Norsemen Extinguish Blue Devils
Grosse Pointe South may have a Georgian revival colonial style building. They may have a beautiful clock tower. They may have marble floors. They may have the Boll Athletic Center and the Taj Mahpool. They may have a student section that chants “take a shower.” They may have players that refer to the Norsemen as “greasy f@#*&^s.”
They do not have A.J. Brooks, JuJuan Henderson, Tommie Watkins, Troy Williams, Mike Tolliver, Kevin Wieczorek, Evan Lock, Pat Flynn, Kirk Gowen, Ryan Jones, Ryan Gregory, Nolan Rozich, Jadon Cook, Jake Simon, Leyoun Harbin, Desmond Malone, Greg Cox, Justin Elliot, Donovan Strong, Mike Teolis, Jimmie Guest, Jordan Ulmer, Vadal Boyd, Bradley Bland, Roy Dismukes, Kyle O’Donell, Kevin Bennett, Shane Kurza, Chad Tech, William Reece, Cameron Sydes, Steve Wilshire, Raphael Starks, Mike Gerlach, Dylan Balicki, Desmond Johnson, Denzel Gibson, Chris Miller, John David, Tre-Sean Bowen, Alex Doetsch, Ralph Vigliotti, Arthur Korbes, Brandon Williams, Ken Coleman, David Fielder, Alex Avouris, Tim Meyers, Scott Preslawski, Brad Herron, Zach Turpin, Sean Koerber, Mike McCrackin, Fjorino Musaku, Chris Daniels, Michael Gula or Chris Janson.
South does not have Mike Tolliver’s chin strap, the 2009 Rivalry trophy presented by the Marines, or the victory. The Norsemen have the victory – for the seventh time in a row.
The 24-7 victory was a sweet one for the 4-1 Norsemen. In the first quarter A.J. Brooks threw a pass to JuJuan “JuGONE” Henderson. The 85 yard pass play gave the Norsemen the early lead. Several blue devils pursued Henderson, but they lacked the speed they needed to catch JuGONE. Henderson also added a 46 yard punt return to give North the ball on the devil’s 12 yard line. South’s defense was tough in the red zone, but Chris Janson added a 27 yard field goal to give North a 10-0 lead.
South’s quarterback, Ben Fry, challenged North with his running ability and passing attempts. North’s Nolan Rozich would have none of it. Rozich picked off a pass and added a great 20 yard return to stop a blue devil drive. The Norsemen defensive line, led by Mike Tolliver, Greg Cox, Bradley Bland, and Desmond Malone put pressure on south’s quarterback all evening.
North’s offense continued to add rushing yards all evening. Tommie Watkins picked up an impressive 168 yards. The offensive line, composed of Kevin Wieczorek, Evan Lock, Kirk Gowen, Pat Flynn, and Mike Tolliver, opened up the south defense, giving Watkins room to run. Once Watkins had a seam, he punished the defense with his tenacious running style.
North’s defense came up big again in the second half. On a key play, Ryan Gregory recovered a south fumble on North’s 30 yard line. Later the defense would stop the blue devils in the red zone and force them to attempt a field goal. Chris Shirar missed the field goal and south came away empty.
Late in the game North faced a 4th and one on the south 12 yard line. Coach Sumbera decided to go for it. Sumbera called on Watkins again. Tommie not only picked up the short yardage, but added on 11 more yards and 6 points.
After the Norsemen exorcism on Friday night, the devil’s are blue. And the flames on Fisher Road have been extinguished. Again.
Check out the PHOTOS from the game.
Check out the Pointe Images video of the game on Youtube.
