Written Saturday November 20th, at 9:30 PM
What a game, what a showdown, the Dragons are moving on. Only two newspapers, the Oakland Press and North Oakland Sports.com, picked the Dragons to win this game, and it didn't come easy
In the game's finest hour with the Dragons season was on the line, up by three points Detroit Cass Tech just completed a pass from quarterback Keith Moore to Terry Richardson on a fourth down and 13, to the Dragons 13 yard line and the red zone.
As the Technicians got to the Dragon five yard line with 35 seconds left, one play changed everything for two teams, one team saw it's dream move on while the other saw it's season come to an end.
Andrew Shafkalis, a junior, the son of Dragons Boys Basketball Coach Mike Shafkalis, and a transfer from Rochester who converted from linebacker to defensive line ran straight to Detroit Cass Tech quarterback Keith Moore, who was running a quarterback option play to his wide receiver Keenan Smith, separated Moore from the football, causing it to go backwards and then the may-lay started.
The may-lay started when Shafkalis caused the fumble, it rolled a few times to the 25 yard line, then the pile started to see who had the ball, it looked like Detroit Cass Tech had the football but senior strong safety Tyler Misiak got up with the football and sent the Dragon players, coaches, alumni, teachers, staff, and fans into a state of delirium, while the players from Detroit Cass Tech stood there in disbelief and in tears of a perfect season gone away, with 32.8 seconds left in the game.
The Dragons survived the Technicians 24-21 on Saturday at Troy Athens High School in the State Semifinals.
Shafkalis credited the adjustments that he was told by Dragon Coach Chris Bell, after the fumble to reporters, "Coach (Bell) made an adjustment and told me that if they try a counter play like that just go straight to the quarterback and that’s what I did. I made a run at him and was able to get it out of his hands before he pitched it, then my teammates did the rest." Shafkalis said after the game.
Dragon safety Tyler Misiak described what happened on the play after Shafkalis's fumble. "We studied film all week and a slot went in arc motion so I just went and I saw the ball go up in the air. A kid had it on their team but it flipped rolled, flip rolled again. A guy had it on their team again and I just ripped it out of his hands." Misiak said.
The Dragons opportunistic defense took the credit causing pressure all day to Detroit Cass Tech starting quarterback Keith Moore, Moore had threw for seven touchdowns in their last two games, didn't score a touchdown. All of the touchdown's from Detroit Cass Tech came from their star running back Christian Burks. Burks finished the game with 18 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns.
The Dragons did not panic as they started off the game down 7-0 after committing two off side penalties, and a 15 yard touchdown from Burks in the process out of a nine play 61 yard drive. The Dragons first drive went for a fake field goal that failed. The Dragons on their second drive answered on a three play 64 yard drive, led by quarterback Cole Schaenzer, running back Marcus Stevenson and slot receiver Danny Ney. Stevenson scored the Dragons first touchdown from 44 yards out, tying the game at 7-7.
Detroit Cass Tech answered with a scoring drive of their own, resulting in a 46 yard touchdown run by Burks that gave the Technicians a 14-7 lead, however the Dragons answered yet again, quarterback Cole Schaenzer passed to Danny Ney for 25 yards then Schaenzer (who was replacing Sean Charette as we all know with his broken ankle) then threw a 16 yard touchdown pass to his wide receiver replacement Robert Aiello tying the game back up 14-14.
The Dragon opportunistic defense started to get some momentum and some confidence, stopping Detroit Cass Tech's offense, and forcing Detroit Cass Tech to punt with about a minute left in the half. The Dragons then ran the ball with Marcus Stevenson, and went down the field to the Detroit Cass Tech 13 yard line. The Dragons kicker Kyle Searlie then kicked a 31 yard field goal to close out the half and giving the Dragons a 17-14 lead to the half.
In the second half, the Dragons had a long 11 play, 80 yard drive leading to a two yard touchdown run by Marcus Stevenson, Stevenson's touchdown and kick by Kyle Searlie gave the Dragons a 24-14 lead in the third quarter. All the momentum was on the side of the Dragons, everything was going smoothly for the Dragons until the Dragons had a three and out, courtesy of the Detroit Cass Tech defense. The Dragons were forced to punt and Detroit Cass Tech took over at their own 40 yard line.
