4th Quarter comeback comes up just short in Thanksgiving game

The Bulldog Football team went into Thanksgiving morning with hopes of knocking off favored Stoughton for the 2nd straight season.  The team certainly gave Bulldog fans plenty to cheer about and provided quite a 4th quarter comeback for those fans who braved the cold temperatures until the end. But it was too little to late as the 'Dogs fought hard but had to settle for seconds, falling 28-20.

The game started out on a high note for the Bulldogs who seemed to catch the Knights sleeping. A nearly flawless first possession saw the home team score on a 4-play drive, ending with a Sterling Garvin rushing touchdown. The 'Dogs (3-8) kept the Knights (10-2) off the scoreboard for the rest of the half but were unable to capitalize on a couple of good scoring chances and had to settle for the 7-0 lead at the break.

The 3rd quarter was all Black Knights as the visitors seemed to come out of the locker room with more determination for the 2nd half. An early Stoughton touchdown tied it up and was quickly followed up by three more Black Knight visits to the end zone, resulting in a 28-7 Stoughton lead midway through the final quarter.

With many frigid fans heading to the exits and turkey dinner, it appeared that the game was out of reach, but the Bulldogs had other plans. A Garvin 4 yard run and a perfect 32 yard strike of a pass from Brian Hagan to Derrick Harris narrowed the lead to just 8 points with about 2 minutes left. The Harris touchdown opportunity came as a result of a Bulldog onside kick recovery- something the 'dogs have been quite successful with this season. After an apparent 2nd onside kick recovery was called back due to illegal touching, the 'dogs could have quit, but instead, they caused a Stoughton fumble and got the ball back in Black Knight territory and marched down to the 15 yard line. With plenty of momentum, thoughts turned to yet another Turkey Day OT finish, but it was not meant to be as a Stoughton interception in the corner of the end zone iced the victory for the Black Knights.

It was a great high school football game, complete with great play, comebacks and great sportsmanship by both teams on the gridiron. The stands featured a packed WWII Veteran's Memorial Field with students, relatives, and community members rallying behind both teams.  The CHS Band did a tremendous job rallying the crowd and the boys on the field while the Regional Champion Cheerleaders performed exceptionally well on the sidelines.

The Bulldogs honored two greats from the class of 1976.  Billy Cravens- who is currently battling ALS- served as Honorary Captain for the Bulldogs, while Jimmy Duggan- who passed away last week was honored during the pre-game ceremony for his fine Bulldog career and all of his commitment to Canton Athletics ever since.  Canton High School Athletics is Thankful to have so many great alums who continue to give back years after walking our halls. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Swim Team Information Update- and Meeting Scheduled

This blog post is intended for parent and student-athletes interested in joining the swim team next week.

There will be an informational meeting held at CHS in the cafeteria at 2:00pm on Tuesday, Nov. 26th to discuss the issues below.

Due to unforeseen construction delays in the Blue Hills Regional Pool project, we have lost Blue Hills as a home base for our swim program during the month of December.

We have been working diligently to set up alternative plans to allow for the swim team to function during this important month of the season. We realize that the times and locations listed below are not ideal but we feel it is a great solution to our dilemma.

Our swim team will be using two alternative sites during the month of December- Randolph High School pool and Massachusetts Hospital School pool. 

Randolph's pool is located at their high school at 70 Memorial Parkway in Randolph. It is a pool our student-athletes are familiar with as we have competed against other Hockomock schools there for many years.

Mass. Hospital School pool is located on their campus on Randolph Street in Canton. Their pool is mainly used for OT purposes so it is kept at a temperature too high for competitive training. Our coaching staff will be using it for stroke instruction only and not workouts.

Coach Mooney will refine the schedule as the week's go on, but this link will take you to the December calendar as of 11-25-13.

The Canton High School Athletic Department will also be providing bus transportation to and from practices and meets held at Randolph High School. The bus will pick students up at CHS at the scheduled time, make a pick up at Blue Hills Regional High School for students who live closer to that location, and then head out to Randolph High School.  Students choosing to transport themselves to the practices/meets at Randolph MUST submit a note from their parents granting permission to do so.

