ORCHARD LAKE -- Never before has Lavonte Travis of Orchard Lake St. Mary's been asked to do so much. And never before had he come through like he did on Saturday.
   Travis, a senior running back, scored five touchdowns and all but two of his team's points as St. Mary's defeated Birmingham Groves, 32-6, in a Division 2, Region 3 final at St. Mary's.
    The Eaglets (10-1) advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2001. The will play Dearborn (11-1) next Saturday at Berkley at 1 p.m.
    For the first time in his career, Travis rushed for more than 100 yards. He had 149 on 20 carries, also a career high. He scored on runs of 6, 57, 11, 12 and 4 yards.
    "It was all the line," Travis said. "You might say I was the man but it was the line. We have a lot of good backs. One day it's Malcolm (Arrington). Today it was my turn. I didn't have any dreams of doing this. I just followed my blocks."
    Groves (8-4), an excellent defensive team making its first region final appearance, took away St. Mary's' power game as the Eaglets' two fullbacks, Arrington and Kevin Brennan, combined to rush for 56 yards on 17 carries. This allowed Travis to run free.
    "It was nice," St. Mary's Coach George Porritt said of the performance of Travis. "The offensive line did a great job. He (Travis) made some great cuts. It was his turn today."
    The defensive line of St. Mary's also did its job as the Eaglets held Groves and its wing-T offense to 113 yards rushing on 36 carries. St. Mary's forced four turnovers and didn't turn it over once.
    Groves ran just five plays in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to a fumbled punt, for six yards.
    "Teams that make it to the semis don't make turnovers," Groves Coach Brendan Flaherty said. "And they scorched us. We talked about forcing mistakes and we didn't."
    St. Mary's led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter then missed a short field goal to begin the second.
    Groves went 80 yards in 11 plays to tie the score on EJ Simmons' 1-yard run.
    Three plays later Travis went 57 yards for a touchdown. Travis, at his linebacker position, recovered a fumble on the next series to set up his 11-yard touchdown run with 1:35 left in the first half to give the Eaglets an 18-6 lead.
    "Turnovers and penalties are the keys to success," Porritt said. "You have to create turnovers. They don't just happen."
    Groves (8-4) played without linebacker-running back Norman Yono, one of the Falcons' top players. Yono suffered a fractured vertebra in his lower back in last week's 23-20 victory over Southfield-Lathrup.
    Jerry Smith led Groves with 60 yards on 10 carries.

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