Novi Detroit Catholic Central beats Orchard Lake St. Mary's for A-B title

BY PERRY A. FARRELL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

DETROIT--Senior quarterback Sam Landry completed just one pass for Novi Detroit Catholic Central in the Catholic League A-B Division championship football game Saturday, but it was enough to set up the winning touchdown for the undefeated Shamrocks as they claimed the title with a 7-0 victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary's at Ford Field.

Landry's 25-yard pass to Tom Voutsos gave the Shamrocks (9-0) a first-down at the Eaglets' 14-yard line, and running back Anthony Capatina scored on a 2-yard run with 5 minutes, 37 seconds left for the game's only score.

The Eaglets (5-4) threw a scare into the Shamrocks on the kickoff return when Gary Hunter went 69 yards to the CC 13-yard line. But Penn State-bound quarterback Robert Bolden was intercepted by Butch Herzog on fourth down to end the threat with 4:06 to play.

“I read his eyes the whole way,” said Herzog. “It's an honor to play on this defense. When he (Hunter) got down to our 13, I wasn't worried.”

Said Catholic Central coach Tom Mach: “We played them twice, and we had made a point to keep the ball away from Hunter because he's a great back. We squib-kicked it, and he got his hands on it, but our kicker (Corey Smith) made a great play to get him out of bounds. I can't say enough about the work ethic, the chemistry and determination of this group. Butch came up with a great interception because they could have scored on that play.”

With Catholic Central's stingy defense, it figured to be a low-scoring battle.

Catholic Central had won nine of the previous 16 meetings against St. Mary's, including three straight before Saturday.

Catholic Central's defense had allowed just 17 points in league play and 23 overall this season to rank as one of the best under Mach, in his 34th year.

Bolden spent the first half missing his receivers and struggling to move the ball.

CC's best scoring chance came in the second quarter, after a 25-yard punt set the Shamrocks up at St. Mary's 45-yard line. Catholic Central drove to the 8, but the drive stalled when Landry was sacked for a 9-yard loss. Justin D'Agostino missed a 35-yard field goal.

Defensive dominated through the third quarter, as neither team came close to mounting a scoring threat. The quarter ended on a hard hit by St. Mary's Earnest Thomas that leveled Capatina.

CC missed an opportunity to score when Michael Kinville got behind the Orchard Lake defense at the 5-yard line but couldn't haul in a pass from Landry with 9:05 left in the game. Voutsos made up for that play with his big catch to set up the score.

“It became a game of field position,” said Eaglets coach George Porritt. “They have an outstanding defense, but I thought our defense was great today, too.”

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Novi Detroit Catholic Central's Anthony Capatina finds a lane past Orchard Lake St. Mary's at Ford Field on Saturday. (DAVID KILKENNEY/SPECIAL TO DFP)