Detroit Cass Tech wasn't done yet scoring by any means necessary, the Technicians led by the running and athletic ability of quarterback Keith Moore and running back Christian Burks answered early in the fourth quarter with a 60 yard drive of their own with Burks scoring his third touchdown of the game from 15 yards making it 24-21 Dragons with 8:43 left in the game.
The Dragons then went down the field deep into Detroit Cass Tech territory and try to eat up the clock, however the Technician defense stood firm, causing the Dragons to turn the ball over on downs from the Detroit Cass Tech 23 yard line, with three minutes left in the game. Moore and Burks then carried Detroit Cass Tech to the 50 yard line with their own speed and quickness, then they completed the fourth down and 13 throw from the 36 yard line of the Dragons to the 13 yard line, then Moore ran for another 8 yards before the fumble that sealed it.
Dragon coach Chris Bell praised his team after the game and the hard fought victory they had to en-dour. "It came down to the last minute and that’s probably the way a game like this should end,I’m just really proud of our kids, they earned this." Bell said.
Schaenzer finished the game five for 12 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown, got praised from his teammates and his coach about his performance, also there was one key stat, the Dragons did not turn the ball over, that was huge because in Detroit Cass Tech's win over Macomb Dakota in the Regional Final, the Detroit Cass Tech defense caused five turnovers. "Cole played exactly how we thought he would, he was prepared and did a great job. He made some big throws to keep some drives alive and threw a key touchdown pass. Everyone knows we’ve got one of the area’s best quarterbacks in Sean Charette, but we weren’t worried when he went down because we know we’re very lucky to have a guy like Cole to keep this thing rolling." Bell said.
Running back Marcus Stevenson knew he had to carry the ball a lot for the Dragon ground attack but he had a lot of confidence in Cole Schaenzer's performance. "Honestly, I knew I was going to have to carry the rock a lot this week because Shawn was out, obviously, but we have all the confidence in Cole Schaenzer, for me, Coach Bell told me it's not my responsibility to win the game, it's a team effort and it really showed." Stevenson finished the game with 26 carries, 190 yards and two touchdowns.
This loss was so tough for Detroit Cass Tech, players were bummed out, some were crying, their student section, fans, and band were notoriously upset at the outcome. Detroit Cass Tech finished the season at 12-1, and was the best team in the Detroit Public School League.
Detroit Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher said that his defensive adjustments came to late during the game, and if they made them earlier then things would have been different. "We just didn't make the adjustments earlier enough, We didn't control the line of scrimmage the way I thought we could. Our defense woke up too late. They did a good job and we came up short. Today they were the better team. Today they showed why they have a chance to go back" Wilcher said.
Detroit Cass Tech does have several athletes being recruited by Division One schools but today it was the Dragons day to shine and Ford Field will be decked in half of Dragon green. Stevenson added about the athletes of Detroit Cass Tech and having to go up against them, hearing about it all week. "All we've been hearing all week is how many athletes they have, but we have athletes, too, and we move well in space just like they did and it showed. The team that is more physical and fundamental is going to prevail and it showed today" Stevenson said.
The Dragons are now 12-1 on the season, and head to Ford Field for the second time in three years will take on the Plymouth Wildcats (11-2) on Saturday at 1 PM. The game will be live on Fox Sports Detroit, if you can't make it out to Ford Field. The only common opponent that both teams saw this season was Howell, the Highlanders beat the Wildcats 18-10 in week two while the Dragons scrimmaged the Highlanders in the pre-season.
Plymouth plays in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association, they are in it's South Division along with Plymouth Canton, Westland John Glenn, Wayne Memorial, Livonia Franklin, and Livonia Stevenson. The Wildcats finished second in the division behind Plymouth Canton has been riding high lately in the playoffs.
The Wildcats are what you call a team of destiny so far in the playoffs so far. This is Plymouth's first trip to the State finals, and the first in their six year program of Wildcat football.
