Canton starts season with rivalry win

In one of Madison County’s biggest rivalries, Canton defeated Velma Jackson in “The Battle for the Sledgehammer” on Friday night, by a score of 45-28. 

It was a back-and-forth affair for most of the game, but Canton managed to pull away in the fourth quarter. A huge part of that and the rest of the Tiger’s success throughout the night was quarterback Eric Gilkey III.

Gilkey is one of the most dynamic athletes in the state and is coming off a season-ending injury last year, which he suffered on the second series of the season last year in last year’s opener against Velma Jackson.

This season, he dominated both in the air and on the ground for Canton and led the Tigers to victory.

“This game meant a lot to him (Gilkey III) just for the simple fact that he didn’t get a chance to play last year,” Canton Head Coach Calvin Bolton said. “He had a great offseason, he was really tuned in to preparing for this game, and it really showed in the good ballgame he had tonight.”

Canton also saw dynamic performances on offense from players like Joseph Gray, who broke off a long touchdown run that put the game away for Canton, along with receiver Jayden Cration who had two receiving touchdowns on the night. 

Even in a game full of offense, there were tons of mistakes by both teams throughout the game, which can be expected in the first game of the season when teams are trying to work some of their kinks out. 

Two of Velma Jackson’s touchdowns came off plays made by their punt return team, once coming off of a scoop-and-score on a bad snap, along with another scoop-and-score off of a blocked punt. Canton also gave up a safety with a holding penalty in the endzone, but the Tigers were able to show some resiliency in this one, brushing off those mistakes and still finding a way to win against a rival in Velma Jackson that was the state runner-up in MHSAA 1A last season.

“We have a really good ball club and if we can clean up the mistakes, especially on special teams, we have a chance to be really competitive in 5A,” Bolton said. “That is a really good Velma Jackson team and anytime you have a rivalry game like this, you don’t know who is going to win. It’s about who plays the hardest and protects the ball.”

It is always great to start off the season with a win and it is especially a confidence booster when that win comes against a rival. This Canton team started off 0-5 last year after their season-opening loss to Velma Jackson, before getting hot in region play, where they finished second. 

“I think the sky's the limit for us as a team if we can clean those little things up,” Bolton said. “They have got to be cleaned up by district play and November, because that’s when it really counts and we are going to come back and work hard to do that.

Canton will look to continue their strong opening to the season next week, as they will host Madison County rival Germantown. Velma Jackson will look to bounce back in their home opener against Yazoo County.