DETROIT, Mich — Orchard Lake St. Mary’s had revenge on its mind.
After a poor showing on Sept. 25 at home against De La Salle, the Eaglets were looking to rebound in the Prep Bowl at Ford Field on Saturday night.
Orchard Lake used its stout defense and efficient offense to cruise to a 38-0 win over Warren De La Salle.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s found the scoreboard first as John Kwiecinski made a 20-yard field goal with ease giving the Eaglets a 3-0 lead with 6:15 to play in the first quarter.
The kicker for the Eaglets made his presence felt early and to start the second quarter, so did Brandon Adams. The senior tailback took the ball into the end zone from just a yard out to extend St. Mary’s lead to 10-0 with 9:09 to play in the first half of the A-B Division Championship.
St Mary’s starting quarterback Brendon Tabone helped set up another scoring drive when he hit Nathan Fagnani for a 32-yard first down with 4:52 left in the second quarter. Just 1:07 later, Tabone connected with junior KJ Hamler for the first passing touchdown for Tabone and a 17-0 lead.
The first half ended as Tabone was intercepted by Reggie Irby of the Pilots with just 45 seconds left in the half. It was just a last resort type of throw as Tabone was trying to find the end zone for his second time of the night. Little did he know, his outstanding offensive game would continue throughout the night.
Just a few minutes into the second half, Tabone was picked off again as he was pressured in the pocket. Brendan Madigan collected the interception for De La Salle. St. Mary’s defense forced a quick three-and-out. After getting the ball back, Tabone rebounded from his mistake and hit Hamler in stride once again for a 42-yard score, 24-0, with 6:30 left in the third quarter.
Hamler caught five passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. The junior also made six tackles, all solo, and batted five passes thrown by Wilk. Hamler was one of the key players that kept De La Salle to 78 yards of total offense and four first downs.
The Eaglets would take advantage of a seven-yard punt from De La Salle gave St. Mary’s outstanding field position on the Pilot 27 yard line. St. Mary’s increased its lead as Adams scored his second touchdown of the night with 46 seconds to play in the third quarter. The score gave Orchard Lake a 31-0 lead over De La Salle.
After another score from St. Mary's and nothing from De La Salle, backup quarterback Ricardo Marble replaced Josh Wilk behind center with 40 seconds left in the third quarter.
Wilk finished the game completing 7-of-16 passes for 42 yards, while adding four carries for 20 yards. Tru Wilson only gained 14 yards on seven carries.
St. Mary’s kept their foot on the pedal, but with backup quarterback Chase Ruckhaber. With 6:29 left in the game, Ruckhaber handed the ball to Ryan Johnson, who took the sweep for a 29-yard score. The touchdown gave St. Mary’s a 38-0 lead over De La Salle in the A-B Division Championship at Ford Field.
Tabone led his team to an outstanding victory over a very tough De La Salle team. He finished 8-for-12 with 218 yards through the air and two touchdowns.
The Eaglets defense has only allowed one touchdown in three games heading into the playoffs which start next Friday.
