St. Mary's looks to break East Grand Rapids curse on Saturday

By KEITH DUNLAP

Of The Oakland Press

ORCHARD LAKE — There probably aren't many black cats or voodoo practitioners strolling around the Orchard Lake St. Mary's campus right now.

However, there is one undeniable curse St. Mary's would like to get off its shoulders: the East Grand Rapids curse.

Mention East Grand Rapids, and it's likely you'll get more of a snarl from a St. Mary's athlete or student than if you said Birmingham Brother Rice or Novi Detroit Catholic Central.

To say East Grand Rapids has been a thorn in the side of St. Mary's is like saying the stork in those Warner Bros. cartoons was a bit tipsy when delivering babies.

“We definitely talk about it since we haven't beaten them in anything so far,” St. Mary's senior quarterback Robert Bolden said. “It's hyped up to where we want to be the first ones to beat them.”

It all started two years ago in the 2007 Division 3 state championship game, when the two schools produced the longest playoff game in state history.

The teams went to five overtimes before East Grand Rapids finally prevailed, 46-39.

The next fall, St. Mary's opened the season with a game at East Grand Rapids. The Eaglets got hammered, 49-14.

This season, St. Mary's once again went out to East Grand Rapids to open the season, and this time managed to make it a closer game.

Unfortunately for the Eaglets, they still lost, 21-7.

St. Mary's misery against East Grand Rapids spread to spring sports earlier this year.

In the Division 2 state boys lacrosse final, East Grand Rapids rallied from a 10-7 deficit going into the fourth quarter and beat St. Mary's in overtime, 13-12.

A week later, the schools met in the Division 2 state baseball final in Battle Creek, with East Grand Rapids recording a 6-0 shutout victory over the Eaglets.

That was the second time during the baseball year East Grand Rapids beat St. Mary's, because the teams played in a Saturday tournament game earlier in the season.

Now, the schools will cross paths again at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday when the Pioneers and Eaglets play in the Division 3 state football final at Ford Field.

“We've got to win one,” St. Mary's head coach George Porritt said. “East Grand Rapids has had our number and we're hoping we can change it. I think the whole school plays a part in it. As soon as they heard EGR, the lacrosse team said something and the baseball team said something.”

As is usually the case, East Grand Rapids has a punishing ground game, led by senior Kirk Spencer, who has rushed for over 2,000 yards this season.

The Pioneers also have a capable passing attack, led by junior quarterback Ryan Elble, who has thrown for more than 1,400 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Coming off a 43-8 semifinal win over Ogemaw Heights, East Grand Rapids is unbeaten on the year and has outscored its opponents, 516-110.

The task is daunting for the Eaglets (8-4), but they feel they have improved throughout the course of the season and are up for the challenge.

After earning a playoff spot with a 4-4 record, mainly because the Eaglets played such a brutal schedule in the regular season, St. Mary's has reeled off four straight playoff wins to get to Ford Field and is looking to win its fifth state title in school history and first since 2000.

If there's something for St. Mary's to build on, it's that they led East Grand Rapids in the first meeting, 7-0. It was the only time this season East Grand Rapids has trailed in a game.

“They're definitely a good team, but at the same time, we've gotten a lot better throughout the year as well,” St. Mary's senior Earnest Thomas said. “I'm sure they have as well. We're a totally different team than we were at the beginning of the year, as far as adjustments we've made. It's going to be a game. It's going to be a real good game, and the team that works the hardest and makes the least mistakes will win. The first game, it wasn't really about what they did. We made some mistakes.”

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