Week Eleven Recap.

Written Saturday January 16th at 4:30 PM

Week Eleven Scores

WEST BLOOMFIELD 35, Belleville 34 OT

Warren DeLaSalle 26, OAK PARK 20 OT

 

It was a very tight and emotional game at the new St. Baptist Field in Warren on Saturday afternoon between the Knights and the Pilots which would require overtime. Warren DeLaSalle started off strong scoring on a safety off a bad Oak Park punt. Then late in the first quarter Pilots running back Brett Stanley scored a touchdown and added a two point conversion to take a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Glennie Cross took a punt back 33 yards for a touchdown however the two point try failed making the score 10-6 Pilots. The Knights would block a field goal attempt late in the first half to keep the score at 10-6. Warren DeLaSalle answered to start the third quarter behind quarterback Brady Drogaush connected to Alten McCullum making the score 17-6 Pilots. Oak Park needed to respond and respond they did behind the play of quarterback James Burnley as he threw a deep pass and ran deep into Warren DeLaSalle territory. Davion Primm scored a nine yard rushing score but the two point try failed making the score 17-12 Pilots. Cross would pick off Drogaush taking the ball to the 33 yard line. Burnley would then take over with his arm and legs. He scored from five yards out along with the two point conversion connected giving Oak Park a 20-17 lead with six minutes left in the game. The Pilots would drive down the field behind the play of Stanley getting a 22 yard field goal which banged up the upright tying the score at 20-20 with 1:23 left in the game. The Knights had a chance to win the game and were driving but Burnley was picked off by defensive back DeAnte Dantley to force overtime. Oak Park started with the football but Primm fumbled the ball inside the ten yard line which was recovered by Jayden Conklin of Warren DeLaSalle. The Pilots behind Stanley off the wildcat formation scored the winning touchdown from three yards out earning their third straight win over the Knights 26-20 and a trip to the Division Two State Finals in Downtown Detroit where they will have a rematch with Muskegon Mona Shores on Friday afternoon. Oak Park finished the season at 5-6 but they have nothing to be ashamed off especially with this playoff run.

This Division One State Semifinal game became a defensive battle on Saturday afternoon in Belleville and it became a tense drama with both teams wanting to get to Downtown Detroit next weekend. Both defenses played stout in the first half getting two turnovers each. The Lakers struck first as Donavan Edwards thought he had an 84 yard rushing touchdown but was called back for holding but a few plays later Edwards had a 55 yard rushing touchdown for a 7-0 lead which would be the score heading into the half. Belleville came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter when running back Cameron Jones scored a 13 yard touchdown run tying the game at 7-7. Jones answered again with his second touchdown from 65 yards out to give the Tigers a 13-7 lead. Edwards and Dillion Tatum both got hurt in the third quarter but came back into the game and the score read 13-7 heading into the fourth quarter. West Bloomfield would answer on a trick play to start the fourth quarter with wide receiver Semaj Morgan catching a backwards pass from Alex Short and then he threw the football back to Short for a 42 yard passing touchdown for a 14-13 Lakers lead. Belleville answered with a 34 yard touchdown pass from Christian Dhue-Reid to Jeremiah Caldwell off a slant. They added a two point conversion to give the Tigers a 21-14 lead. Edwards would answer for West Bloomfield scoring from 26 yards out to tie the score 21-21 with two and a half minutes to go in the game. The Tigers would then drive down the field aided by a pass interference call on the drive. Belleville would attempt a 38 yard field goal to win the game with 11 seconds left but West Bloomfield Coach Ron Bellamy iced the kicker by using all three of his timeouts. On the next play the Lakers blocked the kick to force overtime. Jones would get his third touchdown of the day in overtime to give Belleville a 28-21 lead. Edwards then answered from five yards out to tie the score at 28-28. Short connected with Maxwell Hairston from five yards out for a 35-28 Lakers lead. Dhue-Reid on the first play from scrimmage answered to Darrell Johnson for a ten yard passing touchdown to make it 35-34 but Tigers coach Jermaine Crowell decided to go for the win with the two point conversion however the West Bloomfield defense held strong and forced an in completion to earn revenge after falling two years straight to Belleville. The Lakers head back to Ford Field for the first time since 2017 and play the defending Division One State Champions Davison on Saturday.