DETROIT, Mich — Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes coach Josh Sawicki has turned the Lakers into a championship squad in his short tenure. In Sawicki’s first season, the Lakers (9-0) claimed the C-D Division Championship and this year was more of the same.
Our Lady of the Lakes cruised to its third straight championship (second straight under Sawicki) with a 49-21 win over Riverview Gabriel Richard.
Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes coach Josh Sawicki chats with Riverview Gabriel Richard coach Tom Michalsen (MIPrepZone photo by PATRICK McINTYRE)After Lakes stumbled on its opening drive, the Lakers went to the air and quickly got on the board. Senior quarterback Clay Senarius found his brother Devin for a 31-yard gain. On the next play, Ryan Kostich punched in a 2-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 7:30 left in the first quarter.
Senarious finished the game with 182 yards helping him eclipse the 2,000 mark in his senior season as he currently has 2,042 yards on the year with 24 passing touchdowns.
On Lakes’ next possession Kostich would find the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. Senarius dropped back and hit Kostich for an 8-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 2:50 left in the first quarter.
Sawicki continued to give Riverview Gabriel Richard a steady diet of rushing touchdowns. Senior Chris Cartier exploded through the line of scrimmage for a 91-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead.
Our Lady of the Lakes kept their foot on the pedal as Clay found Devin once again down the field, but this time it was good enough for a touchdown. Devin rolled into the end zone on a 40-yard reception, which made it a 28-0 lead for the Lakers with 1:05 left in the second quarter.
With time winding down in the second half, the Pioneers (6-3) found the end zone on a deep pass from quarterback Jake Lipetzky to Josh Blaszczak for a 40-yard connection into the end zone. The touchdown ended the first half with Our Lady of the Lakes ahead 28-7 over Gabriel Richard.
Cartier continued his impressive afternoon immediately in the second half with a 56-yard touchdown run just 3:27 into the third quarter to give Lakes a 35-7 lead in the C-D Division Championship.
While Blaszczak’s early touchdown made an impact, so did his touchdown with 1:29 to go in the third quarter. The senior scored from two yards out to give the Pioneers their second score of the night and much needed momentum.
Blaszczak finished with 83 rushing yards, 79 receiving yards and two touchdowns as he was as key figure for Gabriel Richard’s offense, which struggled against the Lakers.
Believe it or not, Cartier scored once more for Our Lady of the Lakes. He found a hole and got loose for 58 yards on his way into the endzone. The touchdown gave the Lakers a 42-14 lead with 1:17 to go in the third quarter. Cartier totaled 349 all-purpose yards - 290 rushing and 59 receiving - in the victory, while accounting for three-of-seven touchdowns for Lakes.
Lipetzky and the Gabriel Richard offense got some positive energy at the end of the game, as the quarterback carried in a score all by himself. The Pioneers, however, were still down by 21 with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter.
Lakes senior fullback Hunter Hilton scored the final touchdown of the game. He scored on his only carry of the night. It was an eight-yard touchdown to give Our Lady of the Lakes a 49-21 lead, which stuck until the final tick.
While Riverview fell short of capturing a league championship, the Pioneers will make their second consecutive trip to the playoffs next week.
