Don Horkey | Special to The Michigan Catholic

Detroit — Urging his players to “play hard, have fun and take care of each other” in a pre-game huddle, Coach Al Fracassa summed up: “This is a game you will remember forever.”

Responding with an emphatic “Yes, sir!” the Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice Warriors put their venerable coach’s words into action, defeating arch-foe Novi Detroit Catholic Central, 20-7, in the XLI Catholic League Prep Bowl for the A-B championship at Ford Field.

Fracassa, who will be 81 on Nov. 13, has let it be known this will be his final season on the sidelines winding up 53 years: eight years (1960-1968) at Royal Oak Shrine (44-19-5) and 45 (1969-2013) at Brother Rice (381-98-2).



His overall record of 425-117-7 makes him the winningest coach in Michigan and the sixth best in the USA.

The Warriors’ 9-0 record is their first undefeated regular season since 2006.

Going back to last year’s run for its second straight state title, the squad has won 14 in a row.

But before the No. 1-ranked Division 2 Warriors can begin the quest for a third state championship, they can look back on how they dominated CC, No. 4 ranked in Division 1, particularly in the first half, as probably no team in the Shamrocks’ storied history has ever done.

Brother Rice, who defeated CC five weeks ago on a last-minute score, took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards — the last 32 on a field goal by senior Jason Alessi.

The Warriors put together two other drives totaling 115 yards in 24 plays, but self-destructed in the shadow of the goal line: the first, a 10-minute drive ending on junior quarterback Alex Malzone’s fourth-down pass deflected by a lineman, and the second on an interception in the end zone by CC’s senior quarterback and defensive back, Sean Birney.

Altogether in the game’s first 24 minutes, Brother Rice was on offense for 18:36, but had only three points to show for it.



Catholic Central couldn’t handle the aggressive Warriors’ defensive line, managing nine plays and two punts for a measly 10 yards, using only 5:30 of the clock.

“We didn’t do much when we had the ball,” understated Mach, who is in his 38th year at CC. “They executed their game plan and wore us out.”

A 36-yard run by senior halfback Brian Walker near the end of the third quarter boosted Rice’s lead to 10-0.

In less than 30 seconds, it became more desperate for the Shamrocks when Birney coughed up the ball, recovered by senior defensive back Chris Carter at the 21-yard line.

On the next play, Malzone found senior wide receiver Corey Lacanaria in the end zone to make it a 17-0 margin.

And less than two minutes later, senior safety Charles Gleeson pounced on another Birney fumble, which led to Alessi’s second field goal of the night, a 38-yarder.

Birney, who threw just three passes, all incomplete, in the first three quarters, found his groove in the waning minutes of the game, connecting on five of seven passes in a nine-play, 80-yard drive, the last one an 11-yard TD toss to junior tight end Nick Cococetta.

As expected, the statistics were lopsided in Brother Rice’s favor: 344 yards rushing and passing to CC’s 98. Malzone was 14 of 23 for 162 yards.

His favorite targets, Lacanaria and junior wideout Grant Perry, caught nine of his passes for 134 yards between them.

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Don Horkey is a freelance writer residing in Shelby Township. He may be reached at [email protected].