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8/27/06-Football
Eaglets fly past King in opener
By MIKE SCOTT
Special to The Oakland Press
ORCHARD LAKE--Detroit Martin Luther King's team bus arrived behind schedule for their game at Orchard Lake St. Mary's on Saturday.
Given what happened during the game, the Crusaders probably wish they hadn't arrived at all.
Turnovers and big plays were the difference for St. Mary's in an easy 34-18 season-opening win over the Crusaders.
King didn't arrive tot he field until 15 minutes after the scheduled 1 p.m. game time and seemed sluggish at the the start, allowing two easy touchdowns.
The only highlights for King were two kickoffs that were returned for touchdowns.
Dominique White rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries and Blair Hollis scored twice and finished with 62 yards on the ground for St. Mary's (1-0). Quarterback Justin Siller ran for 45 yards and two touchdowns as well.
"I thought our defense made some big plays and played well, but our kickoff coverage was atrocious," St. Mary's head coach George Porritt said. "And offensively we need to get more (than 35 total yards) passing."
St. Mary's took early control with two impressive drives covering a combined 120 yards. Hollis ran 13 yeards for a touchdown four minutes into the first quarter before Siller ended a 51-yard, five-play drive with a nine-yard scamper with 2:41 left for a 14-0 Eaglets lead.
After Eaglets senior Dionte Allen intercepted a pas and returned it to the Crusaders' 16-yard line, King appeared to dodge a bullet when the Eaglets missed a field goal.
However, King couldn't convert a first down, and a few minutes later, White's 48-yard touchdown run gave St. Mary's a 21-0 lead.
Darrin Williams followed with a 94-yard kickoff return for King. At that point the Crusaders still had managed just 13 total yards and no first downs.
That changed when King drove 96 yards in nine plays, only to turn the ball over for the fourth time in the first half when Noland's pass was intercepted by linebacker Laurence Treadaway, who returned it to the King 21-yard line with 26 seconds to play in the first half.
Siller took the next snap 21 yards for his second score of the game and a commanding 28-6 lead for the Eaglets.
Donovan Dickerson began the second half with a 96-yard kickoff return for King, but again St. Mary's answered, this time with a 58-yard drive that chewed up over five minutes of the third quarter. Hollis scored his second touchdown on a 12-yard run for a 34-12 lead.
Chris Greenwood added a late touchdown reception for the Crusaders.
Siller said his offensive line was able to control the line of scrimmage from the start, making his job easier.
"They made some big holes and me and our running backs were able to ply right off them," said Siller, who earlier in the week made a verbal commitment to play in college at Purdue. "We want to be more balanced on offense than we were today, but it was a good start."
Porritt expects next week's game at Grand Ledge to be another challenge as the Eaglets continue to play one of the toughest schedules in the state.
"(Grand Ledge) has won a state championship within the past few years and they traditionally are a big, physical football team," Porritt said. "We are on the road, so we'd better improve a whole lot in the next six days."
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