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King crowned PSL Champs with 51-48 victory over East English Village Prep
Detroit – If you were looking for defense Friday night, Ford Field was the wrong place to be.
ML King and East English Village Prep exploded for a combined 99 total points, and the margin of victory was just 3! The two teams met earlier in the year, with East English Village winning 34-26. This time around the stakes were much higher, with the winner being crowned 2012 PSL champions.
King dug themselves an early whole going down 20-0, and nothing could seem to go wrong for East English Village. Desmond King scored on a 2-yard touchdown on the team’s opening drive, and right before the 1st quarter was over, Michigan TE commit Khalid Hill wss found wide open for a 53-yard touchdown reception. East English Village would also add a fumble recovery for touchdown by Antoine Benford 1: 21 into the 2nd quarter. The King sideline looked stunned. Although down by a huge deficit, the Crusaders never gave up,and found new life in the 2nd quarter.
After East English Village made their run, King reeled off 38 straight points of their own. Raymond Mitchell kicked things off with a 40-yard scamper up the middle to finally get King on the board. Leon Alexander would add a 15-yard fumble recovery for touchdown on the Bulldog posession. QB Anton Curtis threw an interception to Northern Illinois commit Mycial Allen, and four plays later he would score on 23-yard touchdown pass from QB DaVaun Wiliams. King dominated the 2nd quarter, and it began to look like a totally different game. Carl Fuller blocked a punt for King that lead to a Jerrod Davis 4-yard touchdown run late in the half, and Raymond Mitchell added another King touchdown late in the period to give King them a 32-20 lead going into halftime.
The 3rd quarter turned out to be much like the first half. Williams and Allen hooked up again for King on a 38-yard touchdown pass to open the 3rd. East English Village responded with a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Nate Boulware with 8: 10 to go in the quarter. On the insuing kickoff, Avonte Maddox returned it 78-yards for a score .
"Coach asked me was I okay, and I told him yeah, and the next thing you know I returned it", said Maddox, who was already nursing a sore hip. The celebration was short lived though, as East English Village answered with two more rushing touchdowns to pull within five, 45-40 entering the 4th quarter. Both defenses seemed to settle down and the game turned into a defensive battle. King forced two consecutive punts, and East English Village got a crucial interception that haulted a Crusader scoring threat.
With 5: 18 left in the game, and King still up by five, Raymond Mitchell scored from 2-yards out. He finished with 140 yards,on 22 carries and 3 touchdowns. East English Village continued to put pressure on King by scoring on a 6-yard touchdown run by Desmond King with 1: 51 left in the game. King finished with 223 yards,on 21 carries and 3 touchdowns of his own. The fireworks would end there though as time eventually ran out on the Bulldogs. Down just three, with : 15 seconds remaining, and no timeouts, Anton Curtis’s pass was picked off again, this time by LB Savon Thomas to seal the victory. The Crusader sideline stormed the field, and held on to a 51-48 victory to become 2012 PSL champions.
After the game, senior DB Robert Wallace said,"They gained so many yards on us because we were playing man-to-man defense,but we still pulled it out"
