KLAA Klassic
Buford outshines White, but
Spartans take Kensington Conference title, 36-27
BY ED
WRIGHT
Oct. 16, 2009, 10:40 p.m.
Oct. 16, 2009, 10:40 p.m.
Canton's offense was
"1"-derful Friday night, but not quite as good as Livonia Stevenson's.
In a memorable KLAA Kensington Conference title game that was stuffed to the gills with breath-taking, momentum-shifting moments, the Spartans survived, 36-27, to claim their second victory in the past 11 months on the PCEP varsity stadium turf.
Led by the explosive running of senior Austin White, Stevenson won its sixth consecutive game following a rough 0-2 start.
White gained 172 yards on 32 attempts, many while receiving direct snaps in a "Wildcat" formation. The University of Michigan recruit's biggest haul came with 1:13 left when he sprinted 50 yards to paydirt to pad his team's narrow three-point lead.
The Chiefs suffered their first regular-season loss since Sept. 19, 2008, despite a breakout performance from sophomore running back Kevin Buford, who wore the No. 1 jersey with distinction, dashing for 200 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries.
While the setback was a bitter pill to swallow in the moments following the contest, it may turn out to be a dose of eye-opening medicine for the Chiefs in the long run, Canton coach Tim Baechler said.
"If we respond the way I think these kids will respond," he said, "this could be the best thing in the world for us."
The Chiefs punted just one time all night, but were stymied by a series of ill-timed errors.
"We had a few mistakes -- a couple penalties and an interception -- in the first half that hurt us," Baechler said. "But we also made a lot of plays. They did too. Both teams deserved to win, but they deserved to win a little bit more than we did.
"(Stevenson) is a good football team. I guess we didn't do a good enough job of convincing (the players) of that."
Both teams' offensive lines established themselves on their respective opening drives, both of which ended in the end zone.
Canton struck first on a 1-yard plunge by Buford, who set up his score on the previous play when he busted loose for 39 yards. Conner Shennan's first of three extra points made it 7-0.
The Spartans responded with a 10-play, 52-yard answer that was culminated with a 10-yard scoring strike from White to Mike Beyer on a fourth-and-4 play. White received the shotgun snap six yards deep in the backfield, tucked the ball under his arm and took two steps before pulling up and lofting a soft spiral to a wide-open Beyer.
Canton put together an efficient drive on its next possession, however, Stevenson's Jacob Gudeman stepped in front of a Kevin Delapaz pass at the Spartan 38 to halt the threat.
Ten plays later, Stevenson grabbed its first lead when White found the end zone from 11 yards out to make it 14-7. The two key plays on the drive were a Canton pass-interference penalty on a third-and-7 incompletion and on a fourth-and-12 pass completion.
Canton deadlocked the contest at 14-all with one of its patented time-consuming possessions that was capped with a 17-yard Delapaz-to-Ryan-Powell hitch pass TD on a fourth-and-4 play with 2:04 left in the first half
Buford stonewalled the Spartans' final first-half possession when he picked off a Brendan O'Hara bomb.
After pinning the Chiefs back at their 1 with a 38-yard punt, the Spartans seized a 16-14 lead on the next play when Delapaz was sacked six yards deep in the end zone while rolling right on a bootleg.
Stevenson pieced together a six-play, 56-yard drive on its ensuing possession, cushioning its lead to 23-14 with 7:23 to play in the third quarter on White's 2-yard off-tackle run.
The Spartans recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick-off, but coughed the ball up themselves two plays later when Canton's Jack Slater jacked the ball loose from White's grasp and into the waiting arms of Alex Dixon.
Four plays later, Buford secured a pitch at the Canton 34, turned up field and left a trail of fallen, empty-armed Spartan defenders in his wake on the way to a sizzling 63-yard scoring jaunt that brought the Chiefs to within 23-21.
Dixon halted the Spartans' next drive when he sacked O'Hara for a nine-yard loss on a third-and-9 play to force a punt.
Canton scored on its next play from scrimmage when Buford slipped through a tackle at the line of scrimmage and outraced the Stevenson secondary to the goal line for a 65-yard rumble that put the Chiefs up, 27-23. The extra point was no good.
"I was very proud of the way we came back," said Baechler. "We just needed one more stop on defense.
"Buford was outstanding tonight, no question about it. He had to step in for (Davion) Stackhouse and he did a great job."
Stevenson regained the lead, 30-27, with 6:21 left when O'Hara capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak.
Canton appeared ready to claim a last-minute victory when it methodically moved from its 30 to the Spartans' 39, but Buford was stopped one yard shy of a first down on a fourth-and-5 play with 3:02 remaining.
Just under two minutes later, White insured the Kensington Conference crown for the Spartans when he broke free on a 50-yard scoring run.
The Chiefs outgained the Spartans in total yards, 366-317, even though Stevenson ran 64 offensive plays to Canton's 51.
Canton senior fullback Adam Payter had a solid night, picking up 59 yards on 12 rushes.
Delapaz completed 5-of-14 passes for 57 yards and the TD to Powell. He also ran for 39 yards on seven carries.
O'Hara was 7-of-14 for 79 yards for the Spartans, who were perfect on three fourth-down plays.
