St. Mary's stamps ticket to Ford Field

By ROSS MAGHIELSE

Special to The Oakland Press

FENTON — Orchard Lake St. Mary's started the year 0-2 and had to persevere through a brutal schedule just to qualify for the playoffs. Now, after a 44-27 win over DeWitt in the Division 3 semifinals Saturday, the Eaglets (8-4) are one win away from another state championship.

“We've been battling all year,” St. Mary's senior quarterback Robert Bolden said. “Pretty much everybody doubted us since we lost to East Grand Rapids and Highland Park and were 0-2. Coach Porritt stayed on us all season and nobody gave up. To be in this position right now feels great.”

The Eaglets got off to a fast start, using two first-quarter DeWitt turnovers to take a 16-0 lead after the first 12 minutes. By halftime, St. Mary's held a commanding 30-7 lead and kept DeWitt out of striking distance in the second half to claim the eventual victory.

“I thought our offensive line did a great job and Robert Bolden was just a great football player out there today,” said St. Mary's head coach George Porritt. “The turnovers were a big part of the game and that's what got us going in the right direction.”

On the first play of the game, DeWitt fumbled the ball and Cortez Riley, of St. Mary's, recovered it on the Panthers 21-yard line. That got the scoring started for the Eaglets, as Nathan Parry made a 33-yard field goal to make the score 3-0.

Following the field goal was a 1-yard touchdown run from Enrique Pardo, and then a 29-yard interception return on the next possession by Gary Hunter, to give the Eaglets a 16-0 lead with 1:36 left in the first quarter.

“We are a team that has to pound that ball, and then we got Robert into the offense, and he did a great job for me today. He's done that all three years he's been here,” Porritt said.

Bolden completed 7 of 10 passes for 144 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried the ball eight times for 63 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Bolden's first big play was a 79-yard touchdown pass to Allen Robinson to put St. Mary's up 23-0 at the 9:13 mark of the second quarter. He later threw a 3-yard touchdown pass on a play action route to Christopher Vucinaj, giving the Eaglets a 30-0 lead with 4:31 left before halftime.

“We came out here focused, and I thought our offensive line stepped up big for us,” Bolden said. “They (DeWitt) have got some big D1 guys on their line, and our offensive line stepped up and gave us time to make plays.”

St. Mary's defensive front also turned in an impressive performance. The Eaglets consistently got into the backfield and forced DeWitt quarterback Jimmy Williams out of the pocket. The Eaglets totaled five sacks as a team.

DeWitt's offense, which came into the game averaging an even 46 points per game, struggled to find any rhythm until the second half. The lone first half Panthers touchdown came late in the second quarter on a one-play drive. After taking over on the 24-yard line, Williams launched a 66-yard touchdown pass to Joel Stiffler, making the score 30-7 with 1:27 left before halftime.

The Panthers passing attack did find some life in the second half, and battled its way to three more touchdowns through the air. Yet, St. Mary's was able to answer every score and keep the Panthers out of reach.

“We knew they were going to score points, because that team has scored a lot of points all year,” Porritt said. “We were trying to adjust for that and allow our defense to bend a little bit, but not break. On offense, we had to get first downs and I thought we did that at the start of the fourth quarter.”

In the second half, Bolden scrambled for a 23-yard touchdown run and threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Vucinaj, which made the score 44-19 with 2:06 left. DeWitt scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass, and converted a two-point conversion with just over a minute left to make the score 44-27.

St. Mary's will play East Grand Rapids in the Division 3 state championship game next Saturday.

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