UPDATE: Brother Rice Football Headed to State Finals at Ford Field

WEST BLOOMFIELD – As time ticked down in the second half of the Division 2 state semifinals, so did the Brother Rice High School varsity football team’s substantial lead.

Devin Church said it was almost like revisiting a nightmare.

In the first round against Harrison last year, the Warriors let a lead slip away late in the second half. Longtime head coach Al Fracassa reminded his players of that going into halftime with a commanding 27-7 lead over Detroit Martin Luther King on Saturday.

“When we went into the locker room, coach was saying they can still come back. It’s not over,” Church said. “This is exactly what happened last year. I thought we were up and they came back in the second half. That’s exactly what happened when we came out here. It was a close game.”

The Crusaders scored three unanswered touchdowns, but Brother Rice narrowly escaped with a 27-26 win after an aggressive play call by King’s coaching staff backfired.

“We won the game, I don’t care that it was by half a point,” Fracassa said. “I’m just glad we won.”

Crusaders running back Dennis Norfleet cut the lead down to 27-26 by scoring his third touchdown of the game from 15-yards out with about eight minutes left.

Instead of trying to tie the score at 27, King went for two. In what turned out to be the play of the game, Warriors linebacker Lucas Cherocci stuffed Norfleet in the backfield on the conversion attempt.

Norfleet, who had ran for over 170 yards on the day, had nowhere to go on the direct snap.

“I probably would’ve done the same thing,” Fracassa said. “Because with that running back that they have, that guy could do anything. If I had him I would’ve probably done the same thing.”

The Crusaders missed an extra point on its previous touchdown and the wind had become a factor. By the fourth quarter, the winds were swirling on both sides of the field.

“I’m glad they did it,” Fracassa said, smiling. “And I’m glad we stopped them.”

King had one more opportunity after Brother Rice’s final drive stalled at the Crusaders 6-yard line with 1:48 reamining.

Cherocci came up big again by sacking on quarterback Davon Williams on third down. Defensive back Cody Ellwanger broke up a last ditch pass attempt on fourth down.

Brother Rice allowed as many touchdowns in the second half as it had the entire playoffs. But the defense certainly buckled down when it needed to in order to give the Warriors their first trip to the state finals since beating Hudsonville in 2005.

“We had to toughen it up,” defensive back James Hendrix said. “To get to state we knew what we had to do.”

The Warriors offense did what it had to do all in the first half, scoring on its first five possessions.

Sophomore Brian Walker started things off with a 1-yard touchdown run just four plays into the game. Church set up the score with a long 56-yard run. After a quick three-and-out, Church himself would get in the end zone on a 2-yard run to make it 14-0 in just six minutes.

The Warriors would literally get the ball right back. They regained possession on the ensuing kickoff when the short kick bounced back into their hands off a Crusaders player.

Austin Echols capitalized on the turnover with a 50-yard touchdown run on the next play. Brother Rice kicker Jason Alessi added a pair of 36-yard field goals in the second quarter.

Now, a Warriors team that a lot of people counted out after it made the playoffs with a 5-4 record is headed to the state finals at 9-4.

“I can’t believe it,” Fracassa said. “We won five games in a row now. Everybody counted us out. I’m very proud of my boys.”

Brother Rice will play Lowell at Ford Field on Friday at 1 p.m. Lowell beat Walled Lake Western on Saturday in overtime 42-35.

“They’ve beaten us twice now,” Fracassa said. “Once in the finals and once in the semifinals.”

Fracassa and his team lost to the Red Arrows in the Division 2 semifinals 35-14 in 2009 and 31-14 back in the 2002 finals. Lowell, which lost to Harrison 38-28 last year, is making its third straight finals appearance.

“It’s a dream come true, especially for all the seniors,” Hendrix said.