By Staff
CANTON – The Canton/Galva football team for 2023 will be led by Lane McMannis and Wyatt Collins as they look to blend a young, somewhat inexperienced team into another ten-plus win season and state championship contender.
While the Eagles again reached 11 wins at 11-1, they lost their 8-Man Division II sub-state playoff game and in the aftermath said goodbye to a sizable, talented senior class as well.
Eagle head coach Shelby Hoppes begins his seventh season at the helm of the Canton/Galva football program and may be looking at one of his more inexperienced teams to work with. In his first six seasons, Hoppes has recorded an overall mark of 58-11 that includes five straight seasons of at least ten wins or more.
“We had a large, experienced, talented senior class that graduated last year,” noted coach Hoppes. “This season will be full of many unknows going through fall practice and entering the 2023 season.”
Besides their games within the Wheat State League, of which they finished 4-0 in 2022, Canton/Galva will have to face Norwich, Fairfield, Central Christian and Rural Vista in their district games.
Offensively, the Eagles will return four starters including Lane McMannis, a six-foot, 160-pound senior running back who ran for 373 yards on 42 carries while catching eight passes for another 152 yards and totaling nine touchdowns overall last season. The three other offensive starters are all on the line with seniors Wyatt Collins at six-foot-two, 215-pounds and Isom Marston who comes in at five-foot-ten , 230-pounds, plus Noah Collins, a six-foot-three, 220-pound junior.
On defense, only three starters are back in the fold for the Eagles with Wyatt Collins and McMannis being two of them at defensive end and defensive back, respectively. Collins recorded 45 tackles in 2022 with 11.5 of those going for a loss of yardage and four being quarterback sacks while McMannis had 53.5 tackles and four interceptions. The third defensive starter returning is senior Jaden Ediger, a five-foot-eight, 150-pound defensive back who had two interceptions.
“These kids will have to really compete this summer and into fall camp to earn starting spots on both sides of the ball,” added coach Hoppes. “I think competition like that will be good for our guys and prepare them for the upcoming season.”
The coaching staff did point to five players that the Canton/Galva faithful need to watch for this upcoming season in seniors Leyton Witte, a five-foot-nine, 175-pound wide receiver/linebacker and Jory Ratzlaff, a six-foot, 175-pound lineman/linebacker along with three freshmen, Jaxon Chrislip, Jaxon Nightingale, and Custom Schamp. Chrislip is listed as a five-foot-nine, 160-pound wide receiver/linebacker, Nightingale will be a five-foot-ten, 185-pound offensive/defensive lineman and Schamp a five-foot-ten, 150-pound, wide receiver/defensive back.
Coach Hoppes concluded his preseason reflections by saying, “Depth will also be a concern in 2023 since we do not have a lot of experience returning. We are going to have to develop our young kids to create depth at the varsity level.”
Canton/Galva will open the 2023 season on Friday, September 1 on the road at Little River before coming home for back-to-back-to-back Friday night home games hosting Goessel, Solomon, and Norwich.
2023 CANTON/GALVA EAGLE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
Friday, September 1 = at Little River
Friday, September 8 = hosting Goessel
Friday, September 15 = hosting Solomon
Friday, September 22 = hosting Norwich
Friday, September 29 = at Fairfield
Friday, October 6 = hosting Hutchinson Central Christian
Friday, October 13 = at St. John/Beloit
Friday, October 20 = at Rural Vista
Thursday, October 26 = 8-Man Division II Bi-District, TBA
Friday, November 3 = 8-Man Division II Regionals, TBA
Friday, November 10 = 8-Man Division II Sectionals, TBA
Friday, November 17 = 8-Man Division II Sub-State, TBA
Saturday, November 25 = 8-Man Division II State Championship
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(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at macks.people.places@gmail.com)
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