Birmingham Groves beats Warren De La Salle in regional finals thriller

The undefeated Birmingham Groves held off a Warren De La Salle comeback to win the Division 2 regional finals.

The game took place on Nov. 15 and the crowd was packed as it was anticipated as one of the most competitive matchups in the regional finals.

De La Salle opened the game with a long, methodical drive that ended in a 39-yard passing touchdown to wide receiver Dalton Drogosh.

The score was 7-0 after the extra point.

Groves started their possession from their own 45-yard line after a solid return. Senior running back and son of Detroit Lions legend Barry Sanders, Noah Sanders busted a long run down to the 22 yard-line.

The Falcons capped off the drive off with a 1-yard touchdown rush by senior quarterback Ryan Counts.

The score was tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The defenses of both teams shined at the start of the second quarter as they traded stops through the first four possessions of the second quarter.

De La Salle was quickly stopped but the punt was botched and allowed Groves to take over from the De La Salle 37-yard-line.

The Falcons capitalized with a 27-yard screen pass to senior tight-end Noah Woods for a touchdown.

After the extra-point, the score was 14-7 with over 6 and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter.

De La Salle took over but was stopped by the stout Groves defense. The Pilots had several penalties that killed the momentum of drives.

However, the Pilots defense allowed them to stay in the game. Senior linebackers Daulton Drogosh and Anthony Bitoni were making plays all over the field.

The Pilots had an opportunity to tie the game with over two minutes remaining before halftime but a pass was intercepted by Groves senior Aiden Leung.

The Falcons opted to kick a field goal before halftime but missed.

The score was 14-7 at halftime.

Groves received the ball at the beginning of the third quarter and found early success on the ground. The drive was stalled after Counts was sacked on third down by senior lineman Anthony Presnell.

De La Salle got the ball back and drove down the field methodically behind their senior quarterbacks Bitoni and Sante Gasperoni.

The drive ended with a 20-yard pass from Gasperoni to junior receiver Damion King.

Groves blocked the extra-point making the score 14-13 with the Falcons still in the lead.

Groves took over from their own 24-yard-line with over three minutes left in the third quarter. The Falcons offense moved the ball down the field on the ground with their duo of senior running backs Sanders and Mario Campoy-LoVasco.

The drive stalled as the Falcons were hurt by penalties in the red zone.

One of the most critical plays of the game came on fourth and 16 from the De La Salle 17 yard line. Counts launched a jump ball towards senior receiver Chris Little in the end zone. Little was pushed out of bounds by the defender but reestablished position in the end zone as he made the catch.

Referees called a pass interference on the defense and ruled the play a touchdown.

After the extra-point, the score was 21-13 with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.

The Pilots took the ball from their own 20-yard-line and responded quickly.

On the first play, Gasperoni threw a jump-ball to Drogosh that was hauled in for 38-yards.

A penalty on Groves got the Pilots down to the 24-yard-line.

Drogosh caught another 10-yard pass for a first down which put the Pilots in the red zone.

Bitoni crossed the goal-line on a direct snap from the 9-yard-line.

Bitoni took another direct snap for the two-point conversion attempt but was stopped short of the goal-line.

The score was 21-19 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.

Groves took over and had the opportunity to put the game away on offense.

Groves tried to run the ball to burn some time off the clock but couldn’t find much success.

De La Salle’s defense was strong but on third and 10 from midfield, Counts connected on a deep ball to Little once again.

On the De La Salle 31-yard-line, the Pilots stopped the run attack again and forced a fourth down.

Counts made a clutch play, picking up the first down on a scramble. The Falcons only needed one more first down to put the game away.

Campoy-LoVasco ran for seven yards on first down making it second and three with less than two-minutes remaining.

Counts took a quarterback sneak for three-yards which was enough for the first down and the victory.

The Falcons kneeled the remaining time away in victory formation and defeated De La Salle 21-19.

Groves got revenge for the 2022 semifinals matchup against the Pilots in which De La Salle won and moved on to win the Division 2 state championship.

The Falcons move on to play Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in the semifinals at West Bloomfield High School on Nov. 23.