The Grandville Bulldogs boarded the buses and drove to Detroit on Friday, with their sights set for Cass Tech High School. The Technicians, believed by most to be the best team in the state, were expected to be a formidable challenge for this Grandville team. The Bulldogs showed they had enough fight to compete, but ultimately fell three points short in a 31-28 overtime defeat.
Early in this game, Grandville set the tempo and used that to their advantage. On their opening drive, they took nearly six minutes before Jayden ‘Tank’ Terry crossed the goal line from five yards out. Ahead 6-0, the Bulldogs kept their foot on the gas. Owen Vasquez successfully booted and recovered his own onside kick, keeping the Technicians’ high-powered offense off the field.
Grandville kept the football the entire first quarter, and early in the second quarter, they had a fourth-and-goal at the 3 yard line. Cass Tech’s defense stood tall, yielding a yard but forcing a turnover on downs. Just moments later, their offense would push them in front, as Carson Lovett raced past oncoming tacklers for a 47-yard touchdown carry.
The score would remain 7-6 Cass Tech at the half, as their defense once again stepped up. Grandville again got into the red zone of Cass Tech, but they failed to score in a “goal-to-go” situation.
Coming out of the locker room, Cass Tech struck quickly. Julian Taylor showed his speed with a shifty 41-yard sprint to the end zone. This gave the Technicians their biggest lead of the night, 14-6.
Grandville did have a fairly quick answer, putting together a two-minute scoring drive. Tank Terry looked like Barry Sanders when he magically appeared from a scrum of tacklers, racing fifty yards before being tackled at the one. Braylen Haney capped on the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
After forcing and recovering a fumble at midfield, Grandville regained the lead. DJ Hardiman ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run, pushing the Bulldogs ahead 20-14 with four minutes to play in the third quarter.
The high-powered Tech offense again overpowered the Grandville defense, quickly maneuvering down the field. Julian Taylor returned to the end zone with a 2-yard carry, and Cass Tech again led 21-20.
Grandville would respond, marching down the field. With 9:45 to play, Tank Terry returned to the end zone with a 3-yard carry. The senior tailback completed the Octopus with a conversion run, putting the ‘Dawgs ahead 28-21.
Just 140 seconds later, the game was once again tied. Carson Lovett bowled across the goal line from a yard out, giving the Technicians their equalizer.
Grandville began a methodical march down the field. They picked up a crucial 4th-and-5 at their own 46 with just under three minutes to play. Moments later, they worked their way down to the Cass Tech 10 yard line with 11 seconds left to play. After calling timeout, it appeared that the Bulldogs would merely kick a field goal and try to win this game.
A controversial penalty was called before the next play commenced, with the Grandville kicker allegedly receiving a penalty for failing to wear a mouthpiece. Regardless of the reasoning for the flag, the Bulldogs were forced to go for it instead, and the failed try sent this epic battle to overtime.
Grandville began with the football first, and they got 9.5 yards of positive offense. They were stopped inches from the end zone, coming away with no points. Once again, the Cass Tech defense bent but did not break, holding serve at the goal line. This allowed the Technicians to win the game on their series, booting a 21-yard field goal on fourth down. This kick did not come without their own scares, as Cass Tech fumbled (but recovered) the football on third down.
With the win, Cass Tech improves to 2-0 with those wins coming by a combined four points. Things should lighten up next week, as the Technicians begin PSL play against Renaissance. Grandville slides to 1-1, with OK Red action beginning next week against West Ottawa.
