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10/6/07-Football
St. Mary's runs past U-D, 42-14
By Mike Rosenbaum/The West Bloomfield Eccentric
FERNDALE--Orchard Lake St. Mary's displayed its running back depth Friday as six different ballcarriers scored touchdowns en route to a 42-14 Eaglets victory over U-D Jesuit. The game was played at Ferndale High, the Cubs' home field.
A lot of different kids got to carry the ball and I was very pleased with the running game, said St. Mary's coach George Porritt.
St. Mary's improved to 5-1 overall, 3-1 in the Catholic League Central Division. U-D dropped to 0-6, 0-4. The fifth victory of their eight-game regular season guaranteed the Eaglets a state playoff berth.
The Eaglets dominated Friday's first quarter about as thoroughly as possible, scoring three times on offense while forcing the Cubs to go three-and-out twice. St. Mary's took the opening kickoff and drove 63 yards on nine plays plus a penalty, with Rodney Woodland running the final nine yards for the opening touchdown.
Quarterback Robert Bolden threw just one pass in the quarter, but he made it count, hitting junior Dion Sims who attended U-D as a freshman for 53 yards, setting up Bolden's eight-yard touchdown run. Tayler Peruski's 41-yard run late in the quarter made it 21-0 after the third of Sean Graham's six extra point kicks.
The Eaglets' engine stalled briefly in a sloppy second quarter as they committed two turnovers and five penalties. U-D scored midway through the quarter when Bruce Chapman took a short pass from quarterback Devin Gardner and raced 63 yards to bring the Cubs within 21-7.
St. Mary's resumed its dominance in the third quarter as three interceptions set up Eaglet scores. First, linebacker Shane Halaas picked off a Gardner pass and returned it to U-D's 16 to set up Dominique White's one-yard score. Gary Hunter recorded the next two interceptions. Hunter's first pick set up a two-play, 68-yard drive, consisting of Justin Semmes' 35-yard run and Sam Fioroni's 33-yard touchdown dash. Hunter's second interception led to a nine-yard TD carry by Alex Tucker.
U-D closed the scoring with a 10-yard pass from Gardner to Michael Joiner-Hill in the fourth quarter.
St. Mary's finished with 304 yards rushing plus 85 passing. White carried 12 times for 88 yards while Semmes ran five times for 50. U-D was held to 62 yards on the ground, while Gardner completed 14 of 29 passes for 221 yards through the air, although a good chunk of that yardage came against St. Mary's reserves in the final quarter. The Eaglets sacked Gardner three times for 20 yards in losses.
I thought our defense did a very good job, Porritt said. They've got some big playmakers. You know (Chapman), he can run. That was a great play that young man made.
St. Mary's schedule should be formidable for the remainder of the season, beginning Oct. 13 when the Eaglets play host to Warren DeLaSalle. The Pilots were 6-0 overall, 3-0 in the Central, pending Saturday's contest at Brother Rice.
I like where we're at right now, Porritt said. We've got a great game next week at our place and that's what we aim for at the beginning of the year, so that's fun.
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