STAFF WRITER

The 20-foot-high, inflated blue gorilla that was propped up behind the east end zone for Friday night's Canton-Walled Lake Western football game was small compared to the proverbial monkey the Warriors wrenched from their backs after their 21-14 overtime victory over the Chiefs.

It marked the first time Western had defeated Canton in a regular-season game since the 2000 season.

The setback was the Chiefs' first regular-season Western Lakes Activities Association loss since Sept. 3, 2002, when they fell 46-21 at Westland John Glenn.

It's still early, but the 3-0 Warriors now sit atop the WLAA's Western Division along with Northville and Livonia Franklin, Canton's next opponent. The Chiefs slipped to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Canton dominated time of possession with its between-the-tackles ground game, but that advantage was offset by a combination of turnovers and the inability to convert key plays in the red zone.

"I told one of my coaches that my wrists were getting sore from signaling in all the defensive plays tonight," quipped Western head coach Mike Zdebski, who doubles as the team's defensive coordinator. "It seems like Canton ran off eight, 10 or 12 plays every time they had the ball.

"Our kids worked hard and made plays when they had to. Our conditioning program paid off because the kids didn't get tired."

Canton crossed Western's 20-yard line five times, but still managed just 14 points.

"We had a lot of missed opportunities, especially in the first half," Canton coach Tim Baechler said. "There is a lot of parity in our league this year, and we saw that tonight. There are no weak teams and no easy games.

"We're still a good football team, but we didn't get it done today. People joke about how we re-load every year, but we only have two returning starters on offense and two on defense. It's not fair to these kids to expect them to win every game 42-0."

The potential for a one-sided rout existed following the Chiefs' opening drive, a two-play sequence that was capped by junior running back Deshon McClendon's 69-yard touchdown sprint. Colin O'Shaunessy's extra point made it 7-0 less than two minutes into the contest.

Prior to the Warriors' final possession of the first half, Canton ran 26 plays from scrimmage compared to Western's six (not including punts). Canton's third drive was stymied at the Western 18 when the Chiefs couldn't convert a fourth-and-three play.

After Canton's defense forced a three-and-out, the offense again pushed the ball deep into Western territory until Warrior cornerback Tommy Bell picked off a deflected pass at the 13.

Seemingly energized by Bell's diving pick, the Warriors marched 87 yards in 10 plays and scored when Bell lunged over from one yard out. Andy Omiatek's extra point knotted the score at 7-7 with less than a minute left in the half.

Canton regained the lead, 14-7, six seconds into the fourth quarter when McClendon bolted 18 yards up the middle. The run capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive.

McClendon preserved the lead - at least temporarily - with 7:54 left when he picked off a Travis Maxey pass at the Canton 15. However, after the Chiefs were forced to punt, Western drove 58 yards on its next possession and eventually found the end zone on Maxey's nine-yard keeper. The TD was set up on the previous play, a 22-yard pass to Bell.

The Warriors nearly won the game in regulation, but Omiatek's 33-yard field goal attempt hooked wide left with 18 seconds to play.

Western scored on its second snap in overtime when Maxey found -who else?- Bell alone in the end zone. It was the 5-foot-9 senior's eighth catch of the game.

"We were going to keep throwing Tommy the ball until Canton stopped it," Zdebski said. "This was a typical Tommy Bell game. We've come to expect games like this out of him."

Canton dug a fast and deep hole on its first two overtime plays: a six-yard loss followed by a five-yard illegal procedure penalty. On second-and-21, Chief quarterback Corey Nicoloff completed an eight-yard pass to Andy Rossow. Following a third-down incomplete pass, Nicoloff barely over-shot Chris Woudstra with a pass at the goal line, setting off a wild celebration on the Western side of the field.

Bell finished with 96 yards in total offense (93 receiving and three rushing). Maxey connected on 10-of-23 passes for 94 yards and ran eight times for 34.

McClendon paced the Chiefs' offense with 124 yards on 18 attempts. Nicoloff, who started his second game in place of injured two-year starter Shawn Little, completed 6-of-11 passes for 79 yards.

Little is very doubtful for next week's game against the Patriots, Baechler said.

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