Football dominates D-R in abbreviated home opener

Senior captain Ruairi Ritson leads the Bulldogs onto the field. (Mike Tureski photo)

The lights at Memorial Field went out with less than five minutes left in the game, but the CHS football Bulldogs already had things well in hand as they rolled to a 28-0 shutout victory over nonleague Dighton-Rehoboth in Friday’s season opener.

The game was eventually called due to the lighting outage, which CHS Athletic Director Danny Erickson attributed to an issue with the timer. “The problem has been rectified and should not happen again,” said Erickson. “But until we eventually replace these 25-year-old lights with LEDs, which is on the horizon, any time they go off it takes 15-20 minutes for them to come back on.”

The Bulldogs nevertheless sailed to an easy win with a ball-control offense led by a powerful offensive line and a productive running game that gained nearly 300 yards on the ground. Senior Derrick McCruse Jr. accounted for 130 of those rushing yards on just 17 carries while racking up a pair of touchdowns. McCruse left the game in the third quarter with an injury but returned in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Owen Lane continued his fine play from the previous season, rushing for 58 yards and a two-yard touchdown and connecting on three of six passes for 60 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to senior Charlie Zack.

The offensive line was dominant from the start of the game, creating big holes for McCruse and Lane behind a group featuring Giovanni Distasio, Luke Richards, Luke Laguerre, and Kion Camillo.

The Canton defense was similarly stout, allowing no sustained Falcon drives. Lane was the leading tackler at linebacker with four while Ruairi Ritson, Patrick King, and Patrick Lipowicz each had three with Ritson and Lipowicz both recording sacks.

Lane and Ritson are both captains this year along with Zack and Distasio, while Laguerre served as game captain for the opener.

Despite the dominant play, the Bulldogs committed nine penalties, including two that were declined by the Falcons. CHS head coach Anthony Fallon and his assistant coaches were not happy with the penalties and were planning to review the film the following morning. “We have a lot to clean up,” said Fallon.

The Bulldogs will next travel to Norwood High on Thursday (tonight) and will have their work cut out for them against a Mustang team that is coming off a 14-7 opening week win over Stoughton. Canton also has upcoming road games against Dedham and Mansfield with their next home contest scheduled for October 5 against Oliver Ames.

Before to Friday’s kickoff, the Bulldogs held a moment of silence in memory of Steven D’Antuono, a lifelong Canton resident and CHS football alum. Well known around town, D’Antuono was always helping out his neighbors and was remembered for all of the kind and loving things he did for others. “His dedication to Canton Bulldog football was unmatched,” noted team officials.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Sep 14 2023. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.