MACOMB, Mich — After going down with an injury last week, Divine Child's senior quarterback Jimmy Seewald was a game-time decision against Lutheran North. Falcon coach John Filatraut went with Seewald, which paid off as he totaled 322 yards and three touchdowns to lead Divine Child to a 28-21 victory over Lutheran North on Friday night.
Jimmy Seewald, the Divine Child senior quarterback, exits the pocket against Lutheran North to gain yards on the ground. (Photo by The Macomb Daily Sports Staff)Seewald made an impact quickly getting the Falcons (3-3; 0-1 CHSL-AA) on the board within the first three minutes of the contest on a 35-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Quinn Blair for a 7-0 lead.
Blair, who would have started in Seewald’s absence, lined up in his usual receiver spot and made every play count. The athlete caught 10 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
“There were some plays where I thought I should have made the play, thought I should have caught the ball, but my teammates had faith in me and Jimmy kept throwing me the ball,” Blair said. “We came out with the win; that’s the most important thing.”
The Mustang (2-4; 1-3 CHSL-Intersectional) defense started to key in on Blair with more authority after he dominated in the first quarter. After a quiet second quarter, Blair found his stride again late in the third quarter to help Divine Child put away Lutheran North.
Lutheran North quarterback Charles Kruse threw the ball 49 times, completing just 23 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. The junior, however, also threw two interceptions on the first Lutheran North drive and the second-to-last drive, respectively.
Lutheran North got on the board with a three-yard pass from Kruse to senior Mitchell Visbara to tie the game, 7-7, in the first quarter.
The Mustangs took the lead in the second quarter when Jack Pyle carried the ball for a seven-yard touchdown. Lutheran North looked to nail home the extra point, but the snap was bobbled, which forced Kruse to improvise. The quarterback threw the ball up to junior Austin Monroe who made an outstanding one-handed catch to give Lutheran North a 15-7 lead.
“This was my first catch for varsity football and I am happy that it was a pretty impressive one, it felt good to impact the game in a positive way and I can not wait for another chance to make it happen again,” said Monroe.
The Mustangs held all the momentum, until defensive lineman Anthony Labara missed a tackle on Divine Child running back Brandon Rodriguez to allow another Falcons score, 15-14, with 00:52 left in the first half. Rodriguez was the Falcons second leading rusher behind Seewald with 50 yards rushing on 12 carries.
The Falcon momentum carried into the second half with two third quarter touchdowns from Seewald. His 36-yard rushing touchdown with 7:00 left in the third quarter gave the Falcons their first lead since the beginning of the game, 21-15.
The most influential touchdown, however, came late in the third quarter when Seewald connected with Quinn once again 30-yards down field.
Seewald's touchdown to Quinn came just after Kruse overthrew tight end Michael Barno on the Mustangs last drive. Barno went down with cramps and did not return until the last play of the game. While Barno plays a huge role on offense, he was also a force to be reckoned with on defense. His absence allowed Divine Child to get down the field and eventually make a big play for a touchdown.
Of the 372 total yards for Divine Child, 322 of them were accounted for by Seewald. The 6-foot-5 senior finished 17-27 with 255 passing yards and two scores and an interception, while adding 11 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown.
Lutheran North tried to mount a comeback when Kruse connected with sophomore Paxton Meyer on a 7-yard in the end zone for his first catch of the season. The Mustangs pulled within seven, 28-21, after Monroe missed the extra-point.
After forcing a Divine Child punt, Lutheran North got the ball back with one minute and 40 seconds left in the game, but dropped passes from Joel Vandermeer and Daric Craig forced a turnover on downs to end the football game.
Craig totaled 101 yards - 98 reception yards - while Visbara led Lutheran North with 107 all-purpose yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Pyle had a huge day on defense for Lutheran North. The 5-foot-five two-way player made 14 tackles - six solo tackles and seven for a loss - including a sack.
Next week, Divine Child will face Father Gabriel Richard (4-1; 0-1 CHSL-AA) in their second Catholic League AA divisional game.
Lutheran North will host Bishop Foley (1-4; 0-3 CHSL-Intersectional) at home next week in the Catholic League Intersectional matchup. The Mustangs need to go undefeated the rest of the way if they want to hear their name on Selection Sunday.
