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1118/07-Football
ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY'S 49, EAST LANSING 21: St. Mary's to take eighth trip to states
BY MARTIN DOBEK/FREE PRESS SPECIAL WRITER
SOUTH LYON--Orchard Lake St. Mary's will make its eighth trip to the state finals after a dominant performance over East Lansing, 49-21, in a Division 3 semifinal Saturday.
The Eaglets' last trip to the finals was in 2004, when they lost to Muskegon, 31-7. So far they've outscored their playoff opponents, 133-47, and have won four state titles since 1975.
"I thought overall we played very well. I thought our two fronts, offensive and defensive line really established themselves, made our running game get going and made it tough for their running game to get going," said George Porritt, coach for St. Mary's (10-2).
East Lansing (9-4) had no answer for St. Mary's wing-style running attack of Sam Fioroni and Dominique White, who combined for 237 yards and five of the Eaglets' seven touchdowns.
The Eaglets' defense found no problem stopping East Lansing's star running back Isaac Harper, who rushed for over 200 yards in seven of his last eight games. He was held to only 146 on 24 carries Saturday. But he broke the school's single-season rushing record, finishing the year with 2,530 yards rushing.
Not even two minutes into the game, Fioroni took the handoff from quarterback Robert Bolden and went 46 yards untouched to give his team a 7-0 lead. On the next possession, East Lansing quarterback Brian Spencer was picked off by St. Mary's defender White, giving the Eaglets the ball on the Trojans' 28-yard line. The Trojans turned the ball over three times in the first half.
Seven plays later, Bolden scored on a one-yard sneak putting St. Mary's up 14-0. The Eaglets would add two more scores on touchdown runs of seven and eight yards from White, who finished with 19 carries for 138 yards.
St. Mary's will play East Grand Rapids, a 28-7 victor over St. Joseph, at Ford Field on Saturday, November 24, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. The game will be televised on FSN-Plus.
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