NOVI — Despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Catholic High School League was still able to make the Prep Bowl football championships work Saturday, Oct. 24 — albeit in a streamlined manner.
Ford Field was not available to host. Spectators were urged to mask up and stay separated. There were no introductions of Scholastic All-Catholic students and football honor teams. And there were no handshakes nor trophy presentations at the conclusion of the two games.
In fact, any display of spectacle was limited to the teams from Novi Detroit Catholic Central and Clarkston Everest Collegiate, who put up lopsided victories in the championship games. Catholic Central won the Bishop Division title with a 45-14 conquest of Detroit Loyola, while Everest made it three titles in three years with a 35-0 shutout of Riverview Gabriel Richard.
The one-sided scores were somewhat surprising, since all four participating teams entered the day with undefeated records (the first time since 1977 that had happened) and each set of opposing teams were noticed for having a similar approach while on offense.
It was Catholic Central’s defense, incidentally, that was responsible for disrupting Loyola and shifting that game into running-clock mode by halftime. The Shamrocks caused five Bulldog turnovers in the first seven minutes of the game — and that put the CC offense in good position to score on short drives.
“I think our defense has been playing well all year; that’s one of our true strengths,” Catholic Central coach Dan Anderson said. “The front four do a great job for us. I thought they put the pressure on them. I thought the defensive backs did a great job as well, but it starts up front. I don’t know how many times we got to them, but we pressured them quite a bit. It’s tough as a high school quarterback when there’s someone in your face every time you’re throwing it.”
Bruno Guberinich, Connor Dewan, Sean Field and Michael Beydoun led the Shamrock pass rush, creating opportunities for turnovers. As a result, Jackson Ewald had an interception and fumble recovery, Mo Jaffer intercepted another pass, and Michael Ramirez blocked two Loyola punts, propelling CC to a 21-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
Owen Semp caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Declan Byle, and Conner Bell scored on two short runs, and the rout was on.
Anderson was somewhat surprised at how one-sided the game ended up being, but said it was also Catholic Central’s best effort all year.
“On film I thought they were a very, very good team. They have some very good players,” he said. “I felt we did a lot of things right, which is where we want to be at this time of year. We’re eliminating some of the mistakes that have slowed us down.”
Loyola, which got its touchdowns in the fourth quarter from Myles McFarlane’s fumble recovery in the end zone and Anthony Garrett’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Jason Hardy, can still benefit from the humbling experience, according to first-year head coach Kevin Rogers.
“Most definitely, we’re far more than what we showed today,” he said. “We’ll take this loss, we’ll learn from it, and we’ll get ready for the (state) playoffs.”
Everest wins third straight crown
In the Cardinal Division championship, Clarkston Everest Collegiate also put up big numbers in its 35-0 shutout of Riverview Gabriel Richard — the third straight year the Mountaineers have turned back the Pioneers.
“It really comes down to three or four plays a game, and we found those plays today,” head coach Mike Pruchnicki said.
Everest struck early, with Joey Thibodeau catching a 28-yard touchdown pass from Gio Mastromatteo on the Mountaineers’ first possession. Everest stopped Gabriel Richard inside the 10-yard line on the ensuing series, and Jack Lasceski scampered 58 yards for a touchdown to put the momentum squarely in the Mountaineers’ favor. Lasceski added a 1-yard touchdown run just 7 seconds before halftime, to make the lead 21-0 at the break.
Even though Lasceski limped off the field with an ankle injury in the second half, Everest added touchdowns from Jimmy Neme (a 50-yard run) and Nathan Beggs (a 2-yard run) to account for the final score.
Like Anderson, Pruchnicki also didn’t expect his game to be so one-sided.
“Tommy (Michaelsen)’s a great football coach and that’s a great Riverview Richard team. Like I said before, three or four plays here or three or four plays there changes the whole outcome of it,” Pruchnicki said. “There’s no magic. It’s football, right?” Blocking and tackling and making big plays, and our kids made them today, so it’s nice to see that.”
Next, all four teams enter the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s post-season tournament, which begins this weekend.
“We’re going to prepare just like we would for any other week,” said Anderson, whose Shamrocks host Walled Lake Northern at 7 p.m. Friday. “It’s the next game up, next man up, and that’s all we care about — the next game — and that’s all we’re preparing for.”
Everest — who will host winless Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest at 1 p.m. Saturday — has its sights on a long playoff run, with a corps of experienced senior skill players.
“We set our goals high and we just try and reach those goals, and we go after them, so we still aren’t done yet,” Pruchnicki said. “We just want to keep going, keep believing and keep trusting.”