Cheerleaders take 3rd at States

The Fall CHS Cheer squad made local history this season, advancing to the States after finishing 1st in the Regionals last weekend. This past weekend saw the team travel to Holden, Mass. to perform their routine in the States. They performed incredibly well finishing 3rd in the entire state! Congratulations to the team on a great season!

New season set to begin...are you a Bulldog Booster member?

With winter sports set to begin, it is a great time to consider becoming a member of the Bulldog Booster Club. This group, made up of parents, coaches, students and community members, works hard to help our student-athletes have the most positive educational athletic experience possible.

Please read the letter found at this link for more details on why membership is a good idea.

Membership form- http://www.chsboosters.net/memberships.html

A big Bulldog thanks to our CHS Athletic Booster Club!

Scheduling updates

The Regional Champions Cheer squad will compete in the States on Sunday morning at Wachusett Regional High School in Holden, MA. - 1401 Main Street. Good luck to the team!

The Freshmen and JV Football games with Stoughton originally scheduled for Friday have been moved to Saturday at Stoughton- Frosh at 9:00am and JV at 11:00am. 

The Week in Review- 11/11/13-11/17/13

Football team makes it 3-in-a-row- An amazing 4th quarter comeback earned the Football team its 3rd straight victory Saturday, 27-21 over host Dedham. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on a Sterlin Garvin 15 yard gallop to the Marauder end zone but it was all Marauders from that point throughout the 3rd quarter as they put up 3 unanswered touchdowns on the 'dogs to take a 21-7 lead into the 4th quarter. But the 'dogs were awoken and played inspired football in that final quarter. Bulldog quarterback Brian Hagan got the visitors on the board again early in the 4th and that is when the fun started. The ensuing CHS kickoff saw Paul Lindor cause a Dedham fumble and Kevin Wing recover it on their opponent's 10 yard line. A 7 yard touchdown run by Tommy Galvin tied the game up at 21 a-piece. Dedham would then give the ball back to the Bulldogs on yet another key turnover and the Bulldogs would not waste the opportunity to take the lead. Hagan's 9 yard run put the surging 'dogs up 27-21. After bending a bit on a final drive by Dedham, the Bulldog "D" hung tough and stopped the Marauders on 4th and 13, earning the ball back and the victory.

The win improves the team's record to 3-7 and is the team's 3rd consecutive win. The team has 10 days to prepare for a Thanksgiving showdown with the recently crowed D3 Southwest Champion Stoughton Black Knights who will travel to Canton for this year's annual game- kickoff- 10:00am.

Cheerleaders crowned Regional Champions- Today saw the Cheerleading squad outperform all other squads in the Small Co-Ed South Regionals held at Dartmouth High School. The team has been on a roll of late, putting in some of the finest performances in years. The team's championship also qualifies them for the States next weekend. Go 'Dogs!

Winter Sports Registration Now Open

Registration for winter sports is now open at the CHS Athletics website. All students must have their parents register them online prior to any participation with any of our teams. Please contact the athletic office with any questions or concerns about the registration process or winter sports.

http://www.edline.net/pages/CantonHighSchool/Departments/Athletics

Football looks for 3 in a row Saturday

The Varsity Football team will be looking to earn its 3rd straight victory when they travel to Dedham on Saturday for a 1:00pm kickoff with the Marauders. The team has exploded for 80 points in their past two games while only allowing their opponents to score 20. They will look to build the momentum as they head into our Thanksgiving game with Stoughton- at CHS at 10:00am this year.

Cheerleaders set for Regionals

The CHS Cheerleading team will compete at the Regional competition on Sunday at 11:30 at Dartmouth High School. The team has performed great all fall and continues to improve every competition. They are hoping for their best performance of the year and for a big Canton crowd to support them Sunday!

Boys LAX meeting- 11/18

There will be an important Boys Lacrosse meeting on Monday, 11/18 after school in the Distance Learning Lab for any boy interested in playing in the Spring. This an important meeting. All interested candidates should attend.

The Week in Review- 11/4/13-11/10/13

Cheerleaders Advance to Regionals- A season high score at Sunday's Hock Championships qualified the CHS Fall Cheerleaders for the Regionals. The fine performance in the Hocks was the icing on the cake in a season full of great performances at recent invitationals. The team has achieved all of these accolades while finding the time to cheer on the Football team all season in between their busy routine training.

