The Canton Eagles, who gave themselves little room for error following a district- opening loss to Athens in December, picked up two necessary wins this past week to improve to 3-1 on the slate.

The schedule would feature two of the Eagles’ biggest rivals in District 16-4A, as Tuesday offered a road trip to Brownsboro and Friday a home bout with the Van Vandals. The Eagles, who have seen great success in Brownsboro since Justin Burk assumed head coaching duties in 2018, picked up where they left off in Tuesday night’s matchup.

While Canton would jump out to an early lead on the back of Garrett Walker, who added 12 first quarter points, a sloppy second quarter would result in a miniscule 19-14 advantage.

With Brownsboro certainly obtaining momentum prior to the intermission, the Eagles would stomp out the approaching fire, outscoring the Bears 16-6 in the third period, and breaking open a 15-point advantage as the contest entered the final quarter of regulation. The game would slowly inch towards its close, as Burk and the Eagles turned on cruise control throughout the waning minutes of a 4932 victory.

Garrett Walker created problems throughout the night for the Bears, finishing with a game-high 23 points. Chantson Prox provided a stellar performance, chipping in 13 points. Cason Bell would follow with five, with Layne Etheridge and Jaxon Rhyne each adding four.

The Van Vandals would cross the city limits into enemy territory on Friday, Jan. 13, setting up another installment of the bitter rivalry between the two schools.

As fans trickled into the gymnasium prior to tip-off, a familiar sign would appear amongst a sea of red on the Vandals side, reading ’45-0’.

In what has become somewhat of a tradition in recent years, Van students will provide a friendly reminder of what took place on the gridiron between the two schools in the fall prior. The Eagles, who have not defeated Van in football since 2010, have seen many variations of the same sign during basketball season.

Although Van certainly holds the Eagles number on the football field, it’s been much the opposite on the hardwood. Entering the contest, Canton had five straight victories against the Vandals, and were the winner of six of the last seven.

Once again, the Eagles would follow suit to recent trends, taking care of the Vandals in blowout fashion, 49--33.

Canton would struggle to find footing in the first quarter, as they trailed 5-2 as the buzzer sounded. As opposed to Tuesday’s contest, the Eagles would find their groove in the second quarter on Friday, outscoring Van 18-2 in the frame, and entering halftime with a 20-7 lead.

There would be no second half comeback for the visitors, as the Eagles suffocated Van’s offensive attempts throughout the final two quarters. At the end of the second stress-free fourth quarter of the week, Canton had a 49-33 victory to add to their resume.

Canton’s scoring attack featured much more balance than previous contests, with Walker, Bell, Pickerill, and Prox all finishing with nine points or more. Etheridge would add on six points in the effort, and Rhyne would finish with three on the night.

Looking ahead, several district matchups with seeding implications loom in the coming weeks.

Canton was scheduled to host Lindale on Tuesday, Jan. 17, as both teams currently sit tied for second place at 3-1 in district play. Following a road trip to Mabank on Friday, Jan. 20, Canton will play host to district-leading Athens on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

Due to the Eagles’ district- opening loss to Athens in December, the Jan. 24 contest will likely be a ‘must-win’ scenario if Canton wants to keep hopes alive for a fourthstraight district championship