On most
occasions this season, when Canton's Adam Payter has busted one of his
big-yardage touchdowns while running the Chiefs' vaunted fullback trap,
he's taken "Route 66" to the end zone.
Sixty-six is the number worn by senior center Ryan Dunleavy, an
often-unheralded member of the Chiefs' offense whose in-the-trenches
skills have sparked more than a few clock-eating scoring drives.
"Ryan's so strong and his first two steps are so quick that he's
able to take out the guy in front of him by himself when we run the
trap against odd-man fronts," said Canton coach Tim Baechler. "A lot of
people like to point to the pulling guards as the key to the success on
the trap, but by Ryan being able to take out the man over him by
himself, it frees up our guard to go get the linebacker.
"Ryan has put in a lot of time with our centers coach, Tom
Dixon, to get to where he is now. When you look at him, he doesn't look
real big; he's probably 225 or 230. But he's so strong and solid. He's
smart, too. He makes all of our line calls and you don't have to tell
him something twice."
Playing center -- and playing it well -- is apparently in the
Dunleavy DNA. Ryan's brother, Kyle, was the Chiefs' starting snapper
last season and his cousin, Nick, started at the position four seasons
ago.
MUCH-APPRECIATED
SKILLS
While Dunleavy's effectiveness often goes unnoticed by the fans
in the stands, it's appreciated wholeheartedly by the team's coaches,
especially when they review tapes of the games a few hours following
the final whistle.
"Against Westland John Glenn (a 44-6 Canton victory), Ryan was
in on 50 plays," Baechler said, "and he made a successful block on 49
of them. Ninety percent is considered very good; actually, if you make
your block 80 percent of the time that's pretty good. To get a 98 shows
you what kind of a player he is."
Dunleavy rarely gets to rest from 7-9 p.m. on fall Friday
nights. The senior captain is a starting defensive end on a unit that
has yielded just four touchdowns in five games.
"The first couple of games I was dead tired," Dunleavy admitted.
"But I'm feeling really good now. Last year, I played defense only
because my brother was the starting center. It was O.K., but I like
being out on the field all the time."
"We give Ryan breaks on defense when we can, but he's out there
the majority of the time because we know he's accountable," said
Baechler. "He does his job and doesn't make mistakes."
UNPARALLELED
SUCCESS RATE
Canton's record during Dunleavy's two years on the varsity is
17-2. He never lost a game while playing for the Chiefs' freshman and
junior-varsity teams.
"We come out here every day, practice hard and we have great
coaches," Dunleavy said, when asked about the program's success. "And
everybody has a great attitude."
Dunleavy's gridiron career kicked off at the age of 8 when he
first pulled on a pair of shoulder pads for the Dearborn Lions.
"I always loved practice and the games, but I wasn't a big fan
of conditioning my first year," he said, smiling. "But I've learned to
like everything about the sport."
An accomplished lacrosse player in the spring, Dunleavy
dedicates a good chunk of the winter months to something he dreaded as
a youngster -- conditioning.
"Off-season conditioning is really important because that's when
you develop your strength," said Dunleavy. "I don't get a lot of time
to lift during the season because the offense usually lifts when the
defense is watching film and vice versa, and I play offense and
defense."
Dunleavy was voted one of the Chiefs' four captains in a vote of
his teammates and coaches.
"He's one of those unsung-hero-type of guys who keeps his mouth
shut and goes out and leads by example," Baechler said. "I love players
like Ryan because he motivates his teammates by talking with his
actions that this is how you do it."
Ed Wright can be reached at
[email protected] or (734) 453-1980.