CANTON, Sept. 16 –Canton High quarterback Caleb McKane was involved in two school record scoring plays Saturday as the Warriors hosted the Stafford, East Windsor and Somers co-op football team in a Pequot Conference game.
Colton Engel ran for two touchdowns, returned an interception 27 yards for a touchdown and threw a 43-yard TD pass to lead Stafford/East Windsor/Somers to a 58-26 Uncas Division victory over Canton, which tied a school record with their 23rd consecutive defeat.
But McKane was involved in two exciting plays. The sophomore QB set a new school with an 88-yard touchdown run with 5:32 left in the second quarter, breaking the previous record of 85 yards set by Joe Cungo against Berlin in 1940. It was the oldest record scoring play in the Canton High football record book.
McKane also threw a school-record 79 yard pass reception to Colin Mackin early in the fourth quarter for a touchdown. That erased the record scoring play of 76 yards set by Luke Mentzer from Nick Delvecchio against Vinal Tech/Coginchaug in November 2007.
It was the most lopsided win for Stafford (2-0, 1-0 Pequot Uncas) in the series, which began in 1938. The visiting Bulldogs led 21-0 after one quarter and 35-0 in the second quarter before Canton got on the scoreboard on McKane’s school-record run of 88 yards. Carter Gavin had the two-point conversion run.
Gavin Wood (2-23) caught a pair of touchdown passes from McKane, including one in the second quarter and one in the fourth quarter.
Engel was all over the field for Stafford/East Windsor/Somers. Engel completed 6-of-8 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. He ran for a team-high 164 yards and one touchdown and also returned a 27-yard interception for a score. Engel intercepted two Canton passes and recovered a fumble. Kicker Luke Phillips was 7-of-8 kicking extra points.
Canton (0-2, 0-1 Pequot Uncas) hosts Coventry/Windham Tech/Bolton/Lyman Memorial co-op team (2-0, 1-0 Pequot Uncas) next weekend on Saturday in Canton beginning at 1 p.m.
NOTE: It was the largest margin of victory (40 points) for Stafford in the series. … Canton hasn’t won a game since beating Avon in overtime in the final game of the year to win the Pequot Conference Uncas Division title in November, 2014. The Warriors lost to Capital Prep/Achievement in the Class S tournament and posted back-to-back 0-10 seasons the last two years. That ties a 23-game losing streak from 1960-64 and 2007-08. Canton didn’t field a varsity football program from 1965 through 2006.
Stafford/EW/Somers 56, Canton 26
At Canton
Stafford/EW/Som (2-0) 21 14 13 7 – 56
Canton (0-2) 0 14 0 12 — 26
First quarter
S: Cotton Engel 4 run (Luke Phillips kick), 5:38
S: Engel 27 interception return (Phillips kick), 5:01
S: Cody Gelbo 16 pass from Tyler Oullette (Phillips kick), 0:34
Second quarter
S: Engel 70 run (Phillips kick), 10:06
S: Julien Revis 43 pass from Engel (Phillips kick), 5:56
C: Caleb McKane 88 run (Carter Gavin run), 5:32
C: Gavin Wood 10 pass from McKane (run fails), 0:32
Third quarter
S: Revis 10 run (Phillips kick), 8:58
S: Revis 11 run (kick fails), 1:58
Fourth quarter
C: Colin Mackin 79 pass from McKane (run fails), 10:22
S: Even Gardener 4 run (Phillips kick), 2:01
C: Wood 8 pass from McKane (pass fails), 0:00
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Canton – Caleb McKane 5-118, Carter Gavin 7-30, Braydon Flukinger 7-25; Stafford – Colton Engel 8-164, Julien Rivas 3-25, Brandon Gardiner 2-27, Evan Gardiner 7-32, A. Pizzimenti 2-0
PASSING: Canton – McKane 7-14-2, 130; Stafford – Tyler Oullette 4-7-1, 56; Colton Engel 6-9-0, 108
RECEIVING: Canton – Carter Gavin 2-35, Gavin Wood 2-23, Colin Mackin 1-70, Donovan Macklin 1-minus 3, Carson Humphrey 1-10; Joey Fitzgerald 1-10; Stafford – Cody Gebo 3-39, Devon Labura 2-29, Engel 1-18, Tristian Gamick 1-12, Julian Riva 1-43, Jeff Kology 1-5, Garreth Bowers 1-8
INTERCEPTIONS: Engel (Stafford) 2, FUM RECOVERY: Engel (Stafford)
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 30 years.


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