Leake remains undefeated
Southern Sports & Travel
The Canton Panthers entered Friday’s district 3AA game at Leake with a 2-3 overall mark and a district record of 0-1. Canton had allowed 87 points in their last two games but unlike many teams that would have cashed in their chips early the Panthers showed up in Madden looking for a brawl. It didn’t take long for anyone attending the game to see that things could get interesting. Canton’s entire squad went to the center of the field and stood on the LA (Leake Academy) emblem and in unison turned to the Leake bench and started jumping up and down in an attempt to claim the field as their own. This may have been the fire Leake needed to dig deep and recover from an early deficit.
Canton wasted little time getting on top as senior tailback Mackey Simpson put the Panthers up 7-0 on a 3 yard run. Leake’s first possession resulted in a punt that pinned Canton inside their own 1 yard line and with the Panthers facing a 3rd and 10 from the 1, Mackey Simpson broke through with a 99 yard run increasing the lead to 14-0 in the 1st quarter. With the possibility of finding themselves in a hole too deep to recover from Leake answered on a Grant Wilson 5 yard run to close the gap to 14-7. The game had turned as the 2nd quarter ensued and the only score before the half came on a 34 yard field goal from Leake’s Dylan Alford as Canton took a 14-10 lead into halftime.
Leake quarterback Grant Wilson put the Rebels on top for the first time as the junior ran in from 11 yards out in the 3rd quarter. A Dylan Alford PAT put Leake up 17-14.
With Canton facing a 17-14 deficit entering the final quarter the Panthers made a costly mistake as they fumbled near their goal line and Leake defensive end Joshua Crane recovered the ball in the end zone. Alford’s PAT put the Rebels up 24-14, but Canton refused to quit as they scored on a Kyle Warren 22 yard run with five minutes left. Leake’s Hank Coleman blocked the PAT attempt leaving the score at 24-20. Leake burned the remaining time off the clock and earned a hard fought 24-20 win.
Caleb Burns ran for 135 yards on 23 carries for Leake and quarterback Grant Wilson had 74 yards on 6 carries and two touchdowns, along with 46 passing yards. Kannon King led the Rebel defense. The junior linebacker had 9 tackles and another junior linebacker, Ethan Bobo, had 8 stops.
Mackey Simpson led Canton with 165 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.
Next up for Leake (5-0 & 2-0) will be a road trip to face the Simpson Cougars in another important district battle. The Rebels are currently ranked #4 in the new Southern Sports & Travel Top 10 poll.
Canton falls to 2-4 & 0-2 and will travel to Tri-County.
Canton wasted little time getting on top as senior tailback Mackey Simpson put the Panthers up 7-0 on a 3 yard run. Leake’s first possession resulted in a punt that pinned Canton inside their own 1 yard line and with the Panthers facing a 3rd and 10 from the 1, Mackey Simpson broke through with a 99 yard run increasing the lead to 14-0 in the 1st quarter. With the possibility of finding themselves in a hole too deep to recover from Leake answered on a Grant Wilson 5 yard run to close the gap to 14-7. The game had turned as the 2nd quarter ensued and the only score before the half came on a 34 yard field goal from Leake’s Dylan Alford as Canton took a 14-10 lead into halftime.
Leake quarterback Grant Wilson put the Rebels on top for the first time as the junior ran in from 11 yards out in the 3rd quarter. A Dylan Alford PAT put Leake up 17-14.
With Canton facing a 17-14 deficit entering the final quarter the Panthers made a costly mistake as they fumbled near their goal line and Leake defensive end Joshua Crane recovered the ball in the end zone. Alford’s PAT put the Rebels up 24-14, but Canton refused to quit as they scored on a Kyle Warren 22 yard run with five minutes left. Leake’s Hank Coleman blocked the PAT attempt leaving the score at 24-20. Leake burned the remaining time off the clock and earned a hard fought 24-20 win.
Caleb Burns ran for 135 yards on 23 carries for Leake and quarterback Grant Wilson had 74 yards on 6 carries and two touchdowns, along with 46 passing yards. Kannon King led the Rebel defense. The junior linebacker had 9 tackles and another junior linebacker, Ethan Bobo, had 8 stops.
Mackey Simpson led Canton with 165 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.
Next up for Leake (5-0 & 2-0) will be a road trip to face the Simpson Cougars in another important district battle. The Rebels are currently ranked #4 in the new Southern Sports & Travel Top 10 poll.
Canton falls to 2-4 & 0-2 and will travel to Tri-County.
