CANFIELD Running game, defense lead Cardinals to victory

Canton South was unable to run against the Cardinals' defense.
By JIM FLICK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD -- Angelo Babbaro rushed for 173 yards on 29 carries, scoring one touchdown as he led the Canfield High football team to a 21-0 win over Canton South Friday night at the Cardinals' stadium.
The Canfield (2-0) defense also was a a big factor in the win as the Cardinals held Canton South to 115 total yards, including 48 on the ground.
While acknowledging that Babbaro's performance was the key to the victory, Canfield coach Mike Pavlansky pointed out that the offensive line "did an impressive job of blocking for him, and the defense just shut down Canton."
Babbaro, who averaged 6 yards per carry, scored Canfield's first touchdown on a 2-yard run at 4:41 of the opening quarter to cap a 15-play, 65-yard march. Adam Jones kicked the first of three extra points for a 7-0 lead.
The Cardinals struck again in the second quarter on a 5-play, 28-yard drive capped by Sean Baker's 1-yard plunge at 1:06 and Jones' placement to give the Cardinals a 14-0 half time command.
Final score
In the fourth period, Frank Ross connected on a 25-yard scoring pass to Tom Hudson with 4:40 left to play to finish a 10-play, 72-yard march, and Jones added the extra point to give Canfield a 21-0 lead and cap the scoring.
Ross completed 2-of-8 passes for 41 yards, while Kyle Banna rushed for 29 yards in six carries to bolster Canfield.
The Cardinals compiled 266 total yards, including 225 rushing in 51 attempts to Canton South's 48 yards in 26 runs.
Ronnie May led Canton South with 67 yards passing on 3-for-8, all of the throws going to Devon Torrence.
Unable to run
Coming into the game, Canton South was expected to launch a strong running attack led by Torrence, who ran for 1,022 yards in 2004 as he attracted the attention of Big Ten recruiters. However, Canfield threw Torrence for a 7-yard loss on his first carry Friday, a play that set the tone for the tailback's night. In the first half, he carried the ball five times for a net gain of 2 yards. He was thrown for an 8-yard loss in Canton South's last drive of the night.
Torrence's effort wasn't the only failure in the Wildcats' game plan. Canton South recorded little offensive success against the stubborn Cardinal defense.
Every time the Wildcats neared the Cardinals' end zone, the Canfield defense stiffened. Canton South made a late effort to avert the shutout, and seemed determined to reach the end zone when sophomore Devoe Torrence -- Devon's brother -- caught a pass at the Canfield's 19 yard line. However, the Cardinals' defense was determined to keep the Wildcats scoreless, and the drive ended when Cardinal Justin Wolf sacked Canton South's May for a loss on fourth down with 1:06 left to play.
The victory boosted Canfield's record to 2-0, while Canton South fell to 1-1.