Want a sneak preview of Friday's Division 1 football playoff game between Canton and Belleville high schools? Get your hands on a tape of the 2000 first-round meeting between the same teams.
The schemes and tendencies you'll revisit in that 21-10 Canton win is the same you'll see this time around. Neither coach Tim Baechler of Canton nor Bob LaPointe of Belleville has changed his system much since then.
"Same offense, same defense for both of us," Baechler said. "That tells me they believe in what they do, just like we do. It works."
Both still depend on their ability to run the ball, Canton (9-0) out of a T-formation and Belleville (6-3) from a Wing-T.
"We have experience playing against that offense, unfortunately not a good experience," LaPointe said.
What will be different this time around is the explosiveness of the athletes wearing Canton uniforms. In 2000, the Chiefs were playing without injured standout Jerry Gaines - now a senior defensive back at Eastern Michigan - and featured more physical ballcarriers without breakaway speed.
Now junior quarterback Shawn Little, who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.59 seconds , can turn to a stable of backs with similar ability. Chuck Schumacher (926 yards, 12 touchdowns), Julian Smith (780, 15), Deshon McClendon (480, 6) and Andrew Rossow (363, 5) are all big play threats.
Isaac Kindell gives the Tigers their own breakaway threat in the return game and from scrimmage. He rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns in the Tigers' playoff-clinching victory at Romulus last week, pushing him past 700 yards for the season.