Baseball players like using the chant, “Everybody hits.” The Canton defense has adopted a similar mindset. Everybody hits and hits hard.

More importantly, everyone makes plays.

Canton features one of the state’s top-ranked defenses and that unit has helped the Warriors experience, arguably, this program’s best season ever. Canton came up huge defensively again last Saturday, forcing six turnovers and shutting out Old Forge in the second half while winning a 20-14 overtime Class A state quarterfinal thriller. Five different players intercepted passes, driving home exactly why this defense has been so successful.

This is not a collection of individuals performing, but a unit operating as one. It is like 11 Musketeers on the field at all times. It is one for all and all for one.

“Everybody is playing for each other on our defense. It’s not ‘I want to get a sack,’ it’s, ‘We want to get a sack. We want to stop them,'” lineman Mason Shultz said. “There’s not a single ‘I’ person on this team.”

That selfless, hard-nosed attitude has helped carry Canton to the state’s Final 4. The Warriors (13-0) broke the Northern Tier League for wins in a season last Saturday and will try becoming the first NTL team to reach a state championship Friday when they play District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle in the semifinals at Altoona’s Mansion Park.

Canton has built its success upon a stingy defense which is allowing just 8.1 points and 176.8 points per game. The Warriors shutout four opponents during the regular season and the starters did not allow a point six times. That included a fabulous District 4 championship performance in which Canton built a 45-point third-quarter lead and dethroned three-time defending champion Muncy, 45-7 to win the program’s first title since 1990.

“The biggest thing about defense is being disciplined and doing your job. It’s not worrying about what the other guy is doing and just focusing on your task,” Canton coach Tyler Sechrist said. “Being a team, they trust that the guy next to him is going to do his job and that’s a big part of the success.”

This defense has not just been stifling, but also opportunistic. Canton has forced 10 turnovers in two state tournament wins, including six against Old Forge. It also has generated 39 in 13 games. Four turnovers against defending state champion Steelton-Highspire, including two which set up third-quarter touchdowns, helped Canton win its first state tournament ever, 32-27.

The defense then went into overdrive against Old Forge, the state’s No. 1-ranked team at the time. Old Forge led 14-0 at halftime and was on the verge of possibly putting the game away multiple times. Each time, the defense stood tall and made big plays. Austin Allen recovered a fumble to snuff out a third-quarter drive and his fourth-quarter interception fueled possibly the most exciting 9-plus minutes in program history. Canton followed that up with a long touchdown drive before Hayden Ward blocked a punt and Riley Parker scored the game-tying touchdown.

Weston Bellows intercepted a pass in the end zone to deny Old Forge an overtime score and Ward’s highlight-reel 8-yard touchdown run won the game, sending Canton soaring into the Final 4. The defense had no margin for error and, while not flawless during the second half, it enabled Canton to rally and continue this remarkable season.

“The defense with those turnovers gave us great field position and switched the field a little bit and got us fired up,” Parker said. “We were starting to get a feel for him (quarterback Joseph Sobol) and how he throws the ball and where he’s going. It paid off.”

How the defense ignited that comeback served as a microcosm of this entire campaign. It was not one or two players excelling, but everyone working together. Canton rotates players in and out, especially on the line, and all made a big impact.

It has been that way all season with 12 players intercepting passes and 10 collecting sacks. The Warriors also have scored three defensive touchdowns with Ward, Parker and Brenen Taylor returning interceptions for scores.

Canton might not overwhelm opponents with its size, but the team’s strength is impressive, as is its speed and intelligence. The Warriors also are an excellent tackling team, effectively preventing athletes from gaining yards after contact. Put it all together and Canton has let just two teams reach 20 points this season while holding 10 to 10 points or fewer.

“It’s a combination of smart kids who can run a few different defenses as we try mixing up what the offense thinks we’re going to do,” Sechrist said. “We have wrestlers who are good tacklers and there is speed at every position which helps to get to the ball.”

Canton might switch up its looks but this unit’s effort and approach are constants. Bishop Guilfoyle is the latest challenge in a season full of them. This defense will attack the game the same way it has the 13 previous ones.

Together.

“That’s what we train for; that’s what we play for,” Shultz said. “We’ve been doing it since early June. It’s all about each other.”