Sports

Canton’s 7th and 8th grade teams began play last week, going 2-1 overall in games played against the Mabank Panthers Sept. 14. The 7th grade started the season off right with a 38-0 win at home.

The team scored on the first play from scrimmage with a run up the middle by Chanston Prox from 50 yards out. The two-point conversion was capped off by a run by Kam Shaw.

The defense held and continued to hold the rest of the game for the shutout. The next series the Eagles drove down the field with Shaw running it in from 5 yards out. The 2-point conversion was nice throw from Shaw to Ben Matthews. On the following Canton offensive possession, the team drove the field once more with the finishing run from Chad Lide from 8 yards out. Finishing out the scoring was Curtis Griffith and Chanston Prox. The defense was solid across the board and was led by Jackson Peel and Chad Lide.

8th grade White

The Canton Eaglettes continued to generate some positive momentum as they head towards the start of District 13-4A play this week, recording a four-set victory over Spring Hill at Panther Gymnasium.

Play began with the JV team taking the court, scoring an easy 25-20, 25-13 win over the Lady Panthers.

The varsity Eaglettes also recorded a relatively easy win, winning each of the first two sets en route to a four-set victory.

Canton jumped out to an early lead, outplaying the Lady Panthers to take the first set 25-18. The second set played out in similar fashion with the Eaglettes outscoring Spring Hill 25-20.

The Lady Panthers fought back in the third, getting the better of Canton 25-21 to trail by just one set heading into the fourth.

Canton ensured that the match would not go the distance, once again finding their form to cap the 25-18, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18 victory over Spring Hill.

The Canton Eagles tallied their second consecutive win in as many weeks Sept. 15, jumping out to a big lead and never looking back in a 35-20 home win over the visiting Mabank Panthers. The 15-point win by the Eagles was the largest in the series since a 46-17 win by Canton during the 2014 season.

Canton made the most of Mabank’s decision to begin play on defense, getting a huge return from McGwire Martin to set up a short touchdown drive less than one minute into the game.

Following a wide path set up by his blockers, Martin electrified the home crowd by fielding the opening kickoff just inside his own 5-yard line and returning 90 yards to the Panther five. Two plays later Simon Miller scored on a short two-yard keeper to give the Eagles an early lead. Jair Rodriguez knocked home the PAT, putting Canton in front 7-0.

The Running Eagles hosted their own invitational Sept. 16 with 20 teams participating and over 600 runners in the field.

The varsity boys finished third overall and were led by Jonathan Bourquin who finished 14th in 18:20. He was followed by Matthew Hook in 16th with a time of 18:30, Garrett Stapleton in 19th with a time of 18:40, Wilson Null in 24th with a time of 18:55, Kevin Nixon in 29th with a time of 19:19, and Gage Bullard in 40th with a time of 19:55.

In the varsity girls division, Madeline Null finished eighth overall with a time of 12:46 and Darby Pruitt was 17th in 13:42.

In the JV boys division, Trent McCarver was 12th in 20:34, Kevin Pagel 26th in 21:35, and Colby Chastain 55th in 24:14. Jade Spencer finished 33rd in the JV girls with a time of 16:17, followed by Eve Dial in 17:39, Haylee Terry 17:58 and Shelby Wycough in 18:26.

The Canton Junior High Eaglettes traveled to Brownsboro on Aug. 28 for their first game of the season.

The 7th Grade B team lost the first game 19-25, but came back to win the second game 25-17. Julie Landes and Maddie Jenkins were top servers with 6 points each.

The 7th grade A team lost two close games 19-25, 22-25. Emily Bitter and Maddie Walker were top servers with 4 and 6 points and Avery Russell was a defensive standout.

The 8th grade B team started strong and won their first game 25-14, but lost the second game 10-25. Alicia Bryant was the top server with 5 points and Laci Morris played well offensively.

The 8th grade A team lost 20-25, 25-21,12-25. Tori Robinson led the team with 9 service points followed by Makayla Floyd with 6.

Coach Julie Neff stated, “The teams only had three days to prepare for their first game and showed a lot of potential for a successful season.”

The Canton Eaglettes made short work of the Brook Hill Lady Guard Sept. 5, defending their home court with an easy three set win.

Canton set the tone early in the contest, taking the first set 25-13.

The second set would be the most competitive of the night as Brook Hill kept things close only to see the Eaglettes take a two sets to none lead by outscoring the Lady Guard 25-23.

Play during the third and final set would mirror the first with Canton taking a commanding lead and never looking back to close out the 25-13, 25-23, 25-16 win.

The Eaglettes were scheduled to travel to Spring Hill Sept. 12 before returning home to face Fairfield Sept. 19 in the non-district finale.

Canton will travel to Van Sept. 22, taking on the Lady Vandals for the first time this season. The Eaglettes will welcome Wills Point to Canton Sept. 26 for their first district home match.

The Canton Eagles made their way to Tyler last week, taking on the Grace Community Cougars for the fourth consecutive season. Canton, winners in two of the last three meetings with the Cougars, got the better of Grace once again securing a 42-31 win on the road Sept. 8.

Grace took possession of the football first, beginning play at their own 16-yard line after a misplay of the opening kickoff. The Cougars picked up just two yards on their first offensive drive before punting the ball to the Eagles.

Canton’s first drive mirrored Grace's first drive, resulting in a punt after the first three plays netted just three total yards.

After a well-placed punt by Simon Miller, the Cougars began their second drive of the night on their own 15-yard line. Grace flipped the field position battle quickly, picking up two first downs to cross into Canton territory.

The Canton Running Eagles ran at the Midlothian Invitational Sept. 7, finishing seventh overall in both the varsity girls and varsity boys divisions.

Madeline Null led the way for the girls finishing third overall in a time of 13:08. She was followed by Darby Pruitt in 11th with a time of 13:47, Jade Spencer in 16:55, Eve Dial in 17:34, Haylee Terry in 17:46, and Shelby Wycough in 18:04.

In the boys division, Jonathan Bourquin finished 16th overall with a time of 18:27, followed by Matthew Hook in 26th with a time of 18:54. Kevin Nixon finished in 19:21, Wilson Null in 19:44, Garrett Stapleton in 19:56, Gage Bullard in 20:22, Trent McCarver in in 20:42, and Kevin Pagel in 21:20.

The Running Eagles will host their own invitational on Saturday, Sept. 16 at the First Monday Parking grounds. Races will begin at 8 a.m.

Tristan Nelson, a 15-year-old Canton High School student and member of the Canton Eagle Golf Team, captured his second Club Championship this summer by winning the Men’s Club Championship.

He won the JR Club Championship earlier this summer. He was the first to win both championships. Van Zandt Country Club allows the JR player to play in the Men’s Club Championship to help promote the game and help develop the youngster into a seasoned tournament player.

The Canton Eagles opened play against a familiar foe Sept. 1, taking on the Brownsboro Bears in their season opener for the second consecutive season. A fast start and late defensive stand would prove to be the difference for Brownsboro as the Bears held off a late Canton charge to secure a 26-21 win over the Eagles.

Brownsboro began play on offense Friday night, beginning their first drive of the season at midfield after a solid return to begin play. The Bears wasted little time in showcasing what their offensive game plan against the Eagles would be, leaning heavily on their ground game to pick up yards and keep the clock moving throughout the night.