Notre Dame Prep blows out Flint Beecher, 54-0
PONTIAC » In the rich history of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep football, a state championship has never been part of it.
Last year, the Irish thought that could finally change.
Instead, Notre Dame Prep fell in the district final to Detroit Country Day, getting beaten in the final minute of the game in a 2114 loss.
The Irish then watched Country Day run their way to the Division 4 state championship, with the remaining opponents not coming closer than NDP to beating the Yellowjackets.
“It hurt our kids. (Country Day) is a great team and Dan (MacLean) is a good friend.
“I was really happy to see him win, but that loss hurt our kids,” Notre Dame Prep eighth-year coach Pat Fox said.
The Irish graduated a number of key skill positions players from that 2020 squad, but the pain of the loss to Country Day drove those returning to come back stronger.
In 2021, Notre Dame Prep has once again established itself as a contender in Division 4.
Currently ranked No. 6 in Division 4, the Irish improved to 7-1 on the season Friday night with a dominant 54-0 win over Flint Beecher.
The Irish have outscored foes 320-82 thus far this season.
“Our kids should be in the conversation (of being the best in D4),” Fox said. “You need a lot of help along the way, but our kids should be in the conversation. We’ve only been beaten by three teams in the state the last three years and all three are great programs. We’ve been very consistent for a long time now and we are blessed to be where we are as a program.”
Those losses are two to Country Day in 2020, one to Powers Catholic in the 2019 regional final, and a 38-30 loss to Division 3’s ninth-ranked team, Harper Woods, this season.
While strong defense has been a staple of Fox’s Irish program for years, it is the NDP offense that has been able to overcome some big graduation losses from the 2020 team.
The Irish haven’t missed a beat offensively this year, averaging 40 points per game.
In Friday’s win over Beecher (4-4), sophomore quarterback Jacob Tuttle threw for 149 yards and four touchdowns, while sophomore running back Brandon Prater rushed for 67 yards and a TD while catching two passes for 54 yards.
Senior Aaron McGhee rushed for 53 yards and a score, while seniors Alex Scherle, William Newman, Michael Sadecki and Christopher Galle each caught touchdown passes.
“We brought back almost our whole offensive line and some kids we really liked at tailback and tight end.
“We have some great tight ends and we have a quarterback that is different than our previous kid, but he does a lot of good things,” Fox said of his offense.
“(Tuttle) runs the offense well, he is accurate with his passes and he moves in the pocket well.
“He does a lot of things right and we couldn’t ask for more from him.”
The defense also got in on the scoring in Friday’s win as Newman had a 40yard interception return for a touchdown, while Galle had a 47-yard pick-six.
Kicker Luke Babich knocked in six extra points as well.
“We were a little sloppy tonight. We made a lot of mistakes early on and missed some spots on defense that we need to clean up,” Fox said of Friday’s performance.
“We have a tremendous challenge next week. It will be a great night for football.”
Up next for the Irish is a trip to Marine City, the fifth-ranked team in Division 5.
Notre Dame Prep is pretty well assured to make its third consecutive playoff appearance and ninth in 13 seasons.
“We have great players in our program.
“Our middle school has been doing a great job and
we have great kids here,” Fox said of why the program has remained consistently successful.
“We develop our players, we don’t acquire players from other schools.
“That’s not how we do things here.
“Our kids have bought into our weight program and have been working hard all summer long at all levels.”
While it’s unclear how the playoff map will look in two weeks, the Irish are motivated to leave the 2021 season feeling much differently than they did last winter.
“They understand how the season ended last year. It was bitter for those kids and a lot of the kids on defense are three-year starters,” Fox said.
“They understand what it takes and where they need to be in the coming weeks.
“I know they will be ready and give everything they have.”