KEITH DUNLAP
Special to The Daily Oakland Press
November 5, 2005
For two schools that are just 10 miles apart, Novi and Canton must seem as foreign to each other as if they were located in different hemispheres.
The teams don't play in the regular season, and the last time they butted heads was in the state playoffs in 2001, when Canton eliminated the Wildcats 9-7.
"There hasn't really been a rivalry," Novi senior quarterback Kevin Cislo said. "But we hope this can start one."
The "this" that Cislo is talking about is tonight's 7 p.m. district
final, when 8-2 Novi travels to 10-0 Canton in what arguably is the
area's best second-round matchup.
While the loss to Canton in
2001 seems to indicate otherwise, Novi actually does have history on
its side when it comes to giant-slaying.
Novi was a prohibitive
underdog two years ago against a powerful Lake Orion team before
stunning the Dragons 17-13 in a district final.
Even though
Wildcats head coach Tab Kellepourey admits what's in the past is in the
past, he at least acknowledges such past success won't lead to any
intimidation in his team despite going up against a Canton squad that
hasn't beaten an opponent by fewer than 20 points this season.
"We had four sophomores who were starters, and they still remember that experience," Kellepourey said.
In many ways, Novi and Canton are mirror images of each other.
Both
display ball-control offenses with a heavy emphasis on the running game
- Kellepourey said the team that "throws the ball the most will
probably lose the game" - and are just as solid on the defensive side
of the ball.
Canton has a trio of capable ball-carriers in
fullback Chuck Schumacher, Julian Smith and Andy Rossow, while the
Wildcats feature a dangerous option attack led by Cislo and identical
twin running backs Josh and Jarrell Woods.
Signed to a baseball
scholarship with Michigan, Cislo has been an option quarterback his
entire football life, which made it that much easier for the Wildcats
to switch to a running-dominant attack this year after losing
flame-thrower Mike Hart to graduation last year.
"I welcomed
it," Kellepourey said of the offensive transition. "When he was in
eighth grade, he used to come over and do footwork and agility drills
for the option. He's had enough experience where if we ran that 100
percent of the time, I'll be happy."
The one difference between
the two teams is that Canton gets it done with size and strength, while
Novi has success with its trademark speed.
Kellepourey no doubt hopes the you-can't-hit-what-you-can't-catch theory holds true for his team again.
"Athletically
and speed-wise - that is what's carried us to us to eight wins,"
Kellepourey said. "Hopefully, we can still play at that level."
Cislo
knows his team has no other choice but to play at that level if it
wants a shot at either Ann Arbor Pioneer or South Lyon in a state
quarterfinal next week.
"We just have to be ready to play from
the first play on," Cislo said. "They've got the athletic ability to
just go down the field in one play."