Ben Merbler pitches the ball to Kevin Buford Friday night. (Rob Bryden photo)

Canton steamrolls Patriots, 41-0

  Canton's trend of putting some pretty bad hurtings on some pretty good football teams continued Friday night at Livonia Franklin.

  The Chiefs rushed for 339 yards and put the clamps on a high-powered Patriots offense in a 41-0 rout.

  "Our defense played very well and Kevin Buford had a couple long runs," said Canton coach Tim Baechler, whose team improved to 3-0.

  Franklin, which slipped to 2-1, was coming off a rousing 27-0 victory over Hartland, a team that upset unbeaten Howell on Friday night.

  Canton has outscored its three foes 130-27.

  Buford's 58-yard bolt put the Chiefs ahead 7-0 10 seconds into the contest.

  Stackhouse doubled the Chiefs' lead with a 1-yard plunge at the 3:10 mark of the opening stanza.

  Stackhouse struck again mid-way through the second quarter when he hauled in a Ben Merbler pass and dashed 85 yards to paydirt to up the winners' lead to 21-0.

  Buford tacked on an electrifying 65-yard run two minutes into the second half. Ryan Jones took it to the hosue from 20 yards out with 5:23 left in the quarter.

  Zac Merillat closed the scoring with a 3-yard run.

  Connor Shennan converted six of seven extra points.

  Canton outgained the Patriots, 424-83, in total yards.

  Buford had a huge night, picking up 166 yards on just seven hauls. Merillat added 66 on 12 carries. Back-up signal-caller Kyle Adams gained 35 yards on three attempts.

  Braden Price and Jeff Straub led the Chiefs' brickwall defense with eight tackles each. Garrett Bryden added seven and Ryan Powell made six stops from his safety position.

  Franklin quarterback Brent Marzion, who entered the game having completed 24 of 30 throws, connected on 5 of 11 passes for just 20 yards.

  Dan Muller was Franklin's leading rusher, picking up 29 yards on seven carries.

  Canton was seven of nine on third-down conversions. Franklin was just three of 13.

  The Chiefs dominated the first-down department, 17-7. 

  The Chiefs host Wayne Friday at 7 p.m.

Canton's Braden Price puts pressure on the Franklin punter. (Rob Bryden photo)

Canton's Davion Stackhouse hauled in this Ben Merbler pass for an 85-yard touchdown. (Rob Bryden photo)