Eagles To Meet Tigers In District Opener

The Canton Eagles will open district play this week by hosting the Wills Point Tigers. The meeting will be the first between the county rivals in four years, and comes at a time when Wills Point (0-5) appears to be in a rebuilding season. A lot of the construction may have been completed, however.
"They’re dangerous," said head coach Lance Angel. "They could give us some match up problems. They have the type of team that could get on a roll. We’re just hoping they wait until next week."
That would be just in time for Wills Point, which replaced most of the coaching staff when new athletic director Kevin Garvin took over the program last spring. New systems on both sides of the ball, a lot of new faces at the skill positions, and a tough preseason schedule have contributed to a rough start, but it appears the team is putting the pieces to together. The Tigers are coming off its best statistical performance of the year in a 35-7 loss to Kaufman.
Wills Point out gained Kaufman by a 366-219 yard margin, but had drives thwarted by four interceptions, as well giving up a touchdown on a blocked field goal attempt.
Despite the interceptions, Wills Point quarterback, sophomore Trent Jurica, had his best game so far, completing 70 percent of his passes (32 of 46). Ten of those completions went to match up problem number one – 6’4" junior Steven Cunigan, who adds good speed and hands to go with his size. Junior Hamilton, another tall target, caught six passes for 65 yards. Four other Wills Point receivers caught 16 passes for 146 yards.
Where the Tigers did not have a good night was running the ball, only gaining 39 yards on 22 attempts. Injuries have hampered attempts to find a consistent running game, but at times the Tigers have been successful running out of the I formation, particularly in short yardage situations.
The Wills Point defense has given up an average of 33.4 points per game, but has battled a lot of poor field position. Kaufman, for instance, which was held to 219 total yards, had two scoring drives of less than 30 yards, and another of less than 50.
The Eagles go into the district with a 3-2 record after alternating wins and losses each week. Coach Angel believes his team plays its best at home, and three of the next four, including the October 31 game against Van, are at home.