ZERO TOLERANCE: Northville blanks Canton on Homecoming
Northville’s Noah Chiaravalle wraps up Canton running back Elliott Patten during a first-quarter run.
From 2014 through 2021, Canton’s football team had its way with Northville, winning eight straight while outscoring the Mustangs 364-158 — including four games when the then-Chiefs scored 48 points or more.
Since 2022, the tables haven’t just turned, they’ve been flipped upside down.
On Friday night before a large (and spirited, at least for the first half) homecoming crowd at the P-CEP varsity stadium, the Mustangs stampeded the Cobras, 54-0, to improve to 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the KLAA West Division.
Canton slipped to 1-3 and 0-3, respectively.
Derkach dazzles
Both teams played without their Game 1 starting quarterbacks; however, the Mustangs didn’t miss a beat with Cooper Derkach guiding the offense.
Derkach completed 11 of 15 passes for 261 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran four times for 85 yards and a sixth score.
Canton starting QB Alex Guadagni — who was filling in for Devvin Calhoun — was harassed all night by the Mustangs’ front seven.
Canton failed to complete a pass and compiled just 79 yards of total offense — the amount of yardage its grind-it-out tight-T offense used to pile up in a single drive back in the Chiefs’ heyday.
(To check out video highlights of Friday’s game, click here.)
Charles was in charge
The Mustangs spread the wealth on offense as seven players caught at least one pass. The main man was senior Colin Charles, who hauled in five Derkach aerials for 95 yards and two TDs.
Kaden Kuban (58 yards) and Kamden Brown (57 yards) also secured long scoring strikes from Derkach. Max DeFore and Sathvik Kanduri also registered receiving TDs for the winners, with Kanduri’s coming from MJ Fortuna.
Guadagni led Canton with 40 yards rushing.
Hassan El-Zayat, Jason Shehab and Jackson Miller recovered Cobra fumbles for Northville.
Both teams have key games next week as Northville hosts unbeaten Howell while Canton will be the visitors in cross campus rival Plymouth’s Homecoming game.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
