Everest leads in second half for title

BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
The Mountaineers defeated Royal Oak Shrine at home Saturday afternoon to claim their second MHSAA Football District championship, 23-13.
“Winning the district championship was a great accomplishment for our team,” said Michael Pruchnicki, head coach for Clarkston Everest Collegiate Varsity Football. “We have a great group of young men who have been working hard to be their best. When you attain your goals, it is a best reassurance that we as a team are doing things the right way.”
The Mountaineers scored only two points in the first half from a safety when Michael McGrath tackled one of the Shrine players in the end zone five seconds into the second quarter.

Giovanni Mastromatteo makes a run in the district championship. Photo provided by Everest Collegiate

They got the ball rolling in the second half as they scored on their first drive. Just less than two minutes in, quarterback Giovanni Mastromatteo connected a 15-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Cross.
Shrine came back to score their own touchdown with four minutes left in the quarter.
Mastromatteo connected a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Neme with one minute left in the third quarter, putting them ahead, 16-13.
Cross sealed the win, scoring with less than nine minutes left in the game on a 87-yard run.
Everest (9-0) was scheduled to host Summerfield in the Division 8 Regional championship this Saturday.
As of right now, fall tournaments for volleyball, girls swimming & diving and football are suspended due to executive orders as numbers for COVID-19 are on the rise.
Pruchnicki added the players have been positive with the ups and downs of the season with the pandemic.
“I would say that it is challenging for our boys with the starts and stops within the season, but these boys are made for this time,” he said.
“There is a reason they are going through this. Whatever that plan may be it is much bigger than any of us can imagine – whether we see those fruits this year, next year or in ten year it is going to be glorious.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.