DIVISION 1 FOOTBALL: Davison takes down Brighton for first state championship
BY DAN STICKRADT
CORRESPONDENT
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
DETROIT — Last Saturday night, Brendan Sullivan sent a text to his football coach to discuss the upcoming state finals.
It was a simple proposal by the Davison junior quarterback.
“I told him that I wanted the ball,” said Sullivan, who had more than 3,000 passing yards this season and had the save to lead the Cardinals to multiple come-from-behind wins this season. “I want to go out there and do it. I expected to throw the ball (in the finals). I think (with Brighton’s) defense, we saw something there. I think we have better athletes and so we decided to throw it more. I talked to coach about it (beforehand). I said it’s the state championship coach and I want the ball in my hands.
“He has full confidence in me,” continued Sullivan. “I think he admires the leadership.”
Sullivan stepped up and led Davison to its first Division 1 state title in football following a 35-25 triumph Saturday over Brighton at Ford Field.
Second-year Davison coach Jake Weingartz put his trust in his play-maker and the Cardinals stepped up and rallied behind his direction under center to take home the grand prize.
“He told me to trust him,” said Weingartz, “and that he wanted the ball. He had a great game. You need your playmakers to step up and make plays and he did that. They all did.”
Sullivan finished a crisp 14-for-19 passing for 290 yards and one touchdown in the finals. His long was 74 yards— a long-distance bomb in the second quarter to Latrell Fordham — while he added 40 yards on 10 carries for good measure.
Sullivan guided Davison to 441 total-yards-offense — and more importantly the first time in the while tournament where the Cardinals scored first and did not relinquish the lead.
It was the first time in five postseason games that Davison (12-2) grabbed the early lead and held on for the whole contest.
“Oh, yeah — that was huge,” offered Sullivan of scoring first. “Coach talked about us coming out and scoring first because we (trailed) in all of our playoff games. We were able to score right away and build that lead. That gave us some confidence.”
The numbers impressed everyone in attendance and did not go unnoticed, especially by the Brighton coaching staff.
“It’s kind of pick your poison with him,” sighed Brighton coach Brian Lemons of Davison’s Sullivan. “You either stack (against) the run or let him go to the outside with the pass. He was able to hit his receivers today. He’s a very good quarterback.”
Sullivan scored on a 1-yard keeper with 7:23 to go in the first quarter for a 7-0 advantage — and a lead the Cardinals, honorable mention in the final regular season poll, would not surrender.
After Brighton’s Jacob Moraschinelli booted a 21-yard field goal with 9:42 to play in the first half, Davison tacked on a pair of scoring drives to go up 21-3 entering the locker room.
Fordham hauled in the 74-yard pass from Sullivan with 8:08 to go in the second quarter, while Carter Cryderman plowed home on a 1-yard plunge 3:52 before the break.
In the second half, Davison extended its lead to 28-3 with 8:04 remaining in the frame on Sullivan’s second touchdown run, this time from 10 yards out.
Brighton scored three times in the second half, but could not get closer than nine points following Nicholas Nemecek’s 1-yard run and Colby Newburg’s 27-yard TD pass to Nemecek, which closed the deficit down to 28-19 with 4:09 remaining in the contest.
Cryderman added a 1-yard touchdown run for Davison, while Newburg hit Austin Lin for a 3-yard scoring toss in the final minute to cap the scoring for Brighton.
Cryderman finished with 78 yards on 13 carries for Davison. Harrison Terry had six catches for 94 yards, Fordham added four catches for 88 yards and Caleb Smith had 63 receiving yards for the Cardinals. Fordham broke his elbow on the final play of the first half.
Defensively, senior Logan Pasco recorded 16 tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss to lead Davison’s defensive effort. Caleb Smith added nine tackles, Will Watkins had two sacks and Gabe Smith an interception for the Cardinals.
Pasco is headed for Division I Youngstown State, but not before a statement performance in his final high school game.
“This is what we always wanted,” said Pasco, who opened up his debut season with a loss to Brighton at the freshman level in 2016. “This is was our goal all along. I knew I had to step up.”
Davison previously lost in the state semifinals four times — 2008, 2006, 2002 and 1987 — but had only won two postseason games in the previous 11 seasons until this year’s improbable run.
“I think we kind of pioneered some new ground because I think they can make it back next year, too,” added Pasco.
Newburg had 83 yards on 22 carries while passing 16-for-28 for 249 yards for Brighton (12-2), who like Davison did not win a conference title in the regular season. Ruben Salinas added three catches for 78 yards, Lin had 63 yards on five catches and Nemecek recorded three grabs for 53 yards for Brighton, who was making its first-ever appearance in the state title game.
“I’m proud of these guys for battling all the way to the end and never giving up. That’s why we were her today,” said Lemons. “We played our hearts out. We just got beat by a tremendous football team.”
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