November 15, 2003
BY MICK MCCABE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Derek Brooks really didn't want to pick up Canton's second-half kickoff as the ball bounced around the turf near the sideline at the Redford Catholic Central 2-yard line.
"I was going to let it go out of bounds," Brooks said. "It would have gone out, but I thought I don't get a chance to run back kicks much. Teams don't normally kick to my side."
So Brooks picked the ball up, weaved through a maze of Canton defenders and sprinted 98 yards to help end Canton's season with a 38-7 Catholic Central victory Friday before an overflow crowd at Canton in a Division 1 regional final.
The two-time defending state champs will play Clinton Township Chippewa Valley in a semifinal game next Saturday at Birmingham Seaholm.
Canton (11-1) scored shortly before the half to cut the CC lead to 17-7 and Brooks' score made the final 23:15 academic.
"That was a back-breaker," said Canton coach Tim Baechler. "We were feeling good about ourselves at halftime. We got a good kick and we had kids in the area. Brooks just made a great run."
CC (11-1) did all of the running in this one, compiling 346 yards in total offense, all on the ground.
"I didn't expect to get man-handled up front like that," Baechler said. "I knew there was a size difference, especially with our defensive line. But we've made plays all year. They just pushed us around."
Canton had little success against the CC defense, gaining 104 yards, 72 of which came on its final drive.
"We played tough defense today," said CC tackle Jason Horton, who forced a fumble. "We practiced the 6-2 defense all week and we played it well. We're usually a 5-2 team, but they run the 'T' with tight splits so we wanted more people in the box. We put a linebacker on the line."
Canton fumbled a fourth-and-one snap at its 41 on the game's first possession and seven plays later Brooks scored on a five-yard run. Brook's 49-yard run set up Eric Vojtkofsky's one-yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter and Jason Gingell added a 45-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead.
Canton's Shawn Little completed a flair pass to Travis McKinney, who ran 78 yards before Julian Smith scored on a three-yard run to cut the CC lead to 17-7 at halftime.
"They had some momentum," said CC coach Tom Mach. "They took that momentum into halftime and we talked about coming out, moving the ball down the field and scoring. Derek took care of that for us."
Brooks gained 99 yards on 11 carries and Darnell Tyson (22 yards) and Nick Barrett (nine yards) added second-half TDs.
Contact MICK McCABE at 313-223-4744 or mccabe@freepress.com.