CANTON -- Derek Brooks is known for many things, but returning kicks isn't one of them.

But the senior running back did just that, helping Detroit Catholic Central to a 38-7 victory over Canton in a Division 1 regional final Friday night.

The Shamrocks advance to a semifinal matchup next Saturday at Birmingham Seaholm against Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, which defeated Dearborn Fordson, 30-12 Friday.

Brooks returned the second-half kickoff 98 yards and boosted C.C.'s lead to 24-7.

"It was about to go out of bounds, but I picked it up," Brooks said. "It wasn't the best decision, but I don't get many opportunities to return kicks. But that gave a lot of momentum to us. I got some big blocks to open things up."

The Shamrocks had a 17-0 advantage midway through the second quarter. Brooks had a 5-yard touchdown run and Eric Vojtkofsky had a 1-yard run. Jason Gingell then booted a 45-yard field goal.

But Canton got a breath of life late in the half. Travis McKinney took a Shawn Little screen pass 79 yards to the 2-yard line. Four plays later, Julian Smith ran in from three yards out, cutting the lead to 17-7 at halftime.

"That return was real big," C.C. Coach Tom Mach said. "They scored at the end of the first half and had great momentum. So we wanted to come out with a long drive to take away that momentum.

"That return was one of the best I've seen in my life. That young man is something special."

Canton Coach Tim Baechler thought the Chiefs had the kick covered.

"We had a great kick and we had guys down there," he said. "But Brooks had one heck of a great run. They're just a good team -- a real good team."

With a solid lead, it was up to the Shamrocks' defense to keep it that way. And the C.C. was up to the challenge.

In the second half, Canton was held to just 83 yards, including just eight total yards in the third. Canton didn't get a first down until the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

"We run their offense a little, but they run it a lot better then we do," Mach said. "It's really hard to find the ball. You need to get in the game and see what's going on. And the kids did a real good job of executing that in the second half."

The Shamrocks put the finishing touches on the win with two touchdowns late in the third quarter.

Darnell Tyson scored on a 23-yard run and Nick Barrett added a 9-yard score on the next possession.

"This wasn't easy, but we played one of our better games that we've played this year," Mach said. "The kids came ready to play. The last two games, we had sporadic first halves, especially last week, since we were down 14 points.

"This week, we put the emphasis on coming out and playing a full 48 minutes. We started this game like we finished last week (against South Lyon)."

For Canton (11-1), the game may have been a disappointment, but Baechler says it's good for the team.

"They made some big plays tonight," Baechler said. "But we had a lot of mental mistakes too. Their size was a definite problem for us. But the more you get here, the more you play a team like them. And if you get beat, you want to keep playing them. That's the way you get better.

C.C. finished with 338 offensive yards, all on the ground. The Shamrocks did not attempt a pass in the game.

Brooks led C.C. with 104 yards on 14 carries. Ryan McKee had 59 yards on four carries and Eric Vojtkofsky had 46 yards on 10 carries.

Canton tallied 225 total yards, including 146 on the ground. McKinney had 63 yards on 16 carries and Chuck Schumacher had 50 yards on 12 carries.

Tim Russell is a free-lance writer.