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Four Downs: Previewing Brother Rice's Quest for the State Title

What fans need to know about Friday afternoon's tilt between Brother Rice and Lowell at Ford Field in the Division 2 title game.

 

Patch has been counting down the top five moments of the season this week that helped Brother Rice reach the state finals. Today, we have a few things readers should know before heading to the game between the Warriors and Lowell Saturday at Ford Field.

1st Down: There’s history here

Lowell has won the state title three times since 2002 and the Red Arrows' run to the championship has come at Brother Rice’s expense twice.

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In 2002, Lowell beat the Warriors in the Division 2 state title game 31-14. A rematch in the semifinal game in 2009 also went the Red Arrows' way by a similar score of 35-14.

Those games were the first things head coach Al Fracassa mentioned when asked about playing Lowell just moments after Brother Rice’s win over Detroit Martin Luther King last week.

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“They’ve beaten us twice now,” Fracassa said.

2nd Down: Does Lowell have a weakness?

On their way to a 12-1 record, the Red Arrows have outscored their opponents this season 453 to 185. The offense averages nearly 35 points a game and its defense has held opponents to less than 10 points seven times.

But twice this year Lowell has had big problems with its pass defense. The Red Arrows allowed more than 280 yards through the air in a 45-21 loss to Grand Rapids Christian back in week five. Last week, Walled Lake Western nearly upset Lowell in the semifinals by netting nearly 400 yards in the air.

That doesn't necessarily suit Brother Rice's system, which is known to rarely throw the ball more than a handful of times a game. The Warriors run, run and then run some more.

“Our running game is the main part of our game plan or scheme,” running back Devin Church said. “It burns a lot of time off the clock and when we are moving the ball up the field, getting in the end zone, it’s always going to be a good game (for us).”

3rd Down: Something to prove

Brother Rice isn't happy with its 5-4 record this season. The Warriors have made no secret of it either and they’ve used that record as motivation.

“It was a chip on our shoulder,” Church said. “We know the games we lost, we lost like three games by like one point. We wanted to prove we weren’t a 5-4 team, that we were good as a 8-1 team. That’s what we’ve been doing.”

Church was referring to three consecutive losses to Catholic League Central Division foes Warren De La Salle (21-20), Orchard Lake Saint Mary’s Prep (10-9) in overtime, and Novi Detroit Catholic Central (21-19) from late September to mid-October. The team lost four of five games during that stretch and a playoff berth was anything but certain.

The mid-season swoon meant the Warriors needed to win the final game of the season in order to make playoffs. But once in the postseason, the team proved it belonged and used those struggles as fuel. Brother Rice players didn’t like that people said the team didn’t have a chance. Even after the semifinals game, those losses was still something naysayers returned to time and again.

“We’ve won five games in a row,” Fracassa said. “Everybody counted us out. I owe that to my boys. They worked very hard and they didn’t quit. That’s the sign of good character.”

4th Down: Lowell quarterback will test Warriors

Lowell quarterback Gabe Dean is hoping for an encore.

As a sophomore, Dean helped eliminate the Warriors in the semifinals by rushing for more than 170 yards and two touchdowns on the way to helping the Division 2 championship in 2009. A similar performance on Friday could help Dean win his second state title.

The senior is one of the more accomplished athletes in the state. He followed up his tremendous sophomore season by earning the Division 1-2 Football Player of the Year honors as a junior. He also won a state championship in wrestling at 189 pounds.

Dean has started more than 40 games for Lowell and is the definition of a dual threat. He can throw the ball, but can easily hurt teams with his legs.

Last week, Brother Rice had to try and stop University of Cincinnati-bound Dennis Norfleet. The Warriors didn’t totally shut the senior running back down, but they did stop him on a key two-point conversion late in the game.

One of the keys will be preventing Dean from hitting big plays.

“I know they have a great quarterback, he likes to run,” Church said. “But if our defense plays like it did stopping these guys (King), I feel like they could stop Lowell.”

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