Mistakes, Rams frustrate Chiefs, 30-0

BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

'Have you ever walked onto a golf course, laced your first drive, then went on to shoot a 90? That was us today.'

Four first-half turnovers, three critical penalties and two dropped passes helped spell doom for Canton's football team Saturday afternoon in the Division 1 semifinal game at Lansing Everett High School.

But it was one awfully tough opponent that ultimately pulled the curtain down on the Chiefs' ultra-successful 2006 season.

Two-time defending champion Rockford showed why it's well on the way to a third consecutive title by knocking off the uncharacteristically mistake-prone Chiefs, 30-0. The Rams will take their 12-1 record into next Saturday's D1 title game against Macomb Dakota.

Canton, which finished 12-1, actually got off to an encouraging start when it drove to the Rockford 18 on its first drive. However, a botched handoff resulted in a lost fumble and the field seemed to slant in the direction the Rams were heading the rest of the afternoon.

Canton coach Tim Baechler used a golf analogy to sum up his team's nothing-goes-right afternoon.

"Have you ever walked onto a course, laced your first drive, then went on to shoot a 90?" said Baechler. "That was us today. We hit that long pass and had a nice drive going, then it was like double-bogey, double-bogey. It's like you just want to start over.

"The bottom line is, we didn't stop them enough in the first half and we made too many mistakes offensively. Our offense is predicated on staying on a schedule -- three yards here, four yards there. We got away from that and we couldn't get back on schedule."

The Rams came out in a no-huddle, spread the field, West Coast-style offense that gave the Chiefs fits from the opening snap. Rockford quarterback Tom Fusee spread the ball around to seven different receivers in the first half alone as the Rams raced to a 23-0 lead at the break.

The Rams' bag-of-tricks offense tried everything from a fumblerooski run by a guard to a pair of halfback passes. Whatever they tried seemed to work.

"It was far from perfect, but it was beautiful," said Rockford coach Ralph Munger, whose team ended Canton's season last year as well, 31-21, in the D1 title game at Ford Field. "The kids played with such emotion and such intensity today. I couldn't be prouder of every one of them.

"Our game plan is always to do whatever we think we can be successful at and today we guessed right."

The Chiefs moved from their 40 to the Rockford 18 on their opening drive thanks to a 38-yard Steve Paye-to-Billy Turner hook-up. However, the drive stalled two plays later when a botched hand-off resulted in a fumble.

Rockford seized the opportunity and moved briskly down the field behind the arm of Fusee, who went 5-for-6 on the drive, which ended with Mark Schlaudt's 37-yard field goal with 6:35 left in the first quarter.

Aided by a pair of defensive penalties, the Rams drove 55 yards in seven plays on their second possession and went up 10-0 on a 3-yard TD run by Zach Breen.

Rockford took advantage of Canton's second fumble of the afternoon by driving 41 yards in just five plays before scoring on Frank Heeringa's 1-yard plunge to extend its lead to 17-0.

The Rams closed out their first-half point barrage on Michael Mudgett's 5-yard sweep to paydirt. Schlaudt's extra point hit the right goal post, leaving the Rams' advantage at 23-0.

The game's final score came when Rockford back-up quarterback Robert Banaszak connected with Curtis Mobley on a 27-yard TD pass with 7:35 to play.

Fusee went 13-for-16 for 92 yards before being replaced midway through the third quarter by Banaszak. Mudgett led the winners' ground game with 83 yards on 14 carries.

Antwaun Hawkins paced the Chiefs' offense with 33 yards on seven carries. Paye completed 5-of-14 passes for 97 yards.

"Whenever you win 12 games like we did, it's a great season," said Baechler. "I just hate to see it end like this. These kids have meant so much to me and the program."

Canton's senior class compiled a stunning 41-4 record from their freshman season through Saturday's setback.

ewright@hometownlife.com | (734) 953-2108