After dispatching Saline 27-7 in the first round and their first ever time moving past this round, the Wildcats then shocked the entire state by upsetting unbeaten and arch rival Plymouth Canton 17-7 on the road (The Chiefs beat the Wildcats earlier in the regular season 36-0) but were they done upsetting people on the road? nope.
Plymouth then went into Novi to take on the Shamrocks of Novi Detroit Catholic Central. Plymouth and Catholic Central was a defensive slug-fest, however Plymouth relied on their strong field goal kicker Kyle Brindza, he kicked three field goals, all the Wildcats points they scored, including a 28 yard field goal with 39.9 seconds left in the game. The Wildcats went on and shocked defending state champion Novi Detroit Catholic Central 9-7 to capture the regional crown but were they done yet pulling off the upset? not even close.
Plymouth then went to Lansing Everett to complete what was their third major upset of the playoffs, when they ousted the Rockford Rams 20-17. The winning touchdown came from a nine play 83 yard drive with 4.5 seconds left in the game, when Brendan Beyer caught a 26 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shaun Austin from the left corner of the end-zone being double covered in the process.
The Wildcats held a 13-10 lead with 90 seconds left in the game, but the Rams answered back by scoring a 46 yard touchdown to take their first lead of the game 17-13 with 1:19 remaining. However Plymouth living up to their name "The Cardiac Cats" did not give up, or were intimated by the Rams, they used their strength to their advantage which is throwing the ball, to defeat the Rams.
The Wildcats come into this game, averaging 18.2 points per game in the playoffs, while their main strength is their defense, their defense is only allowing 9.5 points per game in the playoffs. The Dragons come into this game, averaging 34.2 points per game in the playoffs, while only allowing 13 points per game in the playoffs.
The main match-up that fans needs to be looking for is the Dragons high power offense vs the Wildcats tough nosed defense, who contained Plymouth Canton, Rockford, and Novi Detroit Catholic Central to 31 points total.
Plymouth is led by their six foot four star wide receiver/defensive end (# 7) Brendan Beyer, as mentioned in the Rockford game, Beyer is going to play defensive end under Rich Rodriguez at Michigan next season. Beyer caught the winning 26 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shaun Austin against Rockford, On the winning touchdown Beyer was double covered by two Rams defenders to the back corner of the end-zone, then he caught it with 4.5 seconds left in the game. He added two sacks against Rockford as a defensive end. Back to the offense, Plymouth's other score against the Rams came from Beyer when he caught a 12 yard touchdown pass from Austin on the Wildcats first series of the game. Beyer had five catches for 105 yards and two huge Wildcat touchdowns in their win over the Rams.
The Wildcats do have a very good field goal kicker, with a good leg in Kyle Brindza (# 27). Brindza has committed to kick at Notre Dame and for head coach Brian Kelly. He has kicked five field goals in the last two games for the Wildcats, whether it's from 20 yards or 50 yards, he is a very good, well rounded, and accurate kicker. Playing indoors means there will be no wind stopping his kicks.
Plymouth does have a good quarterback in Shaun Austin (# 8), he is another reason why the Wildcats are here. Austin was 22 for 37 for 237 yards and two passing touchdowns against Rockford. On the game winning 83 yard drive Austin was six for nine passing passing for all of those 83 yards. He has been playing very well recently, especially going up against three of the toughest defenses in the State in Plymouth Canton, Novi Detroit Catholic Central, and Rockford.
Plymouth does have some nice weapons though in seniors Jake Morris (caught a 15 yard reception, had five catches for 58 yards) and Michael Olevink (had a huge 14 yard reception), both of them caught huge passes to keep the drive alive for the Wildcats against the Rams, Plymouth will pose a huge threat to the Dragons pass defense, however same for the Wildcats who would have to worry about the balance the Dragons have of run and pass.
Saturday should be an interesting game between two teams that weren't suppose to be here, early in the playoffs no one was talking about these two teams in the finals, well here we are, it should be interesting, oh and just a reminder the Dragons will wear white at Ford Field, and it's a white out. GO GREEN.
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