The truth of it is, it actually could have been worse.

Not much went right for Livonia Franklin Friday when it traveled to take on Canton on it homecoming. The Patriots couldn't stop the Chiefs, and they made matters worse for themselves by committing six turnovers.

When you're playing one of the better teams in the area, that's a recipe for disaster. Which is just what happened -- Canton scored 54 points in the first half and coasted to a 54-8 victory.

Canton improved to 5-1 overall, 4-1 in the Western Lakes Activities Association. The Patriots fell to 1-5, overall and in the WLAA.

If Franklin had anything to boast about, it was doing something the Chiefs previous two opponents, Walled Lake Western and Livonia Stevenson, could not -- score a touchdown.

Canton was on the board on its first possession, Reggie Joyner darting in from 36 yards out. Ankit Kachhal's extra-point kick made it 7-0.

A 48-yard punt return by Brandon Wilcox set up the Chiefs' second TD. A 16-yard pass from Dave Nicoloff to Devin Thomas moved the ball to the 5; Corey Rutledge eventually scored on a 1-yard run, making it 14-0.

A Franklin fumble on the ensuing kickoff led to a 22-yard scoring run by Joyner and a 20-0 Canton lead. And the first quarter wasn't over yet.

Another fumbled kickoff, followed by a 25-yard pass from Nicoloff to Andy Howald, set up Travis McKinney's 2-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, leaving it at 26-0.

Devin Thomas' 26-yard scoring jaunt ended the first quarter, the lead for the Chiefs now 33-0.

It didn't get any prettier for Franklin in the second quarter. A 65-yard Nicoloff-to-Shawn Zullo pass made it 40-0 and a 44-yard Nicoloff-to-Thomas pass pushed the lead to 47-0. Canton completed its first-half romp with a 50-yard run by Corey Walser.

The clock was running in the second half (invoked by the 35-point mercy rule) when the Patriots got on the board, Mike Johnson hitting Manas Houstoulakis with an 85-yard scoring pass. It was Johnson's only completion (in seven attempts) in the game; he had three passes intercepted and the Patriots lost three fumbles.

Franklin had just 148 total yards and five first downs; the Pats had 63 yards rushing on 29 tries, led by Matt Parker with 46 yards on 16 attempts.

Canton gained 297 yards rushing, led by Walser with 91 yards on seven carries (one TD) and Joyner collecting 68 on four tries (two TDs). Nicoloff was 4-of-5 passing for 150 yards and two TDs.

For Canton, the win moved them to within one victory of a qualifying berth in the state playoffs.