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9/2/06-Football
St. Mary's rolls with long drive
Eric Lacy / The Detroit News
GRAND LEDGE, Mich. -- Orchard Lake St. Mary's built on an 18-play, 86-yard opening scoring drive to pummel Grand Ledge, 35-7, on Friday night.
Chris Mitchell scored on a 6-yard run and St. Mary's never looked back. No play gained more than 11 yards during the drive, which lasted nearly nine minutes.
"It was definitely one of those drives that makes people like me happy," St. Mary's coach George Porritt said. "We work on things in practice to produce that kind of offense."
Ranked No. 22 in the nation by Sports Illustrated, St. Mary's (2-0) knows there are big expectations. So far so good, said quarterback Justin Siller, who will attend Purdue next year.
"At first we were a little overwhelmed with all the hype, but we're getting used to it," Siller said. "You can't think about all that too much, you just have to go out there and do it on the field."
Siller completed 8 of 13 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. Blair Hollis rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a touchdown pass.
In addition to scoring the first touchdown, Mitchell also had an interception in the second half. He returned it 65 yards to Grand Ledge's 4. He ran for his second touchdown on the next play.
Grand Ledge, which won a state title in 2000, isn't used to losing streaks or lopsided scores.
"You see why they (St. Mary's) are a top-20 team in the nation," Grand Ledge coach Matt Bird said. "But I'm proud of my kids because they kept competing."
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