Michigan running back commit Cole Cabana showed what all the hype was about Saturday at the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State's Tom Adams Field.
The senior speedster scored three of his four touchdowns in the first half and rushed for 249 yards on 32 carries as the Dreadnaughts beat Grosse Pointe South 41-21.
"I thought we were a little sloppy in the first half,'' said Cabana. "I'm proud of my O-line. They did an amazing job. It was a fun time. They gave me all the opportunities. I capitalized. We scored 41 points, but we were sloppy. We punted way more times than we needed to. We took the W and we'll keep working and get better. I like getting the ball that many times.''
Cabana wasted no time getting the Dreadnaughts (1-0) on the board, racing from 24-yards out with nine minutes, 16 seconds left in the first quarter to give Dexter a 7-0 lead.
"He's a workhorse; you have to feed him the ball,'' said Dexter Coach Phil Jacobs. "We have to open up a few more holes for him. They closed on him quicker in the second half. We have a young offensive line and they kind of came of age today. Lot of glaring mistakes, but the nice thing is they are fixable mistakes.
South missed a 30-yard field goal with 3:50 left in the first quarter.
South finally found the end zone when Anthony Benard hit Egan Sullivan with a 14-yard score with 6:30 left in the first half. Christian Potts, who failed on a 30-yard field goal, missed the extra point as Dexter kept a 7-6 lead.
Cabana carried the ball 10 straight times on the Dreadnaughts next scoring drive, scoring from 11 yards out to give Dexter a 14-6 lead with 2:03 left in the half.
Showing his versatility, Cabana scored on a 45-yard TD pass from Reeves Taylor with nine seconds left in the half to give the winners a 21-6 halftime lead.
"I'll be more in the passing game this year,'' said Cabana.
Not lost was the play of Michigan State commit Brennan Parachek, who averaged 61 yards per punt in the first half, caught three passes for 32 yards in the first half and was a terror coming off the edge as a defensive end.
"Cole and I have played together since the first grade,'' said Parachek. "I was hoping he'd go to Michigan State, but we'll put that rivalry aside and try to win games together. Anytime he gets the ball you know he can go all the way. We played good ball, and we came out with the win. Defensive end is something I'll play all year to help the team.''
Dexter expanded its lead to 28-6 when Taylor hit a streaking Joey Tessmer down the left sideline with 3:31 left in the third.
Benard kept firing, hitting Ben Domzalski for a 37-yard score with 1:15 left in the third to trim the deficit to 28-14 after Sullivan's two-point conversion run.
Taylor found Tessmer again for a 19-yard pass-run as the Dreadnaughts increased their lead to 34-14 with 9:13 to play.
Cabana capped his big day with a 53-yard burst up the middle with 7:49 left to put him over 200 yards and a 41-14 lead.
