St. Mary's runs wild, tramples Melvindale for regional crown

Running team has edge on passing Game Photos

David Goricki / The Detroit News

MELVINDALE -- It was smashmouth football at its best.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's ran over Melvindale Friday night in a Division 3 regional championship game, 35-12.

St. Mary's (9-2) moved on the ground for 333 yards. They scored on all three of their first half possessions to take control with a 21-6 lead. They then scored on the opening drive of the third quarter to open a commanding 28-6 cushion.

Justin Semmes, a physical, 6-foot-1, 220-pound junior fullback, led the attack with 117 yards on 30 carries and touchdown runs of 1, 7, 1 and 1 yards.

"It all starts up front," Semmes said. "The O line executed well. They opened the holes and I just ran hard through them. It was a great team effort."

Senior tailback Dominique White gained 114 yards on 13 carries. He had 40 yards on five carries during the first scoring drive. Junior Sam Fioroni had 86 yards on 10 chances.

"We're not used to having the ball shoved down our throats like that," Melvindale coach Phil Howard said. "I felt we needed to get the big stop after the first half, but we couldn't do it. They just kept doing what they did before."

The game was a contrast of styles, with St. Mary's moving the ball with the run, and Melvindale attempting to move through the air.

St. Mary's was more successful. They picked up 171 of their 209 yards in the first half behind the running of White and Semmes.

Melvindale (10-2) had a golden opportunity to set the tempo on the opening series. Wayne Pettus returned the opening kickoff 49 yards to the St. Mary's 36. Melvindale wasted the field position when it failed to move the ball, then on fourth-and-five got off a 1-yard punt.

St. Mary's quickly showed it would be tough to stop, moving 70 yards on 12 plays, culminating with Semmes' 1-yard run.

The Eaglets opened up a 14-0 cushion on Semmes' second touchdown, this time a 7-yard run to end a 65-yard, 10-play drive.

Melvindale then picked up 64 of its 72 first-half yards on its lone touchdown drive. Jais'son Holt completed 8 of 12 passes on the drive for 62 yards. He also executed two fourth-down plays, including the final one, his 1-yard TD.

The Eaglets answered with a 75-yard drive. This time, they went with a rare pass and sophomore Robert Bolden found Dion Sims down the left sideline for a 38-yard play. Bolden scored on a 3-yard run with 1:10 left in the half.

Holt completed 13 of 28 passes for 104 yards. The Cardinals rushed for 21 yards and had negative yardage until Pettus' 33-yard touchdown run with 2:14 left.

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