Game Photos | Video
By Vito Chirco, Special to Detroitsports.org
Detroit King played an inspired game in its first contest since tragically losing legendary coach Dale Harvel, and it helped the Crusaders, with Harvel on the back of their jerseys, prevail victorious, 39-0, over the Southfield A&T Warriors.
Both squads went scoreless in the first quarter. However, the Crusaders came out at the beginning of the second quarter firing on all cylinders offensively.
King senior RB Kevin Willis got the Crusaders' first scoring drive started with a few very nice runs, including a 27-yard scamper that got them to the Southfield A&T 45-yard line. The Crusaders eventually got to the A&T 34-yard line, which is where sophomore King passer Dequan Finn connected with Class of 2017 four-star recruit Ambry Thomas for a TD pass that gave King the 7-0 advantage after a successful PAT try.
A&T turned the ball over on its next possession. When King took over, it went back to the ground and to Willis, who had the last two carries of the drive, including a seven-yard TD run.
The standout senior Thomas set up the Crusaders for their next scoring play, as he hauled in a 62-yard reception to put the Crusaders at the four-yard line. None other than Willis, the Crusaders' Legacy Football Most
Outstanding Player, proceeded to punch it in with 4:58 in the half to give King the 19-0 lead after a failed PAT attempt.
Willis wasn't done carrying the load for the reigning Division 2 state champs' offensive attack, either. He carried the rock for 14 yards on the following King offensive possession before cashing in on a 13-yard TD catch that lengthened King's advantage to 27 over the Warriors, 27-0.
Willis had one more reservation for six before relinquishing his reigns on the endzone to an underclassman in sophomore Marvin Grant Jr., who recorded the final TD in King's 39-0 beatdown of A&T in the nightcap of Day 3 of the PKC.
"It's what we usually do," King coach Tyrone Spencer said, talking about the victory. "But it feels good to get that first win off my back, to get the monkey off my back, so to speak.
He added, "And it's good for the kids because it's all about them and for what they went through."
On what the victory meant to the late Harvel, Spencer commented, "I think he's proud, and smiling down right now."
A&T senior DB Marquise Thorn, who was all over the field all game long, received the Legacy Football MOP for the Warriors.
Game Notes
- King RB Kevin Willis had 13 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns plus a TD catch at the end of the first half.
- King scored all of its 27 first-half points in the second quarter.
- King senior Ambry Thomas had 3 catches, 111 yards and one TD through one half and ended the game with the same stats.
- Southfield A&T sophomore QB Sam Johnson was 6-of-19 for 75 yards at the end of the half.
- Willis finished with 20 rushes for 161 yards plus three rushing touchdowns and one TD reception.
- A&T's Johnson finished 7-of-28 for 80 yards and one interception.
- King beat Warren De La Salle, 12-10, in the PKC last season.
