East China Twp., Michigan- Pick any one of a dozen superlatives for rain and high school football and insert here. It whipped off the St. Clair River and made simply hanging on to the ball a task.
But host Marine City hung-on to the ball and the victory Friday to secure at least a share of the Macomb Area Conference Gold title with its 28 – 14 win over Eastpointe East Detroit.
Abrams leads Mariners (Photo by ESS)
Both teams came into the contest 3 – 0 in league play. But the #3 ranked Mariners (Div-4) showed why they are ranked as high as #1 by some publications as they used a balance attack to simply wear down the outnumbered Shamrocks. Marine City moves to 4-0, 6-0 while East Detroit falls to 3-1, 4-3.
“Our defense stood the test tonight”, said first year Shamrock Coach Paul Windham. “They probably punted more tonight than they have all season…I’m proud of the effort the kids gave.”
East Detroit played inspired football right from the start as they quickly moved into Mariner territory to start the game. But an interception by junior Nate Moore led to a Jamel Abrams touchdown and a 6 – 0 lead. The Shamrocks blocked junior Cody Archibald’s point-after-kick.
The Mariners again forced a punt and moved to fourth-and-goal from the Shamrock four-yard line only to be stopped by the upstart East Detroit defense. That’s when senior running back Garrett McKay started giving the Mariner defense fits. He ran for 33-yards on the next three carries; but the Shamrocks were again stopped on a fourth down conversion.
Junior quarterback Anthony Nickerson returned the favor for the Mariners as he ran for 28-yards on his next three carries to give Marine City a first-and- 10 from the Shamrock 40-yard line.
He then handed-off to Abrams who broke outside and raced 40-yards for the score. Nickerson rolled out and completed the two-point conversion and the Mariners were up 14 - 0.
The Shamrocks were undeterred. On the ensuing possession, McKay ran the ball four of the first five plays from scrimmage for 21 yards setting up a first and ten from the Mariner 40-yard line. Quarterback Joe McLaren then completed a 22-yard pass and a first and ten from the 18.
His next pass was picked-off; however, as junior Dean Garrison leaped into the air and snatched the ball at the goal line, returning it to mid-field.
Nickerson then threw a ten-yard screen to senior Tony Ellul, added another 22-yard gain on a keeper and a three-yard pass to senior Taylor Smith to set up a field goal try with 5.6 seconds remaining.
Mariners and Shamrocks battle (Photo courtesy of CoachesAid.com)
The rain was a factor as the kick sailed wide-right and the half ended with the Mariners holding a 14 – 0 lead.
Marine City stopped the Shamrocks to start the second half and followed Ellul on a 13-yard gain into East Detroit territory. The Mariners found themselves with a fourth-and-one from the 34 when Abrams rumbled 33-yards to the one. He followed that with a 1-yard score and the Mariners had a 21 – 0 lead.
Marine City added another interception as senior Colby Aures grabbed a pass intended for junior DeYanco Hardwick. But East Detroit stopped the home team again on fourth and short and after trading possessions moved again into Mariner territory. A 26-yard pass and a Hardwick 20-yard gain moved the Shamrocks into the red zone where McKay scampered for the Shamrocks’ first score. The two-point conversion made the score was 21 – 8.
Another Aures interception with 5:05 to play gave the ball to the Mariner offense. Sophomore Anthony Scarcelli scurried on a 26-yard run to just outside the goal line and Nickerson punched it in from there. The Mariner lead was again three scores at 28 – 8.
But East Detroit answered with a quick score of their own behind a 19-yard Hardwick run and a McKay 29-yard direct snap taken into the end zone to make it 28 – 14 with just under three minutes to play.
Any chance of a comeback however was thwarted when the Mariners recovered the on-side kick and ran out the clock to preserve the victory.
Long time Mariner announcer Kevin Zimmerman was happy with the win but already focused on next week; “now we have to get ready for St. Clair” he said.
The Mariners were led by Abrams who rushed for 107-yards on 10 carries and Nickerson who rushed for 55-yards on 15 carries. He also completed four of six passes for 29-yards. Aures led the defense with two interceptions.
East Detroit was led by McKay who rushed for 172-yards on 23 carries.
The Mariners can wrap up their fifth straight league title next week against St. Clair. The Shamrocks host L’anse Creuse.
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