‘WE HAD TO COME PLAY OUR BEST’
Bishop Foley rolls past Clawson in playoff opener to advance to D6 district final
MADISON HEIGHTS >> Madison Heights Bishop Foley certainly has the talent to put a pointper-minute offense on the field against almost any opponent.
But for the better part of the first half Friday night against Clawson, the Ventures — and Trojans for that matter — were putting forth a penalty-per-minute show for those in attendance. And it wasn’t all that pretty.
The host Ventures overcame some sloppy play early, scoring 28 second-quarter points en route to a 49-7 victory over Clawson in a Division 6 district semifinal game played on their home field.
Senior Gus Toppi scored four first-half touchdowns on the ground, while senior quarterback Angelo Costanza connected with senior Adam Kidder for three more touchdowns, as the Ventures showcased their skill on the offensive side of the ball.
Though Bishop Foley did score on its first two possessions of the game, 9- and 3-yard touchdown runs by Toppi, the two teams combined for nine first-quarter penalties. The Trojans then scored on the first play of the second quarter, on a 10-yard interception return by junior Hayden Stevens, to close the gap to 14-7.
“The first quarter, I don’t think we were really calm,” Bishop Foley head coach Brian Barnes said. “After they scored on that interception, I called the team over and told them to settle down. We had three quarters left to play. You’re dealing with high school kids. They’re excited and their emotions are going and all that stuff. But we ended up doing OK.”
That they did.
Bishop Foley answered Clawson’s touchdown with a score of its own. Costanza hit Kidder for a 29-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 with just over nine minutes to play in the half. The Ventures would go on to score three more times, all three coming in the final 3:39 of the second quarter.
Toppi would score his third touchdown from 1 yard out and follow that up with his fourth, just a minute and a half later. That score was set up by a turnover forced by the defense, a fumble recovery by senior Jack Hopkins. The Ventures’ final touchdown came on a 78-yard pass from Costanza to Kidder with just 13.5 seconds left in the first half.
The entire second half was played with a running clock.
Barnes said his team had a good week of practice and was prepared to play Clawson, treating the Trojans like a team that has made the playoffs each of the last five years and eight of the last 10.
“We look at every team in the playoffs as a team that’s here for a reason. We were preparing like everyone is 0-0 and we had to come play our best,” said Barnes, whose team improved to a perfect 10-0 with the win. “We did play very well tonight. This was one of our best games in a while. I’m pretty proud of them.”
Costanza finished the game 17-of-20 passing for 329 yards and three touchdowns. Kidder caught eight passes for 207 yards and three scores. Toppi had 116 yards rushing and four touchdowns. Hopkins led the defense with five tackles, seniors Ethan Connert and Logan Renner each had four and senior Gabe Malinowski three, to go along with a sack.
The Ventures advance to the district final, where they will play the winner of Saturday’s game between Warren Michigan Collegiate (8-1) and Detroit Northwestern (6-3).
Clawson finishes the season 5-5 overall. The Trojans graduate 10 seniors.
“We knew that they were a senior-laden team that had played a lot of games together,” Clawson head coach Steve Haney said. “Our team was playing on fumes out there. Every player out there is a two-way starter for us and we had injuries this week, battled COVID. It was a really challenging week for us, struggling to get better with a lack of bodies out there.
“But take no credit away from (Foley). They’re a good football team. We just have to get a lot better to be able to compete against a team like that.”