Country Day Football Picks Up First Win

BEVERLY HILLS – For at least one week, the Detroit Country Day varsity football team can breathe a sigh of relief.

The Yellowjackets opened the season by dropping their first two games to Harper Woods Chandler Park and University of Detroit Jesuit. Thursday night it stopped the bleeding with a 49-0 win over Harper Woods at home.

“We needed to get that (win),” Country Day Head Coach Dan MacLean said. “It’s a great group of kids and they’ve just struggled. Even though we got some seniors, most of them are playing their first year of starting football. We’ve played hard, but we might have been our own worst enemies in those first two games. It was just good to get this tonight.”

MacLean said the consistency of his team’s running game during week three was the difference. Country Day (1-2) ran for more than 250 yards Thursday and put six rushing touchdowns on the scoreboard. 

“We had our moments, but we weren’t as consistent with it (the first two weeks),” MacLean said. “We had to throw a little bit more. We got ourselves in some situations — we’d have one or two productive plays and then have third-and-long situations. Both U of D and Chandler Park blitzed us pretty well.”

Country Day quarterback Harrison Rosenfeld agreed with his coach. He only threw the ball a handful of times against Harper Woods Thursday because Country Day's offensive line created space at the line of scrimmage for their running backs all night. 

“(The offensive line) did a hell of a job tonight,” Rosenfeld said. “The game is won or lost on the offensive line and they just propelled us tonight.”

Country Day started the game with an eight-minute opening drive and marched down to the 13-yard line. Two offsides penalties helped stall the drive in the red zone, but it didn’t take long for the offense to get the ball back and strike first.

Within two minutes, Harper Woods turned the ball over on downs at the 43-yard line. The Yellowjackets offense ran the ball eight straight times in a drive capped by running back John Hill's 1-yard touchdown scamper with 10:50 to go in the second quarter.

The Yellowjackets added three more touchdowns before heading into halftime with a 28-0 lead.

Hill had an interception to help set up a 3-yard rushing touchdown from running back Reid McManus with 8:38 to go in the half. Richard Wilson had a 1-yard touchdown run five minutes later. Hill closed out the half by scoring on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Rosenfeld. 

“You can get John (Hill) the ball and he can make plays like no other,” Rosenfeld said. “John’s a great player.”

Harper Woods opened the second half with a three-and-out and Hill came right back with a 45-yard touchdown run. The senior finished the game with over 110 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns.

With the score 35-0, the game went to a running clock. The Yellowjackets starters would add one more touchdown in the third quarter and then sat out the entire fourth.

“It’s definitely a big win for the program that we needed to get back to where we want to be,” Rosenfeld said.

The key now will be to take that momentum on the road. Country Day visits Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes at 1 p.m. next Saturday, Belleville at 7 p.m. Sept. 23; and Linden on Oct. 6 before returning home on Oct. 14.