Avolio, Lutheran North rally against Detroit East English for first-round win
By Dan Stickradt
It’s not always the start that counts, but how a team finishes.
Down 22-21 in the third quarter, Macomb Lutheran North scored the game’s final 15 points to post a thrilling 36-22 victory over host Detroit East English Village Academy in a Division 4 pre-district game.
Lutheran North improved to 9-1 on the season and will visit Marysville Friday for the district championship.
With the postseason lights turned on, Lutheran North senior running back Joe Avolio – who missed four games earlier this season with an ankle injury – had one of the best games of his career with 235 rushing yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns to pace the 9-1 Mustangs, whose only loss came in Week 7 to Almont (28-27).
Junior quarterback Owen VanderVlucht finished 6-for-8 passing for 94 yards with one touchdown pass while he added four rushes for 11 and yards and one rushing touchdown. Senior receiver Charlie Bates added seven rushes for 70 yards and had two catches for 44 yards, while tight end Ty Hoef caught a 1-yard touchdown strike from VanderVlucht.
“Getting Joe Avolio back recently was a huge thing for us,” noted first-year Lutheran North head coach Brad Morris. “He missed about the month with a (slightly) broken ankle but came back and he had a 234 rushing yards for us. He had perhaps the best game of his career.”
The Mustangs have now outscored the opposition 338-204, while East English Village finishes 7-3 and with a 265-122 scoring edge. East English’s stingy defense this season simply couldn’t stop Lutheran North down the stretch.
After East English went ahead 22-21 when Caidyn Dent fired a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ke’lahn Thorns and the duo also hooked up for the two-point conversion, Lutheran North went back to work.
Macomb Lutheran North senior tight end Ty Hoef and the Mustangs advanced to the Division 4 district finals Friday with a 36-22 victory over Detroit East English Village Academy. (DAN STICKRADT — MediaNews Group)
“Our lines did a fantastic job in this game,” praised Morris. “We were able to scored on (five) drives) including those two in the fourth quarter and credit goes to the lines because we scored the final 15 points in the game after being down one, 22-21. I thought guys like Frank Ferretti played well on the defensive line and Colin Marth had some nice tackles. Colin had a big sack late in the game. Really, just the whole defense and both our offensive and defensive lines played well.
“That team (East English) has some really nice athletes and I know they have scored a lot of points this season,” added Morris.
Lutheran North led 7-6 after the first quarter, only to see East English rally back with an 8-7 edge in the second quarter to tie the game at 14-14 at the half.
The Mustangs went ahead 21-14 in the third only to see East English take the one-point advantage late in the frame. North answered with two touchdown drives and a two-point conversion to pull ahead by 14 points and cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.
“There have been quite a few games this season where our kids week after week kind of answered the bell and we have some tough kids that aren’t willing to fold,” said Morris. “We had to again reach down in the fourth quarter and find a way to win.”
Article originally posted by The Macomb Daily