Canton High football opens the 2026 season under first-year head coach Jeff Eckler as the Kelley-Rex Division race takes shape.

HockomockSports published its annual division preview on Monday, Sept. 7, breaking down all seven Kelley-Rex programs: Canton, Attleboro, Franklin, Milford, Sharon, Stoughton and Taunton.

Eckler is a Canton lifer. Named head varsity football coach on Feb. 6, he takes over a program he first joined as a player, graduating from Canton High in 1991 as team captain. He earned his degree in physical education at Bridgewater State College and has taught at Galvin Middle School in Canton.

His coaching career started on the Bulldog sideline in 1994. He served as freshman coach, quarterbacks coach, secondary coach and defensive coordinator through 2001 before stints as defensive coordinator at Oliver Ames and Milton High.

Eckler returned to Canton in 2011 as defensive coordinator under head coach Dave Bohane and stayed on staff through the tenure of Anthony Fallon, who had led the program since 2020. Fallon was placed on administrative leave in late September 2025 after being charged with assault; the case was resolved in his favor that December, but the school did not reinstate him, and the head coaching search that followed led to Eckler's promotion. According to the CHS Athletics blog, no one has been part of Canton's football coaching staff longer than Eckler over the past 30 years.

"I'm very excited to lead the CHS football program and continue to coach in the community that I love," Eckler said when the hire was announced in February.

Canton Athletic Director Danny Erickson called Eckler "a true master coach" who appreciates the tradition of Canton football. The CHS Athletics blog described the program as coming off two strong seasons heading into the coaching transition.

In Week 8 of the 2025 campaign, Canton stood at 5-2 after a 34-0 rout of Oliver Ames, according to Boston Globe results. Nick Crowe and Antoine Jamison each scored twice in that win.

One date already circled: the 100th anniversary Thanksgiving Day game against Stoughton, a rivalry matchup Eckler will coach for the first time as head man.