Canton starts a new season No. 1, again

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

When you've built the kind of football program Tim Baechler has at Canton High School, there's not much suspense surrounding preseason prognostication.

A panel of four local high school football coaches voted the Chiefs the area's top team in the first Ann Arbor News coaches' poll of the 2007 season, which kicks off Friday.

The selection - whether it's based on a hunch, knowledge or strictly respect - is no surprise, considering Canton's recent history:

· A state semifinal appearance last year after a Division 1 runner-up finish in 2005.

· Seven consecutive playoff appearances.

· An .833 winning percentage (70-14) since 2000.

· Average margin of victory in those wins: 27.2 points.

· The Chiefs were the top team in the News' preseason coaches' poll last year and remained there throughout an undefeated regular season. They also were No. 1 from Sept. 3, 2003 to Sept. 14, 2005.

So when Baechler agrees his team will be "pretty good,'' it automatically gets a pass toward the top of the area's elite teams. Just how well the Chiefs of 2007 stack up against the powerful teams of the past, however, remains to be seen.

"If you asked me about expectations the last couple of years, it was easy to say we wanted to go 9-0,'' Baechler said. "This year, I can say we're going to pretty good. And I think we can be very good from the middle of the season on.''

Why the delay? Because the Chiefs will be breaking in new starters at 18 positions.

Senior linebacker Dan Wanshon and senior strong safety Adam Powers are the only full-time starters back on defense. The offense - which lost 3,050 yards worth of rushing when Nick Moores, Deshon McClendon and Antwaun Hawkins graduated - gets a boost from the return of senior halfback Dalton Walser, who had a promising start to his junior season cut short by an injury in the third game.

Powers and junior Jerome Scales will each see time running the Chiefs' wing-T offense. Baechler says he will use the dual-quarterback approach because Powers and Scales, the team's best cornerback, are too valuable on defense to play offense exclusively.

Canton earned two of four first-place votes, with No. 3 Saline and No. 4 South Lyon picking up the others. Chelsea did not receive a first-place vote, but edged Southeastern Conference rival Saline for No. 2.

Rich Rezler can be reached

at rrezler@annarbornews.com