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Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / Detroit's oldest, youngest priests trade view

By Rick Schulte, Special to The Michigan Catholic
Photos by Gregg McIntosh
Published October 26, 2007

Champions Notre Dame Preparatory hoists the C-D Division trophy. The results of last weekend's championship football games, held at the Prep Bowl, were… A-B Division Brother Rice 45, St. Mary's 15 C-D Division Notre Dame Prep 21, Cabrini 19 Wild card Detroit Catholic Central 10, De La Salle 7 CYO championship St. Regis 14, St. Edith 6

Detroit — They play on the biggest local stage for football — Ford Field.

Prep Bowl XXXV continued its reputation for not only determining the best prep and Catholic Youth Organization football teams from the Detroit area, but also for highlighting the best of athletics and academics throughout the Archdiocese of Detroit.

There were winners on the field, sure. And there were plenty of lessons to be learned Oct. 20 that transcended the scoreboard.

Callahan: Respect for peers

Winning the C-D championship last year at the Prep Bowl was a big enough deal.

Winning it a second time, as Notre Dame Prep, Pontiac, did with a 21-19 victory over Cabrini, Allen Park, was enough to make Fighting Irish coach John Callahan more than happy.

In fact, "appreciative" might have been a better way to describe his mood.

"For me, to be in the Prep Bowl with the Machs and the Fracassas, it's really an honor," said Callahan, referring to Tom Mach, the coach of Detroit Catholic Central, Novi, and Al Fracassa, coach of Brother Rice, Bloomfield Hills. "They both respect the game, and represent football very well. All of the teams that come in do, and it's an honor to be associated with such a group of people."

Senior running back Caulton Ray of Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills runs by senior defensive end Jason Semmes of St. Mary's Preparatory in Orchard Lake. Brother Rice defeated St. Mary's 45-15 at Ford Field Oct. 20 to capture the Catholic League Championship for the A-B Division.

Marisa Maino, a fifth-grade cheerleader from St. Regis School in Bloomfield Hills sings the national anthem before a game at the Prep Bowl.

Alison Ho, a junior at Notre Dame Preparatory, plays the xylophone as part of her school band's halftime performance.

Eagles Andrew Poterala (right) and Vincent Tomasi (middle) of St. Edith School in Livonia put a hit on a ball carrier from St. Regis in Bloomfield Hills. St. Edith took the hit on the final score, though, as the St. Regis Raiders prevailed 14-6 in the CYO championship game.

It would be easy to think Notre Dame (8-1) would be a favorite to return to the Prep Bowl after winning it last year. But as he pointed out, teams change, and the Irish graduated a significant number of veteran players from the 2006 team.

"We lost so many kids from last year, but we wouldn't say it was a rebuilding year," he said. "So we really needed these seniors to take on some responsibility."

What helps Notre Dame, Callahan pointed out, was the quality of student/athlete that comes to the school.

The admission standards are tough. And as quality of education goes, the school was recently named to the 2007 Catholic High School Honor Roll, an honor given to the top 50 Catholic secondary schools in the country.

"That's one of the things the school administration has strived for," Callahan said. "Notre Dame is a place where you come for an education first. Our kids go to every major school in the country. Hopefully, some of the lessons you get from sports tie in with that."

A 32-yard touchdown pass from Chris Maltese to Jon Stoddard late in the game put the Irish up for good, although they had to withstand Ray Wojtala's third touchdown pass of the game to Brian Ray with 2:43 left. But the Irish stopped Cabrini's two-point pass and held on.

"In this league, there are so many good teams," Callahan said. "We are so fortunate to be a part of it."

This time, everything clicks for Rice

To say Al Fracassa has been around for a while might be like saying, sure, Detroit makes a few cars.

So what happened in the A-B title game is nothing he hasn't seen before.

Brother Rice dominated Orchard Lake St. Mary's 45-14 in Saturday's A-B championship. Winning the championship — the 13th in Rice's history — wasn't as surprising as the way the Warriors did it.

Just four weeks ago, the Eaglets (6-2) dismantled Rice 40-21.

"You never know how kids are going to react," Fracassa said. "Sometimes, you have a great feeling, and it turns into a disaster. Sometimes, you have a great result when you don't expect it. This time, we did a lot of things right. The kids executed very well. And we did that against an awfully good team in St. Mary's. They really are good.

"It's always exciting to get here. It's never old hat."

It doesn't hurt for Rice (7-2) to have a couple of talented players like running back Caulton Ray and quarterback Andy Lentz.

Ray, who has already committed to Michigan State, scored two touchdowns and rushed for 157 yards. Lentz was 11-for-15 through the air for two scores.

Lentz didn't play like someone who was still out with a broken leg during the early part of the season.

"Now he's got his confidence back. That was his best effort of the year," Fracassa said. "He's a great ballplayer, but also a great leader."

Mary Cornwell, a junior at Regina (middle), is presented an academic achievement award by Sr. Mary Gehringer, OSM, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of Detroit, and associate superintendent Alex Gajewski. Cornwell was one of many students honored at the Prep Bowl festivities for academic achievement.

Homecoming queens from several Catholic high schools were recognized during the Prep Bowl activities.

Cornelius Carter, a junior linebacker from Notre Dame Prep (left) collides with senior Brian Ray of Cabrini. Notre Dame Prep won the close C-D Division championship game 21-19.

The student body of Detroit Catholic Central cheer on their football team. CC won the Catholic League wildcard game 10-7 over De La Salle.

Divine Child cheerleader Stephanie Santostasi helps lead cheers for grade school-aged CYO cheerleaders. Cheerleaders from high schools and grade schools performed throughout the day.

Members of the Knights of Columbus Color Guard line up on the field during Prep Bowl festivities. The Knights annually help sponsor the event.

Right message in place for CYO

St. Regis, Birmingham, met St. Edith, Livonia, in the CYO championship for the second consecutive year.

Last year, St. Edith won. This time, St. Regis earned the title with a 14-6 victory.

St. Edith athletic director John Michniak admits there is a definite passion for sports at his school (which also won championships in boys' and girls' basketball in 2006).

"It's not about winning, it's about competing and playing," he said.

That might seem like an interesting thing to say at a school like St. Edith, which was also second in girls' soccer, losing 1-0 to Shrine, Royal Oak in the CYO title game last week. The Eagles also made it to the CYO final four in volleyball before losing.

But Michniak is adamant that sports, while a great learning vehicle, aren't the end-all.

"You don't know how deep that river runs in me," he said. "I don't care about the score. What we want to do is teach the kids. Teach them to depend on someone, and teach them other people depend on them."

The St. Regis football team adopted a similar attitude. Following a "Built for Others" motto includes daily prayer, team Mass, and acts of "real world" faith (such as a visit to a local nursing home).

"This is more than just our team motto," coach Tom Maclean outlined in a preseason list of goals. "We do a number of things to…make sure that we live this creed and not just say it."