Devin Church Runs into Record Books in Final Game

DETROIT – Devin Church might have saved his best for last.

In the , the senior running back torched the Lowell defense for 244 yards on the ground and three touchdowns in his team’s 24-14 win. 

“Pretty darn impressive,” Lowell head coach Noel Dean said. “ I don’t want to belittle what they do as a team, but No. 1 is a fantastic football player and I’ve seen some pretty good ones.” 

Dean’s defense came into the game having given up only 995 yards on the ground all season.

The Northern Illinois University-bound back had more than 150 yards by halftime. He scored on a 7-yard run to give Brother Rice an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter. He added a 54-yard touchdown run before the half and then closed out the win with a 15-yard score with 5:55 to go in the game.

If the Red Arrows looked off-balance against the 5-foot-9, 182-pound Church, it's because they were.

“He’s an amazing runner,” Lowell defensive back Renn Osborne said. “Part of that is he gets you off balance waiting for his cutback or his juke move and spin.”

After the game, Church pointed to the team's offensive line as one of the keys to his success throughout the year. 

“I have to give a shout to my line,” Church said after the game. “I couldn’t have done it without them.” 

Church also had . A handful of family members trekked from their native Ohio for Thanksgiving and the finals game.

“This was just awesome! What a great way for him to end his senior year,” Monica Church said of her son. “We’ve waited for this for a long time, and he’s been working so hard all year, so to get this done is awesome.” 

She watched her son carry the ball 33 times in the finals. The only thing that surprised her about the performance was that her son seemed to get a little tired towards the end of the afternoon.

“You could see he got tired a little bit out there today, but they fought through it and played hard the entire game,” Monica Church said. “That’s what you have to do.”

In Brother Rice’s amazing run through the playoffs, Church racked up more than 900 rushing yards and scored 10 touchdowns. His performance in the finals helped him break the school rushing record for yardage.

More than his stats, Church was credited for his leadership. Brother Rice Athletic Director Reg Cavender called Church an important leader on a team that faced its share of roadblocks this season.

“There’s a camaraderie that happens with a team that makes it to the championship level, and then there’s something that transcends that, and that’s family,” Cavender said. “This has become a real band of brothers that faced some adversity and stuck it out together.”

Cavender is referring to a stretch during the regular season where Brother Rice lost four of five games and three of the losses came to Catholic League opponents by two points or less.

“Our schedule definitely prepared us for the playoffs," Church said. "The teams we played in the regular season were just as good as the teams we played in the playoffs.”  

The losses nearly dropped the Warriors out of the playoffs, but Brother Rice wouldn’t lose another game and Church was a huge part of that. Longtime head coach Al Fracassa said Church was leaving the school a “true champion.”

“We wish him the best,” Fracassa said. “I’m going to miss him.”