CANTON — The No. 10 team in 3A can now call themselves district champions.
Lindale defeated Canton 52-21 on Friday night at Norris Birdwell Stadium to improve to 4-0 in District 14-3A and clinch the district championship. The Eagles ran for 353 yards against Canton, while only allowing nine first downs.
Quarterback Clay Price led Lindale with 204 yards in the air on 10 completions. Josiah Johnson ran for 156 yards on just eight carries. Trey Acy handled the ball 23 times for 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and has now rushed for over 1,000 yards on the season.
Aaron Smith caught four of Price’s passes for 122 yards. Demarcus Lynch carried the ball 13 times for 44 yards and three touchdowns for Lindale.
Reese Sumner led Canton with 86 yards on the ground. Eric Walters followed with 33 yards on eight carries. He also threw for 133 yards on seven completions.
Canton, which fell to 2-2 in district play, faces Wills Point on the road for the final playoff spot in District 14-3A next week.
Lindale plays its final regular season game at home next Friday against Quinlan Ford.
Lindale forced Canton to punt on the first possession of the contest, and was poised to score on its first drive. The Eagles moved the ball to the 1, but failed to score on fourth-and-goal.
Canton responded by moving the ball away from the goal line and later scoring on a 68-yard run by Sumner for the game’s first touchdown.
Lindale tied the game on the next possession on a nine-play drive. Acy put the Eagles into Canton territory on a 37-yard run. The Eagles then converted a third-and-12 with a 24-yard pass by Price to Johnson.
Lynch took the next play 1 yard into the end zone to tie the game at seven. After a punt by Canton and a turnover on downs by Lindale, Canton resorted to a trick play for its second touchdown. Walters pitched the ball to Chandler Eiland, who ran to his right and threw across the field to Walters. Walters did the rest with his feet, going 52 yards for the score.
Lindale, however, managed to tie the game with 29 seconds until halftime. The Eagles moved the ball to the 22 on a 31-yard pass by Price to Smith. Price finished the drive with a 6-yard pass to Johnson.
Lindale busted the game open in the third quarter with four touchdowns to take a hefty lead. The Eagles scored on their third play of the half. Lynch scored on a 1-yard run after a 56-yard pass by Price to Smith.
Canton fumbled on its first play of the next possession and three plays later Lindale celebrated another score. Price found Dakota Meurer on a 19-yard pass for the touchdown.
Lindale scored its third touchdown of the quarter following an interception. The Eagles took over from their own 8, but capped off a 13-play drive, with a 1-yard score by Acy.
Canton showed life in the following possession and scored its final touchdown of the contest. Walters hit Colton Williams up the right side of the field for a 77-yard score.
Lindale posted its final touchdown of the third quarter three plays later on another 1-yard score by Acy.
The Eagles scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, while holding Canton to 1 yard of offense to close out the game.