Brother Rice Football Wins Regional Final 16-6 Over Southfield

SOUTHFIELD – Devin Church didn’t waste any time setting the tone for the varsity football team at Southfield on Saturday. 

Early and often, the senior showed why he is one of the most dangerous players left in the playoffs. He scored on the second play of the game on a 55-yard run through the middle of the defense to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead 50 seconds into the opening quarter. 

His two-touchdown performance helped lead Brother Rice to a 16-6 win over the Bluejays in its Division 2 regional final. 

“The first touchdown at the beginning really got our momentum up,” Church said. “It felt like we could play against these guys. It was a great start; great way to start the game.”

Church showed his quick feet and balance on the touchdown run. He was nearly tripped up at the line of scrimmage before breaking it down field.  

“They were chopping down at the line,” Church said. “I saw one guy coming from the outside and I cut it in. Stumbled a little bit, regained my balance and took it to the house.” 

The running back would score again on Brother Rice’s opening possession of the second quarter. James Hendrix blocked a punt out of the end zone for a safety to help set up the drive on a short field. 

As time expired in the first quarter, Thomas Kolleh had his third punt of the game blocked. The football rolled 20 yards out of bounds to give the Warriors a 9-0 lead.

“I saw an opening when the wing went to the outside, so I had a free release in,” Hendrix said, smiling. “It actually hit me in the head.”

The Warriors ensuing possession started at the 40-yard line after a short kick by Southfield. Church would finish the seven-play drive with a 10-yard touchdown run to make 16-0 with 8:33 left in the first half.

The Bluejays almost stopped Brother Rice in the red zone, but jumped offsides on a key fourth-and-one situation at the 15-yard line.

“We just made some mistakes in the first half,” Southfield coach Tim Conley said. “We were misaligned on that big long run, of course we had that punt blocked. In the second half we didn’t make as many mistakes and keep them out of the end zone.” 

Church would finish the game with 22 carries for 156 yards. Brother Rice’s offense ended up rushing for over 200 yards on the ground for the third straight time.

It was also the third playoff game that the Warriors defense didn’t allow more than 10 points.

Southfield came out and scored to open the second half on a 69-yard drive. Running back Leviticus Payne broke almost a half dozen tackles on a 50-yard touchdown run to cut Brother Rice’s lead down to 16-6 with 9:24 to go in the third.

The Bluejays would move the ball again on its next drive, but the Warriors defense stopped them cold at the 4-yard line.

It was the second time in the game that Brother Rice’s defense made a stand in the red zone. In the second quarter, Southfield failed to score on four straight pass attempts at the 12-yard line.

Quarterback Justin Danzy struggled against the Warriors secondary all day. The senior finished with 119 yards on 12-for-32 passing.

“We just flat out said we want to be the best defense in the state,” Hendrix said. “We just wanted to put that message out there for everybody. We go out there and play our hearts out.”

In the playoffs, Brother Rice’s defense has only allowed 21 points over 12 quarters.

The Warriors iced the game with a 16-play drive in the fourth quarter that almost lasted nine minutes. Down two scores, the Bluejays could only watch as their hopes for a comeback slowly faded away.

“That was a great drive, I think we started at the 2-yard line brought it down to the 5- yard line,” Church said. “Burned a lot of time off the clock and really helped us out.”

Next up for Brother Rice is Detroit Martin Luther King. The time, date and location of the game is to be determined. Even though they aren’t sure where or when the game will be, the Warriors are very familiar with its semifinals opponent.

The schools have played each other the first week of the season the last two years. Brother Rice won in the season opener this year 28-21. Last year, the Crusaders won 32-19.