Last season, the Canton Panthers ran the clock on the Carroll Academy Rebels, winning 35-0.
But this season was a different story as the two teams battled in a hard-fought contest. But the final outcome was the same for the Rebels.
Canton took advantage of two big second-half turnovers and took a 25-17 win over the Rebels on Friday night.
Carroll falls to 0-1 on the season and will go on the road this week to play Class 4A Washington.
Coach Bo Milton said he thought the game was a far cry from the 35-0 loss his team took last year from Canton.
“I thought we played really well,” Milton said. “I thought we played hard and gave great effort. We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of time. We had two drives that if we score touchdowns on, it’s probably a different game. A touchdown in one of those situations might have made a big difference. It was really a closer game than the score. Defensively, I thought we played great. They gave up 17 points and they have two really good running backs. Canton is a good football team and I think the No. 1 ranked team in 3A. I think the biggest difference is they had played a full game and we hadn’t. And then the turnovers were a big difference in the game but that’s part of it.”
Carroll struck first in the game when Cohen Blaylock returned a Canton punt early in the first quarter 65 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed and Carroll held an early 6-0 lead.
But Canton answered right back as they scored on their next play from scrimmage on a 65-yard run. The PAT was good and the Panthers led 7-6, a score that would hold until halftime.
The Rebels got the ball to start the second half and put together a 12-play drive that ended with a short field goal by Blaylock to give the Rebels a 9-7 led.
But Canton again answered as they went 56 yards in eight plays and scored on a 10-yard run. The try for two failed and Canton led 13-9.
The Rebels then fumbled on their next possession and Canton made them pay with a 37-yard touchdown pass with 10:24 left to go in the game. The PAT was blocked and Canton led 19-9.
The Panthers put the game away on the ensuing Carroll series when they intercepted Logan Upchurch and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. The PAT failed and the Panthers led 25-9.
Carroll then put together another long drive and went 74 yards in 18 plays and scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Upchurch to Blaylock. Upchurch then hit Owen Garrett on the two-point conversion to cut the margin to 25-17.
The Rebels failed to recover the onside kick and Canton was able to take a knee to run out the clock.
“I thought we did a good job of moving the ball and keeping the ball away from them,” Milton said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times. We had a chance to score on that opening drive and didn’t come away with anything. That would have been huge for us.”
The Rebels had 198 yards rushing and 44 yards passing for 242 total yards. Matthews led the Rebels with 66 yards rushing on 16 carries. Cohen Blaylock had 52 yards rushing on 18 carries and four catches for 19 yards and a touchdown. Blaylock also 130 yards in returns. Owen Garrett had 48 yards on 12 carries and three catches for 25 yards.
At quarterback, Upchurch was 8-of-12 passing for 44 yards with one TD and two interceptions. He also rushed for 32 yards and one TD and also kicked a field goal.
“I thought Logan did a great job,” Milton said. “Considering we were asking the kid to play quarterback and he had one week’s notice, I thought he did a great job. He took some snaps this summer but has never taken them in a whole game where it was all on him.”
On defense, Matthews lethe team with seven tackles while Reid Blaylock and Ryder Dowdle each had four tackles apiece. Reed Thomas also had an interception.
This week’s game
The Rebels will hit the road this week as they play at Washington.
The Generals are 0-2 on the season, losing 16-14 to Greenville St. Joseph and 24-7 last week to Bayou Academy.
It’s another tough contest for the Rebels this week after a tough loss to Canton last week.
“They are a solid football team,” Milton said. “They lost against Bayou, who kind of pulled away late on them. They aren’t going to do anything fancy. They will throw a little bit on first down and use a lot of play action. They will try to run the ball first. We are just looking for week one to week two improvement and just want to give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
Last year, Washington enjoyed somewhat of a bounce-back season, going 9-2 and beating Carroll 24-16.
