
Canton’s Cam Daley scored 2 TDs and ran for a career-high 107 yards in Thursday night’s win over SMSA/University at Dillon Stadium.
HARTFORD – The Canton High football didn’t surprise the SMSA/University Thurday night at Dillon Stadium. The Tigerhawks knew that the Warriors would run the ball. They simply couldn’t stop them.
Canton ran for 222 yards and had three long scoring drives of 10 or more plays as the Warriors rolled to a 35-6 Pequot Conference Uncas Division win on opening night. On the other side of the ball, Canton gave up just one yard rushing to the Tigerhawks and had an interception, two sacks and seven tackles for losses.
“I’m proud of them,” Canton coach Paul Philippon said. “It was a good effort but we made a lot of mistakes. We’ll learn from this and more forward. They are a bunch of workers.”
Senior Cam Daley was all over the field. He ran 17 times for a career-high 107 yards and two touchdowns. He caught a 21-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Alex Higley and completed 1-of-2 passes for 32 yards. “He was born a football player,” Philippon joked afterward.
Dan Delos ran for two touchdowns and 91 yards on 21 carries. Defensively, he several stops and had a sack.
“They’re physically stronger than we are. Canton has a lot of players who have a lot of plays under their belt and that makes a difference. They’ll be a contender,” Tigerhawks coach Graham Martin said. “We made a lot of mistakes, mentally and physically.”
Canton took command immediately. They marched 53 yards on six plays in 3:26 with Daley scoring on a 33-yard run with 8:24 left in the first quarter. Melton’s extra point gave Canton a 7-0 lead.
Junior Mekiah Davis intercepted SMSA/University QB George Davis on the Tigerhawks’ second offensive play, giving Canton the ball on the SMSA 36-yard line. It took Canton just eight plays to take a 14-0 lead on an eight-yard run by Delos. Twice, Daley kept the drive alive with third down runs of seven and eight yards, respectively.
The Tigerhawks caught a break when Canton coughed up the ball with a fumble on its own 25-yard line. George Davis completed a four-yard pass to Jordan Young with 6:35 left in the first half to cut the lead to 14-6. The conversion run failed.
But Canton marched 57 yards on 11 plays, eating up 5:52 to take a 21-6 lead at halftime on a five-yard touchdown run by Delos with 30 seconds left in the half. Canton had two big fourth down plays to keep the drive going. Delos picked up four yards on a fourth-and-one play at midfield to keep the drive alive and at the Tigerhawk 46, Daley completed a 32-yard pass to Melton on a fourth down and 11 play.
Canton had just two drives in the second half. They extended their lead to 28-6 in the third quarter on Higley’s first career touchdown pass, a 10-yard completion to Melton. That was the finishing touch of a 10-play, 58-yard march that ate up 6:42.
In the fourth quarter, Canton scored after a 10-play, 53-yard drive that ate up 5:33. Melton had a big third down run of 18 yards on a third and 11 play to keep the drive going. Daley’s second touchdown of the day gave Canton a 35-6 lead with 2:25 left in the game.
NOTES: The 29-point win is the third largest margin of victory for Canton in an opening day contest and the most since a record 37-point win over the Torrington junior varsity in 1947. The Warriors have earned victories on opening day in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1950-52. The Tigerhawks fall to 1-14-1 on the opening day. … Melton was 5-for-5 kicking extra points, the fourth time in his career he has hit five PATs or more in a single game. … It was the first time that Canton played under the lights on opening day.
Canton 35, SMSA/University 6
At Hartford
Canton (1-0) 14 7 7 7 — 35
SMSA/Univ. (0-1) 0 6 0 0 — 6
First quarter
C: Cam Daley 33 run (Eddie Melton kick), 8:24
C: Dan Delos 8 run (Melton kick), 3:52
Second quarter
S: Nicholas Lajara 4 pass from George Davis (run fails), 6:35
C: Delos 5 run (Melton kick), 0:30
Third quarter
C: Melton 10 pass from Alex Higley (Melton kick), 2:33
Fourth quarter
C: Daley 5 run (Melton kick), 2:25
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Canton – Dan Delos 21-91, Cam Daley 17-107, Eddie Melton 2-19, Henry Bonini 2-5, Alex Higley 1-0; SMSA/Univ. – Eliyah Nyama 8-23, George Davis 3-minus 27, Allen Walker 5-7, Pharoh Mathis 2-minus 2
PASSING: Canton – Alex Higley 2-4-0, 31; Cam Daley 1-2-0, 32; SMSA/Univ. – George Davis 6-14-1, 56, Blake Breglia 2-5-0, 19
RECEIVING: Canton – Cam Daley 1-21, Eddie Melton 2-32; SMSA/Univ. – Devyn Lozada 4-34, Nicholas Lajara 2-16, Daunte Brinkley 1-14, Gary Miller 1-11
RETURNS: Canton – Daley 1-10 (punt), Delos 1-23 (kickoff); SMSA/Univ. – Lajara 3-37, Brinkley 1-10
INTERCEPTION: Canton – Mekiah Davis 1-1; SACKS: Delos 1-4, Liam Yurchick (Canton) 1-13; FUMBLE RECOVERY: Lajara (SMSA)
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.


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