Stunner! Harrison Falls In District Finals To Brother Rice

FARMINGTON HILLS – The varsity football team isn’t about to offer up any excuses.

A short-handed Hawks team lost in the district finals on Saturday night 30-7 in a stunner to Brother Rice. The loss abruptly ended a 24-game win streak – dating back to the season opener last season – and the team’s hope of a second consecutive Division 2 state title. 

“I think the seniors were 33-1 counting their junior varsity years, but tonight wasn’t their night,” Harrison head coach John Herrington said. “Brother Rice played well in all phases of the game.”

Herrington’s team played without starting quarterback Jake Vento. Injured last week, Vento was in a walking boot and missed the entire game. 

Lamarr Marshall started in Vento’s place, and the inexperienced quarterback struggled. He couldn’t get in a rhythm with his receivers, and he turned the ball over twice. He fumbled on a handoff exchange in the second quarter, then threw an interception to Jordan Rabban.

But the longtime Hawks coach said it wouldn't have made a difference if his team had Vento under center.

“I’m not going to use that (Vento’s injury) as an excuse,” Herrington said. “They just beat us up front, and we couldn’t stop the run so it wouldn’t have mattered.”

Herrington was also without lineman Mario Ojemudia in the first half.  Ojemudia was suspended by the Michigan High School Athletic Association for a rules violation he committed over the summer. 

The senior wore pads at a summer camp, and earlier this week the MHSAA ruled him ineligible for one half.

The 6-foot-3, 230 pound lineman's presence in the second half did little to slow down Brother Rice’s run game. The Warriors dominated the line of scrimmage and scored all four touchdowns on the ground. 

Sophomore Brian Walker scored the first points of the game on a 9-yard touchdown run with 5:35 to go in the first quarter.

Marshall’s interception in the second quarter set up a 25-yard field goal by Jason Alessi at the end of the half to give Brother Rice a 10-0 lead at the break.

The nail in the coffin for Harrison’s comeback hopes was a 60-yard kickoff return by Brian Roney to open the second half. Roney ran the ball down the Harrison sideline to the 10-yard line.

Two plays later, Devin Church scored his first touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run to go up 17-0.

“That pretty much meant we weren’t going to get back in the game,” Herrington said.

It was clear from the minute the teams stepped on the field that Brother Rice hadn’t forgotten about its loss in pre-districts to Harrison last season.

“That was a tough one last year,” Brother Rice head coach Al Fracassa said. “I think I got up everyday thinking about that game for the last year. It was kind of nice that we won tonight.”

Last season, the Warriors had a five-point lead heading into the final two minutes of the game. The Hawks came back by returning two turnovers for touchdowns and escaping with a 37-27 win.

This week at practice the players talked about the devastating loss quite a bit.

“Every day (we talked about it),” Church said. “That was our motivation, the theme was revenge.”

Church, who played in the game last season, finished Saturday with over 150 yards on 30-plus carries and two touchdowns.

He also picked up a key first down on a fourth-and-one in the third quarter. Church ran a toss 11 yards down to the Harrison 4-yard line. The first down helped set up a 5-yard touchdown run from Walker.

Walker’s touchdown capped off a six minute, 59-yard drive and extended Brother Rice’s led to 24-0 with only 2:30 remaining in the third quarter. The sophomore running back also ran the ball well and had two touchdowns of his own.

“The offensive line played great,” Church said. “It was probably one of their best performances all year.”

Brother Rice moves on to regionals for another game against an Oakland Activities Association White opponent. The Warriors will head to Southfield next weekend, time and date to be announced. The Blue Jays advanced by beating 27-9 on Saturday afternoon.

Before starting to game plan for next week, the Warriors are going to celebrate their district title at least for one night.

“They are a class team, a wonderful team, I’m sorry they didn’t have their quarterback there,” Fracassa said. “John Herrington is class guy, and he runs a class program. I’m just proud and honored to have beat this team.”