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10/15/06-Football
DeLaSalle has the winning formula against St. Mary's
BY MIKE ROSENBAUM OF THE OBSERVER AND ECCENTRIC
WARREN--Tough defense, a strong running attack, and accurate passing with an occasional deep throw tossed in. That's been the formula for many Orchard Lake St. Mary's victories in recent years. On Friday, however, Warren DeLaSalle employed that same formula against visiting St. Mary's and came away with a 14-7 victory.
The win sends the Pilots into Saturday's Prep Bowl championship game and another shot at Birmingham Brother Rice, which defeated DeLaSalle last week. The Eaglets will play in the Prep Bowl's wild card game, against either Novi Catholic Central or U-D Jesuit, at Ford Field Saturday afternoon.
St. Mary's is 6-2 overall and finished 3-2 in the Catholic League Central Division. The Pilots improved to 7-1, 4-1.
A ball-control offense that controlled the clock, plus superior field position, were DeLaSalle's key advantages Friday. Senior running back Jimmy Berezik ran for 121 yards on 29 carries to lead the Pilots' ground attack, while quarterback Brian Lewis was remarkably accurate, completing 12 of 13 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns.
When DeLaSalle scored the go-ahead touchdown, with 10:19 remaining in the game, the Pilots had run 49 plays from scrimmage and totaled 273 yards, while St. Mary's had run 27 plays good for 128 yards.
"They did a nice job running the ball," said St. Mary's coach George Porritt. "They moved the ball all day on us...I just think it was a field position game. They did a nice job of keeping us on our side of the 50 and they got great field position. Our offense didn't move the ball."
The Pilots set the tone on their opening possession, even though they didn't score. DeLaSalle marched from its 26 to the Eaglets' 12 before missing a 34-yard field goal. But the Pilots ran 16 plays from scrimmage, including a fake punt that kept the drive alive, pounded out five first downs and took 8:43 off the clock.
St. Mary's first play was promising, as Dominique White swept left and carried 35 yards to DeLaSalle's 45. But the Eaglets netted just 65 more rushing yards the rest of the game.
DeLaSalle scored on its second possession, mixing runs and short passes before Lewis capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to David Blackburn with 9:16 remaining in the half.
The Eaglets mounted their best drive of the night just before halftime. Quarterback Justin Siller threw completions of seven and 10 yards to Dionte Allen, then hit Suave Lavallis for a 39-yard gain to DeLaSalle's nine. Three plays later, Siller snuck over from one yard out. Sean Graham's extra point tied the game at 7-7.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle until Berezik broke a 31-yard run on the final play of the period. Four plays into the final quarter, Lewis hit Don Fowler on a quick slant for an 11-yard TD pass.
With Siller operating from the shotgun, St. Mary's tried to battle back through the air. Midway through the fourth quarter he hit Allen with a 21-yard pass -- with Allen hanging on despite taking a ferocious hit -- to the Pilots' 45. But Siller's next pass was intercepted by DeLaSalle's Jimmy Martinez.
St. Mary's crossed midfield again on its final drive, as Siller scrambled 23 yards to DeLaSalle's 30. But Siller's scrambling success ended three plays later, when he was stopped five yards short of a first down on fourth-and-seven.
Siller finished 9-for-19 passing for 105 yards. Allen caught five for 50 yards. White was St. Mary's leading rusher, with 38 yards on six carries.
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