General | August 24, 2018 | 22:52
DETROIT — Davison had to work overtime to receive its paycheck last year against Southfield A&T.
The Cardinals battled for a 56-54 triple-overtime win in last year's season opener against the Warriors.
This time around, despite graduating most of its starters, Davison dominated the highly-touted Warriors to the tune of a 28-6 victory at the 14th annual Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University.
"Not very many people gave us a chance. Our guys did hear about all of their talent. I mean we were ranked something like 75th and Southfield 22nd or 23rd. But our guys stepped up," said first-year Davison coach Jake Weingartz. "Guys like Caleb Smith, Carson McLaughlin, Logan French, Cal Stefanko all stepped up. Carson had two interceptions and we almost had some others. These guys just played a great game against all of their recruits."
McLaughlin had two picks and Stefanko one in the first half, where Davison built a commanding 21-0 lead. The Cardinals' lines controlled play for long stretches.
Meanwhile, Davison's offense made a statement. Game MOP Cannon Hall finished with 74 rushing yards on 23 carries and also finished 9-for-14 passing for 127 yards.
"We know all about their talented players, but I think we have some of our own," noted Hall. "Our defense played great. They gave us a chance.
"We actually like to throw it more than we did, but we moved the ball and scored when we got down (into the red zone)," added Hall.
Hall scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 8:54 to go in the first quarter, and Connor Kenkel's extra point put Davison in the lead for good at 7-0.
Hall plowed through on a 1-yard plunge with 1:08 remaining in the first period, although the point after was blocked.
Davison added to its advantage with 1:08 to go in the first half, this time with Hall hooking up with Brendan Sullivan for a 53-yard touchdown pass and Dylan Johnson hauling in the two-point conversion pass for a 21-0 cushion.
"It's a testament to these kids. We don't have the three-star, four-star, five-star kids on this roster. What we have is 35 grinders out there," said Weingartz. "We have 35 Davison-made kids who just go out there and work hard."
Southfield A&T, which has multiple Division I and Division II recruits, was out of sync offensively.
Junior quarterback Anthony Romphf finished just 8-for-25 passing for 142 yards and was picked off three times. The Warriors had only 49 rushing yards on 17 carries as a team, while Christian Broaden had three catches for 81 yards.
Senior free safety Marcus Fuqua, named Southfield's MOP, finished with nine tackles.
The Warriors spoiled the shutout with 11:47 to play in the game when Romphf found Broaden for a 19-yard touchdown strike to close the gap down to 21-6.
The damage was irreversible.
"We were out of sync a bit. We'll have to watch the film and see what we need to work on to get better," said Southfield coach Tim Conley. "And Hall was a huge difference for them. He was a star."
Hall capped the scoring with 4:31 remaining on a 1-yard touchdown run for Davison.
Senior Michael Jamerson finished with 96 yards on 14 carries for the Cardinals. Stefanko had the other interception for Davison.
BOX SCORE
DAVISON 28,
SOUTHFIELD A&T 6
|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
F |
| D |
13 |
8 |
0 |
6 |
28 |
| SAT |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
SCORING DRIVES
1st Quarter
D — Cannon Hall 4-yard touchdown run (8:54), Connor Kenkel PAT, 7-0
D — Hall 1-yard touchdown run (1:08), PAT missed, 13-0
2nd Quarter
D — Hall to Brendan Sullivan 53-yard touchdown pass (0:54), Hall to Dylan Johnson 2-point conversion pass, 21-0
3rd Quarter
None
4th Quarter
SAT — Anthony Romphf to Aaron Foulks 19-yard touchdown pass (11:47), missed PAT, 21-6
D — Hall 1-yard touchdown run (4:31), Kenkel PAT, 28-6
RECORDS — Davison 1-0; Southfield A&T 0-1
