Rockford
Rams 20. Detroit CC Shamrocks 23 Overtime
Rockford stung repeatedly by same trick in 23-20 overtime playoff
loss to Detroit Catholic Central in MLive.com's Game of the Week
Jeff Chaney | The Grand Rapids Press, November 19, 2011 9:44
p.m.
BATTLE CREEK — It was a play that hurt the Rockford football
team all game long — the play-action pass.
Detroit Catholic Central, known for running the ball this season,
worked the play-action pass to perfection on several key plays
throughout the Division 1 semifinal at Battle Creek Central High
School on Saturday, including the last play of the game.
That’s when Shamrocks quarterback Kyle Cooper hit junior
running back Anthony Darkangelo on a 7-yard touchdown pass in
overtime to beat the Rams 23-20.
Rockford had gone up 20-17 just before on a 26-yard Steven Mette
field goal.
“We didn’t get stopped. We kicked a field goal,
but obviously, we needed to stop the play-action pass better,” said
Rockford coach Ralph Munger, whose team ends its season with
an 11-2 record. “But I’m very proud of them. The
kids played hard.”
Prospects looked good for the Rams right away, as senior wide
receiver Brandon Lubenow took the opening kickoff 95 yards for
a touchdown and a 7-0 lead less than 20 seconds into the game.
The Rams increased that lead to 10-0 on their next drive. Mette
connected on a 40-yard field goal after the 13-play drive.
But on the next drive, the Rams’ first mistake
of the game hurt them. Quarterback Mark LaPrairie threw an interception,
giving the Shamrocks a short field to work with at the Rockford
23-yard line.
Four plays later, on a play-action pass, Cooper hit tight end
Matt Doneth on a 9-yard touchdown pass.
The Rams rebounded and drove the ball 69 yards in just under
four minutes, going up 17-7 on a LaPrairie-to-Lubenow 12-yard
touchdown. Lubenow got the catch by getting his toes down and
leaning into the end zone for the score.
The Shamrocks came back on their ensuing drive — going
80 yards on 14 plays — and used a little trickery, as Darkangelo
hit Cooper on a 21-yard halfback pass to the 2-yard line. Fullback
David Houle plunged in from 2 yards out for the score.
The Rams had their chance to score more points
right before the half. LaPrairie marched Rockford down to 9-yard
line with seven seconds to play in the half. But a pass to wide
receiver Justin Wustman in the middle of the field was stopped
at the 1-yard line as time expired, and the Rockford coaching
staff frantically tried to use its last timeout of the half to
get Mette on the field.
“There was still time on the clock when I looked up,” Munger
said.
The referees didn’t see it that way, and the first half
ended 17-14.
The second half saw the Shamrocks use their strong running game
to control the tempo.
“I was really proud of the way my guys just kept coming
back,” Detroit Catholic Central coach Tom Mach said.
The only scoring in the half came on a Alex Kozlowski
27-yard field goal after a 14-play drive went 80 yards and took
almost seven minutes off the clock in the third quarter.
Kozlowski had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but
his kick was blocked with 26 seconds to play, sending the game
to overtime.
“We were fortunate that that field goal didn’t make
a difference,” Mach said. “We knew we were going
to overtime even if something did happen, and it did. But the
kids did a great job of getting back up after that, stopping
(Rockford’s) potent offense and scoring on the pass.”
LaPrairie ended his day by completing 15-of-23 passes for 190
yards and one touchdown. He also threw two interceptions. Rockford’s
rushing attack, affected by injuries during the game, was held
to 93 yards.
Cooper threw for 94 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw
one interception.
