Lions play hard in losses to Brighton

  Brighton returned a punt for a touchdown with less than one minute left in the first half to double its lead to 12-0 and never looked back in its 30-14 victory over the Canton Lions varsity football team Sunday. James Hall scored on a 30-yard TD run for the Lions early in the third quarter to cut into the Bulldogs lead.

  Kenny Arnold followed with a touchdown carry of his own. Evan Thomas connected with Nathan Michalik on three passes during the contest. Robert Daoud contributed with over 60 yards rushing and return yards.

  John Shumaker, Dean Underwood and Daniel Paulot provided solid blocking for the Lions. Forrest Hall, Austin Fisher, Daniel Tidwell and Antonio Ochoa led the defense in tackles.

  "The scores and overall record do not reflect the true effort of this team," said Lions coach Chris Tidwell. "We have an extremely young team."

DEFENSIVE GAME
  The Lions junior varsity contingent dropped a hard-hitting 8-0 decision to the Bulldogs. Patrick and Matthew Wayne provided help to a stout defensive line. Also assisting were Jacob Blaylock, Ty Jasman and Alex Petrarca.

  Allante Wheeler and Jakob Wickens provided huge holes for the running backs. Demarcus Kaigler recovered a fumble that stalled a Brighton drive and the O-line, led by Isaac Jackson and Jackson Austin, turned in a great performance. The Bulldogs' defense held the Lions scoreless despite strong games from Chucky Turfe and Daniel Kilgore.

FRESHMEN FALL JUST SHORT
  The freshmen lost a 12-6 decision to the Bulldogs on a very muddy field. The offensive line blocked well thanks to Ethan Balogh, Connor Flanigan, Julian Gocaj, Trevor LaPere and Julius Crouch.

  The Lions' score came on their first offensive play thanks to a 60-yard run by Jason Arnold. The defense played well all day and gave up very few yards, but was done in by two big plays by the Bulldogs.

  The defense was led by strong tackling from Adam Abdallah, Joey Glunt, Cody Tapp, Brad Tyszkiewicz, Alan Farmer, Rubin Williams, Adam Pitcole and Tevyn Smith.

JUNIOR FRESHMEN PLAY WELL
  The junior freshmen offense was led by the strong offensive-line play of Robby Begley, Sheldon Lyall, Evan Petersen, Ethan Locke and Lawrence Austin, who opened many holes for touchdown runs from Bennett Austin, Steven Shoats Thomas, Darrell Harding, Jr. and Justin Reynolds. The Lions' ferocious defense held the Bulldogs scoreless for the fourth straight game.

  The defense was led by the tackling of Gary Hicks, Cameron Wilborn, Jerome Nichols, Connor Woody and Ayden Lang, who also had a key fumble recovery.