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