| U-M commit ruins Novi's night |
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All White, all the time in Livonia Stevenson win PERRY A. FARRELL October 3, 2009 Reprinted with permission of the Detroit Free Press First-place was at stake in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Central Division when Livonia Stevenson ventured to Novi for the Wildcats homecoming game Friday night. Austin White spoiled the festivities, rushing for 142 yards on 34 carries to lead the Spartans to a 14-7 victory before a crowd of 4,500. Stevenson improved to 4-2 overall (4-0 Central). Novi fell to 3-3, 3-1. Both teams came into the game on three-game winning streaks after losing their first two games. “As long as we keep winning I don’t care how many times I carry the ball,” White said. “The team is working hard. To be around these guys is a great feeling. We’ve come such a long way since the beginning of the season. It’s exciting right now. We didn’t change a lot in the second half. People just started making plays. We’ve been focusing on making plays. I think we’re going to be the kind of team to pound it down their throats. That’s the kind of team we’re developing into.” Novi had been beset by injuries at quarterback despite three straight victories heading into the Stevenson game. Brandon Rydzewski started the season but broke his collar bone the second week of the season. Jimmy Gurney suffered a knee injury last week and is out for the season. Tim Hartland and Jim Pitcher shared quarterback duties for the Wildcats. “We struggled tonight offensively except for the one big play,” said Novi Coach Tab Kellepourey. “We had a good game plan defensively for Stevenson. Austin White is a very fine tailback. We knew we’d have to produce some touchdowns in order to have a chance.” Neither offense looked sharp in the first half, especially in the passing game. Novi was held to 157 yards total offense while Stevenson had 240 yards rushing and 292 yards on offense. Novi’s defense concentrated on White, while Stevenson quarterback Brendan O’Hara (5 of 12, 52 yards) couldn’t get the passing game going to keep the Novi defense honest. The Spartans finally broke through late in the first half, using a pass interference call in White’s favor and a 22-yard pass from O’Hara to White to set up a seven-yard run by the White with 55.2 seconds left in the first half. Jeremy Mims was the defensive star of the first half for Novi with a fumble recovery and interception. White gained 73 yards in the on 16 carries in the first half and had three catches for 34 yards, accounting for all but 16 yards of the Stevenson offense. Novi gained just 28 yards in the first half, and was held to seven yards rushing. The Wildcats used some trickery in the third quarter, with a 33-yard run on a fake punt by Jordan Scheffler, but the drive stalled when Ricky Enright fumbled the snap from center, which was recovered by Duran Onwuemene at the Stevenson 22. Stevenson responded with 19- and 46-yard runs by Johnny Pauley to set up a 1-yard TD run by Mike Beyer, who fumbled the ball into the end zone with the ball bouncing right into his hands with 3:42 left in the third to make it 14-0. Novi got on the board in a big way when a scrambling Pitcher spotted Brett Kuhn behind the Livonia secondary for an 83-yard touchdown pass with 7:42 left to play to make it 14-7. The two Novi quarterbacks combined to go 3 of 9 for 104 yards and two interceptions. |
