking a 14-4 lead after one quarter of play.

The second quarter would provide more of the same as the Eaglette defense continued to hold the Lady Cats at bay helping guide Canton to a 35-9 lead entering the half.

With the game well in hand, the Eaglettes coasted down the stretch, playing the Lady Cats to an 8-8 tie in the third quarter before another late surge resulted in the Eaglettes outscoring Rains 15-11 in the fourth quarter for a 30-point win.

Canton’s stingy defensive effort included limiting the Lady Cats to just four players in the stat book with points.

With every District 6-4A team officially eliminated from playoff contention, district coaches released their list of Superlative and All-District honorees for the 2017 season.

Canton, second-place finishers in district and bi-district qualifiers, finished the year with one player earning Superlative recognition and multiple players earning spots on the All-District First and All-District Second Teams.

District 6-4A Superlative honors included:

-MVP: Brandon Smith, Wills Point

-Offensive Player of the Year: Vernon Morrow, Wills Point

-Defensive Player of the Year: Dentalus Jones, Dallas Lincoln

-Offensive Newcomer of the Year: Devin Jacks, Rains

-Defensive Newcomer of the Year: Cooper Smith, Canton; Jaden Huff, Wills Point; and TJ Gunel, Dallas Lincoln

-Coach of the Year: Greg Cranfill, Wills Point

First Team All-District honorees included: