SOUTHFIELD — Although Novi Detroit Catholic Central’s senior class has accomplished a lot on the gridiron these past four seasons — 30 victories and counting, earning a state playoff berth each year, winning a district title, and ending Toledo Central Catholic’s 31-game winning streak — their primary team goal each season has been out of the Shamrocks’ reach … up until now.
After beating Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 37-14 Friday night at Lawrence Tech University, Catholic Central clinched the Central Division championship and earned a spot in Prep Bowl LII at the end of the regular season. The Shamrocks (6-0, 4-0) will host Public School League powerhouse Detroit Martin Luther King at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Ford Field.
Catholic Central will play in its first Prep Bowl since 2020. Its most recent appearance came under the old format, when two Catholic League schools qualified for the championship game.
“That’s a great opportunity for us,” senior quarterback and captain Skyler Hunter said. “We’ve never experienced that in our time here. So to do something like that, and also give the opportunity for the younger kids as well, it’s a great team booster.”
With Hunter directing the offense, Catholic Central scored on all three of its first-half possessions to build a 21-0 lead over Brother Rice. The Shamrocks got on the scoreboard when Hunter connected with Samson Gash on a touchdown pass late in the first quarter. Short runs by Jaden Pydyn (1 yard) and Lee Krueger (3 yards) extended CC’s lead in the second.
The Catholic Central attack was so effective that the Shamrocks rarely faced any third-down situations.
“I’ve got to give credit to my O-line for that,” Hunter said. “They gave me plenty of time to make decisions, especially when we were running the ball — they opened the gaps they needed to. It’s always easy when you have a great O-line to execute for you.”
“We want to be in control at all times, and to do that, we’ve got to start fast,” offensive lineman Benny Eziuka said. “We’ve done a good job of that all year. Our offense has probably scored on our first drive every time. Last year, we didn’t really do that, so we paid special attention to it in the off-season.”
Although Brother Rice (2-4, 1-2) closed the gap to 21-7 just 13 seconds before halftime on Brady Thomas’ 14-yard pass to Lucas Wells, Catholic Central grabbed the momentum right back at the start of the third quarter. The Shamrocks only needed three plays to add another score, as Pydyn burst up the middle for 34 yards, making it 28-7.
Catholic Central scored its final touchdown on a highlight play five minutes later. Hunter, scrambling in the backfield to avoid a Brother Rice pass rush, spotted Matthew Williams upfield along the left sideline and dumped the ball off. Williams hauled in the pass and reversed direction across midfield, eventually crossing the goal line near the right corner. The 16-yard touchdown made it 34-7. Ty Goddard added a 31-yard field goal to close out the scoring.
“We wanted to make sure our offense was very potent tonight,” head coach Justin Cessante said. “Typically, the history of Catholic Central is controlling the football, controlling the clock, and we have some weapons to be able to come out here and hurt you in different ways. We continue to progress, and that improvement from our lines, from our backs, our receivers, has really went well this year. I’m really proud of the kids.”
“They were more consistent than we were today,” said Brother Rice head coach Aaron Marshall, who saw the Warriors’ winning streak snapped at two games. “The plays that we get the opportunity to make, we’ve got to make them. We left a lot of points on the board in the first half, specifically, by not making those plays. Against a stout team like this, a veteran team like this, you’ve got to make your plays.”
In any given season, neither Catholic Central nor Brother Rice players need motivation to clash against their archrivals. But Catholic Central had the extra incentive to win Friday.
“We finished the job, and it’s very exciting,” Cessante said. “The Catholic League is one of the toughest leagues in the country. It means something to win the Catholic League. That matters. It’s part of our goals and our steps that we set prior to the season. It’s a great advantage to play in Ford Field during the season, and hopefully get back there in the playoffs.”
Lumen Christi wins AA Division title
While Catholic Central was clinching first place in the Central Division, Jackson Lumen Christi was doing the same in the AA. The Titans rolled to a 63-35 victory over Toledo St. Francis de Sales in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
That’s the most points ever scored in a single game by the 13-time state champions. The Titans put up 28 before the end of the first quarter, and the Knights (5-2, 2-1) couldn’t keep pace.
Lumen Christi, who steamrolled division rivals University of Detroit Jesuit and Dearborn Divine Child in the weeks leading up to Friday’s showdown, won the division with a 3-0 record, and are 5-1 overall. They are in line to play outstate Catholic school Kalamazoo Hackett in the 4:30 p.m. Prep Bowl matchup on Oct. 26.
The Titans made two appearances at Ford Field last year. They defeated Battle Creek Harper Creek, 21-14, in the 2023 Prep Bowl, and retuned a month later to capture the Division 7 state championship, 34-30, over Menominee. It was the second straight state title for Lumen Christi, who won the 2022 championship in a come-from-behind victory over Traverse City St. Francis.
Meanwhile, the first Prep Bowl game, matching the winners of the Catholic High School League’s Intersectional-1 and Intersectional-2 divisions, is the only one yet to be set.
The Intersectional-1 representative should be the winner of the Oct. 11 game between Riverview Gabriel Richard and Macomb Lutheran North. Both teams are 3-0 in league play; Gabriel Richard has won its first six games under new head coach Mark Shea, while Lutheran North is 5-1 overall.
Ann Arbor Fr. Gabriel Richard (5-1, 2-1) has a slim chance of earning the spot at Ford Field, but the Fighting Irish would need Lutheran North to win next Friday, and then beat the Mustangs on Oct. 18.
In the Intersectional-2, Clarkston Everest Collegiate (6-0, 4-0) has pounded its first four divisional opponents by an aggregate score of 186-6 — most recently, 43-0 over Marine City Cardinal Mooney on Saturday. Still, the Mountaineers have to get by Royal Oak Shrine (5-1, 2-1) in a winner-take-all game on Oct. 18.
Shrine has won its last two division games by identical 14-7 scores over Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes and Allen Park Cabrini. Prior to playing Everest, the Knights face off against archrival Madison Heights Bishop Foley (1-5, 0-3) on Friday.
Everest has appeared in five out of the past six Prep Bowls, winning four times, including last year over Lutheran North (35-28) and three in a row over Riverview Gabriel Richard between 2018-20.
This year’s Prep Bowl LII, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, also includes two Catholic Youth Organization championship games, recognition of the Scholastic All-Catholic teams, a tribute to Catholic educators, and pom-pon team performances. Tickets are $10 and available through school athletic departments or Knights of Columbus councils.
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