Early scores lead Canton to rout Quick touchdowns, defense help Chiefs open playoff drive

By Brad Kadrich
Staff Writer

It's a good thing the Michigan High School Athletic Association had mercy on the Wayne Memorial Zebras Friday night.

Because the Canton Chiefs certainly didn't show them any.

The Chiefs scored the first six times they touched the ball - including a 70-yard punt return - and routed the Zebras, 49-12, in a Division 1 district playoff win.

The Chiefs now face Westland John Glenn, which won a 28-26 thriller over Saline Friday night. That game takes place Friday at 7 p.m.

Senior running back Travis McKinney returned the punt for the game's first score, and all four backfield starters scored at least once as the Chiefs (10-0) rolled.

"Our special teams have been real good, and our defense came out and got after them," said Canton coach Tim Baechler, who played his reserves much of the second half. "Offensively, I was pretty happy. Our offensive line executed, and our backs just exploded."

After McKinney's punt return score, senior running back Devin Thomas raced around the right end for a 71-yard score, and sophomore quarterback Shawn Little did the same on a 29-yard run with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

McKinney got his second touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run with 3:05 left in the first half. After a Jake Powers interception set Canton up at Wayne's 37 yard line, Little found Thomas for a 40-yard touchdown pass to stretch the lead to 35-0.

Under MHSAA rules, the game operates under a running clock as long as one team holds a 35-point lead in the second half.

Wayne (6-4) simply couldn't get anything going against the swarming team defense the Chiefs displayed. No Chief dominated the defensive stat sheet, but nearly all of them were on it as Canton shut down Wayne's top runner, senior Tyrone Dillard, who rushed for just 64 yards on 16 carries.

"Our plan was to play team defense," said Powers, who was all over the field with four tackles, two assists, 1.5 sacks and the pick. "As long as everyone did their jobs, we could stop them defensively."

The Chiefs erased any doubts on the first play of the second half, when junior Chuck Schumacher, who rushed for some 900 yards this year, broke off a 56-yard touchdown run.

Schumacher finished with 115 yards on 10 carries, Thomas added 94 yards on just four carries and McKinney chipped in 55 yards on seven carries.

Defensively, Thomas added an interception and junior Jeff Hudson had six tackles and two assists.

Backup fullback Joe Zugay finished Canton's scoring with a 25-yard run with 6:31 left in the game.

Wayne scored a pair of meaningless touchdowns late - a four-yard pass from Brad Wilson to Jerrelle Borden and a 60-yard run by junior Terrill Ford with 5:54 left - but the big plays the Chiefs got undermanned any defensive effort the Zebras could make.

"When you play defense against an offense like that, you have to play together," said Wayne coach Craig Hnatuk, who took over a 1-8 team and turned them into a playoff squad. "If a guy isn't where he belongs, you're watching them run for a long touchdown."



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