Royal Oak Shrine Primed for Rematch

When Royal Oak defeated Madison Heights Bishop Foley 13-6 last Saturday, it was more than just a win over the Knights’ biggest rival. The victory enabled Shrine to vie for the Catholic League championship for the second straight year.

Next, the Knights will play Detroit Loyola at 4 p.m. this Saturday at Detroit’s Ford Field. It will be a rematch of last year’s Prep Bowl title game.

“Both teams are improved over last year,” Shrine Coach John Goddard said. “Hopefully it’s going to be a great game, between two 8-0 teams. I’m sure both of us will be ready to play and put on a show.”

Few are surprised the contest is another Knights-Bull Dogs matchup; both teams are state-ranked, were favored to win their division and finished several games ahead of the runners-up.

However, Goddard hopes the outcome of Saturday’s game will be different.

“I’m hoping our level of intensity is higher than last year,” he said. “We watched how good Loyola was last year. Last year we were second place in the league; originally our kids weren’t really expecting to be there. This year we have to come to play.”

Goddard says Loyola “has a lot of weapons,” including size up front and speed out of the backfield. Shrine will hope to counter, with quarterback Connor Francek handing the ball to running backs Raymond Brown and Colin Kelly, or throwing to wide receiver Jack Wangler. Linemen Greg Mischle, Spencer Ray and Kenny Miller will provide protection.

“We need to be able to sustain offensive drives,” Goddard said. “If we can’t control the ball, we’ll be in trouble. We also have to be able to stop them once in a while.”

Tickets are $8 at the door, or $6 during the week at Shrine High School. There will also be a Spirit Bus available for Shrine students Saturday.