It is now the week of Thanksgiving and we have plenty of football to look forward to, from Thanksgiving Day with the Detroit Lions playing the Chicago Bears who are still looking for their first win with a record of 0-9-1, to the Football State Finals this weekend at Ford Field.
Now let’s start with a game recap of the semi-final game that featured the Livonia Franklin Patriots vs the De La Salle Pilots
This game starts off with Pilots getting the ball first, and on their opening drive finding themselves on 3rd down and short near midfield. Brady Drogosh would take the snap and keep this one for himself, as he makes a cut toward the right side of the line with great blocking ahead of him. He would run up the sideline showing off his breakaway speed for a 52-yard touchdown run and the first score of the game! Pilots up 7-0.
Now, Livonia Franklin with the ball on their first possession, quarterback Zack Olesuk would take the snap and drop back as he looks out to the flat for his receiver Dominic Simpson, but #11 Griffin Phillips comes underneath the route and intercepts the ball. Phillips takes this one to the house for a pick-six! Pilots would go up 14-0 within minutes of the start of the game.
After a defensive stop by the Pilots, they get the ball back and now they’re marching down the field. Brady Drogosh takes the snap and hands it off to Roser, who finds a hole right up the gut as he gets untouched for another Pilots touchdown! De La Salle is now up 21-0 at the 1st quarter.
Second-quarter now, both teams have had a defensive stop. The Pilots went deep into the playbook and drew up a well-designed trick play that would end up in a wide-open man down the field, but after Alton McCullum caught the ball he would fumble it and Franklin would fall on top of it for the turnover. The Pilots would stop them and get the ball back to set up this next play where Brady Drogosh takes the snap, drops back, and throws this one deep to Triston Nichols as he makes the catch, then breaks the tackle and finds his way to the end zone for a Pilots score! De La Salle now up 28-0.
On the following kick-off, De la Salle kicks it off to Franklin. Dominic Simpson catches it, then takes off toward the left side of the field, finds a gap, and blows by all the Pilot defenders as he has nothing but green field in front of him and would take this into the end zone for Franklin’s first score of the game! Pilots are still up 28-7. Pilots next drive and Brady Drogosh takes the snap, then throws the screen pass to Triston Nichols. Great blocking up front with good vision from Nichols as he makes a cut up the field and heads for the sideline as he gets into the end zone for another Pilots Touchdown! De La Salle Now up 35-7.
Now, Franklin with the ball, and on their very next offensive play, Olesuk drops back and throws this one deep to Brandon Reinten who makes the catch and beats the defender to get into the end zone for the score. Franklin is down 35-14 in the middle of the 2nd quarter.
Pilots back with the ball. Brady Drogosh takes the snap, fakes the hand-off to Roser, and keeps this one for himself. He finds a hole on the right side of the line and bursts right through the line with not one Franklin defender in front of him, as he gets his second rushing touchdown of the day for the Pilots Score! De La Salle up 42-14 going into halftime.
Third-quarter now, and the Pilots are on the goal line. Roser is in the Wildcat formation and takes the direct snap, plowing his way into the end zone for the score! That would be a running clock for the rest of the game as the Pilots would go on to win this one with a final score of 49-14 to advance to the State Finals!
The Pilots improve to 12-0 on the season and now move on to the next round of MHSAA High School Football Playoffs, the State Finals, taking place this Friday, November 26th vs Traverse City Central, 1:00 p.m, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. We’ll have these highlights for you on our next SportsLine Update on TV Warren’s Facebook & Vimeo pages.
This week on SportsLine lookout for the De La Salle vs Livonia Franklin Semi-Finals Football Highlights. I spoke with the head coach of the Pilots, Dan Rohn, about what they need to do to take home the State Championship after getting defeated by Mona Shores last year.
For all episodes of SportsLine & SportsLine Updates, head to https://vimeo.com/showcase/3010561
Right around the corner, we have winter sports happening with the basketball, hockey, and wrestling seasons. We will continue bringing you SportsLine Updates until the holiday break. Once the new year starts, we will continue SportsLine with Paul Smith and Enver Shapllo every Tuesday, to keep you up-to-date with everything in Warren Sports
Now, let’s take a look at some of the hockey scores from the Catholic League.
Hockey Scores
Wednesday, November 17
Grosse Pointe South 1 De La Salle 5
Friday, November 19
Grosse Pointe North 1 De La Salle 9
Upcoming Basketball Games
Cousino Boys vs Avondale – Wednesday, November 24, 11:00 AM
Center Line Girls vs Madison Heights – Tuesday, November 30, 7:00 PM
Cousino Girls vs Roseville – Tuesday, November 30, 7:00 PM
Regina vs Cardinal Mooney – Tuesday, November 30, 6:30 PM
Warren Woods Tower vs Lake Shore – Tuesday, November 30, 7:00 PM
Lincoln vs Fitzgerald – Tuesday, November 30, 7:00 PM
For all scores around the MAC head to http://www.macombmac.misd.net/