Canton Pulls Away in Fourth to Topple Brighton, 31-10

After dropping a disappointing 29-28 overtime decision to Midland in Week 1, the Canton Chiefs looked to pick up the pieces Thursday against visiting Brighton.

Points didn't come easy for the Chiefs until the fourth quarter. Tied 10-10 with the Bulldogs entering the last frame, Canton senior Malcolm Hollingsworth finally added some offensive spark with a 77-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a 17-10 lead.

"We were down all week and we just had a bad taste in our mouth from the first game — we were so close," Hollingsworth said.

Canton seemed poised for another close game, with Brighton's defense keeping the Chiefs' offense in check after spotting 10 early points to the home team.

Hollingsworth put the Chiefs on the board first, with a 26-yard touchdown run to give Canton a 7-0 lead. Senior kicker Connor Shennan added a first-hald field goal to put the Chiefs up 10-0.

Brighton cut the Chiefs' lead at halftime, scoring on a short run with 12 seconds left in the half. The Bulldogs tied the game on a third-quarter field goal.

"We just had to break out and beat all odds and just take this team over," Hollingsworth said. 

Hollingsworth said Canton coach Tim Baechler instructed the team to "push it until the very end," and the Chiefs did just that, grinding through three tight quarters, then letting some big plays take over the game in the fourth.

After Hollingsworth's 77-yard score, the Bulldogs had a bad snap on a punt, sending the ball deep into Brighton territory, where the Chiefs took over at the Brighton four-yard line.

On the next play, junior Joe Grinage found the end zone to increase the Chiefs' lead to 24-10.

Canton came up with a crucial goal-line stop with under three minutes left in the game, forcing the Bulldogs to turn the ball over on downs. The Chiefs responded with a 98-yard scoring drive  for the game's final tally on a score by Grinage.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

1 

2 

3 

4 

TOTAL

(V) Brighton Bulldogs

0

7

0

3

10

(H) Canton Chiefs

7

3

0

21

31