Lahser Defense Shuts Down Seaholm In 20-0 Victory

BIRMINGHAM – varsity football team’s defense put the rest of the Oakland Activities Association Blue division on notice Friday night.

It went into hostile territory at and put together one of the more impressive performances OAA football fans will see this season, shutting out the Maples 20-0.

“I’ve always said if we are going to put a stamp somewhere, it’s going to be on the defensive side of the football,” Knights head coach Dan Loria said.

The defense put the rest of the team on its shoulders right from the start. Lahser (3-0; 3-0 OAA Blue) fumbled on the opening kickoff at the 18-yard line, but the defense forced a quick three-and-out in the red zone.

Quarterback John Glazier was sacked for a loss of five yards on third down and then the Maples missed an 18-yard field-goal attempt.

“I think that with that opening drive, you give up a touchdown early like that, you don’t know where things are going to end up,” Loria said.

Lahser’s defense dictated the pace of the game in the first half by limiting Seaholm (2-1; 2-1 OAA Blue) to 38 yards. Glazier couldn’t get into any sort of rhythm and went into halftime 1-for-6 for 8 yards.

One of those incomplete passes was an interception picked off by cornerback Nate Cole.

Knights quarterback Spencer McCourt threw an interception on the third play of the second quarter. Cole needed less than three minutes to get the ball back into his McCourt’s hands by intercepting a pass intended for J.D. Hess.

“I think John was off, I don’t think he was very sharp tonight,” Seaholm Head Coach Jim Pobursky said. “Take nothing away from them, they played very good defense and they were in position to make plays and they did.”

The game was scoreless through 2 1/2 quarters when Maples running back Mike Nadolski was stripped of the football. Cole was right there to grab the ball off the ground and run it back 65-yards for a touchdown. He credited teammate Nick DiMaggio for causing the fumble that led to the score. 

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Cole said. “I was playing the flats and then they came up, we gang tackled him and the ball popped out. That’s what happens when the defense goes to the ball.”

Cole put the icing on the cake with a second interception at the start of the fourth quarter. He intercepted another pass intended for J.D. Hess and ran the ball down to the 8-yard line.

Running back Dajuan Burnley scored right away with an 8-yard run. The Knights failed on a two-point conversion to make it 13-0 with 9:06 to go in the game.

“Unbelievable,” Loria said of Cole’s performance. “He’s prepared himself since he’s came to Lahser. You know how there are football players? He’s a football player. He’s just always around the ball.”

The Maples needed to come back and score, but it couldn’t even get a first down. On a third-and-two at the 41-yard line, the Knights defensive line stopped running back Tim List at the line of scrimmage.

Facing a fourth-and-2 with only 6:38 left in the game, Coach Pobursky decided to punt instead of going for it.

“I just didn’t want to give them the ball down there,” Pobursky said. “To be honest, I just wasn’t confident we could make the two yards. We weren’t very successful running the ball, or even passing the ball, at that time.”

His defense didn’t get a stop on the next drive and the Knights added seven more points with a second touchdown from Burnley.

Seaholm’s offense finished the game with three turnovers and only 121 yards.

“It’s an opportunistic defense, but its one that plays with a tenacity. Getting after, getting after and great things happen,” Loria said.

His team will now prepare for North Farmington next Friday (7 p.m.). Seaholm will have its only non-conference game next Friday at Romulus (7 p.m.).