Utica, De La Salle win first football games
Utica made up for lost time on Friday night, and De La Salle got a chance to feel better about itself on Saturday.
The Chieftains missed last week’s football season opener due to a team quarantine and finally were able to take the field against an Anchor Bay squad that was coming off a dominating 40-0 win over Ford.
Utica jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back, crushing Anchor Bay 36-8.
“It feels great,” Utica coach Matt Marulli said. “They’ve been waiting a while to play football and they’ve had to endure a few setbacks. They just wanted to get on the field and play football. They had a lot of energy, made some plays and did a great job.”
On Saturday, De La Salle Collegiate defeated Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 21-13, giving coach Dan Rohn his first Pilots win a week after DLS lost in double overtime to Brother Rice.
Utica raced to a 9- 0 lead as Zach Powrozek scored on a 7-yard run, before a snaponapunt sailed over theTar punter’s head andout of the back of the end zone.
The Chieftain extended that lead to 16-0 when quarterback Brett Berg connected with Powrozek for a 10-yard scoring strike.
“The offensive and defensive lines played great,” Marulli said. “It’s something we stressed the
past week was that Anchor Bay was going to be strong up front and physical. They answered the call.”
Anchor Bay got on the board midway through the second quarter when Ethan Whitley scampered 43 yards for a score. Whitley also ran in the twopoint conversion, cutting the Chieftain lead to 16-8.
Utica answered with a 12-yard scoring runby Sami Elfakir, pushing its edge to 22-7 at halftime.
“We had practices all week that was an indicator of how we played tonight,” Anchor Bay coach Mike Giannone said. “We didn’t have a good practice on Thursday and we didn’t warm up well.”
The Chieftains tacked on two more scores in the second half as Berg scored on a 45-yard QB keeper, and Alessandro VanSimaeys blocked a punt and returned the ball 22 yards for a final TD.
“We got some turnovers and some key defensive stops,” Marulli said. “It got us some momentum. Our defense has some good leaders out there. We just want to get better every week.”
Berg led Utica, completing 8-of-13 passes for 115 yards, and rushed the ball 10 times for 88 yards. Defensively, Berg also recorded an interception.
“We knew that we were going to ask for a lot of things out of (Berg) this year,” Marulli said. “He was a big player for us last year as a junior playing wide receiver and safety. We felt really comfortable with him stepping into the quarterback role and he did a great job. He controls the offense and is a great leader.”
Elfakir added 66 yards on 20 totes for Utica, which improved to 1-0 overall.
Anchor Bay, which fell
to 1-1 overall, was led by Whitley with 150 yards on 15 rushes. Marvitis Dupree II added 31 yards on five carries.
“(Whitley) is really good,” Giannone said. “If it wasn’t for him tonight we might not have gained a yard. We can rush the ball a little bit, but we have work on the passing game and that’s on me. We also have some scheme things that we have to clean up. It’s a lot of work.”
DE LA SALLE COLLEGIATE 21, OLSM 13
JC Ford ran for two touchdowns and Will Beesley for one as De La Salle evened its record at 1-1 with the Catholic League Central Division victory at Wayne State. Tommy Doman kicked two field goals, including a 53-yarder, for Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. Tommy Bauss ran two yards for the Eaglets’ touchdown in the first half.
Doman’s 53-yarder— the kick hit the left upright and then caromed through — cut the Pilots’ lead to 14-10 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Pilots put the game away when Beesley ran out of the Wildcat formation for their third touchdown of the day with 1:42 to play in the fourth.
Doman made his final field goal to cap the scoring.
Ford ran one yard in the first quarter and 16 in the second, and Brady Lowe kicked all three DLS extra points.
“We’re still a young football team, and you’ve got to almost think of these games like scrimmages and preseason, but our defense is keeping us in football games and the offense is growing, doing better,” DLS coach Dan Rohn said. “We’ve still got to do some things, but that’s what practice is for.”
PORT HURON 28, L’ANSE CREUSE 7
PortHuronwon the road game and took a half-game lead in the MAC Blue with a 2- 0 record. Port Huron Northern is 1-0 after winning in Week 2 and missing Week 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
UNIVERSITY LIGGETT 54, MOUNT CLEMENS 0
Visiting Mount Clemens lost in its first game of the season.
CARDINAL MOONEY 7, WATERFORD LAKES 2
BrendanHaisenleder ran 24 yards for a touchdown to cap a long drive in the third quarter as host Cardinal Mooney scored its first victory of the season and its first in the history of its series against Our Lady of the Lakes. Michael Ricard kicked the extra point as the Cardinals (1-1) won the Catholic League Intersectional 2 contest at East
China Stadium. Cardinal Mooney held Lakes under 100 yards for the day and took a safety near the end of the game. The Cardinals play Everest Collegiate next Saturday.
WARREN-MOTT 30, FORD 27
Quarterback James Chaney carried 25 times for 136 yards and three touchdowns and completed nine of 18 passes for 151 yards to spark Warren-Mott. Ben Dillabough’s interception sealed the Marauders’ second MAC White victory in as many games. Richard Manigault rushed 16 times for 140 yards.
‘NChristian Gilbert ran for a touchdown and Kevin Wierzbicki kicked three extra points and a 38-yard field goal.
CENTER LINE 8, CLAWSON 7
Isaac Lazarowicz rushed 12 times for 85 yards and
Mike Klekotka completed 12 of 17 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown to Jayden Freeman to spark Center Line to theMAC Bronze victory. IsaacBanks had seven tackles and Lazarowicz six as the Panthers lifted their record to 2-0 in the division and overall.
MICHIGAN COLLEGIATE 68, DETROIT COMMUNITY 0
Quarterback Deion Black ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, and seven different Michigan Collegiate players scored in the victory that raised the Cougars’ record to 2-0. Michigan Collegiate plays at Detroit Voyager in Week 3.
Volleyball ARMADA QUAD
Lutheran Northwent 3-0, defeating Parkway Christian 25-5, 25-13; Armada 25-13, 25-14, and Cardinal Mooney 25-8, 25-11.
Madisyn Link and Meredith Johnson had 25 digs apiece; Kaylee Lathrop 25 assists and 10 digs; Kiley Comiskey 15 kills, and Julia Valenti 12 kills for the Mustangs (9-1).
Cross country CLEVERLEY INVITATIONAL
Dakota won the girls race with 43 points in the James Cleverley Invitational at Anchor Bay on Friday.
Utica had 53, Eisenhower 73, Anchor Bay 95 and Fraser 142 to complete the top five.
In the boys race, Northville won with 41 points and Saline had 50, Utica 76, Dakota 78 and L’Anse Creuse North 147.
Jayden Harberts of Macomb Dakota was the girls champion in 18:58.0, and Carson Nicoletti of Utica captured the boys race in 15:56.3.