NOVI - Down 21 points at the half against Division 1 football powerhouse Novi Detroit Catholic Central, Novi showed it wasn't going to go down quietly, but in the end, the Shamrocks held firm for a 35-21 win.
The visiting Wildcats gave Catholic Central a run, outscoring them 21-14 in the third and fourth quarters after trailing big in the first half, but the Shamrocks were able to seal the deal in Saturday afternoon's D1 district final and eliminate the Wildcats from the postseason for the second straight year.
“I am proud of these kids,” was Novi head coach Jeff Burnside’s message after the game. “There is no quit in them. A lesser group of character kids would have folded at the half and they didn’t.”
The unbeaten Shamrocks got things rolling in the first quarter with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Austin Brown to Isaiah Popp to take a 7-0 lead with 4:15 left in the first quarter.
A second Catholic Central touchdown, this time a 1-yard run by Cameron Ryan, moved the Shamrocks to the 14-0 advantage with 8:51 left in the first half.
Novi appeared to have it's cross-town foe stopped with about three minutes left in the quarter while having a chance to cut into the deficit before halftime, but a roughing the kicker penalty on the Shamrock punt gave the hosts new life on the drive. Brown took advantage and led his team down the field, connecting with Mike Harding on an 11-yard pass with six seconds left in the second quarter to give the Shamrocks a commanding 21-0 lead.
After Catholic Central received the opening kickoff of the second half only to have it's drive stalled, Novi took advantage of the defensive stop and scored on a 5-yard pass from Alec Bageris to Anthony D’Annibale to make it a 21-7 game with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter.
Catholic Central responded with a touchdown connection from Brown to Harding to make it 28-7 with 38 seconds left in the quarter, but the Wildcats battled back and struck eight seconds into the final quarter as Bageris again connected with D’Annibale - this time on a 60-yard pass - to bring Novi back into contention at 28-14.
The teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the fourth quarter in trading a touchdown apiece, and the Shamrocks ended with a 35-21 win and secured a spot in the regional final.
Top offensive performers for Catholic Central included Austin Brown, who led the passing attack in going 12-for-19 for 177 yards and three scores, two of which went to Harding and the third to Popp, while Nick Capatini picked up 60 rushing yards on 14 carries, and Cameron Ryan racked up 56 yards on the ground on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns.
“I think they are both great high school football backs,” CC head coach Tom Mach commented about Ryan and Capatini after the game. "One makes you pay the price and the other one can do a little dancing and get the first down but he is a pretty tough young man too. It is a real luxury and our linemen do a really good job of blocking for them.”
For the Wildcats, Alec Bageris went 16-for-30 for 251 passing yards and three scores. Anthony D’Annibale was on the receiving end of two of those touchdown passes while Traveon Maddox reeled in the third.
Novi finishes it's season with a 6-5 record, while the Shamrocks (11-0) will advance to meet Grandville in next weekend's regional final.
