Babbaro's 4 TDs pace Canfield

The Cardinals remained unbeaten with a 35-14 win over Howland.
By JIM FLICK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HOWLAND -- Canfield High exploded for three second-half touchdowns Friday night and remained unbeaten as they beat Howland, 35-14, in a Metro Athletic Conference game.
Canfield (6-0, 1-0 MAC) was led by tailback Angelo Babbaro, who scored four touchdowns for the Cardinals while gaining 128 yards on 19 carries. He also caught a short screen pass and weaved his way through the Howland defense for a 63-yard touchdown catch.
Kyle Banna turned in outstanding play for the Cardinals on both sides of the ball. On offense, he gained 103 yards on eight carries as fullback, including a 65-yard jaunt for the game's final touchdown.
Tigers' offense struggles
Despite scoring the game's first touchdown, the Howland offense was stymied all night by the Canfield defense. In fact, the Tiger offense scored only one touchdown, on a 4-yard drive that consumed four plays. Howland (3-3) scored after Deon Parrish blocked a Canfield punt and the Tigers downed the ball on the Canfield 4-yard line.
Babbaro scored the second-quarter touchdown that evened the score in the second quarter, on a 15-yard run. But Howland regained the lead on the subsequent kickoff, which Bob Mangiarelli returned 92 yards for what turned out to be Howland's final points.
Before halftime, Babbaro brought Canfield even when he scored on a 9-yard run.
Cardinals take lead
Canfield quickly took the lead for good not long after taking the second-half kickoff. The Cardinals needed only three plays to cover 65 yards, a drive that ended with Babbaro's 24-yard touchdown run.
Later in the third quarter, Babbaro extended the lead with his 63-yard touchdown catch. Banna ended the scoring in the fourth quarter.
Late in the fourth quarter, Babbaro almost broke away for a touchdown on a punt return, but went down hard when tackled by a Howland player. Play stopped for a few minutes and Babbaro didn't return to the game, but Canfield coach Mike Pavlanksy said after the game Babbaro was uninjured. Friday night's efforts brought Babbaro's season totals yo 804 yards on 105 carries.
After the game, Pavlanksy called Babbaro "a special back in his own right," but added that strong, unselfish play by Canfield's offensive line is a key to Babbaro's success. Senior center Nick Rousher has led the offensive line, the coach added.
Smith stopped
Canfield's defense thoroughly stymied the Howland offense. Tiger running back Lance Smith was held to 43 yards on 14 carries. He entered the game as one of the area's top running backs, having gained 891 yards on 109 carries, and is already committed to playing starting next season for the University of Wisconsin. Howland quarterback Ben Leece, also one of the area's statistical leaders, completed only 6-of-14 passes for 32 yards passing threw two interceptions.
Pavlanksy said his defense was keyed to stop Smith. "You got to take away an opponent's strength," he said.
Ran out of steam
Howland coach Dick Angle said he was proud of his team's strong first-half effort, but added, "We just ran out of steam" in the second half.
Canfield "is a strong team and they deserve to be 6-0," Angle said.
When told Smith had carried the ball only 14 times, Angle said, "That's my mistake. He should have carried the ball more."
Angle sighed as he added, "Now, we just have to pick up the pieces."