Unlucky break

East Grand Rapids' Kirk Spencer (left) celebrates after making a controversial reception on a fourth down past Orchard Lake St. Mary's defender James Ross during the fourth quarter of Saturday's Division 3 championship game.
The Oakland Press/JOSE JUAREZ

Bounce of epic proportions went EGR's way

By KEITH DUNLAP

Of The Oakland Press

DETROIT — It could go down as the worst ricochet in the history of the Orchard Lake St. Mary's football program.

The timing of it certainly couldn't have been worse, as luck definitely was not on the side of St. Mary's in a 24-21 loss to East Grand Rapids in the Division 3 state final on Saturday night.

With 2:49 remaining in the game, St. Mary's led East Grand Rapids, 21-17, and forced East Grand Rapids into a fourth-and-14 from its own 43-yard line.

Junior quarterback Ryan Elble fired a pass over the middle of the field into coverage, which ended up zooming by his intended receiver.

But the ball then hit the helmet of a St. Mary's defender and popped up in the air, which allowed East Grand Rapids senior Kirk Spencer to make a diving catch of the deflection at the St. Mary's 26-yard line that resulted in a first down.

“It happens,” St. Mary's head coach George Porritt said. “That's just the way it goes. You have to play over those things.”

Unfortunately for the Eaglets, they couldn't.

Four plays later, Elble hit Deon Jobe for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 1:14 remaining that gave the Pioneers a 24-21 lead.

After starting the ensuing drive on its own 20 with 1:08 remaining, St. Mary's moved the ball into East Grand Rapids territory on two passing plays.

But any hopes of a rally ended when the Pioneers recovered a St. Mary's fumble at the East Grand Rapids 42 with 39 seconds remaining.

“It wasn't a planned tip,” Spencer said of the critical completion on fourth down. “It was just luck. I can't say it any other way. I still can't believe it happened. I was in the right place at the right time.”

It was the fourth straight state championship for the Pioneers and the fourth time since 2001 St. Mary's lost a state final, including a five-overtime game to East Grand Rapids in the 2007 Division 3 final.

It's up for debate whether the ricochet cost St. Mary's the game, since East Grand Rapids still had two timeouts left even if the Eaglets had taken over on downs at the 43.

But the odds certainly would've have been in the favor of St. Mary's, which definitely played well enough to win.

St. Mary's outgained East Grand Rapids, 395-371, and took a 21-17 lead with 9:21 remaining on a 3-yard touchdown run by junior Cortez Riley.

After struggling for much of the regular season, St. Mary's senior quarterback Robert Bolden showed why he will play next year at Penn State.

Bolden completed 8 of 13 passes for 161 yards and ran the ball 12 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns, including an 83-yard touchdown run on a quarterback draw in the third quarter that gave the Eaglets a 14-10 lead.

“We just didn't get it,” Bolden said. “We came up short.”

The Eaglets now will turn their attention to next year and another run at what's been an elusive fifth state title in school history.

St. Mary's loses Bolden, senior linebacker Earnest Thomas and senior defensive back Gary Hunter, but should return enough pieces to once again be a factor in the Catholic League and Division 3 state playoffs.

Riley, junior lineman Marcus Gleaves headline a talented group of juniors, while sophomore James Ross could be the next great linebacker at the school.

Ross had 16 tackles in Saturday's loss.

“I'm very proud of my kids,” Porritt said. “That was a great effort by both teams. That was a great football game out there. My kids played superbly out there, but we were just a couple of plays short.”

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