Chiefs 9-0 after rolling over Rocks, 42-13

BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

To some degree, Canton football coach Tim Baechler can relate to the weekly struggles Salem coach Parker Salowich endured this season.

Salowich hopes it won't be too long before he can relate to what Baechler's been going through the past seven years. Both teams' regular seasons were capped Friday night with the Chiefs' convincing 42-13 victory over the Rocks. The triumph left Canton at 9-0 heading into next week's first round of the Division 1 state playoffs.

On the flipside, the Rocks concluded their first season under Salowich at 0-9.

"I know how hard it is to build a program like he's trying to do," said Baechler, whose first two teams at Canton finished 3-6 and 4-5 before striking playoff gold in each of the next seven seasons. "You have to change the attitudes and try to change the work ethic. It's like building a house -- you have to tear it down then start all over again if you want it to be your program. It gets worse before it gets better."

Those are comforting words for Salowich, who had an opportunity to speak with Baechler for a short time during Thursday night's junior-varsity contest between the two schools.

"The thing you get out of playing a great team like Canton is that you get a real measure of where you're at," said Salowich. "I know Tim had some hardships at the beginning of his career at Canton, so knowing how they turned it around gives us hope.

"Truthfully, what happened this year is nothing I didn't expect, but I'm excited about our future. We have great kids and great parents, and when you have a mix like that it makes me confident that we can turn this thing around.

"I told the kids after the game that as they get older, by the time they remember this season, heck, they'll be telling people they were 4-5 or 5-4," Salowich added, in his good-natured way. "You get better with age."

As expected, the Chiefs took control of Friday's contest early, scoring on their first five possessions to take a 35-0 bulge into the intermission. Senior running back Nick Moores accounted for three of the TD's on runs of 11, 20 and 15 yards. The other two scores came on Antwaun Hawkins' 2-yard plunge and a 10-yard scamper by senior Devin Murphy.

Canton's final points came on junior fullback Jordan Raiford's 21-yard dash to paydirt in the third quarter.

Salem struck twice in the second half against the Chiefs' defensive reserves when sophomore Anthony Mullins reeled off TD runs of 27 and 64 yards.

Besides the victory, the best news for Canton was that quarterback Steve Paye was able to see his first action since suffering a knee injury against Livonia Franklin on Sept. 22. On a more disheartening note, junior running back Dalton Walser also returned after missing six games, however, he appeared to re-injure his leg on just his third carry of the night.

"That was very unfortunate for Dalton because he's such a special player and such a big part of our team," said Baechler. "We wanted to test him tonight and see where he was, and he wanted to get back out there, too. The only good news is that he has a year left.

"Now, we need to get Deshon McClendon back and playing both ways for us. He's such a dynamic playmaker and we'll need him for the playoffs."

The Chiefs did not throw a pass on a night when 12 players recorded at least one carry. Moores led the parade with 95 yards on seven runs. Others joining the 40 yards-plus club were Hawkins (65), Murphy (63) and Raiford (43).

Baechler said he gave a well-deserved start to Murphy, a senior, who responded with flying colors.

"We wanted to start Devin because he's been such a great kid for our program the last four years," Baechler said. "I was glad we were able to get him a lot of carries (11) and a touchdown."

In large part to the two long scoring efforts, Mullins had an outstanding game, finishing with 108 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore quarterback Heath Parling had his moments, too, completing 7-of-15 passes for 51 yards. Four of his aerials were hauled in by junior Jesse Pointer.

Jon Wilson and Jeremy Epley recovered fumbles for the Rocks.

"Unfortunately, the score tonight seemed to be a common score for us this season," said Salowich. "But, again, the kids didn't quit. And when we got all of our seniors in the game, they played their butts off.

"This attitude is what's important to our program. We're trying to build a team of kids that want to play for one another rather than themselves, and I think that showed tonight."

ewright@hometownlife.com | (734) 953-2108

Originally published October 22, 2006