CANFIELD — At press time, Canfield led West Branch 26-21 with 9:50 left in the fourth quarter. For full story, go to vindy.com.

The two teams largely traded blows throughout the first half.

On its first drive, West Branch moved the ball into Canfield territory, but stalled out and turned the ball over on downs just outside the red zone.

A couple possessions later, Canfield was able to force a three-and-out, but a fumble on the ensuing punt return was recovered by West Branch’s Damon Edwards in plus territory.

A few plays later, Jeremiah Thomas found tight end Gavin Gregory on a gadget play in the back corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.

Canfield then finally found some rhythm offensively and methodically moved the ball down the field, scoring its opening touchdown on a 7-yard run by Donnie Ferko. Enzo Cocca started to connect in the passing game on the drive, hitting Bryce Roberts for 28 yards and Ferko for 25 yards during the possession.

The Warriors’ aerial assault was hit-and-miss, but quarterback Grady Hirst found Jake Weingart for 34 yards to set up a 6-yard strike from Hirst to Thomas at the start of the second quarter.

It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to respond, however, as Sami Hout returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.

Canfield took its first lead of the evening at the end of the first half when Joey Pannunzio plowed across the goal line from three yards out, as the Cardinals took a 20-15 lead into halftime.

Cocca threw an interception early in the third quarter that was picked off by Thomas. The Warriors then got points off the turnover, as hirst found Gregory over the middle of the field on a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Just like the first half though, Canfield responded right away with its second special teams score of the night when Ferko took the kickoff 82 yards to put the Cardinals back on top 26-21 through three quarters.