Rockford
Rams 30. Canton 00
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Trouble
from the start:
Defending state champ Rockford thumps the Chiefs
DIVISION 1 SEMIFINALS
Sunday, November
19, 2006 / BY ROB HOFFMAN / News Sports Reporter
Photos by Dave Raczkowski (GR Press)
LANSING - Entering Saturday's
Division 1 semifinal against Rockford, Canton High School football
coach Tim Baechler knew his team would
have to play perfectly against the two-time defending state champions.
They didn't. Not even close.
Two interceptions. Two fumbles. Several dropped passes that would
have resulted in big gains. Drive-extending penalties.
And all the game's first 14 minutes.
Add it all up and you have the ingredients for a 30-0 Canton
loss, ending the previously undefeated Chiefs' season on a painful
note at Lansing Everett High School.
"Nothing happened for us,'' said Baechler, whose team lost to
the Rams 31-21 in last year's state title game. "It's like bad
day on the golf course where all your drives go into trees. It
feels just like that today.''
The roof started caving in
on Canton from the onset when the Chiefs drove all the way to
Rockford 18 on their opening drive,
only to fumble the ball away.
"That first turnover was critical,'' said Canton quarterback
Steve Paye. "If we would have capitalized, it would have been a
whole different game.''
The Rams responded by scoring
a field goal, causing the Chiefs (12-1) to trail for the first
time this year. After Canton went
three and out, Rockford (12-1) marching 55 yards and seven plays
to score the game's first touchdown - a drive that was prolonged
by two Canton penalties.
Exploiting their speed advantage, the Ram opened with a no-huddle
spread offense that the slower Chiefs had trouble stopping all
game. Rockford quarterback Tom Fusee was 12-of-13 for 84 yards
in the first half, while running back Zach Breen scored twice.
"They mixed up their offense a lot,'' said Canton tackle Donnie
Laramie. "The outside play just killed us.''
Canton, which had just 13
turnovers in 12 games entering Saturday's action, committed three
more on a fumble and two interceptions
that Rockford's Callan Sherd returned into Canton territory. By
halftime, it was 23-0 and the rout was more than under way.
Canton, a team that had been averaging more than 350 yards and
38 points per game, was limited to 186 yards of total offense and
just nine first downs on the afternoon.
"I thought we could have gone
all the way,'' Laramie said. "We
just didn't play up to our potential today.''
In the other Division 1 semifinal Saturday, Macomb Dakota beat
Warren Cousino 21-0. Dakota and Rockford will play for a state
championship at 1 p.m. Nov. 25 at Ford Field in Detroit.
Rockford defense dominates Canton
Sunday, November 19, 2006
By Jeff Chaney / The Grand Rapids Press
LANSING -- Rockford
football coach Ralph Munger stood in the middle of the post-game
huddle
and gave out all kinds of congratulations. He praised his team's
defense, offense and special teams for a near-perfect performance
against Canton in the Rams' 30-0 Division
1 semifinal win Saturday at Lansing Everett High School.
Rockford, which has won the past two state championships, advances
to its third straight trip to the finals where it will take on
Macomb Dakota, a 21-0 winner over Warren Cousino. The The final
is 1 p.m. Saturday at Ford Field. "
We have had maybe two or three games this year that were outstanding from
an execution standpoint," Munger said. "But today it was huge
because today it's win or go home."
High-scoring offense
stifled
Playing a Canton offense
that had put up 70 points in a game earlier in the regular season,
and 56 last week in a regional
championship win over Saline,
the Rockford
defense was stellar. In the first half, the Rams caused four turnovers
and limited the Chiefs offense to just four first downs. "
The guys were in the right place all day long," Rockford defensive coordinator
Randy Vanderveen said. " It was a total team effort on defense. They knew what they had to do,
and obviously
they went out and did it."
The defense set the tone early. The offense, meanwhile, came out in a
spread set and worked out of a quick huddle. The Rams controlled the
clock with 15 first downs and 210 yards in the first half.
Rockford quarterback
Tom Fusee was on his game, completing 13-of-15 passes
for 96 yards in the first half. That opened up the running game. Three
of Rockford's running backs -- Zach Breen, Mike Mudgett and fullback
Frank Heeringa -- scored in the first half to build a 23-0 lead. "
We hadn't passed a lot out of the spread this year, and we saw that we could
do that today," said Mudgett, who led the team with 82 yards rushing on
13 carries. "That opened it up for us. Plus, the blocking was great all
day.
" We played as a team today. When we do that, we're really good." Fusee
injured his leg in the first half and did not play in the second half. Offensive
lineman Billy Fegel also went down with a leg injury. The
status for both is uncertain, Munger said.
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