Detroit Catholic Central football downs Novi with strong run game
NOVI, MICHIGAN -- Last week it was freezing cold, windy, and rainy around the mitten state, but this week it was back to warmth just in time for playoff football as No. 22 Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) defeated the Novi Wildcats (6-3) in a district semifinal.
The first half was a combination of dominance from the Shamrocks mixed with penalties from both sides as Detroit Catholic Central took a 28-9 lead heading into halftime with the two sides totaling 11 first-half penalties.
Novi attempted to fight back in the second half as senior quarterback Caleb Walker found senior wide receiver Boden Fernsler twice for touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as Detroit Catholic Central totaled three second-half touchdowns en route to the win.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Pydyn displays his dominance with the football
It was the Jayden Pydyn show on Friday night as the Detroit Catholic Central quarterback totaled 196 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns to lead the Shamrocks over the Wildcats.
Pydyn opened the game on the Shamrocks’ first offensive possession with a 65-yard touchdown run to get the scoring started with eight minutes, 33 seconds left in the first quarter.
With four minutes left in the first quarter, Pydyn found the end zone again from five yards out to extend the Shamrocks’ lead, to 14-3.
The junior running back would then open up the second quarter with a one-yard score to put Detroit Catholic Central ahead, 21-3.
“I run the ball as hard as I can, mostly for our seniors; they’ve been through everything at our school,” Pydyn said. “Our offensive line did an amazing job today. I can’t thank them enough.”
Pydyn would total 186 of his 196 rushing yards in the first half along with three first-half touchdowns.
Shamrocks' defense shows resiliency
The Detroit Catholic Central defense was absolutely resilient.
Although Novi struggled to get points on the board, the Wildcats would total 28:18 of possession time on offense as the Shamrocks defense was causing struggles to find the end zone.
Detroit Catholic Central would also force three interceptions on the night, as senior cornerback Andrew Kitchens took one back 60 yards to the house for a touchdown.
Novi's defense gets dominated in the ground game
It wasn’t the best of nights on the defensive side of the ball for the Wildcats as Detroit Catholic Central pounded the ball on the ground.
The Shamrocks totaled 413 total yards of offense, as 376 of those yards came from the run game.
To add to that, Novi allowed Pydyn and junior running back Lee Krueger to run for a combined 304 rushing yards on the night.
The Wildcats would also surrender six rushing touchdowns to the Shamrocks, as Detroit Catholic Central had four different players score rushing touchdowns in Pydyn, Krueger, senior running back Kameron Lloyd, and sophomore running back Cedric Williams.
