Football - News Football - News
News | Roster | Schedules--Results | Archives
10/1/07-Football
Shamrocks hand Eaglets their first loss
Catholic Central scores 21 unanswered points in second half
By ED MEYERS
Special to
The Oakland Press
NOVI--Trailing by 10 points late in the first half, Novi Detroit Catholic Central scored 21 unanswered points Sunday afternoon, as the Shamrocks ended Orchard Lake St. Mary's unbeaten string at four with a 21-10 win in Sunday's 63rd annual Boys Bowl game.
"This is one of the best wins in a long, long time. You guys did a great job. The key to the game was believing in ourselves," Shamrock coach Tom Mach told his team.
"Penalties hurt us in the last couple of games but we kept on working and believing. The guys never quit and pushed each other hard. I'm happy for the kids. I didn't have to to anything special to get them up for this game," he added.
Nor did the fans, as the game was played before an estimated crowd of 5,400 wildly enthusiastic fans.
The Eaglets go on the scoreboard late in the first quarter, as Sean Graham booted a 28-yard field goal after a drive stalled at the Shamrock 6-yard line.
Dominique White went over from 3 yards out to finish a 71-yard scoring drive, giving OLSM (4-1) a 10-0 advantage with just over four minutes to go until halftime, but it was a struggle to move the ball on the ground, nonetheless.
"We just couldn't get our running game going," OLSM coach George Porritt said. "They simply shut us down in the second half."
The statistics bear out Porritt's comments, as White gained 58 yards in the first half, but got only 20 in the second half. Suave Lavallis gained 52 yards in the contest for the Eaglets, but 51 of those came before halftime.
The Shamrocks (4-2) got on the board before the half, as well, as Cory Amble scored from 24 yards out for Catholic Central with just 1:18 left, and Chris Singer kicked the first of his three PATs, cutting OLSM's lead to 10-7.
Amble set up the score when he returned a punt 30 yards, and quarterback Ryan Houska completed a pass to Joe Kinville and ran for 10 yards, as well, before Amble's touchdown scamper.
With 3:36 to go in the third quarter, Houska completed a pass to Scott Kovanda, who found himself in the clear on the left side of the field and scored from 40 yards out, giving Catholic Central the lead, 14-10.
The third score for the Shamrocks came with just 4:45 left in the game as Kinville intercepted an errant OLSM pass and returned it 16 yards for the score.
Amble had 80 of his 119 yards in the first half, while Joe Kinville added 38 and Anthony Capatina tallied 37 yards.
Both teams had numerous scoring opportunities, but penalties and incomplete passes stymied the threats with much of the hard-fought contest played outside either team's 35-yard line.
OLSM completed 11 of 18 passes and 12 first downs while the Shamrocks hit on just 3 of 7 and had six first downs. Overall, the Eaglets had a slight advantage in total offense, 311 yards to 302 for Catholic Central.
Copyright 2007, St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, Michigan. All rights reserved.
No logos, photographs, or graphics on the site may be reproduced without written permission.