Gutsy Canton tops Windsor Locks, 8-0, to snap 13-game losing streak

Members of the Canton High football team celebrate after Kyle Mullins’ touchdown put the Warriors ahead late in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s game in Suffield.

SUFFIELD, Sept. 22 – The options were limited for the Canton High football Saturday night in its Pequot Uncas Division game with Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby. There were just a few plays on the scorecard that the Warrior coaching staff felt comfortable running due to various injuries to Canton personnel.

“All they could do was be physical and gut it out,” Canton’s first-year head coach Paul Philippon said.

Canton’s Kyle Mullins (37) breaks a tackle and scores the only TD of the game on a 30-yard run against Windsor Locks Saturday night in Suffield.

The same plays that resulted in little yardage in the first half (24 yards) gained a few more yards in the second half. And in the final minutes of the game, the Warriors snapped a scoreless tie with the longest play of the game.

After Canton had converted on a fourth down and four on its 35-yard line with 5:41 left in the game thanks to an eight-yard pass from quarterback Eric Scott to Sebastian Gumbs, senior back Kyle Mullins shook off an attempted Windsor Locks tackle and rambled 30 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with 4:59 remaining to help the Warriors snap a 13-game losing streak with an 8-0 win over the co-op team under the lights at Suffield High.

It was a particularly sweet victory since this same Locks team scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with no time remaining a year ago in Canton to earn a two-point victory, 22-20. And this was a Windsor Locks team that scored 41 points a week ago in a win over Housatonic/Wamogo.

“I’m really proud of how we played,” Philippon said. “I know it is a cliché but how can you not be proud of a bunch of young kids who saw it nearly slip away, repeatedly, with fewer and fewer options on offense and still find a way to move the chains.”

It was a scoreless ballgame when Canton (1-1, 1-1 Pequot Uncas) took over on its own 29-yard line with 8:20 remaining. A 15-yard pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Canton 44-yard line. A 10-yard run from Jesse Lachance gave the Warriors a first down on Raiders 41-yard line.

But three plays later, Canton was fourth and four before Scott hit Gumbs on the right side with a quick pass to keep the drive alive. Scott completed 6-of-8 passes for 52 yards. That set up Mullins for his game-winning run.

The Canton defense was outstanding and put the Warriors in a position to win. They limited Windsor Locks’ outstanding running Trystan Cauley to just 116 yards on 23 carries. His longest gain was a 29-yard run in the second quarter.

“That is a rare kid,” Philippon said. “You take away his first read, his second read and you feel you have him bottled up and he picks up seven or eight yards.”

But the Warriors were quick enough to keep Cauley off balance. “They did a lot of blitzing and they were coming into our gaps,” he said. “We were trying to get past them but they were fast and getting past us.”

Windsor Locks (1-1, 1-1) nearly ate up the entire first quarter with a 15-play drive that stalled on the Canton 16-yard line. On fourth down and six, Cam Daley blitzed from the secondary to get Cauley for a one-yard loss. Another Locks drive got to the Canton 24-yard line late in the second quarter but that drive stalled thanks to a 15-yard personal foul penalty and Mullins tackling a Locks receiver for a five-yard loss.

Canton’s Nick Trowers and Daley also intercepted passes in the first half to slow down the Raiders.

“They were moving the ball up and down the field on us and we found a way to make a stop and keep our offense in the game,” Philippon said.

Canton moved the ball well in the second half. The Warriors moved into Raider territory before the drive sputtered when Dan Delos was hit for a two-yard loss and Scott was sacked for a six-yard loss.

On its next drive, Canton was moving well. They had gone from their own 16-yard line to the Windsor Locks 36. Jake Wood caught a big 12-yard reception to keep the drive alive. But the drive ended when LaChance had the ball stripped away.

The win was the first for Canton since beating Granby, 24-6 in November 2010. The Warriors lost the final two in 2010, all 10 last year and the season opener against Ellington last week.

It is the first shutout since a September 2008 win over Windsor Locks/Suffield, 20-0 and just the second victory under the lights in team history. The only other night win came in 2010 in a 20-18 win at Stafford/East Windsor.

Canton 8, Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby 0
At Suffield
Canton (1-1)                        0  0  0  8 — 8
WL/Suff/EG (1-1)                 0  0  0  0  – 0
Fourth quarter
C: Kyle Mullins 30 run (Dan Delos run), 4:59

Individual statistics
RUSHING: Canton – Kyle Mullins 14-89, Dan Delos 13-31, Eric Scott 4-minus 16, Jesse LaChance 7-20; Windsor Locks – Trystan Cauley 23-116, Phil Attanasio 8-33, Jake Lareau 3-minus 11, Dunatus Correa 1-minus 2, Jeremy Wilson 1-14
PASSING: Canton – Scott 6-8-0, 54; Windsor Locks – Lareau 5-8-1, 26, Cauley 1-2-1, minus 1
RECEIVING: Canton – Sebastian Gumbs 3-22, Jake Wood 3-32; Windsor Locks – Correa 2-0, No. 34 1-minus 1; Jarvis Miller 3-26
INTERCEPTIONS: Nick Trowers (C) 1-2, Cam Daley (C) 1-0
SACKS: Henry Bonini (C) and Jake Wood (C) 1-10
RETURNS: Gumbs 1-18 (punt return)

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