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9/24/06-Football
Rice holds off St. Mary's with late interception
By Matthew A. Goricki / Special to The Detroit News
LATHRUP VILLAGE - If Saturday night's game between Birmingham Brother Rice and Orchard Lake St. Mary's was any indication of things to come, the second half of the high football season should be one to remember.
In the first of three possible match-ups between the top two Catholic League teams, Brother Rice scored 14 unanswered points to beat St. Mary's, 14-7, at Southfield Lathrup.
After Brother Rice's Dusty Greenbury missed a 32-yard field goal attempt with 1:43 remaining, St. Mary's had one final chance to erase its 14-7 deficit.
St. Mary's advanced the ball to the Brother Rice 30-yard line, but on 3rd-and-10, Kaunda Hancock intercepted a Justin Siller pass with less than 10 seconds remaining.
“It was just a time for a play,” Hancock said of the interception. “We needed a big play to seal the game off and I was the person to do it.”
Hancock also converted the Warriors' key offensive play late in the second quarter. With Brother Rice (5-0, 2-0 Catholic League Central Division) facing a 3rd-and-11 from its own 45-yard line and trailing 7-0 late in the quarter, Hancock caught a perfectly thrown ball from Mike Cappetto for a 55-yard touchdown.
Hancock's touchdown, which capped a seven-play, 78-yard drive, tied the score at 7-7 going into halftime.
“He broke his route perfectly,” Cappetto, a Duke recruit, said of Hancock. “I looked off the safety in the middle of the field and I hit him. He made a great play staying inbounds and the rest was all him. Great blocking by the line, too. I can't get that off without them.”
The Warriors' scoring drive came a possession after St. Mary's (4-1, 1-1) scored the game's first touchdown. Siller scored on a 4-yard run with 4:36 remaining in the second quarter, capping a 39-yard drive.
After a scoreless third quarter, Caulton Ray IV scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run midway through the final quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Joey Henry intercepted a Siller pass at midfield, but Brother Rice couldn't capitalize after Greenbury's kick sailed wide right. That set the scene for the final drive and Hancock's interception.
Siller, a 6-foot-4 senior committed to Purdue, struggled against a stout Brother Rice defense. He threw no touchdowns and was intercepted three times.
“We bend a lot but we didn't give,” Brother Rice coach Al Fracassa said. “I thought our defense did a good job against their fast backs. They're a very good team. I don't know (how we did it). Just motivation, passion.”
Receivers Dionte Allen (Florida State) and Taurian Washington (Ohio State) were ineffective for much of the game. Allen had an amazing 35-yard reception on the final drive, and Washington caught a 7-yard pass late in the second quarter.
“Their defense was pretty outstanding tonight,” Washington said. “They outplayed us tonight a little bit. We'll remember this loss. We're just gonna come back stronger.”
The two teams should meet in the Catholic League championship and have the potential to play each other again in the Division 2 playoffs.
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