Defense stands tall in a big win for Canton football

Sebastian Gumbs’ 81-yard kickoff return gave Canton the lead for good against Enfield Saturday.

CANTON, Oct. 13 – Some wins mean a little more than others. The Warriors were thrilled to earn victories over co-op teams from Windsor Locks/Suffield/East Granby and Housatonic/Wamogo earlier this fall. But those two teams were a combined 1-5 in the first three weeks of the season.

Canton High’s football team picked up a big 28-21 win on Saturday against an Enfield team that came in with a winning record and a Raider team that had hopes to contend for the Pequot Uncas Division championship this year.

The Warriors (3-2, 3-2 Pequot Uncas) won for the third time in the last four games with guts and pride. Canton stopped two Enfield drives inside its own 20-yard line in the final five minutes of the game to secure the win. The Warriors also won with backup quarterback Cameron Daley, who stepped in after starter Eric Scott got hurt and led Canton to a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter.

Enfield (3-2, 3-2) led 7-0 after the Raiders scored on a 38-yard run from Nick Bevilacqua but the Warriors took the lead on a four-year run from Kyle Mullins and a 39-yard TD pass to Terrence Brophy from Daley with 38 seconds left before halftime.

Enfield tied the game at 14-14 on a three-yard run from Michael Crowley with 3:31 left in the third quarter but Sebastian Gumbs quickly got the lead back for Canton with an 81-yard kickoff return – the second longest kickoff return for a TD in school history.

Canton extended its lead to 28-14 when Mullins scored his second TD of the day on a 20-yard run with 11:23 remaining. Jesse LaChance converted on the two-point conversion. Bevilacqua (14-96 rushing) added his second TD of the day to cut the lead to seven but that is as close as the Raiders could get. Enfield QB Kyle Maynard completed 13-of-28 passes for 185 yards.

Mullins ran for a team-high 89 yards on 18 carries while Dan Delos finished with 67 yards on 14 carries. Sophomore linebacker Henry Bonini had an interception and fumble recovery for Canton.

The victory for Canton was just its second over a team with a winning record since the varsity program was restarted in 2007. In 2009, the Warriors beat Ellington/Somers, 22-8, a team that was 4-1 coming into that contest.

Canton 28, Enfield 21
At Canton
Enfield (3-2)            7    0  7  7 – 21
Canton (3-2)            0  14  6  8 – 28
First Quarter
E: Nick Bevilacqua 38 run (Anthony Trotta kick), 1:47
Second Quarter
C: Kyle Mullins 4 run (kick blocked), 8:15
C: Terrence Brophy 39 pass from Cam Daley (Jesse LaChance run), 0:38
Third Quarter
E: Michael Crowley 3 run (Trotta kick), 3:31
C: Sebastian Gumbs 81 kickoff return (run failed), 3:17
Fourth Quarter
C: Mullins 20 run (LaChance run), 11:23
E: Bevilacqua 9 run (Trotta kick), 9:29