Grosse Ile will be traveling to Lansing Catholic Central on Saturday to play in the Division 5 Regional Final. This is the first ever meeting between the Red Devils and the Cougars. Grosse Ile won the District Championship over Summit Academy by a score of 14-10. Catholic Central beat Olivet by a score of 17-6 in their District Final.
Lansing Catholic Central (7-2)
Catholic Central is in the playoffs for the 12 consecutive year and is led by junior QB Joey Baker. Baker has thrown for over 1700 yards and 18 TD’s. He has also rushed for over 300 yards and scored 8 TD’s. The Cougars have three players who will carry the ball in junior Alex Watters, senior Will Gruber and sophomore Brandon Lewis. The trio has rushed for another 1,000 yards and 11 TD’s. Watters leads the Cougars in receiving with 727 yards on 47 receptions which includes 11 TD’s. On defense, LCC gives up a paltry 13 ppg. The Cougars are led by an outstanding trio of defenders. Juniors Bo Poljan and Mason Knippen along with senior Jacob Maloney have all recorded over 100 tackles on the season. Poljan and Knippen have recorded an incredible 41 TFL’s between them. Watters contributes on defense with 63 tackles and 5 Int’s.
Grosse Ile (6-3)
Grosse Ile qualified for the playoffs for the 6th time under Head Coach John Bodner. The Red Devils are led by All FNV RB Joe Pizzo. The elusive senior has rushed for 1,198 yards and 18 TD’s this season while hauling in 28 passes for 320 yards and two more scores. Pizzo is also an outstanding kicker. He has hit 36 of 38 extra points and has 16 touchbacks on 26 kick offs. QB Nate Brown is a duel threat QB that has thrown for 1,596 yards and 21 TD’s while posting a solid 96.8 QB rating. He has also rushed for 338 yards and 4 scores. Senior Keegan Mott and sophomore Tyler Swick have combined for 59 catches and nearly 1,000 yards to go with 13 TD’s. Defensively, Grosse Ile is led by seniors; Luke Taulbee, Trey Swick, Nick Esordi and Will Davis.
FNV Outlook: This is a tough match up for the Red Devils of Grosse Ile. LCC is a perennial football power that has been to the state finals three times in the last nine seasons including 2019. This could be a high scoring affair with both teams averaging over 33 points per game. If the Red Devils can figure out the Cougar defense and prevent a big pass rush, they may be able to score enough points to win this game.
