SHAMROCKS OVERTAKE LOYOLA TO CLAIM TITLE
NOVI » The dogs were out in force.
They barked. They bit. They hoisted a trophy.
Playing pit-bull tough in all three phases of the game, Novi Detroit Catholic Central raced to a 45-14 roughhousing of Detroit Loyola Saturday afternoon in the Catholic League Championship Game (Bishop Division) to post the historic program’s first CHSL crown in four years.
The 2020 CHSL finals format had the best teamin the Central Division facing the winner of the AA Division, not the No. 1 and No. 2 clubs in the Central squaring off per the traditional pairing.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CHSL’s two championship games were moved from Ford Field to Catholic Central’s stadium, known as “The Elm.”
“Getting to play for a Catholic League title on your homefield, that’s a pretty incredible feeling,” Shamrocks head coach Dan Anderson said. “It’s a strange new world out there, but I’ll take this every season. This is a great group of kids on this team. They put in the work. They deserve this championship.” Saturday’s title for Catholic Central (6- 0) was Anderson’s first as coach. He was the legendary Tom Mach’s top assistant on the program’s last CHSL championship squad back in 2016.
Catholic Central led 38- 0 at halftime. The Shamrocks defense and special teams were primed all day, registering two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two blocked punts in the first ten minutes of action.
Junior quarterback Declan Byle connected with wide receiver Owen Semp for a 12-yard touchdown less than 90 seconds into play after a punt block resulted in the Shamrocks first turnover of the game. Connor Bell’s two short rushing scores (1, 4) in the final minutes of the opening quarter gave Catholic Central a 21- 0 advantage.
Byle (8-of-16, 143 yards) hit tight end Mike Ramirez for a 5-yard touchdown and running back Danny Scott, who returned from an injury Saturday that has kept him out of uniform for the past month, plunged into the end zone to close out the first half with authority. Ramirez caught a 32-yard touchdown from Byle at the 7:52mark of the third quarter. He added a blocked punt.
Shamrocks junior linebacker Jackson Ewald sheeted a fumble recovery and an interception.
“We were bringing pressure all day, the looks we gave them on defense rattled them and kept them off balance,” Ewald said.
Defensive end Sean Field, a rare junior team captain, gave props to his unit for its physicality.
“Helmets were banging, pads were crunching and we were in smashmouth mode,” Field said. “That’s how you wins championships in the Catholic League.”
Field recorded six tackles and a sack Saturday. Ewald tallied seven tackles for the game.
Loyola fell to 5-1 following the loss. The Bulldogs play Division 7 ball, opposed to Division 1 Catholic Central. Loyola’s strong-armed junior field general Anthony Garrett put up 250 yards through the air.