Football - News Football - News
News | Roster | Schedules--Results | Archives
8/29/2008-Football
East Grand Rapids vs. St. Mary's sequel doesn't match the hype
Pioneers romp, 49-14
By MICK MCCABE of The Detroit Free Press
EAST GRAND RAPIDS -- Remember the movie "Caddyshack?"
A classic, right?
Then they made "Caddyshack II." Oops!
"The Sting" was a movie for the ages ... kind of. Then they made "The Sting II."
Do I even have to mention all of the duds that followed the original "Rocky"?
Let's face it, sequels don't make it, and that might be why pairing Orchard Lake St. Mary's and East Grand Rapids on Thursday night might not have been the way to go to begin the season.
There was no way these teams could top last year's incredible 46-39 Division 3 state championship game that took East Grand Rapids a record five overtimes before the Pioneers could leave Ford Field with the state championship trophy.
So they didn't top it. They didn't come close.
East Grand Rapids demolished St. Mary's, 49-14, in a game that wasn't as close as the final score.
Seriously.
The first seven times East Grand Rapids had the ball, it scored.
Seven-for-seven, and it came against a St. Mary's team that began the season ranked No. 7 overall.
"We weren't ready," said St. Mary's coach George Porritt. "We weren't ready, and we played a great team. They took it to us in every facet of the game -- every facet."
The first facet was the running game, which featured "Joe the Show."
That is how they refer to Joe Glendening, East's talented running back who ran for more than 2,000 yards and 39 touchdowns last season.
"The Show" began this season by gaining 133 yards on 22 carries and scoring two touchdowns.
He could have had better stats, but his night ended after the first series of the third quarter.
"Obviously, no one expected that," Glendening said. "It's nothing like last year, but it was a lot of fun. It felt a little better to get a bigger lead this time."
There was an amazing amount of build-up for this game, and it fueled the East players during the off-season that spanned the winter, spring and summer.
"We've been nervous for this game for a long time," Glendening said. "We knew they would want revenge for lat year. We knew they had a ton of studs returning, especially at their skill positions."
East, ranked No. 10 overall, doesn't have as many studs back, but players like junior running back Kirk Spencer and senior quarterback Andrew Thompson surprised a bunch of people.
Spencer, who played junior varsity last season, returned St. Mary's first punt 36 yards to set up his 11-yard touchdown run and had 58 yards and two TDs on six carries.
Thompson was at Ford Field last year as Cal Blair's backup and laughed when asked how close he got to the playing field.
"If Cal went down, it was me," he said, "but other than that, not very close."
Well, Thompson looked like a three-year starter.
He completed five of seven passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns.
"This feels amazing," he said. "This was better than the overtimes, for me it was."
It was an amazing night for everyone at East Grand Rapids, and the Pioneers proved that "Joe the Show" is not a one-man show.
But will we have another sequel at Ford Field in November?
Copyright 2008, St. Mary's Preparatory, Orchard Lake, Michigan. All rights reserved.
No logos, photographs, or graphics on the site may be reproduced without written permission.