Canton Eagles off to another fast start as they enter district play

CANTON, Texas (KETK) – For the third-straight year the Canton Eagles are off to a 5-0 start to the season.

But this year’s team knows success isn’t guaranteed.

“Gotta get better. Gotta get better every day and kind of having that growth mindset and I think our kids have it,” Canton head coach Heath Ragle said.

“Looking back to a few years ago we got to another good start, we were undefeated and I think we got very complacent and we lost here at home to kind of ruin that streak and I think it was a big wake up call for a lot of people, and so last year and this year we’ve really been don’t get in that same mindset. We just gotta keep going that way if we wanna do something special we can get it done,” Canton free safety Carson Hawkins said.

For seniors like Hawkins, he’s determined to make the most of his last season in an Eagles uniform.

“We’ve been playing together for a while now. A lot of us are born and raised Canton people. Not a lot of move-ins. So we’ve all been together since pretty much our seventh grade year so I think that adds a lot to it. We’re all real close,” Hawkins said.

Fellow senior Saul Lopez said the Eagles plan to build on the momentum from last year’s 10-win season.

“We just worked our tails off this offseason so yeah it really motivated us to push ourselves this year,” Lopez, a starting middle linebacker for the Eagles, said.

Ragle said the Eagles’ success so far is in large part due to their two-dimensional offensive attack and relentless defense.

“Three years ago we could just run the ball. These last couple of years we can throw and run, and a big part of that is Cort and our o-line being able to do both, so it keeps people off balance and then defensively our kids hustle to the ball,” Ragle said.

With more wins comes more attention and praise but Ragle and his players aren’t letting that distract them from reaching their ultimate goals, like bringing home their first district title since 2005.

“I gotta remind them all the time man how did we get to this point. We put our head down and worked every single day. Let everybody else commend you but you need to go to work. That’s your job is to go to work every single day,” Ragle said.

Canton will take its’ undefeated record on the road to Van in our Week 7 Friday Football Fever Game of the Week.

Van comes into this showdown at 3-2 with the Vandals two losses coming by a combined six points.

Both programs are familiar with each other so Friday night’s district opener should have plenty of fireworks.

Kickoff between Canton and Van is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 9 at Van Memorial Stadium in Van.

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