Man About Canton: Canton/Stoughton Rivalry

Did you know …

Canton High School will face Stoughton High School in the classic Thanksgiving Day football matchup tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Memorial Field in Canton.

Each year, MAC publishes some facts, figures, and trivia from the Canton/Stoughton rivalry that started in 1926. Here we go for this year:

The rivalry is 91 years of football action since the two teams started playing each other in 1926. Stoughton currently leads the series with 47 wins, 40 losses, and four ties. Stoughton High moved ahead by beating Canton 19 of the last 22 games.

Last year, Stoughton (8-3) beat Canton (3-8) by a score of 48-0, the worst loss in the 91-year rivalry.

In 2013, Stoughton (9-2) beat Canton (3-8) 28-20. The 20 points scored by Canton were the most points scored by a losing CHS team in the history of the rivalry. In 2012, Canton (3-6) upset Stoughton (9-2) 28-26 in overtime, and the 26 points scored by Stoughton were the most points ever scored in a losing Thanksgiving Day game.

Between 2005 and 2011, Stoughton outscored Canton 229-35, or an average score of 33-5.

The longest undefeated streak in the series was 10 straight years (1983-1992) by Canton. That stretch also included six straight shutouts (1984-89).

Between 1950 and 1965, Stoughton lost only three games to Canton.

Between 1965 and 1992, Canton lost only four games to Stoughton.

Between 1995 and 2016, Stoughton lost only three games to Canton.

Between 1949 and 1951, CHS won 25 total games and lost only twice — both to Stoughton in 1950 and 1951. In 1950, Stoughton snapped the Bulldogs’ 17-game winning streak with a 7-6 win.

Between 1953 and 1958, Stoughton won all six games and outscored Canton 144-19.

Between 1979 and 1981, CHS went undefeated for 29 straight games, one of the longest streaks in Massachusetts high school football history.

In 2003, Canton beat Stoughton 27-12 with Owen Hughes setting a CHS record by rushing for 251 yards on 34 of Canton’s 58 total plays. The old record was 203 yards held by Mike Toomey (1984).

Stoughton running back Aaron Bascon holds the rushing record of 305 yards on 33 carries set in 1993 as Stoughton beat Canton 30-15. The Black Knights scored all 30 points in the third quarter, the most points ever scored in one quarter in a CHS/SHS Thanksgiving Day game.

In 2006, Stoughton’s Joe Jeudy scored 26 points against CHS, defeating the Bulldogs 34-0. The next year, in 2007, Jeudy went on to set a CHS/SHS game-scoring record of 30 points as Stoughton clobbered Canton 47-14. The score at halftime was 40-6, which is the biggest margin at halftime in the rivalry.

Harry Josephson holds the record for the longest touchdown run from scrimmage when he broke off a tackle in the 1949 game for 96 yards. Josephson also scored the winning touchdown, leading the undefeated Bulldogs to a 14-7 win.

In the 1952 game, Joe Berardi scored all 13 points as Canton beat Stoughton 13-7.

The most points scored by a Canton football player during a Thanksgiving Day game is 20 by Mark Gilmore in 1983. Gilmore had 42 carries for 201 yards in Canton’s 29-25 win.

The Canton-Stoughton Thanksgiving Day game is the only game played with 12-minute quarters. All other games use 10-minute quarters.

This year, MAC will revisit back-to-back years where a year made a world of difference:

1951 (Stoughton 19 – Canton 0): Stoughton’s Richie Klim was the state’s highest scorer with 164 points, and against Canton, he scored all three touchdowns. It was Canton’s only loss of the season. That Stoughton team scored the most points in SHS history with 282 points in nine games.

1952 (Canton 13 – Stoughton 7): Canton’s Joe Berardi scored all 13 points as Canton beat Stoughton.

1940 (Canton 6 – Stoughton 0): In one of the biggest upsets in the Canton-Stoughton series, the CHS 1940 team beat an undefeated and unscored-upon Stoughton High School 6-0. In the game, Canton’s Jim Kelleher blocked a Stoughton punt that bounced out of bounds on Stoughton’s one-yard line. Canton tried three times to score with runs up the middle but to no avail. On fourth down, CHS halfback Antoine Gomes lunged over a hole made by left guard Charlie Tolias for the only score in the game.

1941 (Stoughton 25 – Canton 0): Stoughton captain Charlie “Butch” Leonard scored two touchdowns and Edmond Rafalko score one, shutting out Canton 25-0.

1982 (Stoughton 7 – Canton 6): Canton scored with less than two minutes to play on Alex DiGiantommaso’s 67-yard punt return, but Stoughton linebackers Larry Smith and Billy Sheehan stopped DiGiantomasso on his two-point conversion attempt, preserving Stoughton’s first win over Canton in eight years.

1983 (Canton 29 – Stoughton 25): Mark Gilmore had 42 carries for 201 yards while scoring 20 points. Brian Sullivan added a 22-yard field goal while CHS quarterback John Wright hit Brad Breheney for an eight-yard touchdown pass. This was Paul Therrian’s last game as CHS football coach.

Interesting Scores: In 1986, Canton beat Stoughton 48-0. Thirty years later, in 2016, Stoughton beat Canton by the same score. Each of these games, with identical scores, were the worst losses by both schools in the 91 years of football action.

The only quarterbacks to lead Canton High to three straight wins were Charlie Stevenson (1929-31) and Cliff Lewis (1945-47).

CHS football players who scored three touchdowns against Stoughton included Bill Duggan in 1946, Brian White in 1977, Ricky Shannon in 1981, and Mark Gilmore in 1983.

The only players to kick a field goal for CHS in a Stoughton game were Brian Sullivan — and he did it twice, a 22-yard field goal in 1983 and a 20-yard field goal in 1984 — and Steve Leonard, who booted a 22-yard field goal in 1980. In 1984, Brian Sullivan also scored on a 46-yard pass from Kevin Hagan and added four PATs for 13 points.

Mike Toomey scored four touchdowns against Stoughton: two each in 1984 and 1985. Bill Duggan also scored four touchdowns, one in 1945 and three in 1946.

The 1981 Canton High School football team may have been the best CHS team ever. The team finished the season undefeated (11-0), scoring 357 points while giving up only 63.

Between 1977 and 1990, Canton High won eight Hockomock League football titles. Since 1990, more than 25 years ago, Canton has not had a winning record in the Hockomock League.

So there you have it, what a difference a year makes in the Canton/Stoughton Thanksgiving Day rivalry.

Earlier this year, Canton (4-6) and Stoughton (6-4) played against each other with Stoughton winning by a score of 12-0. Even though this year Stoughton is again favored to emerge winners over Canton, MAC predicts a 13-12 Canton win.

However, as we have read, one never knows what might happen when these two old rivals meet on the football field for the 91st time.

This is all for now folks; see you next week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=37607

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Nov 23 2017. Filed under Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.