Canton
[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Torrence scores four TDs as South cruises[/FONT]
Saturday, October 7, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]
By Jim Thomas Repository Sports Writer[/FONT]
CANTON TWP. - The last time Canton South was in the high school football playoffs, in 1987, Devoe Torrence wasn?t around.
?I was born in 1990,? he said.
So when his Wildcats needed him Friday night against Minerva, Torrence wasn?t thinking about the past, or the future. He was living in the moment and loving it after scoring four touchdowns in Canton South?s 35-7 Northeastern Buckeye Conference victory over the Lions before a homecoming crowd at Brechbuhler Stadium.
?Oh man, that was fun,? Torrence said after totaling 196 yards on a mere 10 scrimmage touches. ?My offensive line said they needed me to score, so I ran for them. I just followed them, ran to the outside and then I waited for the wide receivers to block.
?It was all on them.?
Torrence broke tackles on a 58-yard sprint up the middle for South?s initial first-quarter points of the season. He outran a trio of Lions to the end zone on a 58-yard reception to give his team the halftime lead. Torrence snagged a 9-yard slant for 6 points to open the second half and hurdled a diving tackler en route to a 61-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal the Wildcats? sixth win in seven games and improve their NBC mark to 3-1.
Just for fun, the 6-3, 215-pound junior also took the snap from center and bowled over a tackler at the 1-yard to cash in a 2-point conversion try.
South head coach Moe Daniska agreed his star back had a great supporting cast.
?He did a great job,? Daniska said. ?But I thought our offensive line opened the holes for him and Devoe wouldn?t have gotten the yards he did if J?Keem Waters didn?t throw some great blocks.?
Minerva head coach Brett Yeagley said Torrence was just being modest.
?He?s a special talent,? Yeagley said. ?You?ll see him on Saturdays, he?ll play college ball. I think you?ll see him on Sundays, too.?
But he wasn?t the only Torrence in the house hurting the Lions. Devoe?s older brother, Devon, made a nice touchdown catch of an 18-yard Matt Trissel fade pass, one of three scoring throws by the sophomore quarterback.
And Trissel, who was 9-for-14 for 136 yards, two scores and no interceptions, wasn?t the only Wildcats sophomore doing major damage. Middle linebacker Mike McCarthy was devastating to Minerva?s offense. He nailed quarterback Brandon Phelps behind the line of scrimmage five times for a whopping minus-47 yards, while forcing a fumble.
?He just keeps coming,? Daniska said of McCarthy. ?He?s got a motor that never stops.?
Yet Yeagley?s Lions were in the game at halftime, down just 14-7. They gave up two big Torrence touchdowns but held onto the ball, ran 33 plays to South?s 16 and quarterback Brandon Phelps found tight end Jason Fick for a 10-yard touchdown.
A lost fumble at South?s 40 just before halftime seemed to jump-start the hosts. They went 63 yards in nine plays after halftime, capped by Devoe?s 9-yarder.
?We said we needed to come out and score,? Daniska said. ?And not just score, but march the ball.?
Reach Repository sports writer Jim Thomas at (330) 580-8336 or e-mail:
[email protected]
). He is getting mail from tOSU, Illinois, and Akron. He made 135 tackles and had 5 INT's in only 8 games last year.
