Canton Observer

Top line
Blockers pave the way in Chiefs' win

BY BRAD EMONS
STAFF WRITER

Canton may have a backfield of interchangeable parts, but it's the offensive line that keeps the Chiefs running smoothly without slipping out of gear.

Wayne Memorial was the latest casualty Friday, as unbeaten Canton earned its sixth straight victory and seven consecutive playoff berth since 2000 with a convincing 47-12 win over the host Zebras.

Down to their third-string quarterback -- Adam Powers -- and minus starting running backs (Deshon McClendon and Dalton Walser), the Chiefs piled up 476 yards rushing on the ground to clinch at least a tie for the Western Division title in the Western Lakes Activities Association.

Fullback Nick Moores was the beneficiary of the well-oiled offense, finishing with 205 yards on 21 carries, including touchdown runs of 52, 16 and 6 yards.

Junior halfback Antwaun Hawkins contributed 99 yards on 22 carries. He scored on runs of 3 and 5 yards, both coming in the third quarter as Canton pulled away from a 19-6 halftime advantage.

Much of the credit goes to Canton's front seven blockers, an all-senior unit which consists of center Jeff Phillips; guards Nicholas Dunleavy and Keil Price; tackles Brandon Lasko and Williams Khoury; and tight ends Brandon Fender and William Turner.

They were so dominant throughout the night that the Chiefs did not have to punt.

"Potentially they're one of the best (offensive lines) we've had, but they're not there yet,'' Canton coach Tim Baechler said. "We put them through a bloody week of practice because we've expected more of them.

"I'd say it was their best performance up to this point.''

Canton's opening drive chewed up 6 minutes and 40 seconds, only to come up without any points when Wayne's Thomas Williams picked off one of Canton's two passes on fourth-and-five attempt.

"We wanted our first four drives to go 15 plays for six minutes while sucking up the clock,'' Baechler said. "But we had the two turnovers, including the fumble (in the second quarter), that kept her closer than we wanted. Our plan was to wear them out over four quarters and keep their number one (D.J. Freeman) and number two (Allen Freeman) off the field as much as possible.''

Moores scored on a 52-yard run with 9:46 left in the half to make it 7-0 (following Colin O'Shaughnessy's extra point), but Wayne answered on D.J. Freeman's 14-yard scoring toss to Alvin Jones with 6:06 to go.

Wayne then self-destructed thanks to an illegal procedure call on fourth-and-inches, forcing the Zebras to punt at their own 44. That was followed by a Canton pooch kick that was recovered by the Chiefs at the Wayne 36 (following Powers' 49-yard TD toss to Turner).

Moores, a sturdy 6-foot, 205-pound senior, scored his second TD of the game on a 16-yard run with just 40 seconds to play in the half to put the Chiefs up by 13.

It became a rout as Canton scored twice in the third period -- going 72 yards in 11 plays and 59 yards in nine plays with Hawkins scoring on TD runs of 3 and 5 yards, respectively.

Canton added two more scores in the fourth quarter, a 6-yard run by Moores (set up by Derek Perino's interception) and Devin Murphy's 4-yard run.

"Their offensive line knocked us around and that's shocking to me because our front seven doesn't normally get knocked around,'' said Wayne coach Craig Hnatuk, whose team slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the division.

The Zebras got on the board on 1-yard TD run by Brad Leverenz with 8:08 remaining, but it was too little, too late. Allan Freeman was Wayne's only real offensive threat. He finished with 111 yards rushing on 10 carries.

"Mental mistakes just kills us,'' Hnatuk said. "It's like an illness here and I don't understand it. We should have recovered that (pooch) kick, but we didn't because we thought the ball was going out of bounds. That was the turning point.

"But you can't take anything away from Canton. They're physical, very impressive.''

Baechler, meanwhile, hopes to get back McClendon and starting quarterback Steve Paye back for next Friday's division finale against Northville.

"We cut our playbook in half, we concentrated only seven pass plays,'' Baechler said. "I thought Adam (Powers) did a great job on the one throw (to Turner). It was right on the money. He's a heady kid.

"The thing I was concerned about was that Adam was one of our starting safeties, and by moving him over to the offense, we had to go with two new safeties against a spread offense, which is kind of scary.''

But Baechler felt at ease as the game wore on. The Chiefs' active defense limited Wayne to 156 yards and picked off three passes (one each by Perino, Alex Lajoie and Erik Wright).

And of course, don't forget the Chiefs' efficient offensive line, which led to nearly 500 total yards.

Originally published October 1, 2006