Prep notebook: Versatile Detroit Catholic Central getting that championship feeling

Dan Anderson spent his first 17 years at Detroit Catholic Central as an assistant coach, then as a defensive coordinator while working under legendary coach Tom Mach.

Anderson worked on a staff that won four state championships (2001, ’02, ’03 and ’09) and lost in another four state title games (2011, ’12, 13, ’16).

Mach retired after the 2016 state title game loss to Detroit Cass Tech with 370 career wins, third most in state history.

Now, Catholic Central is Anderson’s program and he thinks this year’s team is as good or better than the one in 2016 when it won its first 13 games before the 49-20 loss to Cass Tech.

Catholic Central won its first Catholic League championship since that ’16 season with a 45-14 win over Detroit Loyola, then defeated Walled Lake Northern 41-3 in a Division 1 district quarterfinal game.

Catholic Central – 7-0 and ranked No. 14 in The Detroit News Super 20 – will play host to Novi (3-4) in the district semifinals. Novi pulled off a 41-27 upset win over a Brighton team that advanced to the state championship game last season.

Junior quarterback Declan Byle has played at a high level all season, throwing the ball more than in past years for Catholic Central. He has a number of outstanding weapons, including running back Mohamed Jaffer, and receivers Kam Davenport, Sam Dersa and Owen Semp.

More: Michigan high school football playoffs schedule: District semifinals

“He’s (Byle) done a good job delivering the ball, for sure,” said Anderson, who is now in his fourth year as Catholic Central head coach. “This year we’re deeper at the specialty positions than we have been in a long time. We have Kam Davenport and Sam Dersa; both of those guys go both ways at cornerbacks and receiver. We also have Owen Semp, then Brady Blakita at slot, so we have some guys that we can throw to.

“We’ve thrown more than Tom (Mach) did; we’re confident in our quarterback. He does a really nice job for us. Mo (Jaffer), our running back, really sees the field well, makes good cuts and has very deceptive speed. He’s also an outside linebacker for us. We also have Spencer Lyons, who is a sophomore, and junior Connor Bell running the ball for us.”

Catholic Central’s defense has allowed less than 10 points a game, led by Grand Valley-bound lineman Bruno Guberinich and sophomore linebackers Brayden Courser and Baechler Houser.

“Our front four has done a great job for us,” Anderson said. “You have Bruno Guberinich at tackle, then next to him you have Connor Dewan at defensive end, then the other tackle is Michael Beydoun and at end you have Sean Field.”

When asked to compare this year’s team with the ’16 team, Anderson said: “I feel like this is a very similar team, but I feel like we might be a little more diverse because of the passing attack. I feel really confident because our defense is so strong.”

Saline wins with speed

Saline coach Joe Palka is happy his team is getting the opportunity to play teams from the west side of the state instead of having to play Belleville like it did in the first round of the playoffs last season.

Saline has fared much better against teams from the west than the east.

In 2017, Saline had a first-round exit against Canton in Tim Baechler’s final season as Canton head coach.

In 2018, Saline defeated Kalamazoo Central (26-7) and then East Kentwood (42-7) for the district title and Rockford (13-12) for a regional championship before a state semifinal loss to Clarkston.

Last year, Saline suffered a lopsided first-round loss to Belleville, 49-10. This year Saline would not meet Belleville until the state championship game.

Saline – 6-1 and ranked No. 19 by The Detroit News – defeated SEC Red rival Ann Arbor Pioneer 59-7 and will face Ann Arbor Huron (3-2) this weekend with the winner playing the winner of Grand Ledge vs. Holt for the district title. Huron played its first playoff game in 20 years, pulling off a 23-19 upset win over Kalamazoo Central.

“We’re pretty good offensively, we have some weapons between Larry (Robinson) and Josh Rush, and our offensive line is pretty good,” said Palka. “Josh is a 4.4 kid and Larry’s a 4.5 and we have a wide receiver in Nick Walper who is a 10.9 100-meter guy, so we have some great speed on offense. Larry’s accuracy has been phenomenal; he has great pocket presence. He has a good grasp of what we’re trying to do offensively.