Volleyball- Sectional Finalists once again- Wins at CHS on Tuesday and Thursday over Marlboro and Hopkinton advanced the Volleyball team to the D2 Central Sectional Final for the 2nd straight season. The top seeded Bulldog headed to Hudson on Saturday to face #2 seeded Westboro in the final, looking to defend the championship they won in 2012. Unfortunately, the team was edged by the Rangers, 3-1, and would have to settle for the title of sectional finalist- not too shabby!

The early week matches were phenomenal examples of how teamwork leads to success as coach Cawley called upon many different team members in the victories- 3-0 over Marlboro and 3-1 over Hopkinton. The Hopkinton match showed incredible mental toughness as the Bulldogs were involved in 4 very tight games, three of which they won by the score of 27-25. Check out the video below of the final point of the huge semi-final victory. Great excitement in the Dog Pound too!

Football makes it two in a row- Friday night saw the football team travel to Coyle Cassiday High School and come home with a 38-14 victory- the team's 2nd in as many games. The 'dogs had to play catch up as Coyle struck first just 21 seconds into the game on a 71 yard touchdown. But it was all Bulldogs after that. The game featured a tremendous performance by the Canton defense. Offensively, Derrick Harris, Kevin Wing, Sterling Garvin, and Matt Bagley all found the Coyle end zone for the 'dogs.

The win improves the team's post-season record to 2-0 with two games to play- at Dedham next Saturday at 1:00pm and on Thanksgiving at CHS vs. Stoughton at 10:00am.

XC runners excel at Sectional Meet- Members of the Boys XC team ran some of their best races of the season at the Sectional meet at Wrentham on Saturday. Each member of the Boys team finished in under 19:45- an impressive team performance.  The Girls ran exceptionally well as well. Cat Song and Amanda Eagles finished in the top 30 and the team finished 11th out of 22 teams. Song's time was good enough to qualify her for next weekend's state meet.

Volleyball Sectional Final!

What are you doing this afternoon at 2:00pm? No plans? Head out to Hudson High School for the D2 Central Volleyball Final between Westboro High School and our Canton Bulldogs.

This is the 2nd straight trip to the sectional final for the Bulldogs who are looking to defend their 2012 Championship.

Ticket prices are $7 for adults a d $5 for students.

Hudson High School- 69 Brigham St., Hudson, MA

Volleyball punches ticket to Hudson to defend crown

The Volleyball team showed unbelievable mental toughness in Thursday night's 3-1 (27-25, 27-25, 22-25, 27-25) victory over Hopkinton in the Central D2 Sectional Semi-Final. The win advances the team to the Central D2 Final in Hudson at 2:00pm Saturday where they will defend their 2012 Sectional Championship against Westboro, who defeated Medfield tonight, 3-2.

It was an all-around great effort for the team in their final home game of the season, showing amazing grit in winning their three games by the narrowest of margins (all 27-25). When the chips are down, this team really plays their best.

Winter Sports set to start Dec. 2nd

Winter Sports get underway on Monday, December 2nd. Canton High School offers the following Winter athletic programs:

Boys and Girls Basketball
Girls Gymnastics
Boys and Girls Swimming
Boys Wrestling
Boys and Girls Indoor Track
Winter Cheerleading
Boys and Girls Ice Hockey

There is a $195 user fee to participate in any of the above sports programs. An extra Facility Fee is charged for Hockey ($250), Gymnastics ($150), and Swimming ($50).

All winter athletes must have a physical exam report on record in the Athletic Office in order to be eligible to participate. Physical exams are valid for 13 months from the date of the exam.

First Day information for each sport is below. After checking out that information, be sure to visit the CHS Athletic Website to register for the sport. This must be done before Dec. 2nd.

Boys and Girls Indoor Track-  All interested candidates should report to the Rodman Gym at 2:30pm on Dec. 2nd ready to train outdoors.

Girls Basketball- All interested candidates (grades 9-12) will be trying out in the CHS gymnasium on Dec. 2nd from 6:00-8:30pm. If there are any questions in regards to these tryouts please contact the Varsity Head Coach Jim Choquette via e-mail or phone: 203-710-3957.

