Country Day pitches shutout in D4 semifinal
OKEMOS » The way the play opened up in front on Brandon Mann was like a homerun hitter getting a fastball down the middle in the ninth inning, after getting the sign to lay down the bunt.
With the Birmingham Detroit Country Day Yellowjackets needing just 4 yards to convert a fourthdown play on Williamston’s 21-yard line, allowing them to eat up more of the late fourth-quarter clock, a quarterback draw play opened up so wide in front of Mann that he couldn’t help but swing for the fences.
“Don’t miss, right?” DCDS coach Dan MacLean said of the home-run swing. “It’s a credit to our coaches. They put that in this week, and saw that that play was available (against) an aggressive Williamston defense. It’s just one of those times where you get the right call at the right time. It was the right time to do it.”
Mann found paydirt 21 yards later, and that dagger of a touchdown run — coupled with his interception on Williamston’s ensuing
drive — sealed up a 12-0 Division 4 semifinal win for the Yellowjackets, and a return trip to Ford Field.
“It’s really just thanks to my O-line doing their job up front, honestly. Could’ve driven a car through there. Saw the promised land, and just had to get there to get to the next round,” the junior quarterback said. “I was determined to get in the end zone. Just trust my O-line, and get the job done. … Just a big feeling of relief. All the stress off the shoulders. So happy to be able to get into the end zone, and to
get to the next round.”
The win advances Country Day (8-2) to the championship game for the fifth time since 2007, and ninth time overall. It also gives them an opportunity to put to rest a feeling they’ve been waiting one year, one month and 18 days to bury.
The Yellowjackets will face Cadillac (8-2) in the D4 title game at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The Vikings knocked off Edwardsburg, 28-26, in Saturday’s other D4 semifinal.
“That’s really been what’s been driving us all season, just that heartbreak we felt last year as a team. We knew we didn’t ever want to feel that again,” Mann said of the chance at redeeming themselves after last year’s title game loss. “So we’ve been determined to get back and win this championship.”
Grand Rapids Catholic Central beat Country Day, 44-0, in the 2019 championship game in Division 4, something that’s been hard for the Yellowjackets to forget.
“Coming out here, we didn’t know if we were going to have a chance to go (back). That never leaves you,” DCDS senior Danny MacLean said. “When you go there (Ford Field), you have all this great talk about how great you are, and you get embarrassed in the state championship, that’s always in the back of your head, that’s always — every single week that goes by, we had one single goal in mind. We’re gonna go, but the job’s not done yet.”
It felt like the Yellowjackets might be done in the fourth quarter, having been unable to expand on a 6-0 lead since early in the second quarter, and watching Williamston (9-2) gain momentum.
“Going into half (with a missed opportunity), and then coming out and going three-and-outs, it was like — I don’t want to say it, but a little nervous. We did a good job, we hung in there,” said Danny MacLean, who got the ball back with an interception on Country Day’s’ 37-yard line with 5:17 left, setting up the game-sealing drive. “I mean, I don’t know. I really think that interception — they were driving, we had gone three-and-out consecutively, and we had to get something going. That was big. But it wasn’t just me, it was my whole team. They took away everything else.”
That drive never amounts to much without Mann hooking up for a 30yard completion to Danny MacLean on third-and-11 to keep it alive. The quarterback avoided pressure in the pocket, floated to his left, and found his teammate along the Country Day sideline for the huge gain.
Gabe Winowich capped Country Day’s first scoring drive with a 5-yard TD run just four plays into the second quarter, but the PAT was blocked, leaving the Yellowjackets sitting on a tenuous 6-0 lead for much of the rest of the game.