Plymouth's Football Team Prepared to Face Second Straight Premier Rushing Attack

Facing heavyweight ground games is becoming a weekly task for Plymouth's surging football team.

One week after , the Wildcats will line up against Novi Detroit Catholic Central's pound-it-on-the-ground offense, which has averaged 35.8 points in its nine wins.

The Division 1 regional final contest pitting the 9-2 Wildcats against the 9-2 Shamrocks is set to kick off Saturday at 1 p.m. at Catholic Central High School, which is located at 27225 Wixom Rd. in Novi.

Like Canton, the Shamrocks' running game features a talented committee as opposed to one stud stallion.

In last week's 35-10 rout of Northville, sophomore Wyatt Shallman picked up 76 yards on nine second-half carries while Justin D'Agostino churned out 60 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Speedy sophomore Anthony Darkangelo – who may have the coolest name this side of a Batman movie – also carries a big part of the load along with Justin Messner.

"Their philosophy is to get four yards every play and control the clock," said Plymouth head coach Mike Sawchuk. "They want to wear you down. Their quarterback (Mike Birney) is probably their biggest speed threat, but in all the games I watched on film, I don't think I ever saw one of their backs get pushed backward."

Like most productive offenses, the Shamrocks' is spear-headed by a finely-tuned offensive line, which includes 6-foot-3, 270-pound senior captain Nathan Wilkins.

"They have one of the biggest lines we'll face this year," said Sawchuk. "They're very well-coached and they play to the whistle."

CC's defense may not be fancy, but it's ultra-tough to score on. The Shamrocks have posted four shutouts while yielding seven points or fewer in three other games.

"They play a basic 4-3 defense with a cover-2 shell," Sawchuk said. "They're very disciplined and they rely on their athletes to make plays."

It's highly likely that Plymouth will be playing in front of the biggest crowd it has ever played before.

"We told the kids that if there are 10,000 people there, half of them will probably be rooting for you," Sawchuk said. "We're the only show in town now over at the Park, so hopefully we get a lot of people come out to support us."

Sawchuk said he's like what he's seen from his team at practice this week.

"The kids are having a lot of fun at practice this week, playing under the lights," he said. "They're getting after it, too. We have some kids who have really come into their own with the extra weeks of practices we've had."

Plymouth and CC have not played against a common opponent this season.

The Shamrocks led Northville 14-10 at the half last Saturday before pulling away in the final 24 minutes.

After scoring on their first drive of the game, the Mustangs were stymied on offense. Northville lost its top running back, Brandon Love, in the first quarter due to an injury.

Ed Wright is the owner/operator of PlymouthCantonSports.com, a local website that covers all levels of athletics in Plymouth and Canton.