Boys and Girls Swimming- All interested swimmers should report to Blue Hills Regional High School Pool on Dec. 2nd for a practice from 3:00-5:00.

Girls Ice Hockey- Tryouts on Dec. 2nd and 3rd at 2:20 at the Canton Rink.

Wrestling- Practice begins on Monday December 2nd in the Rodman gymnasium from 4:00-6:00pm. No previous experience needed and there are no cuts. Please bring running shoes, workout clothes, along with wrestling shoes and headgear if you have them. Sign ups will be held on Wednesday November 13 immediately after school in B gym. If you have any questions, contact coach Caffelle via email. Briancaffelle@gmail.com.

Boys Ice Hockey- Tryouts will begin on Monday, Dec. 2nd. Varstiy tryouts will be at 5:30am and JV tryouts will be at 3:30. We will have a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 26th immediately after school in the cafeteria to assign tryout groups.

Gymnastics- Dec. 2nd- Time- TBA at Metro-South Gymnastics

Boys Basketball- Tryouts start Dec. 2nd….Freshmen tryouts in the CHS Masciarelli Gymnasium at 2:00pm. Sophomores-Seniors will have a meeting in Coach Gordy's classroom (123) at 3:00pm with in-gym tryouts starting at 3:30pm. 

Winter Cheerleading- Tryouts on Monday, Dec. 9 from 6-8. Tues., Dec. 10 from 3-5 and Wed., Dec. 11 from 4:30-6:00. First practice will be Thursday, Dec. 12 from 4:-5:30 and a parent meeting at 5:30. 

Boys Basketball Meeting- Nov. 14th

Any boy interested in playing basketball this winter should attend a sign up meeting on Thursday, Nov. 14th in 2:00pm in Coach Gordy's classroom- room 123.

Volleyball Semi-Final Action at CHS tonight

The CHS Volleyball team will host Hopkinton tonight at 7:00pm in the CHS Masciarelli Gymnasium. This match features the #5 seeded Hillers and the #1 seeded Bulldogs.

Let's get a full gym! Go Bulldogs!

The event is run by the MIAA and therefore, ticket sales follow the following protocol:

$7 adults
$5 students

Booster Memberships do not apply tonight.

Teachers and other CHS Staff must pay full admission to attend tonight.

Volleyball blanks Marlboro in first tourney match

The Girls Volleyball team made quick work of Marlboro High School last night in a D2 Central Quarter-Final match up, 3-0 (25-8, 25-18, 25-14).  Erin Proctor did a great job running the offense, ending the night with 23 assists, 5 kills and an ace.  Avery Devoe had 13 kills, 2 aces and a block; Elizabeth Hamilton had 10 kills, 2 aces; Lauren Brady and Sarojini Schutt added some great serving and blocking in set three.

The team advances to the Sectional Semis on Thursday night vs. Hopkinton at CHS at 7:00pm. This is an MIAA event. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students. No booster passes or other passes will be accepted for this match.

Girls Basketball Meeting

There will be an important meeting for any girl interested in playing basketball this winter on November 13th at 2:00pm in Mr. Gordy's classroom.

....And then there was one....Volleyball carrying the tournament torch

With the departure of Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer and Field Hockey this weekend, the Volleyball team is the only CHS fall team remaining in the MIAA post-season tournament. The defending Hock Davenport and Central Sectional Champions are seeded #1 in the D2 Central tournament and will host Marlboro on Tuesday night at 7:00pm at CHS.

Admission cost- $6 for Adults and $4 for students......(booster passes are not accepted for tournament games).

Girls Hockey Meeting

There will be an important meeting for any girl interested in playing hockey this winter on Thursday, Nov. 7th at 4:30 in the upstairs meeting room at the rink. All interested girls should attend.

The Week in Review- 10/28/13-11/3/13

Football team earns big victory over Randolph- Friday night saw the Football team best Randolph, 42-6 to earn their first victory of the season. The game was the beginning of a run of post-Hockomock games that also includes traveling to Coyle Cassidy High School on Friday, Nov. 8th and traveling to Dedham High School on Saturday, Nov. 16th.

