Michigan high school football: Detroit Cass Tech rides youngsters to 14-7 win over King
With a pair of young teams going head-to-head in the city’s biggest rivalry, it was time for some fresh superstars to step up. That’s why a freshman and a sophomore powered Detroit Cass Tech to a last-minute 14-7 victory over Detroit King in Michigan high school football Week 4 action.
Freshman De’Mari Hendrix scored untouched on a 2-yard burst with with 16 seconds remaining, and sophomore Corey Sadler Jr. had the other touchdown on a 31-yard halfback option run three minutes into the second half.
“Running back is all about patience,” Hendrix said. “I just waited for my time, and I finally got it, that’s all. We focus for games like this and we never give up. We were working for this. We weren’t worried about being behind; we knew we were going to come back and win this thing. We had all the heart we wanted, and more.”
Cass trailed 7-0 at the half, but made good with a takeaway on the third-quarter kickoff, falling on a loose ball at the King 41.
The Technicians gained 16 yards right away on a sweep by Will Sykes, but were stuffed on the next two rush attempts and had a delay of game penalty.
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However, they hit paydirt on a third-and-16 from the 31. Sadler, who had played quarterback since midway through the first quarter, lined up in the slot and took the handoff from Seth Sendry. While Sendry was open for a possible halfback option pass, Sadler kept the ball, shook off the initial rush of defenders and took off straight for the goal line to tie it up.
It remained 7-7 through the end of the third quarter, but on the first play of the fourth, the Cass defense hit King quarterback Nathan Edwards as he dropped back and forced a fumble, getting the ball at the Technicians’ 49. Sadler took the next snap and bolted the distance into the end zone, but the play was negated by a hold. Primarily on Sadler’s legs, Cass took the ball to the 5 over the next nine plays, but came up short on a fourth-down quarterback sneak with 5:34 to play.
King took over and advanced the ball to the 42, but was doomed by a bad snap, a run for no gain and an incomplete screen pass, and had to punt the ball away. The Crusaders downed Edwards’ kick at the Cass 39 with 2:08 remaining, but that was more than enough time for Sadler to engineer the game-winning drive.
On the first snap, Sadler broke through the line and gained 45 yards, down to the King 21. Two plays later, he lined up in the slot as Sendry reappeared under center, but Sadler drew enough attention from the Crusader defense for the speedy 5-foot-4, 145-pound Hendrix to take advantage.
“I know on that last big run, I just had to get my team into scoring position,” Sadler said. “I just believe in my team and they did what they were supposed to do. Our defense played a tremendous game today. Our defense stepped up because our offense started out slow.”
“I think we were just starting to wear them down a little bit,” Cass coach Marvin Rushing said. “At that point, with two young teams, it was just an effort of will, and I think our will was just a little greater tonight.”
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Starting slow
It took 1½ quarters for either team to score. King went up 7-0 six minutes into the second quarter After a too-many-men penalty gave King a first-and-5 from the Cass 8, Edwards faked a handoff and found running back Tayshawn Henry-Johnson open on the right side of the end zone.
The scoring drive was the only one either team managed in the first half. King went 87 yards in seven plays, featuring a 42-yard pass completion as Edwards hit Jamar Davis out of the backfield, bringing the ball to the Cass 24. Joshua Rogers carried the ball five times on the drive, accumulating 30 yards.
Each team saw a scoring opportunity squelched by an interception in the end zone. King suffered the first, as the Technicians’ Derrick Jackson II stepped in front of a pass at the goal line, running it out to the 35-yard line nine minutes into the game.
The Crusaders returned the favor 1:44 before halftime. On second-and-7 from the 8, Damon Stennis nabbed a pass intended for Lamont Wilcoxson.
An earlier Cass Tech possession ended when the Technicians fumbled a handoff on a jet sweep at their own 29, with King’s Rontrez McCloud pouncing on the loose ball. But the Crusaders couldn’t take advantage of the good field position.
“We were a little disappointed — we had a game plan that we put in this week with a lot of boot-waggle and misdirection, and we didn’t use it in the first half,” Rushing said. “It served us well in the second half but I think it would have made things easier on us if we had just worked the game plan in the first half.”
Since both teams lost to out-of-state opponents in the first two weeks of the season, every game becomes crucial to each school’s playoff hopes. Cass Tech (2-2, 2-0 PSL Blue) came back from a 1-3 start last year to make a run to the Division 1 semifinals. King, the reigning Division 3 state champion, is now 1-3 and 1-1 in PSL play.
“This is only the beginning, man,” Hendrix said. “We had two losses but we’re coming back. We’re going on a winning streak; it’s only up from here.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school football: Cass Tech rides youngsters past King
