CHS football team starts fast but falls to OA

The CHS football team started fast but couldn’t generate enough offense to finish the game as the Bulldogs fell at home 17-14 to Oliver Ames.

The Bulldogs appeared to be well on their way to earning their first win of the season after scoring the game’s first 14 points — all in the first half — while dominating the Tigers on defense for large stretches of the game. Canton took a 14-7 lead into the fourth quarter, but OA responded with a touchdown to tie it and then booted a field goal with four minutes remaining to clinch the win.

The Canton defense played well throughout the game, holding the Tigers to 10 points and forcing the late field goal attempt after the Tigers had a first-and-goal to go at the Bulldog two-yard line. OA’s other score came on a punt return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Offensively, the Bulldogs sprinted out of the gate but sputtered in the second quarter and all but disappeared in the second half.

Canton scored its first touchdown early in the opening quarter after the CHS special teams unit recovered a muffed OA punt to give the Bulldogs the ball on a short field, and two plays later, quarterback Ryan Conrad found receiver Elias Camacho for a 20-yard reception and an early 7-0 lead. Canton quickly got the ball back after a successful onsides kick attempt, and two plays later, Conrad ran it in from four yards out to make it 14-0.

In the second quarter, OA scored on a long pass to cut the deficit in half, but overall, CHS head coach Jim Goff liked what he saw out of his team in the first half. “We were playing fairly well on both sides of the ball,” he said.

But despite gaining a few first downs in the third quarter, Canton was unable to mount a scoring drive, while OA came back to tie the game on a 40-yard punt return early in the fourth. The Tigers went on to kick the go-ahead field goal while their defense managed to hang on for the win.

“We competed well, but we couldn’t close [out] the game, which disappointed us,” Goff said.

Anthony LaRose played a sound two-way game for the Bulldogs, rushing for 65 yards while finishing as the team’s leading tackler and intercepting a pass. Conrad completed five passes with most of them going to Camacho.

The Bulldogs now go on the road to play Foxboro tomorrow night at 7 p.m.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Nov 4 2010. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.