Catholic Central Can't Stop Cass Tech for Second Straight Season

The score: Detroit Cass Tech 36, Detroit Catholic Central 21

The star: After sitting out due to injury last year and watching his teammates topple the Shamrocks in the state title game, heavily-recruited sophomore Mike Weber showed what he could do with 186 yards rushing on 20 carries. Meanwhile, senior wide receiver Jourdan Lewis lit up the stat sheet with 101 yards receiving and one touchdown on the Technicians first play from scrimmage. 

The turning point: For as much as Cass Tech was able to do offensively, the turning point may have come on a defensive play. The second Catholic Central offensive possession in the game turned disasterous when senior running back Anthony Darkangelo fumbled a handoff. Senior Technicians offensive lineman Kenton Gibbs recovered and sprinted 58 yards for a touchdown to push the lead to 12-0 with 7:25 left in the first quarter.

The quote: "We knew going in from last year's experience that you can't make mistakes because they have good speed and good athletes and they capitalize well on mistakes. They made a big throw and catch for the first touchdown and then we made a couple of mistakes which they capitalized on. So, then we found ourselves in a hole." — Shamrocks head coach Tom Mach. 

Bottom line: With two state championship titles already under the belts of sophomores Weber and quarterback Jayru Campbell, Cass Tech and head coach Thomas Wilcher are "here to stay," as in contention for any game in the near-future. After a five-loss season, Shamrocks fans may be wondering if they will be, too. However, several juniors on the team including wide receiver/kick returner/quarterback Zach Bock (two touchdowns, 208 all-purpose yards) showed promise on Saturday that a third straight trip to Ford Field may be a possibility.