By Staff
(Photo by Tina McMannis)
CANTON – On Friday the Canton/Galva Eagles took one step closer to a state championship opportunity by rolling over Lebo at home in the state quarterfinals, 52-6.
With the win the number two ranked Eagles are now 11-0 for the season as they take a road trip next Friday to play number one and unbeaten Axtell (11-0) in the 8-Man Division II semifinals. The other semifinal matchup will be number three ranked Dighton (11-0) and number five ranked Kensington/Thunder Ridge (10-1).
Friday, Canton/Galva put four scored on the board in the first quarter on a pair of Garrett Maltbie runs of fourteen and nine yards, a 21-yard scoring pass from Maltbie to Cason Mastre plus a 58-yard fumble recovery for a score from Lane McMannis. Lebo did manage to squeeze a scoring run in between the four Eagle touchdowns, leaving Canton/Galva with a 32-6 lead going into the second quarter.
Maltbie dove into the end zone from the one for his third score of the game right at nine minutes left in the second quarter. Maltbie then connected with TJ Koehn on scoring passes covering 57 and 38 yards to close out the scoring for the Eagles and giving them the final 52-6 victory.
The Eagle offense had the ball for nearly twenty-eight minutes and ran 37 plays for 307 yards of which 225 came through the air while committing zero turnovers and zero penalties.
Maltbie accounted for 287 of the yards by running for 62 on 10 carries and completing 11-of-19 passes for 225 while having a hand in seven of the Eagles eight scores.
Tight end TJ Koehn had a spectacular game catching just three passes for 118 yards and two scores while Cason Mastre had three receptions for 51.
Defensively, Canton/Galva held Lebo to just 117 yards on 31 snaps and forcing four turnovers. Jett Vincent upped by two his state record interceptions as the Eagles held Lebo to completing just three-of-16 passes for 23 yards.
Lebo at CANTON/GALVA EAGLES
SCORING: Lebo 6-0-0-0=6; EAGLES 32-20-0-0=52
1st Quarter:
EAGLES (9:48): Garrett Maltbie on a 14-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Garrett Maltbie Run) 0-8
EAGLES (6:37): Cason Mastre on a 21-yard pass play from Garrett Maltbie (2-Point Conversion – Cason master Run) 0-16
Lebo (6:19): Scored on a 65-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Failed) 6-16
EAGLES (6:07): Lane McMannis on a 58-yard fumble recovery return (2-Point Conversion – Garrett Maltbie pass to Cason Mastre) 6-24
EAGLES (2:19): Garrett Maltbie on a 9-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Garrett Maltbie Run) 6-32
2nd Quarter:
EAGLES (8:59): Garrett Maltbie on a 1-yard run (2-Point Conversion – Failed) 6-38
EAGLES (2:02): TJ Koehn on a 57-yard pass play from Garrett Maltbie (2-Point Conversion – Failed) 6-44
EAGLES (1:02): TJ Koehn on a 38-yard pass play from Garrett Maltbie (2-Point Conversion – Garrett Maltbie pass to Wyatt Collins) 6-52
TEAM STATS:
Lebo: 1st Downs – 4; Total Offense – 31 for 117; Passing – 3/16 for 23, 3 interceptions; Rushing – 15 for 94; Fumbles – 1/1; Penalties – 3/25; Tim of Possession – 10:22.
EAGLES: 1st Downs – 14; Total Offense – 37 for 307; Passing – 11/19 for 225, 3 scores; Rushing – 18 for 82; Fumbles – 0/0; Penalties – 0/0; Time of Possession – 27:50.
CANTON/GALVA EAGLE INDIVIDUAL STATS:
Passing: Garrett Maltbie – 11/19 for 225, 3 scores.
Rushing: Garrett Maltbie – 10 for 62, 3 scores; Lane McMannis – 3 for 9; Ryder Norstrom – 2 for 7; Jett Vincent – 2 for 4; Team – 1 for 0.
Receiving: TJ Koehn – 3 for 118, 2 scores; Cason Mastre – 3 for 51, 1 score; Ryder Norstrom – 3 for 38; Lane McMannis – 2 for 18.
Defense: Jett Vincent – 6, 4 solo, 2 interceptions; TJ Koehn – 5, 2 solo; Wyatt Collins – 5, 4 solo; Lane McMannis – 5, 2 solo, 1 interception; Garrett Maltbie – 4, 2 solo; Ryder Norstrom – 3, 1 solo.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)