“Defensively, we’ve had some kids kind of come out of nowhere and they’re playing well, so we’re better than we thought we’d be. Manny Lupascu is playing phenomenally right now. He plays on the D-line and is running down bubble screen passes. He’s one of those kids who came out of nowhere, kind of non-descript as a junior and is now lightning it up as a senior and is one of our best players. He’s just so fast and physical, really playing with an edge.

“I hope this is a team that makes a deep run. I think we’re capable."

Robinson, a junior, has completed 70 percent of his passes for more than 1,000 yards and 11 TDs.

Saline’s lone loss was a 14-13 setback to No. 18 Grand Blanc in Week 6.

Livonia Churchill ready for rematch

Livonia Churchill entered last year’s postseason opener with Dexter as an underdog, but knowing it could come out on top after playing in the competitive KLAA East division, facing such teams as Belleville, Dearborn Fordson and Livonia Franklin.

Churchill entered last year’s game against Dexter with a 5-4 record, then battled back from a 20-6 first-half deficit to pull out a 41-39 win.

This time around Churchill was one of more than a dozen teams across the state that had a first-round bye due to COVID-19 or for lack of teams in a district, while Dexter defeated Ypsilanti Lincoln 56-28 for its first-ever playoff win. 

“We’re familiar with Dexter, had a great game with them last year and they return their quarterback,” said Churchill coach Bill DeFillippo.

Dexter is led by talented quarterback Colin Parachek, who threw for seven touchdowns in a 70-38 win over Jackson this year.

DeFillippo doesn’t know how his team will react after its bye, but Churchill was the first team in five weeks to score on Belleville, trailing 15-7 heading into the fourth quarter before losing 35-14 in Week 6.

Dexter, 5-2 and second to Chelsea in the SEC White, ended its 42-game losing streak in 2018, finishing 6-4 to make its first state playoff appearance, followed by a 8-2 record last season.

Oak Park, Adams, Novi get upset wins

The word upset isn’t usually associated with teams like Oak Park and Rochester Adams when talking about playoff wins, but that was the case this time.

Oak Park was predicted to be a top-10 team when the season started. However, injuries and other problems resulted in an 0-6 regular season when Oak Park scored just 45 total points.

Oak Park had players return to the lineup in the past couple of weeks, including four-star two-way lineman Rayshaun Benny, and pulled off a 35-27 upset win over a Grosse Pointe South team that competed in the MAC Red and defeated Romeo, Utica Eisenhower and Chippewa Valley.

Michigan State-bound running back Davion Primm rushed for 137 yards and a TD to help Oak Park earn the win.

And then there’s Adams, which had trouble putting a solid four quarters together this season, resulting in a 2-4 regular season while starting five sophomores and a freshman.

Adams found that elusive complete game against previously-unbeaten Rochester Friday, dominating Rochester 39-7 for its 23rd straight win in the series.

How dominating was Adams? It held a 26-0 halftime lead while limiting Rochester – which had averaged 44.5 points – to four yards and no first downs. Adams will play defending Division 1 state champion Davison in a district semifinal.

Novi, which forfeited to Brighton during the regular season due to COVID issues, certainly made the most of its opportunity to play Brighton in the postseason, taking a 27-6 halftime lead, then having Tyler Patrick pounce on a fumble in the end zone with less than six minutes left for a 34-20 cushion after Brighton had pulled within 27-20.

Novi had 461 yards on the ground, averaging 10 yards a carry, led by Maurice Langford’s 215 yards (23 carries) and two TDs.

Woodall continues to pile up yardage

Livonia Stevenson running back Caden Woodall (Harvard) moved closer to 2,000 yards by rushing for 342 yards (20 carries) and five TDs in a 49-13 win over Westland John Glenn.

Woodall had rushed for a school-record 354 yards (27 carries) and six TDs in a Week 6 42-21 win over John Glenn.

Woodall has now piled up 1,923 yards and 30 TDs this season. Stevenson will play at No. 16 Canton (7-0) in a district semifinal.