FOOTBALL: WOLL-ing: Top-ranked Lakers sail past Parkway Christian into regional finals
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
PONTIAC — Sterling Heights Parkway Christian accomplished a feat against Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes Friday that few have done in recent years.
Score on the Lakers in the opening minute of the game.
The quick deficit didn’t phase the Lakers. It simply awoke a sleeping giant.
Top-ranked Our Lady of the Lakes answered with five straight touchdowns in the first half and rolled to a 54-29 victory over Parkway Christian in a Division 8 district finals at Pontiac’s historic Wisner Stadium.
The Lakers (11-0) advance to the regional finals next weekend where they will face Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary at 1 p.m. Saturday at Waterford Lakes. WOLL has not won a regional since 2006.
Senior Chris Cartier was a workhorse behind the Lakers’ attack, as he carried the ball 27 times for 232 yards and six touchdowns. Junior Isaac Oliver added 76 yards on 18 rushes and senior Clay Senerius had 120 passing yards for Our Lady of the Lakes, which chalked up 436 yards of total offense
Defensively, the Lakers forced six turnovers.
Parkway Christian (7-4) got on the board in an instant coffee rush, as junior Jackson Allen returned the opening kickoff 90 yard for pay dirt only 15 ticks into the contest.
“They scored that first touchdown on the first play, and I think we really came together after that point,” said Cartier. “We played better. Our linemen did a great job today. I just followed them.
“I think it helped us a lot (mentally),” added Cartier of the early 7-0 deficit. “I think it will help us out in future games.”
WOLL responded by putting together a nine-play, 71-yard drive capped by Cartier’s 5-yard TD sprint. The PAT failed, but not the Lakers’ offensive machine.
Our Lady of the Lakes’ Ryan Kostich recovered the onside kick on Parkway’s 45-yard line, and five plays later the Lakers took the lead for good on Cartier’s 17-yard touchdown catch off a fade pass from Senerius. Kostich hauled in the two-point conversion pass for a 14-7 advantage with 6:45 left in the opening frame.
Getting the ball back again following senior McLane Burtrum’s fumble recovery on the Eagles’ 38, Cartier struck gold again by scoring on a 36-yard scamper with 5:11 left in the opening frame.
That quickly turned a seven-point deficit into a 14-point advantage in less than seven minutes.
Parkway drove all the way down to Our Lady’s 17, only to have freshman Noah Robak pick off Parkway junior QB Jason Bambrick at the 7.
Eleven plays later, Senerius took a leap of faith and dove high above the line for a 1-yard TD plunge and a 28-7 lead with 5:58 remaining in the second frame.
WOLL forced its third turnover of the half when junior Nick Imbier recovered a fumble on the Parkway 25. Two plays later Cartier scored yet again on a 20-yard sprint for the 35-7 advantage with 4:53 still left in the first half.
Parkway did dent into the lead when Jackson hauled in an 8-yard dart from Bambrick 29 ticks before intermission.
The Eagles would not go away, staying within striking distance in the second half. Parkway’s Caleb Allen returned a fumble 30 yards for the score to close the gap to 35-21 with 7:44 remaining in the third quarter.
“We can’t give up non-offensive touchdowns. We gave up two today,” noted WOLL coach Josh Sawicki. “Fortunately our offense was rolling. But hey, you have to give Parkway some credit. They came out and played a great game plan, made some adjustments. But we were still able to do our thing on offense and scored a lot of points.”
Cartier responded by scoring his fifth TD of the night with 8:12 to play on a 4-yard run up the middle to keep the Eagles at bay.
Cartier later added a 7-yard TD run to up the ante to 42-21, while Parkway’s Montana Essian responded with a 26-yard scamper that made it a 42-29 ballgame with 2:57 left in the third — the most points scored on the Lakers this season.
That was as close as Parkway Christian would get the rest of the way.
Cartier scored on a 4-yard run and Kostich hauled in an a 36-yard heave from Senerius to cap the scoring for Lakes, which has outscored the opposition 474-92 over 11 games this season.
“We’ll be ready to go next week,” added Sawicki. “It won’t get any easier. But we finally got over the hump, having lost in this game the past two years. Now we’ll get ready for Lutheran Seminary.”
Bambrick finished 8-for-23 passing for 101 yards for Parkway, which only amassed 167 yards of offense.
“Whn all said and done you can’t turn the ball over six times and expect to win,” sighed Parkway Christian coach Rob Sanders. “I’m no mathematician, no rocket scientist, but took ourselves out with all of those turnovers. They scored a ton of points off our mistakes.”
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