August 26, 2011
David Drummond tackled short of the end zone by Dan Gallagher.
You might have heard, there was an itty-bitty little doubleheader on Friday night to open the 2011 football season. Count em, 1, 2, 3 state champions and a runner up, all jam-packed into Pioneer Field during a crazy 5.5 hour football marathon.
Nuts, is what it was.
In the second game of the doubleheader, East Grand Rapids held off a talented Grand Rapids Catholic Central team, 21-10. In what was supposed to be a high-scoring affair, the score going into halftime was deadlocked at seven. Scoring started with an amazing touchdown catch by EGR’s DeAndre Grady, which was answered by a 1-yard plunge by Catholic’s sophomore scat-back Dominic Paiz.
EGR running backs David Drummond and Jahaan Brown added a rushing touchdown each in the third, which gave the Pioneers a 21-7 point lead, from which Catholic was unable to overcome.
Dominic Paiz takes off for a nice gain.
The thing about East is:
- David Drummond is a blast to watch. His cutback vision is impressive, and he has the instinctual ability to make the first man miss, even when he’s in the Pioneer backfield.
- Coach Peter Stuursma eased his new quarterback Travis Palmer into the game nicely, starting out with run after run. But once Palmer got his bearings, he looked like he belonged out there. If he can continue to build on his performance Friday, East may have a more multidimensional offense than some thought.
- Missed Opportunities. Deven Scott-Stith returned Catholic’s first kickoff 79-yards for a touchdown, but it was called back because of holding. The drive ended in a missed field goal. Ryheem Stokes returned an interception to the EGR 14. Catholic then went backward 12-yards before punting. Had Catholic capitalized on these opportunities…
- Someone in the know at Catholic talked up sophomore Dominic Paiz to me before the game, so I was watching for him to go crazy. First half, meh. But second half, man. This kid can scoot. He’s the kind of back you lose behind the offensive line, and he’s quick as quick, which adds up to a lethal combination. Catholic’s got it’s horse for the next few years.
Read about Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 35-0 win over Grand Rapids West Catholic here.
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