Glenn's year ends at Canton, 24-6

By Richard L. Shook
Special Correspondent

People might look back on Friday night in a couple of years and mark it as the evening the Western Lakes Activities Association torch passed from Westland John Glenn to Plymouth Canton.

Devin Thomas scored three times to lead Canton past John Glenn, 24-6, for the second time this season, giving the Chiefs the championship of District 2, Region 3 of Division 1 in the state high school football playoffs.

Canton advances to host the winner of the South Lyon-Redford Catholic Central game Friday night on the Chiefs' artificial surface.

"We're 11-0. Unbelievable," coach Tim Baechler of Canton said. "We've been so businesslike all year.

"We practice hard. And it all started back in the summer. Our players are excited to be together and excited when we run. It's a special group of kids.

"And when you win a game like that, that's why you do it."

It's a little early to say the Chiefs (11-0) have passed the Rockets, whose only two defeats this season came on Canton's field. After all, Glenn's Chuck Gordon has coached good Rocket teams for close to three decades, while Baechler still hasn't completed his first decade with Canton.

But Friday night the torch might have been passed. And if it wasn't, it should have been burned - to ward off the cold.

It was cold enough to freeze the tails off two brass monkeys, with the temperature near the freezing mark and the wind in excess of 20 mph from the west. If fans couldn't see the flag, it was only because their eyes were watering from the wind and cold.

It could not have been said to affect the game, however.

Junior quarterback Vinnie DeLuca of John Glenn threw 23 times and completed 12 passes for 153 yards and Glenn's only score, a 29-yard pass to Nathan Beard that came with just 1:48 to play.

"No," Gordon said, "the wind and cold were not a factor.

"That's a good football team we lost to. A very good football team. They're very quick on defense - and they're peaking at the right time."

The Rockets thought they might have a better chance than in the first meeting of the teams, which came in the second game of the season with DeLuca on the sidelines with a broken foot. Canton won that meeting, 20-7, but Glenn's Matt Smitherman ran for 171 yards. The Chiefs limited him to just 46 yards this time, on 19 carries.

"Our focus was on stopping Smitherman," Baechler said. "We wanted to keep the clock moving and keep Smitherman off the field."

Canton stuffed Glenn's running game, limiting the Rockets to 22 yards in the first half and 27 overall. That included 23 yards in rushing losses as DeLuca was sacked four times among his seven carries.

The Rockets did a much better job of containing the Chiefs in the second meeting. Canton gained only 207 yards on the ground and in total offense as quarterback Shawn Little missed the only two passes he threw. The Chiefs ran for 91 yards in the first half, which ended with them holding a 7-0 lead.

Canton ground out 67 yards on its first possession of the game, with Thomas powering over a couple of players on his way to a 21-yard touchdown with 8:06 left in the first quarter.

The Chiefs missed a great opportunity when they recovered a Rocket fumble on Glenn's second play from scrimmage.

Canton's Jake Powers fell on the ball on Glenn's 33 but a holding call two plays later negated a 26-yard Chuck Schumacher run into the end zone. The Chiefs eventually advanced the ball to the 13 but turned it over on downs.

Glenn bunched its line a little more and did a better job of denying Schumacher - who ran wild in the first meeting - anything long up the middle. He ran 13 times for 44 yards while Travis McKinney gained 70 on 13 rushes.

Glenn turned the ball over on its own 11 on its first possession of the second half, which ended in a botched punt due to a dribbled snap. However the Rockets' defense held the Chiefs to a 21-yard field goal by Dutch Morrell.

Thomas, who led Canton with seven carries for 76 yards, ran in from the 7 on Canton's second possession of the second half to make it 17-0 and the next time the Chiefs got the ball, after Glenn turned it over on downs at its own 44, Thomas broke a couple tackles on his way to a 44-yard scoring run. That gave the Chiefs a 24-0 lead with 1:16 left in the third quarter.

"We used the same two defensive fronts we've used all year," Baechler said. "We decided we were not going to stunt and gamble. We were just going to line up and play, get off our blocks and pressure them.

So Canton moves on while John Glenn moves over.

"When I look back on everything they went through this year," Gordon said of his team, "it was quite a year for us. I'm proud of them.

"They came to work every day and the best thing a coach can say about his team is that they were easy to coach. And the 2003 Rockets were easy to coach."