120 Little Cards claim 44-0 victory

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Canfield 140-pound running back Nick Crawford (37) runs past a Little Hornets defender during last weekend's Canfield Little Cards game.

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Santino Marucci scores a touchdown against Hickory during last week's 120-pound Canfield Little Cards game.

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The Canfield Little Cards 100-pound offensive line gives a push against the Little Hornets during last weekend's contest.

120 Little Cards claim 44-0 victory

The Canfield Little Cardinals 120-pounders improved to 4-0 with a 44-0 victory over the Hickory Little Hornets in Hermitage, Pa, last Sunday.

Canfield used big plays in the kicking game and a quick-strike offense to subdue the Hornets. The Little Cards got on the board first when Andre Crump scampered 42 yards to pay dirt. Crump hit Santino Marucci in the flat for the conversion and a 8-0 lead.

Marucci blocked a Hickory punt on the next possession, giving the Cards the ball at the Hickory 15. Ethan Fletcher dashed around the left end and then tossed a pass to Pat Guerreiri for the conversion to make it 16-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Fletcher burst through to block the Hornets’ next punt attempt, giving Canfield the ball at the Hickory 30. Three plays later, Crump burst 13 yards for the touchdown and Jake Kowal raced to the pylon for the conversion and a 24-0 advantage.

Greg Karas picked off a Hickory aerial, leading to Marucci rumbling 25 yards for the score and a 30-0 Little Cards lead at the half.

Canfield kept rolling after the break when Crump took the second play of the half and outran the defense for 63 yards. Fletcher tacked on the two to make it 38-0. Alex George stripped the ball from a Hickory ball carrier and it was recovered by Nick Cavoulas to give the Cards possession. Nathan Fiorenza put the finishing touches on the victory with a 12-yard run around left end.

The defense posted its fourth consecutive shutout, keyed by Seth Hull, Peyton Kostelic, Michael Gonda and Logan Torok. Offensively, David Noday, Alex Smyczynski, Gavin Tarashawty, Anthony Orr and Angelo Cestone were standouts.

The Cards return to action tomorrow when they meet the Labrae little Vikings (3-1) in Canfield.

Canfield 120 JVs beat Struthers

The Canfield Little Cardinals 120-pound junior varsity squad traveled to Struthers on Sept. 5 and came away with a 34-0 victory. Luke Hollands scored two first-half touchdown runs to spark the victory.

Logan Torok raced 40 yards for a touchdown and added a conversion run for Canfield. Nathan Fiorenza had a 50-yard touchdown run and Andrew Morchak added a five-yard score. Chase Lowry also had a conversion run.

Defensively, Alex George had an interception and three sacks, while Brent Herrman had two fumble recoveries.

Canfield 100s blank Hickory

The Canfield 100-pound Little Cardinals scored a 12-0 victory over the Hickory Hornets, recording their third shutout of the season.

The Cards’ offense, anchored by Nathan Shaw, Christopher and Dominic DeDonato, Dominic Marzano and Evan Perry, controlled the ball the entire first quarter on its initial drive.

Continuing the same drive into the second quarter, David Altiere Jr., attempted a quarterback keeper to the right. A hard tackle by the Hornets ejected the ball in to the air. Altiere’s cousin, Christopher Altiere Jr., caught the ball in flight and high stepped out of a tackle to run 30 yards down the sideline into the end zone for the Cardinals’ first touchdown. A failed conversion attempt left the score 6-0.

Canfield’s final scoring drive came in the third quarter when Ian Hull ran 49 yards untouched around right end, tacking on 6 more points for the Cards.

The Cardinal defense stymied the Hickory offense. Nathan Shaw, Xavior Rowbottom, Ian Hull, Landon Beidelschies, Broc Lowry and the Altiere cousins all had significant contributions.

Labrae will make the trip to Canfield High School’s Bob Dove Field tomorrow at noon where the Cards look to extend their record to 5-0.

Cards 140s shut out Hickory

The 140-pound Little Cards defense dominated the Hickory Hornets for its third straight shutout and a 46-0 victory. The Cards (4-0) only allowed two Hickory first downs in the first three quarters. The defensive line led the charge with five tackles for loss. The front defensive five for Canfield — Andy Garr, Tyler Stein, Vince Giordano, Daniel Kapalko, PJ Hallof, and Luigi Rohrbaugh — also caused two fumbles, recovering one, and many rushed passes.

The defensive backs — Carter Myers, Paul French, Nick Crawford, Glen Griswold, Paul Brienz and Vinny Fiorenza — broke up two passes. Brienz had one interception.

The Cards offense took advantage of the great field position. Paul Brienz (12 yards and 54 yards) and Vinny Fiorenza (one yard and 22 yards) each had two scores. Nick Crawford and Ross Perry added scores of one yard each. Extra points were added by Glen Griswold, a Brienz pass to Hallof, Paul French, Fiorenza and Colin Hritz.

JV, frosh, middle school teams win

Canfield’s junior varsity football team beat Hubbard 6-0 last Saturday. The freshman football team defeated Aurora 36-21 at home on Sept. 6 to improve to 3-0 this season.

On Sept. 5, the Cards seventh-grade football team beat Boardman Center Middle School 12-0 at home and the eighth-grade squad beat Center 40-8.