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11/23/07-Football
Drive for 5
St. Mary's heads into D3 finals looking for fifth state title
By KEITH DUNLAP of The Oakland Press
ORCHARD LAKE--The drive for five vs. the date for eight.
Excuse the corny bit of poetry, but it might be the best way to describe a Division 3 state football championship matchup of traditional powers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Ford Field.
Orchard Lake St. Mary's and East Grand Rapids are so familiar with playing on high school football's ultimate stage that it becomes news when they don't make it to a state final.
Seeking its fifth state crown, St. Mary's will appear in a state final for the seventh time overall and the sixth time since 1999.
In search of its eighth state championship overall and fourth in the last six years, East Grand Rapids will make its ninth appearance in the state finals and its fifth since 1995.
"I think it's a real intriguing matchup because I think we're similar in a lot of ways," St. Mary's head coach George Porritt said. "They're very good in the run game and they mix it up on defense."
St. Mary's last appeared in a state final in 2004, when it lost to Muskegon, 31-7, in the Division 2 championship. The Eaglets were a major contender to get back to the Division 2 title game the last two years with a horde of Division 1 collegiate players as the skill positions, such as quarterback Justin Siller, wideout/corner back Dionte Allen and wide receiver Taurian Washington.
But the Eaglets lost in a regional final in 2005 to Birmingham Brother Rice and in a 2006 district final to Walled Lake Central.
Despite the graduations of those skill players, the Eaglets haven't missed a beat, proving team chemistry and something they might not have had last year -- a dominant line on both sides of the ball -- often wins out in football.
"I think what we are is that we're seniors in the offensive and defensive lines," Porritt said. "We had a lot of kids in the skilled positions, but the trenches a lot of times is the key. We have seniors up front. I think that's a huge thing. It's great to have the good, fast kids or the tough kid running the ball. But the trenches are key."
St. Mary's could've contended for a state title had they been in Division 2, but the fact that they dropped down to Division 3 only enhanced their drive to Ford Field.
The Eaglets have won their four playoff games by an average of nearly 26 points. St. Mary's has a plethora of running backs capable of going off, such as senior Dominique White, junior Suave Lavallis and junior Justin Semmes, and a dangerous dual-threat quarterback in sophomore Robert Bolden.
Defensively, St. Mary's has only allowed 47 points in four playoff games, a number that's skewed because the Eaglets gave up a couple of late scores in a 49-21 blowout win over East Lansing in the semifinals last Saturday.
East Grand Rapids is a mirror image of the Eaglets in more ways than one.
The Pioneers also get it done via a punishing ground game led by junior Joe Glendening, who has rushed for 1,876 yards and 34 touchdowns this year, and a dominant defense that's yielded just 11 points per game this season.
Just like St. Mary's, East Grand Rapids also hasn't been tested so far in its playoff run, winning its four games by an average of 25 points per game.
East Grand Rapids is also the defending state champion after beating Farmington Hills Harrison, 42-17, in last year's final, so one could conclude that the Pioneers have an advantage in that they shouldn't be as awed by the environment.
However, the Eaglets have played at Ford Field this year in the Catholic League Prep Bowl, so nerves shouldn't be the reason they go down if they lose.
"I think there are two traditional clubs going at it," Porritt said. "We're used to that type of atmosphere."
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