FOOTBALL: Unbeaten Everest Collegiate shuts down Gabriel Richard for CHSL Cardinal title
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
NOVI — In relative terms, Clarkston Everest Collegiate has quite a track record.
Not only have the Mountaineers enjoyed tremendous success on the gridiron, they have done so only having a football program for eight seasons at the school.
Everest Collegiate added another chapter to its stellar highlight book Saturday at Novi Detroit Catholic Central. The Mountaineers captured their third straight CHSL Cardinal Championship with a resounding 35-0 shutout of Riverview Gabriel Richard.
Everest Collegiate improved to 4-2 all-time against Gabriel Richard, including a 36-35 triumph in the 2018 CHSL C-D Division championship game where the Mountaineers beat the Pioneers on a blocked field goal late in the contest.
Winners of four straight CHSL-Intersectional 2 Division titles, the Mountaineers (6-0) put together a near-goal-line stance, forced three turnovers, gave up only six first downs and yielded only 105 yards of offense in the locking up another league title.
“These guys were called for something by God and I think they feel that call. I just think God has a plan for them and they keep taking it one step at a time,” said Everest Collegiate coach Michael Pruchnicki, the head coach all eight seasons. “We keep believing in each other. We keep winning and it’s fun. We want to make it fun for them.”
Everest Collegiate — which has posted an impressive 59-19 record over its eight seasons and has reached the postseason all eight times — rarely allowed the Pioneers (5-1) to post a threat. Gabriel Richard came in averaging 40.8 points a game and was beating teams by an average of 27 points an outing.
Not this time.
Trailing 7-0 on its second drive, Gabriel Richard drove down to the Mountaineers’ 3 only to turn the ball over on downs with 15 seconds left in the first quarter. The Pioneers ended up turning the ball over on downs twice, punted the ball away three times, lost three fumbles and had another drive stalled by the end of the first half.
“It really comes down to 3-4 plays a game,” said Pruchnicki. “We found those places (to make plays). That goal line stand was huge. Our defense did a wonderful job and stepped up for us.”
Senior quarterback Giovanni Mastromatteo finished 10-for-14 passing for 141 yards and a touchdown pass. It was Mastromatteo’s 28-yard dart to Joey Thibodeau with 6:15 remaining in the first quarter that gave Everest Collegiate the winning points. Thibodeau connected on all five extra points in the contest.
“This (championship) is probably my favorite one. First it was the best of weather. Last year it was raining,” said Mastromatteo, a fourth-year starter at quarterback. “But this one was the most fun because we shut them out. We scored right away with the pass to Joey and we kept it up.”
Senior Jack Lasceski scored on a 58-yard touchdown sprint around left with 10:39 left in the second quarter for the 14-0 advantage. Lasceski added a 1-yard plunge with seven seconds left in the half for a commanding 21-0 lead at the break.
In the second half, senior Jimmy Neme broke loose for a 50-yard touchdown run with 4:22 left in the third quarter, while junior Nathan Beggs scored on a 1-yard run with 0:54 left in the third to kick off the running clock.
Everest Collegiate racked up 362 yards of total offense, including 221 on the ground on 30 carries. Lasceski led the Mountaineers with 133 yards on 10 carries, while Neme had 67 yards on five carries. Thibodeau had a pair of catches for 55 yards.
Defensively, Laceski and fellow seniors Michael McGrath and Johnny Suran each recovered fumbles for Everest Collegiate, which only allowed 17 total yards in the second half.
“We just keep building. The younger kids come in and learn and they keep doing what we ask them to do. That’s helps us as a coaching staff to have those type of (coachable) kids, so it’s nice,” noted Pruchnicki. “We are seeing the results now.”
Entering the postseason above five-hundred for the eighth time, the Mountaineers finished the regular season unbeaten for the first time. The program now has a .757 winning percentage entering the 2020 playoffs.
“It’s nothing that we imagined. We always set our goals high and we try to reach those goals,” said Pruchnicki of his team’s success in its first decade. “We go after them. Hopefully, we’re not done yet.”
With a senior-laden roster of many fourth-year varsity players, Everest Collegiate has goals of something more than just division and CHSL Cardinal titles. The Mountaineers are 4-7 all-time in the postseason, own just one district title and have only reached the regional finals (2017) once in their short history.
“We see ourselves going to the state championship (game),” smiled Mastromatteo. “This year our goal is to get there and hopefully win. For a lot of us this our last ride and that is one of our goals.”
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