Bloomfield Hills

Making the most of it

By Christian Davis
C & G Staff Writer

Lahser football edges out Fitzgerald in regional final

By Christian Davis

C & G Sports Writer      

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — The Bloomfield Hills Lahser football team is one win away from playing for the Division 3 state championship.

“This is what they talked about in the offseason — having an opportunity to make a run in the playoffs,” Lahser coach Dan Loria said following a 21-17 victory over Warren Fitzgerald Nov. 15 at home. “They’ve done everything to create that opportunity.”

Lahser trailed the Spartans 17-7 at the half, but senior quarterback Drew Jackson said the team never wavered in its belief that it would finish the game on top.

“Last week we were down, so we knew what it was like,” he said, referring to the district final against Lapeer West, in which the Knights overcame a three-point deficit late in the fourth.

“You have to give (Lahser) credit,” Fitzgerald coach Jason Byers said. “They made big plays, and we knew they were an explosive team and they had the athletes to do it.

“I’m not going to take anything away from our kids. They played their butts off. At the end, they made a few more plays than we did.”

Lahser senior running back Tevin Gibson scored the first points of the game on a 22-yard run with 4:34 left in the first. He finished the game with 159 yards on 23 carries.

Fitzgerald answered early in the second quarter, when Jacob Young hit a 26-yard field goal.

The Spartans then got two touchdowns from junior Edwin Limmitt, one from 29 yards and one from 2.

The Knights opened the scoring in the second half, thanks to a 62-yard touchdown run by Gibson.

“He runs hard; he runs low; he runs angry,” Loria said. “He constantly compliments his offensive line, which is where it starts, but it’s the yards after a hit that he continues to get.”

The Knights took their first lead since early on when Jackson hit senior running back Zach Dauch for a 82-yard touchdown with 2:04 left in the third quarter.

The Knights, 11-1 overall, take on Inkster High (11-1) at 1 p.m. Nov. 22 at Birmingham Seaholm.

“The possibilities now?” senior running back Bernard Tyler said. “I think we’re going to Ford Field.”

You can reach Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1062.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1062.