For a while, it was like watching two dinosaurs going toe-to-toe in the tar pits, waiting for the other to fall.

Once Catholic Central got the advantage, the Shamrocks never let Canton up again as CC wore down the Chiefs 24-7 to capture the Division 1, Region 3, District 2 title at Kraft Field on Saturday.

"We came up with a solid defensive plan for them," CC coach Tom Mach said after his team improved to 10-1 overall and advanced to host Novi in next Saturday's 1 p.m. regional final at Kraft.

"(Defensive coordinator) Rick Coratti has been with me for 27 years and he came up with a sound game plan. We didn't want to go into a 5-2 front, but we had eight men up front to balance out their tight T formation."

The plan worked as Canton (9-2), a team that has lived by the run all season long, died by it Saturday, gaining just 89 yards on the ground and just 50 more in the air.

Don't get the idea that CC moved the ball at will, however. The Chiefs' defense was almost as stingy, holding the Shamrocks to 127 yards on the ground and 79 in the air.

But four plays told the tale in this game.

The first was, of all things, a 23-yard halfback pass from CC's Derek Brooks to Jeff McMichael with 1:16 left in the first half, giving the Shamrocks a 10-0 lead.

The second came on the last play of the half, when Darnell Tyson, Patrick Clark and Brian Hanley combined to sack Canton quarterback Dave Nicoloff. Nicoloff hit the turf awkwardly and wound up with a dislocated shoulder and was sidelined for the rest of the game.

"The touchdown pass might have been the backbreaker," Canton coach Tim Baechler said. "They didn't trick us with the play, (McMichael) just did a better job of getting the ball than (our defensive back) did."

The third was a fumble by Canton's Reggie Joyner early in the fourth quarter at his own 17 and recovered by CC's Drew Amble. While the Shamrocks failed to score on the drive, they also ran four minutes off the clock and kept the ball deep in Canton territory -- keeping the Chiefs from cutting into the 17-0 lead.

And the final one came with 3:13 to play as Tyson picked off a pass from back-up quarterback Jake Powers at the Canton 24 and rambled the rest of the way into the end zone for the score, ending any hope the Chiefs harbored of coming back.

"When (Nicoloff) went out, we knew that would hurt them, but you hate seeing that happen to anyone," Mach said. "We were able to do what we wanted to do defensively without him. They couldn't run some of their passing plays when they were trying to come back."

Powers played well in relief, going 3-for-4 passing for 30 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andy Howard with four seconds left for Canton's lone score. But the Chiefs' main offensive weapon -- the rushing game -- never got untracked. Joyner was held to just 47 yards on 22 carries, while Corey Rutledge had 22 yards on eight carries and Devin Thomas had 9 yards on four attempts.

"It was a strange game, I thought," said Baechler, whose team ended its playoff run after the second game for the third straight season. "It was kind of surreal. It never seemed like we were out of it. But we are the kind of team that, if we score first, we are flying high. But we didn't get that score. And once Dave went out, it limited our offense from 46 plays to 26."

CC's offense didn't exactly dominate either, thanks to a fine effort from the Chiefs' front, but it played well enough to win. Dave Thomas completed 5-of-9 passes for 56 yards, while Derek Brooks gained 65 yards on the ground on 18 carries, Randell Means had 23 yards on seven carries and Thomas added 27 yards on six carries.

CC's Jason Gingell opened the scoring with a 37-yard field goal in the first quarter, then Brooks' pass to McMichael gave CC a 10-0 halftime lead. Brooks made it 17-0 in the third quarter, when the Canton defense went left and Brooks went right 23 yards for the score.

"I thought they played very well," said Mach, whose team is trying to repeat as champions for the first time since 1997-98. "Their defense was very aggressive and it took us time to find out what worked."

While Mach praised Canton's play, Baechler was not as complimentary toward the Shamrocks.

"They have an all-star team every year," Baechler said. "Public schools take time to build a program and they have this every year. It's a crappy situation. The Catholic schools shouldn't be in with the public schools. Their state championships mean nothing. We don't respect them. They are a darn good team, but they're not the best team in the state. Call it sour grapes if you want to."

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