A capsule look at Canton vs. Steel-High

Canton road to Final Four: In District 4, beat South Williamsport, 42-13 and Muncy, 42-7; in States, beat Northern Cambria, 42-13

Canton PPG--40.8, PPA--8.2; YPG--332.7, YPA--150.2

Canton notes: The Warriors (12-1) repeated as district champions for the first time in program history and also have made consecutive Final Four appearances for the first time. Canton is seeking its first state championship appearance and is 25-2 over the past two seasons. The Warriors have won three straight since suffering their only defeat against District 4 Class AAAA champion Jersey Shore. Canton repeated as NTL-I champions, defeating Troy, 28-14 in a winner-take-all Week 10 game for the title and is undefeated on the road this season. It opened its season with an impressive, 31-18 victory against fellow statesemifinalist Union four hours away. Canton has mercy-ruled all three playoff opponents and built a 28-0 first quarter lead against Northern Cambria. The defense, offense and special teams all produced touchdowns in the game's first five minutes. The Warriors controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides and held Northern to negative yardage on 10 of 29 running plays. Riley Parker returned an interception for a touchdown and Ben Fitch also had a pick. Canton edged Steel-High, 32-27 in a thrilling first round game last season and are the only team to beat the Rollers during the last three postseasons. Both teams produced nearly identical yardage in that game but Canton was able to force four turnovers. Weston Bellows intercepted two passes and also caught an 89-yard touchdown. Canton's defense produced five shutouts during the regular season, including four straight from Weeks 2-5. Linebacker Brenen Taylor has returned two fumbles for touchdowns and also blocked a punt which he returned for a score. Linebacker Hayden Ward has six sacks and his brother Hudson leads the team in tackles. Mason Nelson, Mason Harold and Gage Pepper have been strong along the line's interior with Michael Davis and Rian Eberly playing well off the edges. Parker has gone over 1,400 yards for a second straight year and was one of five ball-carriers to gain more than 40 yards against Northern Cambria. Hayden Ward scored twice, Hudson Ward ripped off a 49-yard touchdown run and Bellows and Holden Ward combined for 89 yards. Jersey Shore is the only area team with a better winning percentage than Canton over the last five season with the Warriors going 48-8 during that time.

Canton player to watch--Gage Pepper: Pepper was a force against Northern Cambria, helping set the tone defensively on the game's first series when he combined with Eberly on a sack. Pepper also made a team-high 11 tackles and combined with Nelson, Taylor, Eberly and William Colton to help Canton run for 302 yards. His experience and strength provide a valuable asset along both lines.

Steel-High road to Final Four: In District 3, beat Fairfield, 62-6 and Belmont Charter, 46-6; In States, beat Windber, 37-7 and Northern Lehigh, 42-35

Steel-High PPG--49.2, PPA--20.2

Steel-High notes: Steel-High (12-1) is trying to win its second state title in three years and has won 11 straight games since losing its lone contest, 39-18 against Class AA semifinalist Westinghouse. The Rollers opened the season with a 21-14 win against WPIAL finalist Bishop Canevin and also have impressive victories against Class AA semifinalist Trinity (35-28) and District 3 Class AAA finalist West Perry (53-34). Steel-High has broken the program single-season record for points with 590. Like Canton, Steel-High has several starters back from last year and quarterback Alex Erby is on his way to a third straight all-state selection. The junior has thrown for 2,779 yards and 38 touchdowns with just three interceptions, while completing 69.2 percent of his passes. Erby has thrown for 78 touchdowns the last two seasons and needs 221 to reach 3,000 yards for a second consecutive year. Durrell Ceasar Jr. leads a trio of explosive receivers, catching 64 passes for 1,068 yards and 16 touchdowns. His 64 catches this season are a program record. Jaeion Perry played well in last year's Canton game and works in both the slot and backfield, catching 41 passes for 680 yards and 10 touchdowns. DaQuan McCraw is the lone senior among that group and has 34 receptions for 621 yards and eight touchdowns. As dangerous as Steel-High is through the air, it is anything but one-dimensional. Despite missing time with injury, Ronald Burnette has run for 913 yards and 15 touchdowns and Steel-High did most of its damage against Northern Lehigh on the ground. Burnette was a force, rushing for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 266 yards against Trinity. Northern Lehigh tied last Saturday's game 35-35 with 27 seconds remaining, but Steel-High moved 59 yards in five plays with Burnette carrying twice before Erby threw three straight completions. The final one was a 20-yard touchdown to Perry with four seconds remaining as Perry made a terrific catch in the right corner of the end zone. Ceasar intercepted a pass Saturday and Andrew Erby Jr., is receiving FCS interest along the line. Tackle Tyshawn Holland also is having a good year as are linebackers Perry and Taevon Legrande.

Steel-High player to watch--Eugene Green: Like Alex Erby, Green has made a big impact since his freshman year in 2020. Green produced 11 sacks during his debut season which culiminated with a state title. He has built on that success the past two seasons and is one of the team's leaders.

Winner plays: Either WPIAL champion Union or District 9 champion Port Allegany

Outlook: This game was scintillating from start to finish last season. Steel-High led by one at the halftime, Canton went ahead by two scores in the second half and then held off a Rollers comeback attempt in the final minute. Both teams are experienced, athletic and battle-tested so it feels like this game could be a lot like last year's with the outcome in doubt until the final seconds or possibly even beyond.