Saturday, November 8, 2003

Canton High School's win over Westland John Glenn on Friday marked the fourth time the football teams have played in 14 months.

And considering the magnitude the games, a rivalry was bound to be born.

John Glenn's win last September is Canton's only regular-season loss in its last 23. Canton has won the last three, and two in the postseason.

"They came out talking a little smack, so we had to give them the last smack," Canton senior Devin Thomas said.

Coach Tim Baechler was a bit more diplomatic.

"That is a well-coached, hard-nosed team," he said of John Glenn. "It's always tough to beat the same team twice in one season. I'm proud of how well we played tonight."

Turnover mania

For just a few minutes, Whitmore Lake's 46-33 win over Loyola for the school's first district title was comical.

The teams combined to turn the ball over four times in the last 43 seconds of the second quarter, and that doesn't include the interception Whitmore Lake threw with 2:16 remaining in the second or the fumble Loyola lost on the first play of the third.

All told, the game had 12 turnovers, six by each team. Loyola lost six of its eight fumbles while the Trojans lost four fumbles and threw two interceptions.