ORCHARD LAKE - Sure, Orchard Lake St. Mary's knows exactly what it's going
up against in today's 1 p.m. Division 2 state final against Muskegon at the
Pontiac Silverdome.
They know exactly how good the No. 1-ranked Big Reds are from watching
them on film and hearing the seemingly endless rounds of accolades that
would indicate Muskegon is the second coming of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
They also know that the only thing most people around the state expect
the Eaglets (11-1) to do is provide a nice round of applause once Muskegon
(13-0) accepts the championship trophy on the field after the game.
While what many anticipate an inevitable Muskegon coronation, St. Mary's
coaches and players do want to make one thing clear: If the Eaglets fall to
Muskegon, it won't be because of intimidation or lacking any expectation to
win.
"They're a beatable team," St. Mary's senior co-captain Chris
McLaurin said. "That's all I think about them."
Many might question McLaurin's sanity at those comments, but with three
state championships and a runner-up finish since 1994, the Eaglets do have
the pedigree to warrant thinking big.
St. Mary's also has already proven it can spring an upset in this year's
playoffs, knocking off what was thought to be an unbeatable Birmingham
Brother Rice team, 18-16 in a district final.
"We've been doubted all season, so it's not really a change for
us," St. Mary's senior co-captain Malcolm Arrington said. "We're
just going to play our best and hopefully we'll be fortunate enough to come
away with a win."
In order for that to happen, the Eaglets will have to do everything
Rochester Adams could not do in a 35-0 loss to the Big Reds in last week's
semifinals.
For starters, St. Mary's somehow will have to play a ball-control game
and keep a potent Muskegon offense loaded with breakaway running backs off
the field.
The speedy Big Reds not only used their fleetness to wreak havoc on
Adams' defense last week by hitting holes faster than the Highlanders could
plug them up, but defensively also did a number on a monstrous Adams
offensive line by shooting through gaps and blowing up plays before they
started.
Appearing in his fifth state title game with the Eaglets, St. Mary's head
coach George Porritt said one thing not to do against such a juggernaut in a
big game is play out of character and stray away from what has worked for
his team all year.
"You can't go away from the things you're doing," he said.
"If you think you're going to sneak up on them, I don't think it will
happen."
Whatever Porritt and the rest of his staff have in the works will be
revealed today and while it will no doubt have to be something good, St.
Mary's won't go in playing for second place.
"We've been sort of an opportunistic team that's kept plugging away
and we've beaten some pretty good teams, too," Porritt said. "We
like our chances and we know we're going to have to play great
football."
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