De La Salle demolishes TC Central, Pilots win State Championship
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The De La Salle Pilots defeated the Traverse City Central Trojans 41-14 in a decisive and surprising fashion. This marks De La Salle’s 4th state title and the first under legendary coach Dan Rohn won previously won multiple titles with…
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Continue ReadingThe De La Salle Pilots defeated the Traverse City Central Trojans 41-14 in a decisive and surprising fashion. This marks De La Salle’s 4th state title and the first under legendary coach Dan Rohn won previously won multiple titles with West Catholic. It was truly a runaway win that left the whole press box in utter disbelief. Now, let’s go over some statistics, highlight the top performers, and give a word on each team’s season.
Quick Stats
De La Salle | Traverse City Central | |
Passing | 142 yards, 3 Touchdowns | 0 yards, 2 interceptions |
Rushing | 247 yards, 3 Touchdowns | 149 yards, 2 Touchdowns |
Third-Down conversions | 10 of 15 | 2 of 10 |
Time of Possession | 32:05 | 15:55 |
Standout Athletes
De La Salle ’23 QB Brady Drogosh Brady Drogosh 6'5" | 205 lbs | QB De La Salle | 2023 State MI
Talk about a stock riser, Drogosh played his best game of the season against a great defense at Ford Field. Drogosh went 14-19 passing for 142 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He had an even better day rushing the ball totaling 174 yards on 19 carries and 2 touchdowns. All of us in the press booth were extremely impressed by Drogosh’s decision-making and accuracy. Drogosh also converted many 3rd and 4th down conversions, many in the 1st quarter. Here’s Brady speaking on that in the postgame press conference.
De La Salle ’23 WR Triston Nichols
Totaling 5 receptions, 2 touchdowns, and 50 yards, Nichols had himself an incredible day. Apart from the 2 touchdowns, the state line may not seem like a whole lot, but Nichols was embarrassing opposing defenders all day with elite route running, great blocking, etc. Every single time I saw him against man coverage he gained significant separation thanks to his speed and again, route running. He was truly unstoppable and would have gotten more if De La Salle didn’t ease on the gas pedal in the second half.
De La Salle ’23 DE Mason Muragin Mason Muragin 6'4" | 245 lbs | DL De La Salle | 2023 State MI
I had a close eye on Muragin early in the game, and he exceeded my expectations. His stats don’t stand out as having an outstanding game, with 6 tackles and 1TFL, but trust me when I say that Muragin was the defensive MVP for the pilots. Even against great senior talent at tackle, Muragin showcased elite speed moves that got him tons of QB pressures or made the running back cut right into defensive reinforcements.
Traverse City Central ’22 T Kadyn Warner
Warner had a good performance against an amazing front 7. As usual, he was able to win most of his blocks on offense, while having a good day on defense with 4 tackles. Whenever he wasn’t facing someone with the last name Muragin, Warner made it look easy. When he was facing Muragin, which wasn’t too often, Warner did have a few great blocks with a few losses.
Closing thoughts
De La Salle
All 3 standouts I listed are Juniors. That should scare the living crap out of every team in division 2. The Pilots played a perfect game, absolutely shutting Joshua Burnham Joshua Burnham 6'3" | 205 lbs | LB Traverse City Central | 2022 State MI and the high-powered Trojan offense down while playing perfect offense taking advantage of Traverse City Central’s weaknesses. Here’s Coach Rohn after the game.
Traverse City Central
Traverse City tried to do what they’ve had so much success with all season; give Burnham the ball and let him run behind a senior-filled offensive line. It’s worked for the entire season and all throughout the playoffs, but De La Salle had an answer, and the Trojans weren’t able to answer back and ended up being down 41-0 at the start of the 4th quarter. Here’s head coach Eric Schugars after the game