Canton’s Latvis works hard to make himself into a player

CANTON, Oct. 20 – Two years ago, Erick Latvis was a 5-foot-11 sophomore on the Canton High football team. A running back as a freshman on the junior varsity, the coaching staff moved him to the offensive line because had grown a bit over the summer.

Canton’s Erik Latvis rarely leaves the field now.

“I was unusable. Ask the coach. I was small (160 pounds) and I didn’t take it seriously,” Latvis said. Canton High coach Roger Pearl was a bit more kind, but honest. “He just wasn’t good enough (for varsity),” Pearl said. “He wasn’t big or strong enough.”

It’s a different story today. Latvis has worked hard and matured into a 6-foot-4, 210-pound senior. Now, he seldom leaves the field for a down, playing on both sides of the ball for the Warriors.

He had a game-high 14 tackles, including 11 unassisted stops, in a two-point loss to Windsor Locks/Suffield along with five tackles and a blocked punt against Housatonic/Wamogo. Against a strong Ellington team, he had five tackles. In a recent loss against Avon, he had another five tackles but his presence allowed his teammates to make plays.

“They had to double team him which allowed our linebackers to get open,” Pearl said. “That’s why we had three good quarters of football.”

Avon shutout the Warriors, 31-0, but it wasn’t an easy game. The Falcons led 8-0 at halftime thanks to a Colin Moore touchdown run with 1:44 left in the second quarter. However, Avon punted four times on its first five possessions. The other possession stalled on the Warrior 23-yard line.

“I give Canton all the credit in the world,” Avon coach Brett Quinion said. “They did a great job taking away our power and isolation game. I had to change our blocking schemes.”

Pearl said, “We were aggressive and physical. (Quinion) said we were the most physical team they have played this year.”

Canton senior Erik Latvis

Latvis is a centerpiece for Canton on offense (right tackle) and on defense (left tackle, left end), where the young Warriors start four freshmen.

Latvis said he didn’t take the game as seriously as he should have as a sophomore. As a junior, he began to get some playing time at the varsity level and realized he would have to contribute. He began to listen to his older teammates and coaches. And he stepped up his off-season preparations.

“He has worked hard year round to make himself a better player. He played lacrosse which made him more agile and quick,” Pearl said. A three-sport athlete, Latvis wrestles in the winter and plays lacrosse in the spring. He also began training with the Tyler English’s gym in Canton.

“I try to keep in shape all year,” Latvis said. “I went to (Tyler English’s) gym  and they really got me into good shape. All spring I have been running. All summer I have been running and lifting weights as hard as I could.”

He has grown used to playing on the offensive and defensive side of the ball. “You get a little winded but you learn to keep pushing through it,” he said.

Latvis has made several tackles in the backfield for losses in the first four games on the defensive side of the ball. But he has found a special satisfaction in making a good block on the offensive line. “It’s more fun to make a block and see your teammate run down the field for a touchdown,” he said.

Latvis would like to see the Warriors pick up some victories. “It’s frustrating,” he admitted.

Pearl said it is a matter of eliminating crucial mistakes at key moments. Quinion called Latvis a terrific player and said, “There are some good players over there. They are a lot closer to becoming a good team than they may realize.”

And Latvis said the Warriors had a great week of practice following the loss to Avon. “It’s the best we’ve had all year,” he said. “It woke us up. It showed that we can play with some of the big teams in the league. We realized what we are capable of doing.”

Canton has three of its final four games at home. The Warriors will host Gilbert/Northwestern on Saturday, Oct. 29 and Stafford/East Windsor on Sat. Nov. 5. Canton will host Hartford-based Sport Medicine and Science Academy at Simsbury High on Thursday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m., before playing at Granby on Thanksgiving morning at 10 a.m.

Avon 31, Canton 0
At Avon
Canton (0-4)       0  0  0    0 – 0
Avon (3-1)          0  8  8  16 – 31
Second quarter
A: Colin Moore 9 run (Moore run), 1:44
Third quarter
A: Moore 71 run (Moore run), 3:52
Fourth quarter
A: Moore 2 run (Moore run), 9:34
A: Noah Gilmore 50 run (Will DiStefano kick), 3:18
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Avon – Noah Gilmore 2-95, Patrick Driscoll-Kelly 1-minus 1, Colin Moore 24-175, Jimmy Murphy 1-7, Sean Smith 3-minus 1, Chris Suttmeier 1-11; Canton – Eric Scott 7-minus 17, Robby Grillo 1-2, Kyle Mullins 22-70, Jesse Lachance 2-minus 3, Cameron Daley 4-13, Keith Wilson 1-minus 13, Dan Delos 3-1
PASSING: Avon – Colin Moore 2-4-0, 19; Canton – Eric Scott 6-9-1, 59; Daley 0-1-0
RECEIVING: Avon – Will DiStefano 2-19; Canton – Jake Wood 3-26, Zach Powell 1-30, Conner Gavin 1-4, Robby Grillo 1-minus 1
RETURNS: Kickoffs – Jimmy Murphy (A) 1-18, Colin Moore (A) 1-12, Cameron Daley (C) 4-38; Punts – Patrick Driscoll-Kelly (A) 3-19
SACKS: Jimmy Murphy (A) 2.5-22, Kwinton Proffitt 1-6; INTERCEPTIONS: Stephen Griffin (A) 1-8; PUNTING: DiStefano (A) 3-104