Win: Chiefs' 'D' dominates Warriors

BY ED WRIGHT
STAFF WRITER

Call it the "Red Swarm," the "Red Storm" or the "Red Wave."

Whatever nickname you slap on the Canton defense these days, it's making opposing offenses look red-iculous.

On Friday, playing in their first official home game of the season, the Chiefs humbled Walled Lake Western, 28-0, in a 4:30 p.m. game at the P-CEP varsity football stadium.

Canton has already recorded two shutouts in four games. The triumph vaulted the Chiefs' record to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the Western Lakes Activities Association's Western Division. The usually potent Warriors slipped to 2-2 and 1-1, respectively

So far in 2006, Canton has outscored its opponents 140-27 while yielding just two offensive touchdowns.

From 5-foot-8, 165-pound cornerback Chris Woudstra to 6-3, 290-pound defensive lineman Donnie Laramie, the Canton defenders pursue and attack with the best of them. Against Western, the Chiefs even received a well-timed interception from defensive lineman Jay Bailey -- 10 yards downfield.

"Their defense looks better than it did last year, and that's saying something," said Walled Lake Western coach Mike Zdebski, whose team managed to churn out just 100 total yards against the Chiefs. "Their front seven is extremely tough to move."

Canton coach Tim Baechler said the defense is compensating for some of the offense's early-game struggles.

"This is the fourth straight week our offense has struggled early in the game," he said.

The Chiefs appeared to create the first break on the Warriors' first possession when Billy Turner blocked a Western punt and it was recovered by Canton on the Warrior 30. However, three plays and a negative two yards later, quarterback Steve Paye punted the ball back to the visitors.

Western then drove down to the Canton 24 before Chief junior strong safety Adam Powers tipped a Jim Tesorero pass into the air and it was picked off by the 6-3, 280-pound Bailey at the Canton 20.

Following another Canton three-and-out, Western moved the ball to their own 46, where they faced a critical 4-and-1. The Chiefs defense stacked up running back Matt Wozny behind the line of scrimmage, giving the offense golden field position.

Canton grabbed a 7-0 lead on its next possession when Nick Moores sliced into the end for a 2-yard score to make it 6-0. Colin O'Shaunessy followed with the first of his four extra points to make it 7-0.

"At halftime, we got the chalkboard out and made some offensive adjustments, and after that they seemed to get it better," said Baechler. "Sometimes it seems like they need to see it on the board for it to sink in."

The Chiefs surged out of the locker room and found the end zone on their next two drives, which were capped by Deshon McClendon's 41-yard run and a 34-yard pass from Steve Paye to Nick Moores.

Moores tacked on the final TD as well on a 2-yard run with 10:50 left in the game.

Canton more than doubled the Warriors in total yards, 213-100. The ground-gainer was McClendon, who churned out 63 yards on 10 attempts. Woudstra, who was filling in for the injured Dalton Walser, picked up 38 on eight carries and Moores finished with 20 on 10 rushes and an additional 51 receiving yards on two catches.

Antwaun Hawkins played well in a reserve role for the Chiefs, accumulating 20 yards on five late carries.

Tesorero connected on 4-of-12 passes for 40 yards. Western's top runner was Wozny, who picked up 39 yards on eight attempts.

Paye completed 3-of-5 passes for 56 yards.

Originally published September 16, 2006