It just was not Central Holmes’ night against Canton.
The Trojans struggled out of the gate and dropped a 56-28 decision to the Panthers on Friday night.
The Trojans fall to 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in district play. The Trojans will finish out district play as they travel to Benton Academy this week.
Central Holmes Coach Mitch Womack said his team learned some valuable lessons on Friday night.
“Our kids played hard but we over-pursued and didn’t play the game; we let the game play us,” Womack said. “We got there on defense and just didn’t finish. I thought they whipped us up front all night. We were able to move the ball on them but weren’t able to do it consistently. We can’t constantly get behind the sticks. I thought their guys ran hard and when they got in the open field, they could take it all the way.”
The Panthers got the ball to start the game and quickly went 68 yards in six plays and scored on a 2-yard run with 10:02 left in the first for a 7-0 lead.
Things went bad for Central Holmes on its first possession. After being forced to punt, the long snap went through the punter’s legs and gave Canton the ball at the Central Holmes 20. The Panthers scored one play later on a 20-yard run and led 14-0 early in the first.
The Trojans did respond with a good kickoff return to the Canton 30. Lamarion Buchanon then scored on a 30-yard run with 7:30 left in the first. John Ward ran in the two-point conversion and Central Holmes trailed 14-8.
The Panthers responded with two more scores as they went 60 yards in five plays and scored on a 21-yard run with 5:42 left in the first to take a 21-8 lead, a score that held through the end of the first quarter.
The Trojans then put together a nine-play drive but were forced to punt and pinned Canton at their own 7. But the Panthers got an 84-yard touchdown run in which the back broke seven tackles to find the end one with 10:47 left in the second for a 28-8 lead.
The score stayed there until late in the first half when the Trojans went 72 yards in four plays when Noah Steen hit John Hudson Word on a 51-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in the half. Steen ran in the two-point conversion and Central Holmes cut the lead to 28-16.
But the Panthers got a good return to the Central Holmes 30 and scored on a 2-yard run with two seconds left in the half to take a 35-16 lead at the half.
“I thought that was huge in the game,” Womack said. “We had just cut it to two scores before the half and then gave up the kick return and throw and they scored to go up by 19 at the half. Then we fumble and before you know it, they score two more times and put the game out of reach. But our kids didn’t quit playing and I’m proud of that.”
The Trojans got the ball to start the second half but fumbled on their first play from scrimmage. Three plays later, Canton scored on a 22-yard pass with 10:17 left in the third to go up 42-16.
After a Central Holmes punt, the Panthers got another big play on a 36-yard run to go up 49-16.
The Trojans finally settled down and responded with a 10-play, 57-yard drive as Ward scored on 2-yard run. The try for two failed and Central Holmes trailed 49-22 with 1:39 left in the third.
The Panthers punted on their next possession, but Central Holmes muffed it to give the ball right back. Canton then went 16 yards in two plays to take a 56-22 lead and get the clock running with 10:16 left in the game.
“It was a good wakeup call for us kids,” Womack said. “It’s one thing to learn how to win, it’s another thing to learn how to handle winning. You can’t get overconfident. It’s still a learning process for us. They understand their mistakes and see what we are preaching at them. They see they can’t play the me game and have to play the we game.”
Central Holmes’ last score came with 3:09 left in the game as Ward scored on a 7-yard run to cap off an eight-play, 95-yard drive.
This week’s game
The Trojans will finish out district play as they travel to Benton on Friday night.
The Raiders are 7-0 on the season with wins over Sylva Bay (18-0), Oak Hill (59-41), Lee (41-12), Winona Christian (49-13), Clinton Christian (14-7), Delta Streets (49-15) and Amite (50-46).
“They are a big, physical team and will be very athletic,” Womack said. “It’s a big district game and we have to put together four quarters of mistake-free football and get after. I just hope we can match their intensity and focus. We have to take our chances and put some points on the board. I think we have a good game plan, we just have to execute it.”
Last year, Central Holmes shocked Benton 30-27 in their only win of the season.