The 'dogs came out flying early as they put up 28 unanswered first half points against the Blue Raiders.
That half saw quarterback Brian Hagan throw two big touchdown passes to Derrick Harris (30 and 32 yards), Sterlin Garvin break around the corner for a 57 yard gallop to the end zone, and Kevin Wing explode right through the center of the Blue Raider line for a touchdown of his own.

There was more of the same from the Bulldogs in the 2nd half as they were firing on all cylinders. Hagan found Tommy Galvin in the corner of the end zone for a 3rd quarter touchdown and Tim Gutowski's 3 yard trot into the Blue Raider end zone in the 4th quarter rounded out the Bulldog scoring for the day. Freshman Thomas Monagle had a great day kicking the football which included some great kick-offs and 4 successful PAT's.

The Bulldog defense was strong all day, picking off passes and penetrating deep into the Randolph backfield all day.

Girls Soccer falls in Double OT- Soccer can be a cruel sport and that was certainly the case on Sunday as the Girls Soccer team played a great game but fell 2-1 in double OT to visiting Holliston in the first round of the state tournament. The team was trailing 1-0 midway through the 2nd half when they turned up the pressure and began to dominate play. The dominating play led to a goal of the year candidate as Hailee Duserick's beautifully driven cross found Kim McNally on the back post and McNally headed it with authority past the Holliston goalkeeper. The Bulldogs then dominated the rest of the way and hit the post but they were unable to find the back of the net. A Holliston goal just 7 seconds into the 2nd sudden victory OT period ended the Bulldog season.

Boys Soccer falls in 1st round- The #10 seeded Boys Soccer team traveled to Duxbury on Saturday to face the #7 seeded Dragons in first round MIAA tourney action and fell 2-1. Sam Larson scored a beautiful goal and Art McNally was phenomenal in Canton's goal, but it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs' 2013 season came to a close with a final record of 9-7-3. The loss marks the first time since 2005 that the team did not advance to at least the Sectional Semi-Final round- an unprecedented run in EMASS boys soccer.

Field Hockey season ends in D1 tourney debut- The #8 seeded Field Hockey team hosted #9 Norwood in the first round of the MIAA state tournament on Thursday and lost in a very competitive day, 2-1. Katie Kelleher scored the Canton goal and both Mustang goals came on strokes. This was the Bulldogs' first foray into the D1 tournament due to MIAA realignment. The loss wraps up another championship season for the Field Hockey team. The graduating class of seniors won 4 Hock Davenport Championships and only lost a remarkable 6 games during that stretch.

Cross Country Runners perform well at Bay State Invitational- Several CHS XC runners ran well in Saturday's Bay State Invitational in Wrentham. This major invitational is a featured race of the season and many Bulldog runners showed they were up for the challenge. Courtland Priest led the way for the boys while Amanda Eagles and Cat Song were the first CHS girls to cross the finish line at 13th and 16th respectively. Courtney Loughnane and Julia Guerini also finished in the top 50 with impressive performances.

Volleyball to enter tourney on heals of two big wins- The sop seeded Volleyball team had two big matches to end the season this past week, traveling to highly touted Quincy on Monday and hosting league foe Foxboro on Wednesday. The team did not disappoint, downing both in relatively convincing fashion. Wednesday's 3-0 (25-14, 25-8, 25-7) win over Foxboro was Senior Night and all nine of the Bulldog seniors contributed to the big win. Amelia Poshkus, Ellie Teague, Avery Devoe and Sarojini Schutt combined for 22 kills while Shay Connolly, Lauren Brady and Julie Newton combined for 9 aces and 17 digs. Meghan Hartnett controlled the offence with 19 assists and Liz Korycanski, out all season due to injury, provided valuable emotional support!

Football game with Coyle Cassidy moved up to Friday, Nov. 8th

The Varsity football team will travel to Taunton to face Coyle Cassidy High School on Friday, Nov. 8th at 7:00pm. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 9th but has been changed.

Meeting for interested swimmers

There will be an important meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6th at 2:00pm  for any boy or girl interested in joining this winter's swim team. The meeting will be held in the Distance Learning Lab.  We hope to see lots of interested swimmers!