Rockets get 2nd chance vs. Canton

Westland John Glenn's formula for football success in 2003 is a lot like George Allen's, who once said while he coached the Washington Redskins: "Forty-seven guys together can't lose."
Well, the Rockets have only lost one game and they have a chance to avenge their only defeat, which occurred in Week No. 2, a 20-7 setback to unbeaten Canton.

The two teams meet again at 7 p.m. Friday in the District 2 title matchup in Division I-Region 3 at Canton.

Glenn will rely on a well-bonded unit of 64 players in hopes of turning the tables on the favored Chiefs.

"The thing I like the best about this team is that they come to work every day and it's all about team," Glenn coach Chuck Gordon said. "Their attitude is: What can I do to help the team get better? Everybody is about 'we and us' instead of 'me and I.'

"Everybody has bought into that and it's been a team deal. They're very unselfish."

Glenn played against Canton the first meeting without starting quarterback Vinnie DeLuca, who missed the first three games with a broken foot.

DeLuca's return has not only boosted the Rockets' passing game, but it's also provided Gordon with more balance on offense.

Glenn's trio of senior wide receivers Ð 5-foot-9, 147-pound Nathan Beard; 5-11, 148-pound John Adams; and 5-11, 156-pound Brian Peterson Ð are not big in stature, but have made some huge catches.

"Those three guys are all good athletes, they run good routes and they're unselfish guys considering that we're a team to run the ball a lot with Matt Smitherman," Gordon said. "We pick and choose our spots. You have to be team guys to do that."

Gordon believes his squad has "improved at every position all season, which is a credit to the players and coaches."

He also realizes Canton is a team which has continued to impress right into the playoffs.

"Defensively they have very good quickness and they're well coached," he said of the Chiefs. "They're not out of position and they get off their blocks well.

"Offensively they run the T-Formation and the Jet Series. They get out of it occasionally. But that's their plan and package. They believe in it, they stick with it and they're good at it."

The Chiefs, who average over 40 points per game, don't have to go the air that much.

"They're tough to defend because their offensive line is good at coming low and coming hard," Gordon said. "They'll gap-block and trap, and they'll use their lead blockers. And they're very efficient at what they do."

The Chiefs will use four running backs, with Chuck Schumacher, Devin Thomas, Travis McKinney and Julian Smith all getting a chance to run the ball. And quarterback Shawn Little has shown he can both run and throw with precision.

But if there's one area that has improved the most for Canton since its second-week win over Glenn, it's on the offensive line. That area was a question mark coming into the season, with five starters from the 2002 team missing. It's not a question any longer.

"Our offense is heads-and-tails better than it was in Week Two," Canton coach Tim Baechler said. "We were just real inconsistent back then, and we fumbled a couple of times in the first half and that hurt us.

"(The Rockets) have to feel confident. It was only 7-0 going into the fourth quarter."

With Smitherman running the ball Ð the senior has gained 1,942 yards rushing thus far this season Ð a team will always be confident. He had 171 on the ground against Canton in the first meeting.

"He's very strong, very quick, he cuts real well and he's got great vision," said Baechler. "And he just doesn't go down. He's very special. He's one of those guys who turns a 2-yard loss into a 5-yard gain and a 5-yard gain into a 20-yarder."

Baechler figured his team must neutralize Smitherman, and the best way to do that is to keep the Rocket offense off the field.

"Offensively, we need time-consuming drives that will keep them on the sideline, and we need to get points on those drives," said Baechler. "We need to take care of the football, No. 1, and you need to make plays on third down when you're in the playoffs.''