Friday morning, Nick Downs and Ben Stasiak will sit in the same classroom.
Friday night, Downs and Stasiak will start at quarterback -- on opposing teams -- when Plymouth and Canton renew their high school football rivalry.
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The two schools, along with Salem, share a campus: Plymouth-Canton Educational Park. That creates an unusual situation on game days when science lab partners become opponents as Downs leads undefeated Plymouth against Stasiak and Canton.
“This is the most unique rivalry in the state,” Plymouth coach Brian Lewis said. “You’re walking the halls next to each other, and then you have to play each other that night. They all play together in youth league. They all know each other. It’s a small-town atmosphere.”
Canton has won the last two meetings and four of the last five games against the Wildcats. But Plymouth enters this year’s contest having won its first two games of the year under Lewis, who is in his first season with the Wildcats.
“They’re fast,” Canton coach Andrew LaFata said. “You can tell they’re well-coached.”
Lewis, who coached at Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard last season, accepted the job at Plymouth in June.
The Wildcats have learned quickly. They opened the season with a 35-11 victory over Livonia Stevenson and then defeated Howell 26-17 last week.
Downs has taken control of the offense, learning Lewis’ terminology and adjusting to his style of play.
“He has really worked at it,” Lewis said. “He’s been asking questions. He wants to learn."
Downs has help from wide receiver Mike Matthias and running back Carson Miller, whom Lewis describes as “very unassuming.” Miller took charge last week against Howell, rushing 41 times for 295 yards and a touchdown.
“Obviously, he’s a good player,” Lewis said. “He does good things when the ball is in his hands.”
Seniors Luke Fisher and Brad Miller anchor the offensive line.
Defensively, a quintet of juniors lead Plymouth: defensive end Ivan Davis, linebackers Josh Carver and Logan Walkley, defensive back Nathan Janke and hybrid safety/linebacker Alec Beshears.
Lewis also praised captain Brice Baumgart, a two-way player. “He’s done a really good job of being a jack-of-all trades,” Lewis said.
The Wildcats will need everyone against a Canton squad, which reached the Division 1 regional finals last year. The Chiefs lost their season-opener to Livonia Churchill but bounced back last week by shutting out Northville 39-0.
“They were upset and angry about losing,” LaFata said. “They were focused on beating Northville. You could feel it at practice.”
Senior Darius Robinson headlines the defense. A 6-foot-5, three-star lineman, Robinson has received interest from colleges such as Colorado, Maryland and Michigan State.
“He’s hard to miss,” LaFata said. “He does what he’s coached to do. He’s another piece of the puzzle.”
The other pieces include Noah Van Berkle, a two-way starter; nose guard James Deese; Seth Troszak; and Jake Vickers, who also plays tight end.
“Those are the heartbeat of our line,” LaFata said.
They helped Canton’s fullhouse, tight-T formation click against Northville last week, paving the way for running back Steven Walker, who rushed for three touchdowns and 300 yards.
“With us, if we’re successful, it all comes down to our linemen,” LaFata said. “That’s our mentality. You don’t run for that many yards without the guys in front of you doing a good job.”
Stasiak directs the Canton offense at quarterback, and he also can rely on backs Luke Jouppi, Marco Johnson and Juwan Frazier.
Linebackers Liam Radomski and Tim Pennington as well as defensive backs Frazier and Turner Meadows lead the Canton defense.
LaFata, like Lewis, is in his first year as the head coach at Canton. He served for 10 seasons as an assistant offensive line coach for the Chiefs before taking over for longtime coach Tim Baechler.
“There’s a lot less sleep, a lot more worry on every aspect of the field,” LaFata said. “You’re losing sleep about everything that might go wrong on Friday night.”
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