Catholic Central clinches title share

Tom Markowski / The Detroit News

Novi --Niko Palazeti rushed for 145 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries to lead Detroit Catholic Central to a 27-0 victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary's on Sunday in the 65th annual Boys Bowl.

C.C. (6-0, 3-0) clinched at least a share of the Catholic League Central Division title with the victory, but it paid a price.

Palazeti gained 25 yards on his final carry and suffered a slight separation of his right shoulder on the play. He said the injury wasn't too severe and that he expects to play Friday when C.C. plays Warren DeLaSalle (4-2, 1-2) at Warren Fitzgerald.

"There are no broken bones or anything serious," Palazeti said. "They'll pop it back in place and it should be fine.

"We just played our game today. It's the line and the backs. We pick each other up. It's a lot of fun. We're going to run a 4-3 defense or a 5-2 and we're proud of it. Offensively, we're going to pound it and we're proud of it."

St. Mary's (2-3, 2-1) was shut out for the first time in 123 regular-season games. It was held to 121 yards and six first downs.

C.C. gained 330 yards, 299 on the ground.

"We're playing real good football ," C.C. coach Tom Mach said. "We don't do a lot of stunting. We're playing basic football. We're playing with a lot of savvy and a lot of heart."

Prep Football

No logos, photographs, or graphics on the site may be reproduced without written permission.