Birmingham

Brother Rice’s magical playoff journey concludes at the peak of Division 2

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

» Click on image to view full size « Photo by Patricia O’Blenes The scene at Ford Field Nov. 25 was one of orange and black, as the Birmingham Brother Rice football team won its first state title since 2005. The Warriors jumped out to a 17-7 lead and hung on for a 24-14 victory against Lowell High in the Division 2 final. Photo by Patricia O’Blenes The scene at Ford Field Nov. 25 was one of orange and black, as the Birmingham Brother Rice football team won its first state title since 2005. The Warriors jumped out to a 17-7 lead and hung on for a 24-14 victory against Lowell High in the Division 2 final.

DETROIT — Brother Rice football coach Al Fracassa was a man on a mission, zigzagging his way through a cluttered sideline in search of his senior running back, Devin Church.

He moved swiftly, older legs shifting to a younger gear, and eluded all obstacles as he locked in on a target few could slow all afternoon.

He’s never been one to shy away from emotion on the football field, especially when it comes to the kids and players he’s mentored for decades, and this was no different.

His nerves were finally gone.

The title, as improbable as it was, sat nearly in hand, and Fracassa had finally come face to face with Church.

First a smile, then a hug.

Church had just scampered 15 yards and into the end zone with six minutes remaining in the Division 2 state championship game, and Fracassa and the Birmingham Brother Rice football team could finally exhale and let the celebration begin.

“This was a special team,” Fracassa said after the 24-14 victory against Lowell High Nov. 25 at Ford Field. “We had a motto before our season started, ‘Anything is possible.’ This motto really personifies this football team. Anything is possible, and they’re going to remember it the rest of their lives.”

Fracassa admitted it was his team that taught him a lesson or two this season.

After all, this was a group that eight weeks into the regular season was just 4-4, having lost all four games by a total of 12 points.

Yet the will to win never subsided; the focus never left.

Rice won its regular-season finale over a seven-win Chandler Park Academy to finish 5-4. A day later, the guys learned they had been granted an at-large playoff berth.

The rest is history.

“We were worried about even making the playoffs,” Fracassa recalled with a smile. “But these kids came out and worked their tails off. We truly believed anything was possible.”

The underdog every step of the way, Rice would use the five-week playoff journey to double its win total from the regular season, upsetting Farmington Hills Harrison (the defending D-2 champ), North Farmington, Southfield High and Detroit Martin Luther King along the way.

Lowell, a 12-win team that was playing in its third straight championship game became the exclamation point on a ride nobody in orange and black will soon forget.

“Everybody dreams of winning a state title,” Church said beaming. “To walk away with one (as a senior) is a blessing.”

It was the seventh title for Brother Rice, and the first since 2005.

Yet Fracassa, who capped his 43rd season with his 405th career victory laughed when asked about the game, saying, “Lowell never gave up.”

But his guys, as they have the past six weeks, found a way.

Church, who rushed for more than 900 yards in the playoffs, including 244 in the final, capped a 10-play opening drive with a 7-yard score. Lowell tied the game midway through the second quarter, but Church’s second score, a 54-yard run with 50 seconds remaining in the first half, put Rice up for good.

Jason Alessi hit a 26-yard field goal roughly five minutes into the third quarter, and Church capped things for Rice with his 15-yard run late in the fourth, prompting the hug from his coach and a celebration in the stands for the thousands of Warriors faithful on hand.

Asked about the close calls during the regular season, losses that nearly prevented the playoff run before it started, Fracassa laughed again.

“You stay up at night thinking, ‘Why didn’t I do this or that?’” he said. “I think I’ll sleep well now.”

How did a group on the outside of the playoffs looking in eventually end the year on the top with no obstacles left to elude?

“We have young men on our team who have good character, and I think that’s it.” Fracassa said of his guys. “You can’t beat a team, and these guys were really close. I think that had a lot to do with us winning it all. … We’ve had teams with better records win a state title, but there was something special about this group. This was a gift.”

For more on Rice’s big state title, as well as a state championship won by Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, visit our website at www.candgnews.com.

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.