Near Flawless

Canton scores on nine straight possessions in 60-24 rout of Ann Arbor Pioneer

  Based on both teams' statistics, records and both-sides-of-the-ball talent heading into Friday night's Division 1 District final clash, the Canton-Ann Arbor Pioneer game was expected to be close.

  And it was -- for the first 18 minutes.

  But the final 30 minutes were about as competitive as a mixed martial arts match between Superman and Sponge Bob.

  Spearheaded by a steamrolling offensive line and a hard-hitting, disciplined defense, the Chiefs rolled to a 60-24 triumph that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate.

  Canton didn't punt once, which is all you needed to know about an ultra-productive night that produced 60 or nore points for the second time in three weeks.


  Defensively, the Chiefs stymied the powerful Pioneer offense that had been averaging over 35 points a game.

  "Our keys were true tonight; our biggest thing was just reading our keys," said senior linebacker Alex Dixon, who leveled a Pioneer ball carrer so hard mid-way through the third quarter that the collision would have registered a 4.0 on the Richter scale.

  Dixon said one the best things that could have happened to the Chiefs was their 36-27 setback to Livonia Stevenson three weeks ago.

  "That was a good loss because it helped us re-group and it showed us that we aren't as good as we thought we were," said Dixon. "We've picked it up at practice ever since that loss because we don't want it to happen again."

  Judging by Friday night's performance, it may not.

  Canton led 41-14 at the half and 53-21 after three quarters.

  The Chiefs compiled 535 total yards compared to Pioneer's 174 while dominating the first down category, 28-7.

  Davion Stackhouse had a superb night with 119 yards and three TD's. But his numbers paled in comparison to Adam Payter's 223 yards and two scores on just 16 carries.

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