A Lakers player dives for the goal line during Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes' 49-28 victory over Riverview Gabriel Richard for the Prep Bowl C-D championship October 25.Mr. Mack Photography
Detroit — Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes coach Josh Sawicki has turned the Lakers into a championship squad in his short tenure. In Sawicki’s first season, the Lakers claimed the C-D Division championship, and this year was more of the same.
Our Lady of the Lakes (9-0) cruised to its third straight championship with a 49-21 win over Riverview Gabriel Richard on Oct. 25 during the Prep Bowl at Ford Field.
After stumbling on their opening drive, the Lakers went to the air and quickly got on the board. Senior quarterback Clay Senerius found his brother Devin for a 31-yard gain. On the next play, Ryan Kostich punched in a 2-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 7:30 left in the first quarter.
Clay Senerius finished the game with 182 yards, helping him eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in his senior season with 2,042 yards with 24 passing touchdowns.
On Lakes’ next possession, Kostich would find the end zone for his second touchdown of the day. Senerius dropped back and hit Kostich for an 8-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 2:50 left in the first quarter.
Sawicki continued to give Gabriel Richard a steady diet of rushing plays, and Lakers senior Chris Cartier exploded through the line of scrimmage for a 91-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 lead.
Our Lady of the Lakes kept its foot on the pedal as Clay Senerius found Devin once again down the field, this time for a touchdown. Devin rolled into the end zone on a 40-yard reception, which made it a 28-0 lead for the Lakers with 1:05 left in the second quarter.
With time winding down in the second half, the Pioneers (6-3) found the end zone on a deep pass from quarterback Jake Lipetzky to Josh Blaszczak for a 40-yard connection. The score ended the first half with Our Lady of the Lakes ahead 28-7.
Cartier continued his impressive afternoon immediately in the second half with a 56-yard touchdown run just 3:27 into the third quarter to give Lakes a 35-7 lead.
Blaszczak answered with a 2-yard score with 1:29 remaining in the quarter to make it 35-14.
Blaszczak finished with 83 rushing yards, 79 receiving yards and two touchdowns as he was as key figure for Gabriel Richard’s offense.
Cartier wasn’t done for the Lakers, scoring once more when he found a hole and got loose for 58 yards on his way into the end zone. The touchdown gave Our Lady of the Lakes a 42-14 lead with 1:17 to go in the third quarter. Cartier totaled 349 all-purpose yards — 290 rushing and 59 receiving — in the victory, accounting for three Our Lady of the Lakes’ seven touchdowns.
Lipetzky and the Gabriel Richard offense got some positive energy at the end of the game, as the quarterback carried in a score himself. The Pioneers, however, were still down by 21 with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter.
Lakes senior fullback Hunter Hilton scored the final touchdown of the game on his only carry of the night. It was an 8-yard touchdown to give Our Lady of the Lakes a 49-21 lead, which stuck until the final tick.
Both teams will play in the pre-district round of the MHSAA playoffs this weekend; Our Lady of the Lakes is making its fourth consecutive trip to the postseason, and Gabriel Richard is making its second.
Gabriel Richard did take home another prize during the Prep Bowl, winning the inaugural “Champions of Charity” clothing and shoe drive sponsored by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The school, which competed against 24 other local Catholic high schools, collected more than 40,000 pounds of clothing to take home the award.
Evan Petzold is a senior at Macomb Lutheran North High School and writes about Catholic League sports for The Michigan Catholic’s website. For full reports on the other two Prep Bowl games, visit www.themichigancatholic.com/features/in-sports.
