Provided by Dan Heiser
Canton- The Bucktail Junior High Football team traveled to Canton on Saturday morning to take on the Warriors, in an early 10:00 AM kickoff and came just moments away from bringing home a hard-fought victory.
The Bucks came out ready to play, striking quickly with two early touchdowns behind a strong rushing attack led by Quinton Smith and then Beau Phillips added a two-point conversion, helping Bucktail jump out to an early 14-0 lead.
From there, the defenses took over as Canton and Bucktail battled back and forth throughout the remainder of the first half. Just before halftime, Canton put together an impressive drive and found the end zone, cutting the Bucktail advantage to 14-8 heading into the break.
Canton received the ball to begin the second half, but the Bucks defense came up with a stop and turned the ball back over to the offense. Bucktail took advantage when Tucker Lebo broke loose for a long touchdown run, extending the Bucks’ lead to 20-8.
Canton refused to go away. The Warriors put together another scoring drive early in the fourth quarter to cut Bucktail’s lead to 20-14.
The Bucks took possession and were able to move the football, but eventually were forced to punt with just 1:39 remaining in the game. With the outcome resting on the defense, Bucktail settled in and shut down Canton’s rushing attack.
Facing fourth down, Canton went to the air. The Canton receiver made a difficult catch over the middle in tight coverage and was able to break free for a touchdown. It was Canton’s first lead of the game, 22-20, in the closing moments.
With less than a minute remaining, the Bucks weren’t finished. Bucktail took possession needing to drive nearly 70 yards for a potential game-winning touchdown. The Bucks made one final attempt to move down the field, but the drive came up short as Canton held on for the 22-20 victory.
Despite the difficult ending, the Bucktail coaching staff had nothing but praise for the effort and continued growth of the team.
“We are extremely proud of this team’s effort in the game. We continue to show improvement on both sides of the football. This is all we can ask as coaches. It was a tough loss, but knowing the hearts of these kids, they are ready to get back to work and keep moving forward.” — Bucktail Coaches
It was another strong showing from a Bucktail team that has battled in all their games. They continue to show improvement and show that they will compete until the final whistle. The Bucks get a week off and will travel to Milton on Monday October 5th for a 5:00 PM kickoff.
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