FOOTBALL: Country Day rolls over Notre Dame Prep for district title
FOR MORE FOOTBALL COVERAGE: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=Football&x=12&y=12
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
PONTIAC — Sometimes a tornado leaves no warning and can quickly leave a path of destruction.
Birmingham Detroit County Day was such a devastating storm at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep on Friday night.
Although the host Fighting Irish were able to partially recover from a 21-0 first-half deficit, NDP was stuck by another whirlwind in the second half and finally succumbed to the Yellowjackets, 49-27, in a Division 4 district title showdown.
Country Day downed Notre Dame Prep in last year’s D-4 district finals, 14-12, a game that went down to the final minute. This time it was the Yellowjackets that showcased its dynamic offense to oust the Irish for the second straight year.
Senior quarterback Tyler Wiegers, headed for Rutgers next year, finished 15-for-18 passing for 240 yards and four touchdown passes to lead DCD (8-3). Michigan-bound Maurice Ways hauled in nine catches for 191 yards with touchdown catches of 66, 64 and 21 yards.
Richard Wilson, who has committed to Boston College, chipped in with 10 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns for the Yellowjackets, as DCD’s trio of D-I recruits exploited NDP throughout the contest.
UP-AND-BEYOND: Birmingham Detroit Country Day senior Maurice Ways snares this pass with Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Anthony Gunn draped all over him during Friday’s Division 4 district final.s. Photo | Ken Swart, Swart Photography.
“Our offense is really starting to click right now and we’re really dialed in,” said DCD coach Dan MacLean said. “We’ve got some fine players. Maurice is a matchup nightmare for a lot of people and Tyler was on his game. Our offense was really on tonight.”
Country Day struggled in last season’s district win over Notre Dame Prep and came out of the gate this season with a 0-3 record. The Yellowjackets are buzzing right now.
“I think that our guys came with a lot of resolve maybe because of that game (last year),” added MacLean. “They saw maybe how hard Notre Dame played and they amped themselves up a little bit. Once you’ve played somebody, you have more of an idea of how they play and you get a little bit more comfortable with them.”
Still, Notre Dame Prep did not allow the huge early deficit keep it from rallying back.
Down 28-14 at the half, the Irish (8-3) closed to within 28-21 and then to 35-27. Country Day dropped two more funnels in the final eight minutes, tacking on 14 more points to leave the Irish with additional destruction.
Notre Dame Prep scored just before the half when Brenden Newvine hit Reid Siano with a 14-yard TD pass, then opened the third quarter with another touchdown drive, this time with Jermiah Johnson scoring on a 4-yard run to trim the DCD lead down to 28-21.
After Country Day answered with a Wiegers to Mays 21-yard dart for a 35-21 lead, the Irish made another cleanup attempt and scored on Newvine’s 1-yard run which cut the hole down to 35-27 with 10:34 to play.
That was the last ray of hope for Notre Dame Prep.
Country Day, now on a seven-game win streak, closed out with Wilson’s 30-yard sprint for a touchdown and Mike MacLean’s 4-yard TD reception off the arm of Wiegers that turned the game into a 22-point rout.
Yielding 21 points to DCD’s offensive juggernaught in the first 12:20 was a nightmare that Notre Dame Prep coach Kyle Zimmerman wanted to avoid.
“We sure didn’t plan that,” said Zimmerman. “We allowed them to make some big plays and we got down, but we battled back and got within (35-27) in the fourth quarter. What more can you do when you’ve started out like that? We did a great job battling back. I am proud of them for not giving up.”
Newvine finished the night by going 20-for-33 passing for 302 yards and two touchdown passes, including a 5-yard toss to Alex Stuart. Siano caught eight passes for 107 yards, Anthony Gunn had five catches for 112 yards and Johnson added nine carries for 92 yards and had four catches for 45 yards for the Irish.
MacLean finished the night with three sacks and a fumble recovery for DCD. The Yellowjackets sacked Newvine six times during the contest.
Wilson’s scores came on runs of 16 and 30 yards, while Wiegers added a 1-yard touchdown run for DCD. Wilson’s 16-yard blaze and Wiegers’ run gave the Yellowjackets a 14-0 first-quarter lead, while Ways’ long touchdown catches of 66 and 64 yards helped account for a 28-7 lead with 2:30 left in the second quarter.
To submit information to www.northoaklandsports.com, e-mail dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com. To advertise, e-mail advertising@northoaklandsports.com . Follow us on Twitter @LocalSportsFans and more than a dozen other social media networks.
FOR MORE FOOTBALL COVERAGE: http://northoaklandsports.com/?s=Football&x=12&y=12
Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.
Category: Featured Articles, Football, High School, Most Recently Updated Stories, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Prep Wraps, Sport, Top Stories, Uncategorized, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes
