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11/21/04-Football
St. Mary's Stifles Dearborn
Eaglets reach Division 2 state final on the strength of their powerful defense.
By Joe Abramson / Special to The Detroit News

BERKLEY -- Defense led the way Saturday afternoon when Orchard Lake St. Mary's defeated Dearborn, 6-0, in a Division 2 football semifinal at Berkley High School.
    Orchard Lake St. Mary's (11-1) advanced to a state final Friday at 1 p.m. at the Silverdome, where it will face Muskegon.
    Neither offense got much going in the first half. Led by the running of quarterback David Shunkwiler (18 carries for 56 yards), Dearborn twice got as far as the St. Mary's 30-yard line but was shut down both times.
    Jeff Skeans helped Dearborn get better field position in the first half, downing three punts inside the 10.
    While both offenses continued to struggle in the third quarter, the St. Mary's defense rose to the occasion when Lavonte Travis recovered a fumble at the Dearborn 18 with 1:28 left in the quarter.
    "We knew both offenses were struggling," Travis said. "We knew it was going to have to be the defense that would get us in position to score."
    St. Mary's scored five plays after the fumble recovery when Kevin Brennan (9 carries, 27 yards) took it in from a yard out. The extra point was unsuccessful.
    "In a game like this, the turnover was the difference," St. Mary's Coach George Porritt said. "Other than that, the game was a draw."
    St. Mary's, led by Malcolm Arrington (eight tackles) and Joe Ham (seven), held Dearborn to 61 yards of total offense in the second half.
    "Dearborn is a great team," Arrington said. "They're big, they played hard, it was a battle, and luckily it turned out in our favor."
    Dearborn (11-2) had one more chance to score when it moved to St. Mary's 15. But Dionte Allen forced and recovered a fumble with 2:42 to play.

 

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