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Notre Dame Prep plays strong second half, defeats Divine Child, 35-25
Dearborn Heights – It looked like it was going to be Dearborn Divine Child’s night. The Falcons led Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 19-7 at halftime in the Catholic League AA Division opener.
Their quarterback Jimmy Seewald had 262 yards passing and two touchdowns.
Unfortunately for Divine Child (2-1), it was all downhill from there.
The Irish scored 28 unanswered points before the Falcons would get another touchdown and N.D. Prep held on to win, 35-25, on Friday at Dearborn Heights Crestwood.
Senior tailback Patrick Anger opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown run. Anger totaled 101 yards and added 18 receiving yards.
“Our kids are young and they just wanted to play good football in the second half,” said N.D. Prep coach Pat Fox. “And they were able to start off quick and the most important part of any game is the first possession of the second half.”
The Irish (3-0) took the lead for good on Luke Adams’ 48-yard touchdown run and he added a conversion run to give N.D. Prep a 22-19 lead.
The contained Seewald in the second half. The senior threw for 103 yards to give him 365 for the game.
Fox credited his defense for not only adjusting its scheme in the secondary, but also how his linemen were able to keep pressure on Seewald and make him uncomfortable in the pocket.
“My defensive coordinator, Jeff Hill, made some great adjustments in the second half,” Fox said. “We played a little more man coverage instead of zone. We tightened up the seams and our defensive line made plays.
“The key for us wasn’t coverage so much, it was the fact that our defensive line and our blitzes were able to push the quarterback off his launch point.”
Other performances of note for the Falcons were senior receivers Danny Blade and Shane Fugate who had 88 and 97 receiving yards, respectively, and each had a touchdown reception.
Durkin had 70 yards passing and one touchdown, and he added 50 yards rushing and one touchdown.
