CHS football survives turnovers, edges Pentucket 6-0

Behind a bruising running attack and a bend-but-don’t-break defense, the Canton High varsity football team opened its 2016 campaign with a 6-0 road win on Saturday over Pentucket Regional.

Senior quarterback Dennis Ross (Mike Barucci photo)

The Bulldogs, who made the 60-mile trek to West Newbury, survived four fumbles and controlled the line of scrimmage with 267 rushing yards, including a team-high 122 from senior quarterback Dennis Ross. Junior running back Alec Ragusa also displayed impressive straight-ahead power as he rushed for 105 yards on 22 carries.

The Pentucket Sachems were a good test for the Bulldogs after having achieved a 10-1 record last year. Both teams were in Division 4 but moved to different classes due to realignment and enrollment changes throughout the state. Pentucket moves to Division 3 while Canton is now in Division 2A.

The Bulldogs scored the only points of the game late in the first quarter on a two-yard touchdown run by Ragusa and threatened several more times in the game, only to be foiled by lost fumbles or penalties.

One encouraging sign was the play of the offensive line, which provided constant holes for Ross, Ragusa, Dan Alice, and Joe Mulkay. Playing well on the line were Brian Smith, Mark Whalen, Jude Albert, Kearvens Theodore, Ben Paolillo, and Chris Benjamin.

The entire Bulldog defense also played well with 15 players making at least one tackle, led by Mulkay with six. Ragusa had four tackles and a sack; Dan Pierre had three tackles and a sack; and Ross had a great game with four tackles, an interception, and a tipped pass that foiled another Sachem drive.

While he was not pleased with the fumbles, head coach Dave Bohane acknowledged that it was the first varsity game for some of the starters and he hopes the “first-time jitters and mistakes will go away.”

“All the mistakes we made are fixable,” he added.

Bohane said he was impressed by the play of the offensive line, the running ability of Ross, and the strength and drive of Ragusa.

Pentucket head coach Steve Hayden said it was a good, competitive, defensive game, a “street fight between two good teams.” He credited the Canton defense for its aggressiveness.

The Bulldogs are led this season by senior captains Thomas Monagle, Smith, Pierre, and Alice.

Canton will play its home opener tomorrow night against nonleague Scituate at 7 p.m. at Memorial Field. The squad will then kick off division play, starting with an away contest against Milford on Friday, September 23.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=34300

Posted by Mike Berger on Sep 16 2016. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.