In a memorable KLAA Kensington Conference title game that was stuffed to the gills with breath-taking, momentum-shifting moments, the Spartans survived, 36-27, to claim their second victory in the past 11 months on the PCEP varsity stadium turf.
Led by the explosive running of senior Austin White, Stevenson won its sixth consecutive game following a rough 0-2 start.
White gained 172 yards on 32 attempts, many while receiving direct snaps in a "Wildcat" formation. The University of Michigan recruit's biggest haul came with 1:13 left when he sprinted 50 yards to paydirt to pad his team's narrow three-point lead.
The Chiefs suffered their first regular-season loss since Sept. 19, 2008, despite a breakout performance from sophomore running back Kevin Buford, who wore the No. 1 jersey with distinction, dashing for 200 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries.
While the setback was a bitter pill to swallow in the moments following the contest, it may turn out to be a dose of eye-opening medicine for the Chiefs in the long run, Canton coach Tim Baechler said.
"If we respond the way I think these kids will respond," he said, "this could be the best thing in the world for us."
The Chiefs punted just one time all night, but were stymied by a series of ill-timed errors.
"We had a few mistakes -- a couple penalties and an interception -- in the first half that hurt us," Baechler said. "But we also made a lot of plays. They did too. Both teams deserved to win, but they deserved to win a little bit more than we did.
"(Stevenson) is a good football team. I guess we didn't do a good enough job of convincing (the players) of that."
Both teams' offensive lines established themselves on their respective opening drives, both of which ended in the end zone.
Canton struck first on a 1-yard plunge by Buford, who set up his score on the previous play when he busted loose for 39 yards. Conner Shennan's first of three extra points made it 7-0.
The Spartans responded with a 10-play, 52-yard answer that was culminated with a 10-yard scoring strike from White to Mike Beyer on a fourth-and-4 play. White received the shotgun snap six yards deep in the backfield, tucked the ball under his arm and took two steps before pulling up and lofting a soft spiral to a wide-open Beyer.
Canton put together an efficient drive on its next possession, however, Stevenson's Jacob Gudeman stepped in front of a Kevin Delapaz pass at the Spartan 38 to halt the threat.
Ten plays later, Stevenson grabbed its first lead when White found the end zone from 11 yards out to make it 14-7. The two key plays on the drive were a Canton pass-interference penalty on a third-and-7 incompletion and on a fourth-and-12 pass completion.
Canton deadlocked the contest at 14-all with one of its patented time-consuming possessions that was capped with a 17-yard Delapaz-to-Ryan-Powell hitch pass TD on a fourth-and-4 play with 2:04 left in the first half
Buford stonewalled the Spartans' final first-half possession when he picked off a Brendan O'Hara bomb.
After pinning the Chiefs back at their 1 with a 38-yard punt, the Spartans seized a 16-14 lead on the next play when Delapaz was sacked six yards deep in the end zone while rolling right on a bootleg.
Stevenson pieced together a six-play, 56-yard drive on its ensuing possession, cushioning its lead to 23-14 with 7:23 to play in the third quarter on White's 2-yard off-tackle run.
The Spartans recovered a fumble on the ensuing kick-off, but coughed the ball up themselves two plays later when Canton's Jack Slater jacked the ball loose from White's grasp and into the waiting arms of Alex Dixon.
Four plays later, Buford secured a pitch at the Canton 34, turned up field and left a trail of fallen, empty-armed Spartan defenders in his wake on the way to a sizzling 63-yard scoring jaunt that brought the Chiefs to within 23-21.
Dixon halted the Spartans' next drive when he sacked O'Hara for a nine-yard loss on a third-and-9 play to force a punt.
Canton scored on its next play from scrimmage when Buford slipped through a tackle at the line of scrimmage and outraced the Stevenson secondary to the goal line for a 65-yard rumble that put the Chiefs up, 27-23. The extra point was no good.
"I was very proud of the way we came back," said Baechler. "We just needed one more stop on defense.
"Buford was outstanding tonight, no question about it. He had to step in for (Davion) Stackhouse and he did a great job."
Stevenson regained the lead, 30-27, with 6:21 left when O'Hara capped a 12-play, 65-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak.
Canton appeared ready to claim a last-minute victory when it methodically moved from its 30 to the Spartans' 39, but Buford was stopped one yard shy of a first down on a fourth-and-5 play with 3:02 remaining.
Just under two minutes later, White insured the Kensington Conference crown for the Spartans when he broke free on a 50-yard scoring run.
The Chiefs outgained the Spartans in total yards, 366-317, even though Stevenson ran 64 offensive plays to Canton's 51.
Canton senior fullback Adam Payter had a solid night, picking up 59 yards on 12 rushes.
Delapaz completed 5-of-14 passes for 57 yards and the TD to Powell. He also ran for 39 yards on seven carries.
O'Hara was 7-of-14 for 79 yards for the Spartans, who were perfect on three fourth-down plays.
Ed Wright can be reached at
[email protected] or (734) 453-1980.
Canton's
Kevin Buford (1) follows the blocking of Alec Gilo to pick up big
yardage in Friday night's 36-27 loss to Livonia Stevenson. (photo by
Mike Gerst)
