14 of 16 area Catholic teams advance with first-round victories
WARREN – On the surface, it might appear that Warren De La Salle limped into the MHSAA football postseason field with a subpar record. However, the Pilots emphatically proved they belong among the playoff field with a dominant first-round win.
De La Salle ─ seeded fourth in its district ─ knocked off top-seeded Warren Fitzgerald in a contest chock full of big plays, 56-34. Next, the Pilots will travel to Port Huron High School, a 24-14 winner over Marysville in its district final. That game will be at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Against Fitzgerald, the Pilots (4-6) set the pace early, jumping out to a 21-0 lead, but the Spartans (8-2) got back in it with a trio of momentum-changers, getting as close as 28-26. That’s when De La Salle pulled away by scoring touchdowns on four consecutive second-half possessions.
“We just said we’ve got to stop giving them things,” said coach Dan Rohn. “We told our defense, you make them earn it. We’ll run the ball, we’ll eat up some of the clock, and we’ll make some plays, and that’s exactly what happened.”
De La Salle scored twice in the first quarter, as Grayson Thurston threw touchdown passes to Damion King (28 yards) and Jackson Tur (15 yards). The Pilots tacked on another score when Nathan Bell hit a hole and rambled 56 yards to the end zone, and it appeared a rout was in progress.
But Fitzgerald stormed back, getting on the board through a 53-yard pass reception from Dion James to Deondre Currie, and two plays later, Jaylan Maddox returned an interception 48 yards to make it 21-12.
De La Salle’s third touchdown pass, this time from Anthony Bitonti to James Larimer, increased the margin to 28-12. De La Salle was poised to tack on more points with under 10 seconds to play in the half, but Maddox stepped in front of a short pass and returned it 98 yards to make it 28-20 after two quarters.
“When you give up two interception returns for touchdowns, the odds of winning a game are very slim,” Rohn said, “but (it was) very resilient on our guys’ part to play through some things and play above it.”
That resiliency came in the second half. Although Fitzgerald received the ball first and scored on Devon Billings Jr.’s 64-yard run to make it 28-26, De La Salle’s Micah Walker answered with an 80-yard touchdown sprint on the first play of the ensuing drive.
“They made a score, and we go out and score on the very first play,” Rohn said. “We run the ball for a touchdown. Micah Walker’s a dynamic running back. We ran the ball very well tonight. We probably could have done some things, but we just focused on running the game and getting out of here and keeping everybody healthy.”
Bell (28 yards), Bitonti (43 yards, on fourth-and-one) and Jake Jablonski (20 yards) added rushing touchdowns as De La Salle asserted its dominance down the stretch. Fitzgerald’s Currie caught another touchdown pass with 10 seconds to play to reduce the margin of the final score.
Even though De La Salle faced its challenges in the Catholic League’s Central Division, going 1-4 in league play, Rohn still earned lots of playoff points due to the strength of its schedule.
“When you look at the big picture, it made sense for us to stay Division 3, but we would have qualified for the playoffs in Division 2 with our points because of the schedule we played,” he said. “People can say what they want; we just have to go out and play really good football to validate who we are – that’s De La Salle, and we want to be a great football program.”
Playoff results and upcoming schedule
Out of the 16 area Catholic and affiliated schools, 14 won their opening-week playoff games. In addition to De La Salle’s victory, here’s the rundown of first-round scores and upcoming opponents in this weekend’s district round. All games will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, unless noted.
MICHIGAN/DIVISION 1: Novi Detroit Catholic Central 35, Hartland 7. The Shamrocks (10-0) will host Brighton (7-3).
DIVISION 2: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 35, Farmington 7 and Birmingham Brother Rice, 28 Walled Lake Western 24. The defending Division 2 state champion Eaglets (7-2) will host the Warriors (6-4). Rice upset the Eaglets on Oct. 17, 43-31.
DIVISION 4: Dearborn Divine Child 55, Tecumseh 19. The Falcons (9-1) host Madison Heights Lamphere (7-3).
DIVISION 5: Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard 57, Detroit Cody 6. The Fighting Irish (10-0) host Michigan Center (9-1) at 4 p.m. Friday;
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 59, Hazel Park 0. The defending Division 5 state champion Fighting Irish (8-2) host Detroit Denby (8-2).
DIVISION 6: Jackson Lumen Christi 56, Onsted 7. The defending Division 6 state champion Titans (7-3) host Napoleon (7-3).
DIVISION 7: Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central 27, Leslie 2. The Falcons (8-2) host Clinton (8-2) in a rematch of the opening-week contest which SMCC won, 42-6.
DIVISION 8: Clarkston Everest Collegiate 34, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes 14. The Mountaineers (6-4) will play at Madison Heights Madison (9-1);
Allen Park Cabrini 45, Southfield Bradford Academy 8. The Monarchs (9-1) host downriver rival Riverview Gabriel Richard (5-5), which downed previously unbeaten Melvindale Academy for Business and Technology, 34-6. This game begins at 7:30.
OHIO/DIVISION II: Toledo St. Francis de Sales 33, Parma Heights Valley Forge 7. The Knights (7-4) travel to Wadsworth (10-0).
DIVISION III: Toledo Central Catholic 35, Ontario 0. The Fighting Irish (7-4) will play at Lexington (9-1).
Besides Our Lady of the Lakes, Macomb Lutheran North was eliminated from the tournament with a 45-16 loss at No. 1-ranked Harper Woods. The Mustangs finished 8-2.
