A Tale of Two Halves
The Canton Classics marched into the Snake Pit with great confidence to face their expansion rivals, the Indianapolis Ramblers for the first time.
Both teams came out swinging but it was the Classics who hit the scoreboard with more shots by quickly jumping out to a 9 to 3 lead in the first Quarter behind three field goals from K Rob Emms.
In the second Quarter, WR Kendra Hall seemed unstoppable as she snagged every pass that hit her hands. She ended the game with five receptions for 108 yards and one TD. But it quickly turned into the TE Jack Wall show, as he recorded back to back TD’s, ending his day with two receptions for 76 yards and two touchdowns.
Also in the first half, the Classics Defense was stifling and also put points on the board with a safety by LB Adam Chance, the first in Canton Classics history. Chance recorded four tackles as well as three assists. Linebacker Gary Clem played like a man possessed, making plays all over the gridiron. He finished the game with a team leading 14 Tackles, five assists and one pass deflection. The Classics Secondary also had a great first half led by CB Jay Rock (five tackles, three assists and one interception), FS Bob Funk (four tackles, one assist and one interception) and CB Conner Dorrian (Three tackles and one interception).
By Halftime, the Classics led by a score of 26 – 3. And then the Ramblers Coaching staff must have given a great halftime speech because Indianapolis came out of their locker room with the appearance of a totally different team. While the Classics relied on the legs of RB Robert Johnson (10 carries, 51 yards and one TD), the Ramblers matched that score in the third quarter with a touchdown of their own.
Going into the fourth quarter, the Ramblers confidence grew with every possession. Their defense sacked QB Cameron Curtis five times and forced five interceptions.
Unfortunately for the Classics, those turnovers led to 28 unanswered points by the Ramblers which ended up being too much to overcome and Indianapolis took the victory, 38-33.
The Canton Classics will face the division-leading London Knights next as they look for their first franchise win.
