FOOTBALL: Flint Powers stymies Notre Dame Prep for regional crown
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
PONTIAC — There are no style points in the state tournament.
No bonus points.
It’s a simple formula — win or go home. Just find a way to win and advance.
Flint Powers Catholic’s victory Friday wasn’t one for the ages, but the Chargers still found a way to grind out a 12-9 Division 4 state tournament win over host Pontiac Notre Dame Prep for the regional championship.
Tenth-ranked Powers Catholic advances to the Final Four for the first time since 2015 and moved to 5-7 all-time in regional finals games. The Chargers (10-2) will play in the state semifinals Nov. 23 against the winner of the top-ranked Birmingham-Detroit Country Day (11-0) and fifth-ranked Milan (11-0) regional final at an undetermined site and time.
“We knew this was going to be a grind-it-out football game,” said Powers Catholic coach Jerry Todd. “We knew it would be a four quarters type game and one where we found a way to win in the end.
“Our defense stepped it up. It was a total team defensive effort,” continued Todd. “(Notre Dame Prep) has some really nice players. They are well-coached and they have put up some big numbers all season. It took our best defensive effort to beat them. That is a very good football team.”
Notre Dame Prep scored 450 points over 11 games heading into Friday’s regional final, averaging 40.9 points an outing while giving up 15.1 points a game.
Sixth-ranked Notre Dame Prep (10-2) bows out having reached the elite eight for only the second time in the past 25 years since the school changed names in 1994. Previously, the Fighting Irish reached the regional finals back in 2004.
“I tell you what. This group will go down as the very best in our school history,” said journeyman coach Pat Fox, who is in his fourth campaign with the Irish and turned a 4-5 team into an 10-2 regional finalist team over one year. “We had a great season, won a (district championship) trophy and won 10 games. We had a great season overall.”
Powers Catholic held the Irish to a season-low in total yardage and points. This was only the third time NDP was held to under 30 points and first time to single digits.
“Powers is very good up front. They slowed us down,” continued Fox. “I think, at times, we might have shot ourselves in the foot on a couple of occasions. We had the turnover that led to (their second) touchdown and we had the pass interference call go against us on fourth down. We couldn’t make the stop in the fourth quarter when we needed to. That being said, we lost to a very good team and that (shouldn’t overshadow) everything this team accomplished this season.”
Powers, which had only five yards of offense in the first quarter and 89 yards of offense off two passing plays in the second quarter, finally scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:40 to play. Junior Donovan Franklin scampered through traffic and into the end zone from 8 yards out. Both extra points failed.
The Chargers halted Notre Dame Prep’s ensuing drive when senior Ben McCartney picked off NDP junior quarterback Ben Bendtsen at the Notre Dame Prep 33-yard line with 4:34 remaining. Powers was able to run out the clock after that point.
Franklin scored the first Powers Catholic touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with 39.5 seconds left in the half for a 6-0 lead. The previous play, backup senior quarterback Marcus Groves heaved a 34-yard pass that was hauled in by senior Hollister Fechik at the NDP 1-yard line.
Trailing 6-0 at the half, the Irish finally got on the board when a botched snap on a punt attempt saw John Dreer tackle junior Mason Leubke in the end zone for a safety.
On the next possession, NDP put together a lengthy 18-play, 75-yard drive that took 6:04 off the clock and culminated with senior Connor Gaeschke plowing home from 1 yard out with 10:56 remaining in the contest. Senior Julian Lee’s extra point gave the Irish their only lead at 9-6.
Powers Catholic then put together the game-winning drive on a 12-play possession that spanned 59 yards.
Gaeschke was a work-horse for Notre Dame Prep, rolling up 155 yards on 33 carries. The Irish had 209 yards of offense, as eight plays were for negative yardage including a 20-yard loss on a sack.
Franklin led Powers Catholic with 47 yards on 18 carries. The Chargers had 218 total yards — but 89 of those yards came on the only two completed passes. Powers Catholic had 129 rushing yards using seven ball carriers.
““This was one of those team wins where everyone did their part. We’ll enjoy this and get back to work,” said Todd.
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