Kyle Fitzgerald, Canton run past Scituate

Staring at a chance at redemption, Canton took full advantage.

Kyle Fitzgerald ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns as top-seeded Canton avenged last year’s sectional final loss with a 34-14 win over defending Super Bowl champion Scituate in the Div. 5 South quarterfinals on Friday night at Canton High School.

Canton will take on Foxboro in the Div. 5 South Semifinals next weekend.

Defensively, Canton (8-0) remained true to form by pitching a stellar effort throughout the evening. Led by a standout defensive line consisting of Matt and Jack Connolly as well as Nnamdi Onyemelukwe, Canton became a regular presence in the backfield. Through the first three quarters, Scituate (4-4) was able to muster only 89 yards of total offense.

“This one felt a lot better than walking off that field against Scituate last year,” Fitzgerald said. “Obviously a much better outcome and now we’re onto Foxboro.”

Fitzgerald turned on the after burners regularly in the second half compiling 184 total yards after the intermission.

“A lot of the runs in the first half, we knew if we broke one more tackle we would have touchdowns,” Fitzgerald said. “In the second half I had a lot of runs where I was able to put my foot in the ground and just run my 40 yard dash right down the field.”

A rock fight of a first half left Canton clinging to a 7-0 lead as the game entered the third quarter. Fitzgerald, however, turned the momentum firmly in the Bulldogs direction. The senior picked off a Matt Scibilio pass near midfield and one play later ran straight up the middle for a 40-yard touchdown to give Canton a 14-0 advantage. After a Robbie Gallery interception turned the ball back over to the Bulldogs offense, Canton pulled away. Johnny Hagan completed a 16-yard pass to David Allen to move Canton inside the red zone and three plays later, Hagan rushed it in from 2-yards out to give Canton a 21-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

“The defensive line did a great job,” Canton coach Dave Bohane said. “(Scituate) had a really good plan coming on so we had to digest a lot and then we finally started moving offensively.”

Fitzgerald put the icing on the cake with touchdown runs from six and 66 yards out on the Bulldogs next two drives to put Canton in firm control, 34-7, as the game turned to its waning moments.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/329UKOe