Late-game heroics lift Warriors past Chiefs
By ED WRIGHT
Staff Writer

Walled Lake Western's Montel Nix-Fleming is so versatile he can beat teams with his legs and his arm.

On Thursday night, the senior running back used both to hand Canton its second straight gut-busting loss.

With the clock ticking under 30 seconds and his team trailing 23-17, Nix-Fleming took a reverse hand-off from quarterback Sam Welch and sprinted toward the far sideline before setting his feet and launching a left-handed, 20-yard game-winning spiral to Steve Astrein, who had snuck behind the Chiefs' secondary.

With 20.5 seconds left, Matt Watko calmly booted the game-deciding extra point to give the Warriors a heart-pounding 24-23 victory.

The triumph lifted Western's record to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the Western Lakes Activities Association's Western Division. Canton slipped to 2-3 and 1-2, respectively.

"Montel is one of our more explosive athletes," Western coach Mike Zdebski said, describing the game-winning play. "When he runs to the edge like he did, it forces everybody to cut back because he's so good. When the defense reacts to Montel running with the ball, it frees up everything behind the defense.

"Beating Canton is always a great thing because playing against good teams like that is always our measuring stick. They're the defending champions so you have to knock them off to win the league. It's great to be 3-0 right now because I don't think anybody thought we'd be sitting where we are at this time."

Including last week's 22-20 setback to Plymouth, the Chiefs are just a few points and a handful of breaks from sitting at 4-1. Instead, they're just one more agonizing loss away from getting eliminated from the post-season for the first time since 1999.

"It's tough to work that hard and come up that short two weeks in a row," said Canton coach Tim Baechler. "But, hey, now all we have to do is all we know and that's to come to work, keep grinding it out and try to get better, and better, and better. Hopefully, we'll start getting a few breaks and find out how to win."

The two teams' offenses couldn't have been more contrasting. Western utilized a spread-formation, single running back, no-huddle attack that got the ball into the hands of 10 different players at one time or another during the contest. Canton, on the other hand, relied on its two-tight end, full-house backfield running game that tends to wear opponents down by the second half.

Both offenses had their moments - both spectacular and rough - against young, inexperienced defenses.

The Warriors struck first on their opening possession when Welch - who played more like a fifth-year senior than the sophomore that he is - scampered 35 yards to paydirt on a keeper. Watko's first of three extra points made it 7-0 with 8:37 left in the first quarter.

The Chiefs countered on their next drive - a 10-play, 52-yard clock-eater - when Dan Stoney drilled a 25-yard field to cut the deficit to 7-3 with 2:53 left in the first.

Watko converted a 33-yarder field goal with 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter to extend the hosts' lead to 10-3.

Both defenses stepped up in the second quarter when just one touchdown was scored - Canton fullback Jordan Raiford's bruising 9-yard scoring run with 30 seconds to go in the first half, knotting the game at 10-10.

The Chiefs' defense made a pivotal play to set up their next TD. At the 10:02 mark of the third quarter, Canton defensive lineman Robbie Walker pounced on a Welch fumble at the Chief 45. Eight plays and three minutes later, Canton senior quarterback Adam Powers connected with senior tight end William Tidwell on a 9-yard TD pass to put Canton up, 17-10.

"We just put that crossing pattern in this week," Baechler said. "We got man coverage and Adam and William made a play."

After Western deadlocked the game at 17-all three minutes later on a Welch-to-Nix-Fleming 9-yard TD pass, the Powers-to-Tidwell tandem struck again, this time from 59 yards out to give Canton a 23-17 lead. However, the Warriors' Deonte Mack went horizontal to block the ensuing extra point - a play that would later prove to be monumental.

"I thought Canton's play-action passing game was the best I've seen in it years," said Zdebski. "I've seen them play all year and when guys were open, the pass was too tall, the pass was too short or the receivers were dropping the ball. Tonight everything was like bang, bang, bang."

Following a punt by each team, Western threatened when it advanced the ball to the Canton 35 with just over five minutes to play. However, the drive was short-circuited when Canton junior defensive back Jerome Scales intercepted a Welch pass at the 10.

Canton moved the ball out to its 32, but was forced to punt when Western's Curtis Saroki sacked Powers for a 5-yard loss with 1:58 to play.

Western's eventual game-winning drive - which started at its 49 with 1:42 left - was nearly derailed on the opening play. Welch hit Edison Vushaj with a 10-yard pass, but he fumbled following a jarring hit by Powers. However, Western's John Popa alertly jumped on the loose pigskin at the Canton 39 to keep the drive alive.

Three plays later, Welch hit Vushaj with a 9-yarder on fourth-and-1. That set up Nix-Fleming's late-game heroics two plays later.

Originally published September 23, 2007