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11/4/07-Football
White makes St. Clair see red
By CHRIS YOUNG/Special to The Oakland Press
ORCHARD LAKE--Although Saturday's district championship game between the Eaglets of Orchard Lake St. Mary's and the Saints of St. Clair may have been less than ideal viewing, what with the 38-7 margin, for the fans wearing the red, black and white of St. Mary's, it was like watching a made-for-TV movie.
In any case, the Eaglets (8-2) dismantled St. Clair to run off to the regional final next weekend when they'll visit Melvindale (10-1).
Despite the big win, St. Mary's coach George Porritt didn't speak like an excited man.
"We did enough to get the job done today," he said.
And the Eaglets' plan of attack was as simple as the statements of their coach -- slam the ball down the Saints' throats, gash them through the air, and hurt them on special teams.
Special teams came first, as Eaglet Suave Lavallis returned a St. Clair punt tot he Saint 15-yard line. Two plays later, Dominique White took a pitch to the outside for the initial score.
White would strike again on the next possession, busting loose for a 26-yard run up the middle.
The Saints' offense had all the get up and go of a Model T, only getting one first down against a St. Mary's defense that swarmed more like hungry attacking hawks than Eaglets.
"I thought they did a nice job of game planning," Porritt said. "It was all a matter of reading keys and such, because St. Clair did a good job of faking the ball."
And that defense would keep the offense in excellent position all day, and get position for White to get a hat trick.
White got his third when he ran to the right, reversed field, and broke off a 31-yard run -- complete with spin move -- for the game-breaking touchdown.
"He's an outstanding runner, and he had that one broken run that I thought was a big run," Porritt said. "That's just something he does. Sometimes, you have to let a runner be a runner."
The Saint defense began to tighten in the second half, trying to claw its way back into the game.
"They're a good team, they fought until the end," Porritt said. "We didn't move the ball very well in the second half, and I thought their defense did a good job."
But the Eaglets did move the ball well enough for Sean Graham to hit a field goal with 52 second left in the third.
And the fourth quarter seemed to be a game of who can have the most turnovers. The Eaglets would win that battle too.
On a Saint fourth-and-4, Eaglet linebacker Justin Semmes picked off the ball and returned it to the St. Clair 19. A few plays after a St. Mary's pitch attempt went wild, giving the Saints the ball at their own 20, St. Clair quarterback Kyle Mahaffy was smashed, and Eaglet defensive tackle Carl Goeckel scooped the ball and rumbled 28 yards for the score.
"That was big for Carl," Porritt said. "He had a scoop and score."
Mahaffy would run a touchdown in with a few minutes left to get the Saints on the board against St. Mary's reserves. But the Eaglets would answer with 32 seconds left when Sam Fioroni ran it in.
The Eaglets now face another flock of birds in the Cardinals of Melvindale.
"We have to find some film on them, all we know is that they're very, very good," Porrit said. "We have to play better."
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