Could 7-on-7 title signal start of Canton football’s resurgence?
Members of Canton’s football program celebrate after winning the 2nd Annual Throwdown Before the Shutdown 7-on-7 football tournament hosted by Plymouth High School.
Wednesday afternoon, near the 50-yard-line on the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park’s west turf field, members of Canton’s football team did something that hadn’t been done by the program in close to a decade.
They celebrated a championship.
OK, it was a padless, interior linemen-less 7-on-7 title in Wednesday’s 12-team 2nd Annual Throwdown Before the Shutdown tournament, but it was a huge step in the right direction for the Cobras.
Coveted crown
Considering Canton didn’t win a single game in last year’s inaugural event — and the Cobras lost their opener on Wednesday to Walled Lake Central — the crown felt like an unexpected reward for the blood and sweat they’ve shed the past few years.
“Today was a good morale and confidence booster for sure,” said third-year head coach Eric Newton. “We were in a 7-on-7 league at Legacy earlier this year and we didn’t do that well and another at Eastern (Michigan University) where we did OK.
“But after our slow start today, the guys jelled together. The guys on the sidelines were into the game, the players who didn’t get to play a lot were cheering on the sidelines. Culture-wise, it was a great step for our team.”
The Cobras were led by junior-to-be quarterback Dylan Parrish, who started one game as a freshman (throwing a touchdown pass to his senior brother, Nick) and every game of Canton’s 2025 campaign, which ended with one win.
Parrish was impeccable
Defenses were not allowed to rush the passer, but QBs had a five-second limit following the snap to deliver the football.
Parrish used those five ticks with crazy-good efficiency, completing over 80% of his passes to at least six different receivers.
Even when his receivers were tightly covered, Parrish found tiny windows in the coverage and zipped spirals into his teammates sure-handed grasps.
Resilient returners
Newton noted that the players returning from last year’s squad are seasoned and determined to turn the Cobras’ fortunes around.
“We have a handful of seniors back and a big group of juniors who played a ton of reps as sophomores last year,” Newton said. “Our juniors were kind of thrown into the fire last year as sophomores and they learned a lot about the speed of the game.
“The biggest thing for us was our seniors acted like seniors and did a great job leading today. Anytime you’re competing and you win, it’s a sign of growth and puts a in a nice spot heading into the season. It shows the players are buying into what we’re trying to build.”
Spril shined
Newton was hesitant to pick out a star player besides Parrish in terms of difference-making — preferring instead to credit the entire team — but he did mention the Cobras’ defensive MVP was undoubtedly Sam Spril, who picked off three passes and had multiple break-ups. Junior-to-be Jordan Banko also was a relentless disruptor for the Cobras’ defense.
Offensively, Jayden Nesheiwat, Baron Keinon, Alex Ryce, Elliott Patten, Jayden Fry, Julian Jachman and David Hull displayed their play-making skills throughout the tournament.
Tournament Director/Plymouth Head Coach Greg Souldourian said this year’s event unfolded smoothly after a few unpreventable hiccups last summer.
Thanks, Mother Nature
“The weather was beautiful and all the teams showed up this year, which wasn’t the case last year,” Souldourian said, smiling. “Like everything new, the second year is always a little better than the first. Who knows — hopefully we can expand in the future and utilize all three of the Park’s stadiums, but we’ll take it one year at a time.
“Most importantly, all of the coaches and players seemed to have a good time, which is what this is all about. It’s a great event to showcase our facilities.”
Salem advanced to the tournament’s semifinal round before dropping a close game to eventual runner-up Lakeland, which is now coached by former Salem offensive coordinator Chris Scheffer.
Plymouth showed signs of excellence throughout the day — especially wide receiver Andrae Mcsween — but couldn’t quite advance to the eight-team knock-out round.
Canton rarely trailed following its opening-game loss to WLC.
Newton and his confident players are hopeful the trend continues once it opens the 2026 season Aug. 27 at Livonia Churchill.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
