DETROIT — As expected, Warren De La Salle and Madison Heights Bishop Foley won their respective championships for the second year in a row in the Catholic League’s Prep Bowl 50 showcase at Ford Field last Saturday.
The Pilots, champs of the Central Division, overwhelmed University of Detroit Jesuit, the AA Division winners, 49-14, for the Bishop trophy.
Bishop Foley, Intersectional 1 champs, made a fast start hold up in trimming Intersectional 2 champs, Marine City Cardinal Mooney, 27-13, for the Cardinal trophy.
With All State Cincinnati-bound Brady Drogosh at the helm, De La Salle charged to a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter and 42-7 at the half. Coach Dan Rohn sidelined his starters for the second half to cheer on the reserves behind four different quarterbacks.
“We had some things to work on and worked on them early in the game,” Rohn explained. “That’s our focus, to get better and get ready for the playoffs. We do everything in our summer routine and our fall routine to try to be the best we can be in October and November. We do that to give us a better chance in the playoffs.”
No. 2-ranked De La Salle (8-1) will face an early rugged test to repeat as Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 titlist Friday, Nov. 4, when it hosts No. 7-rated Grosse Pointe South (6-3) in the opening round of the playoffs.
“I’m proud of our seniors, the way they carried themselves,” said fifth-year U of D Jesuit coach Matt Lewis. “Our seniors helped change a lot of things around our program that didn’t necessarily show up on the field this year. (De La Salle) scored early on a couple of big plays, but I thought our guys didn’t back down. They gave what we asked of them at halftime, to compete and stick together. They didn’t get on each other. Our guys did that, and I’m proud of that.”
The Cubs finished with a 4-5 record.
Bishop Foley senior quarterback Angelo Constanza played a starring role on both sides of the ball. He threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lorenzo Martinez, a 2-yard flip to tight end Adam Kidder, and scored himself from three yards out to build a 20-0 halftime advantage. He and Kidder wound up the Ventures’ scoring with a 48-yard pass play early in the fourth quarter.
Constanza, who also intercepted two passes on defense, ended up with 15 completions in 28 attempts for 302 yards. Kidder caught nine passes for 203 yards.
“The kids came out star-struck,” Cardinal Mooney coach Joe Quesnelle said. “It was their first time in Ford Field.” When the Cardinals won their only Prep Bowl game in 1999, they played in the Pontiac Silverdome.
For their second entrance onto the field, Cardinal Mooney put on a marvelous exhibition of ball control for 10 minutes and 37 seconds that captivated spectators. The Cardinals started with the second-half kickoff on their own 35. Methodically, the team advanced to the Ventures’ end zone in 19 plays, four of them on fourth down to keep the drive alive.
On fourth-and-6, quarterback Brian Everhart scooted for eight yards. On fourth-and-3, running back Brendan Haisenleder picked up four. On fourth-and-2, Everhart squeezed out the two. And on the final fourth-and-2 from the 2-yard line, Haisenleder raced around left end.
Everhart scored the Cardinals’ other touchdown on a one-yard run late in the fourth quarter. Haisenleder, 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, covered 87 yards in 14 carries to improve his season total to 1,903, ranking him near the top of high school rushers in the state.
“We knew they were gonna fight in the second half,” Bishop Foley coach Brian Barnes said. “We had to battle, and we’re proud of how we came through in the end.” The team’s unblemished 9-0 regular season record was a first in the school’s history.
The victory brought tears to Barnes’ eyes. “When you spend as much time with the kids as I do, as teacher and coach, you build a relationship with them. That’s never going to change. I’m happy for them more than anything.”
About his players, Quesnelle said, “They’re resilient. They had a good time coming home on the bus.”
Quesnelle, 69, is in his 43rd year coaching, all but two, in the Catholic League, the last five at Cardinal Mooney.
10 CHSL teams qualify for state playoffs
Here’s the line-up of CHSL teams who qualified to play in the MHSAA football tournament (CHSL teams in bold):
Division 1: Detroit Catholic Central (6-2) vs Dearborn (7-2) @ Dearborn High School (Robert Bridges Track and Field Complex), Friday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 2: Grosse Pointe South (6-3) vs Warren De La Salle (8-1) @ Wayne State University, Detroit, Friday, Friday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 3: Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (3-5) vs Auburn Hills Avondale (6-3) @ Avondale High School, Auburn Hills, Friday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 4: Orchard Lake St. Mary's (3-5) vs Croswell-Lexington (7-2) @ Croswell-Lexington High School Stadium, Friday, Friday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 4: Garden City (6-3) vs Dearborn Divine Child (7-2) @ DCAA Complex, Dearborn, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 6: Clawson (5-4) vs Madison Heights Bishop Foley (9-0) @ Bishop Foley High School, Madison Heights, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 7: Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (7-2) vs Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (4-5) @ Navarre Field, Monroe, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 8: Melvindale Academy for Business & Tech (7-2) vs Riverview Gabriel Richard (6-3) @ Pioneer Field, Riverview, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.
Division 8: Marlette (5-4) vs Marine City Cardinal Mooney (7-2) @ East China Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 29, 1 p.m.
Division 8: Flint Beecher (4-4) vs Clarkston Everest Collegiate (6-3), @ Everest Collegiate, Clarkston, Saturday, Oct. 29, 1 p.m.
TICKETS: All playoff tickets except for finals will be sold online only via GoFan to provide for a cashless and contactless purchasing process. Tickets to district (Nov. 4-5) and regional (Nov. 11-12) games cost $7, and tickets to semifinals (Nov. 18-19) cost $10.
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story reported incorrect dates for some MHSAA tournament games.
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