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9/20/2008-Football
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WARREN -- Quarterback Josh Sinagoga felt the pain in his toes, feet and calves but there was no way the senior from Warren DeLaSalle was going to allow cramps to keep him from taking the snap on the game's most important play.
Sinagoga scored on a 1-yard sneak on fourth down to give DeLaSalle a 34-28 overtime victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary's on Friday in the Catholic League Central Division opener before a sellout crowd at Warren Fitzgerald.
St. Mary's (2-2, 0-1) had the first possession in overtime but its quarterback, Robert Bolden, was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-2.
"They (the coaches) were going to bring in the other quarterback in but I didn't want that," Sinagoga said. "I'm a senior. I wanted to be in there."
It took the officials a few seconds to signal the touchdown as Sinagoga just made it in through a pile of players.
"I knew I was in," he said. "My fullback (Chet Privet) pushed me in."
Sinagoga and Privet earlier teamed on what was the game's most bizarre play. With DeLaSalle (4-0, 1-0) holding a 7-6 lead, it faced a third-and-1 from the St. Mary's 30. Privet took the handoff and as he struggled to get the first down, Sinagoga came from behind and called for the ball. Privet pitched it back with two defenders draped on him and Sinagoga took off to complete a 30-yard touchdown run and a 14-6 lead at the first quarter ended.
"Me and Chet have been playing together since the fifth grade," Sinagoga said. "We know each other so well. I just called for it."
DeLaSalle led 21-12 at halftime as the teams combined for 344 yards. The defenses dominated the third quarter and DeLaSalle took what appeared to be a commanding 28-12 lead on Sinagoga's 5-yard scoring run with 11:13 left in regulation.
St. Mary's, which had gained 5 yards in its previous four possessions, caught fire. Bolden was 8 of 9 passing for 63 yards to lead the Eaglets on an 80-yard scoring drive. Bolden passed 12 yards to Tayler Peruski (9 receptions, 93 yards) for the touchdown and Peruski also caught the conversion pass.
It took St. Mary's less than two minutes to tie the game after forcing a DeLaSalle punt. Sam Fioroni's 8-yard touchdown run completed the 64-yard drive and his conversion run tied it at 28 with 2:04 left.
"We got into a rhythm," St. Mary's coach George Porritt said. "That's what the game is about. Robert got into a rhythm."
Bolden, a junior, showed signs of brilliance in the fourth quarter finishing with 18 completions in 28 attempts for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
Sinagoga rushed for 46 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries and was 7 of 15 passing for 81 yards and two scores.
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