STAFF WRITER

Over the past six years, Canton's football team has become proficient at building substantial leads.

Over the past three weeks, the Chiefs have proven they're also pretty good at tearing down large deficits.

On Friday night, Canton's vaunted Wing-T offense was the wrecking ball that demolished Monroe's 20-7 first-quarter advantage and eventually lead the Chiefs to a wild 42-34 first-round playoff victory at the P-CEP varsity football stadium. On Oct. 14, Canton trailed Walled Lake Central, 27-7, before storming back to win.

Canton, which has now won a first-round playoff game six consecutive years, advances to host Detroit Cody in Friday night's Division 1 district final. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. The Comets upended Plymouth, 34-28, in overtime.

The Chiefs' Wing-T shifted into all-terrain mode against the Trojans, grinding out 429 yards rushing on 45 attempts. Amazingly, Canton did not attempt a pass, nor did it have to punt. There were three primary reasons for those unique stats: junior running back Deshon McClendon, who sprinted, high-stepped and pin-balled his way to 255 yards on 20 carries; senior Matt Sweda, who churned out 116 yards on just seven runs; and last, but not least, Canton's offensive line, which served as a road-paver for the backs' productive runs.

"Even when we were down early, everybody kept their heads up and we stayed upbeat," said Sweda, when asked how the team reacted to the early adversity. "We knew we had to just keep grinding and keep pulling from the same rope."

Canton coach Tim Baechler said his team's offensive effort may have been the best he's seen this season.

"The nice thing about tonight was that we took care of the ball and even on our bad plays, we were getting four or five yards," Baechler said. "Matt Sweda had a great game. Sometimes, teams are so set on stopping Deshon that it creates opportunities for our other backs. Matt runs hard and he's fast - he's a 4.6 kid in the 40 - and he finishes his runs."

On three of his carries against Monroe, Sweda finished his runs in the end zone. McClendon also lit up the scoreboard three times Friday on scoring runs of 12, 45 and 21 yards.

"He's such a patient runner when he has to be," Monroe coach Greg Hudkins said, admiring McClendon's skills. "He leans, leans, leans, then when there's even a little crease - POW! - he turns it on. On a few of his big runs, it looked like we had him stopped, but he broke the tackles."

Hudkins admitted he never settled into a comfort zone - even when his team led by 13.

"As soon as we scored to make it 20-7, I turned around and told my players that Canton had been coming back all year, so there was no time to relax," Hudkins said. "We played hard to the end, though. Even late in the fourth quarter when Canton got a first down on an offsides penalty, I still thought we would hold them to a field goal and come back."

Monroe junior quarterback Audie Cole, who is a Toledo Golden Gloves boxing champion, delivered a right-cross to the Chiefs' defense on the Trojans' first possession when he rumbled 51 yards on a keeper to put Monroe up, 7-0.

Canton countered on Sweda's first TD, an 18-yarder with 6:34 left in the first quarter. Colin O'Shaunessy's first of six successful extra-point attempts made it 7-7.

It appeared as if it may turn out to be Monroe's night on their next drive when Canton forced the Trojans to punt from their own five-yard line. Junior punter Brandyn Harris dropped the snap, scooped it up and scooted 21 yards for a first down. Five plays later, Harris, who doubled as a running back, finished what he started by running 56 yards to paydirt to cap a nine-play, 93-yard drive. Matt Gray's extra point was no good, leaving the score at 13-7 with 2:22 to play in the first quarter.

Monroe padded its lead to 20-7 two minutes later when Cole connected with Joel Mcelvany on a 25-yard TD pass. The score came one play after Trojan John'Tae Player pounced on a Canton fumble.

A 12-yard, up-the-middle TD run by McClendon with 8:34 left in the half cut Canton's deficit to 20-14. Monroe moved down to the Chief 35 on its next drive, but it stalled when Pat Harwood's pass on a fake-punt attempt fell incomplete.

Canton erased the deficit altogether five plays later when Sweda followed an Andy LaFata block into the end zone from 13 yards out to make it 21-20 with 1:47 left in the half.

The Chiefs extended their lead to 28-20 on the opening possession of the second half when McClendon posted a 45-yard TD run. Three minutes later, Monroe made it 28-28 when Cole hooked up with Mcelvany on a 35-yard flea-flicker.

McClendon finished off a 10-play, 67-yard scoring drive on Canton's next possession when he scored from 21 yards out with 26 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 35-28.

Canton's defense then stepped up when Andy Rossow drilled Cole while he was attempting a fourth-and-eight pass from the Chiefs' 28. Chief senior cornerback Konrad Konsitzke sealed the defensive stand when he knocked the ball to the turf.

The Chiefs' registered their biggest lead of the night - 42-28 - five plays later when Sweda scored on a 44-yard run with 6:07 remaining.

Monroe narrowed the gap - 42-34 - with 2:22 to play when Cole found Cody Raymond on a 24-yard scoring pass, but Canton covered the ensuing onside kick and the Wing-T ran out the final two minutes.

Defensively, Canton received key plays and jarring hits from Konsitzke, Donnie Laramie, Chris Bogdanski and Rossow.

Cole completed 7-of-15 passes for 113 yards. He also rushed for 63. Harris compiled 117 yards rushing while Kevin Price contributed 79 on 12 attempts.

Canton won the first-down battle, 15-12.

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