Birmingham Groves remains undefeated with quarterfinal win over Warren De La Salle
The magical season continued for Birmingham Groves football on Friday night.
The undefeated Falcons came up with the clutch offensive plays necessary on the final two offensive drives and held off a Warren De La Salle comeback, knocking off the 2023 Michigan high school football Division 2 runner-up, 21-19, in front of a home crowd at Groves High School.
Groves (12-0) controlled the first half to go ahead 14-7, then stopped the Pilots as they tried to climb back with two second-half touchdowns. The Groves defense came up with a blocked extra point and a stop on a 2-point conversion attempt that proved to be the difference.
"I saw the two linemen bend down and I just jumped over," junior defensive end Dominic Taylor, who got a hand on the extra point block, said. "I was just like, 'I've got to make a play. We got to win this thing.' "
De La Salle cut the lead to 14-13 late in the third quarter, but Groves answered with a long touchdown drive that ended with a touchdown assisted by a referee’s call. On fourth-and-15, quarterback Ryan Counts hit receiver Chris Little in the corner of the end zone, but the receiver was initially ruled out of bounds.
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But the referees consulted and first threw a flag for defensive pass interference, then announced moments later that Little re-established himself after being pushed out of bounds, ruling it a touchdown to make it 21-13. De La Salle answered with a touchdown, but Anthony Bitonti’s 2-point conversion came up a yard short.
"They got the call right," Birmingham Groves head coach Brendan Flaherty said. "We knew that (Little) caught it and there was interference. They pushed him out and he re-established himself back in. We were joyful because we got the pass interference, but we were like, 'Hey, hold on he caught the ball,' so I'll give credit to those refs."
De La Salle head coach Dan Rohn disagreed with the call that ultimately ended the Pilots' attempt at four straight trips to Ford Field.
"We have it on video and it's clearly not," Rohn said. "But they got to make calls and these are supposed to be the best, so I don't know. I'm not going to blame the referees, but it was disappointing that those calls come down and change the game and our seniors don't get to play another day because of it."
Groves salted the final 5 minutes off the clock with a winning drive which included a 12-yard run by Counts to convert a fourth-and-8 and seal a trip to the Division 2 state semifinals against Orchard Lake St. Mary's. The game ended with some pushing and shoving in the handshake line, but it dispersed after a quick heated moment.
Groves holds off second-half rally
De La Salle got a stop and then marched 55 yards to start the second half thanks to some downfield throws from Sante Gasperoni to junior receiver Damion King IV. They connected for 21 yards and converted a second-and-20 and again on a deep crosser for a 20-yard touchdown. But, Groves maintained a lead after junior defensive end Dominic Taylor, who lived in the De La Salle backfield, blocked the extra point.
Groves responded with a 13-play, 75-yard drive featuring 12 runs and one pass to find the end zone to push the lead to 21-13. After slowly moving it downfield on the legs of running back and Toledo commit Noah Sanders, who had 10 carries for 53 yards on the drive, to get down to the De La Salle 11.
"Anything it takes to win, that's where I'm at right now," Sanders said.
The Falcons went backward to the 17 to set up a fourth-and-16. Counts threw a fade to Little, and the Grand Valley State commit was pushed out of bounds, but came back in and caught it in the corner of the end zone, seemingly for a turnover on downs.
De La Salle came back with a 38-yard completion from Gasperoni to wide receiver/linebacker Dalton Drogosh, and after a Groves late hit, Bitonti finished it off with a 9-yard touchdown run, but he was stopped on a 2-point conversion attempt to keep Groves ahead 21-19.
Groves rallies for halftime lead
De Le Salle got the ball first and drove right down the field thanks to a connection between Gasperoni and Drogosh. Gasperoni hit Drogosh on two outs for 14 yards, then found him on a slant which Drogosh turned upfield and turned into a 41-yard touchdown.
Sanders returned the kick to the 45-yard line, then ripped a 28-yard run on the second play and reached the red zone. The Falcons kept it on the ground with a 19-yard end around by Paul Hubbard and Counts snuck it in from the 1 to tie it at 7.
Early in the second quarter, Groves took over at the De La Salle 37 after a short punt following drive-ending penalties, and Counts found wide receiver Noah Woods on a delayed screen for a 32-yard touchdown. Groves had a final chance at a field goal before half thanks to an Aiden Leung interception on a tipped pass, but the 39-yard kick came up short.
Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22, and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Birmingham Groves undefeated with quarterfinal win over De La Salle
