Staff photo / Neel Madhavan
Canfield receiver Scottie Eaton (10) breaks a tackle after hauling in a pass during the Jack Arvin Classic last week at Mineral Ridge.
MINERAL RIDGE — The 2024 Canfield football senior class leaves school as one of the most decorated classes in program history.
Since they first began high school in fall of 2020, the Cardinals’ seniors have been a part of 41 wins, which included a Division III regional finalist finish in 2020, a Division III regional semifinalist finish in 2021, and of course, the program’s first state championship during the magical 2022 season.
“We were so close to one another — we all put each other first, we didn’t put ourselves first,” senior lineman Vince Luce said after the Jack Arvin Classic last week. “I hope the young kids look up to us and say, these (last) two classes, we did it right. That’s what I hope people think about us at the end of the day.
“Canfield, there’s no other place like it in the country. There’s no other place like it anywhere. I hope that we leave behind a grateful community, and we leave behind a positive impact, not only on the Cardinals, but on Canfield in general.”
Luce, receiver/running back Scottie Eaton and quarterback Paul Bindas represented their class last Thursday, as they took to the field together one last time at the Jack Arvin Classic.
“It was great. We’re all going to college to play ball and playing one last time with the C on our chest and Cards on our helmets, it’s always fun playing with my boys,” Bindas said.
In the game, Bindas completed a couple of passes for the Mahoning County All-Star team, while Eaton hauled in a 70-yard reception from Cardinal Mooney quarterback Ashton O’Brien.
The trio relished the opportunity to play together one final time.
“On a phone call, we were talking about — let’s do it one last time,” Eaton said. “It was awesome. It was great and it was a great atmosphere. We had a great experience.”
The three, along with the rest of Canfield’s 16 other seniors, were all pivotal pieces of the Cardinals’ title run in 2022. Then they took that next step as seniors this past season in 2023.
But the graduation of this year’s senior class also marks the changing of the guard in Canfield.
After longtime head coach Mike Pavlansky retired at the end of the 2023 season, it’s a new era at Bob Dove Field, as Joe Ignazio was named as the program’s next head coach at the end of January.
Even with a new coach and new players, the expectations will remain the same next season at Canfield.
“I’m looking forward to the same thing,” Bindas said. “Coach Iggy knows how Canfield is. We’re in the playoffs every year. It’s been seven straight years we’ve made the playoffs with, I think, a winning record every time. Our goal is always to make it to the state championship game. Coach Iggy is going to bring that team up there, and it’s going to be hard workers every day.”
With Ignazio serving as Canfield’s defensive line coach each of the past three seasons on Pavlansky’s staff, Luce got the chance to closely work firstthand with him.
“You can’t replace a coach like Coach Pav. He was there a long time for a reason,” Luce said. “He was a great coach, a great mentor and a great person overall. I got to play underneath him, so I got real close with him. There’s no better man for the job.”
For Bindas, Eaton and Luce though, their high school careers are behind them. Now, they can look forward to the next step, as they continue their football careers at the collegiate level.
Luce is headed to play at Robert Morris, while Bindas is bound for Ohio Dominican and Eaton is off to Hillsdale College in Michigan.
“I have dreamt about playing college football since I picked up a football,” Luce said. “That was my only goal, and to be able to say that I’m going to be able to do it is a surreal feeling. I wish both these two — Paulie and Scottie — the absolute best of luck. I hope that our paths cross again in the future. But if they don’t, then I’m going to stay in contact with them, I’m going to follow them and I want nothing but the best for them.”
Have an interesting story? Contact Neel Madhavan by email at nmadhavan@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NeelMadhavan.