Detroit — Darryl Flemister returned to the lineup at quarterback for Detroit King on Friday night, showing no lingering effects from a concussion he suffered two weeks ago in a Week 2 loss to Warren De La Salle and leading King to an 18-12 overtime victory over archrival Detroit Cass Tech.
“It was a great feeling to come back and play with my brothers,” Flemister said. “It means a lot to me to beat Cass. This is a school thing, not just for the team, but for the school, King history.”
More: Michigan High School Football Scoreboard: Week 4
Flemister threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Damon Stennis on Kings’ opening drive to set the pace.
“It was a medium action with short action and the deep action came as it should and I found him,” Flemister said of his long touchdown pass to Stennis.
Then in overtime, on fourth and third attempt, Flemister faked a handoff and threw a perfect pass over the middle to Tay’Shawn Henry, who scored the game-winning touchdown.
“It went exactly like my coaches said they were going to bite on the run, and then my running back got the ball (touchdown throw to Henry),” Flemister said.
Cass Tech — 2-2, (1-1 PSL) and ranked No. 11 in the News Super 25 — had the ball last in overtime and won the game, but edge rusher Willie Fletcher, who has offers from Penn State, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri, and cornerback John Allen Jr. made sure No. 11 King (3-1, 2-0) ended Cass Tech’s three-game winning streak in the rivalry.
After four-star junior Corey Sadler was tackled for nothing on the first attempt, Fletcher caught Seth Sendry off guard for a 13-yard loss. After Sendry’s pass fell through on the third attempt, Fletcher put heavy pressure on Sendy and forced an interception on the fourth attempt by Allen, who covered Sadler in the end zone.
“I knew I had to get the ball, time was running out, I had to do it for the team,” said Fletcher, who had two sacks and several quarterback hurries. “I saw an opportunity, went after him and got it (Sendry’s sack).”
Of the hasty fourth down that led to Allen’s interception, he said that was something he “had been taught all week.”
“As soon as the quarterback starts rolling, I know I’ve got him and I have to hit him to force an interception,” he said. “John Allen Jr. has watched a lot of film. We prepare and learn. We listen to our coaches and make plays. Jaidon Windom has made some great plays, too. He’s been a game changer.”
Kings defense did a great job of preventing Sadler and Alex Graham from making big plays. Sadler caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to help Cass Tech tie the score at 12-12 in the final minute of the third quarter.
Cass Tech had chances to take the lead on its final two drives of the fourth quarter, but George Sanchez-Murillo missed a 33-yard field goal with 4:54 left.
Then, after the Cass Tech defense forced a three-and-out, Cass Tech had the ball at midfield, but on third and fourth downs from King’s 49-yard line, Fletcher tackled a running back for a loss of five yards. Then the punter had trouble taking the snap and Windom made the tackle at the Cass Tech 26-yard line, giving King the ball with 2:11 left.
King could not take advantage of the short field and forced overtime.
Cass Tech started the evening with an elite secondary consisting of Sadler and Colorado-bound Graham, who returned to Cass Tech after playing his junior year at IMG Academy in Florida.
Flemister chose Graham’s side on the big play to Stennis and threw the ball just over the defender’s outstretched hand, allowing Stennis to catch it at the Cass Tech 40 and then run into the end zone.
With Cass Tech freshman Donald Tabron missing his third straight game due to an ankle/calf injury, Sendry took over as quarterback, but Windom stepped in front of Jalen Howell, intercepted a pass at the Kings’ 20-yard line and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown, giving the Kings a 12-0 lead with just three minutes to play.
“I saw two crosses, went over and said I have to get this and took it to the house,” Windom said.
Cass Tech got within 10 when Sendry didn’t attempt the ball on fourth-and-6 from the Kings’ 38-yard line, but instead took a pooch punt to the Kings’ 10-yard line and the snap sailed over Flemister’s head for a safety two plays later.
Cass Tech got into the red zone late in the first quarter and reached the 10 when Sendry was sacked on a third-and-8 play for a loss of 18 yards, forcing a 35-yard field goal by Sanchez-Murillo to cut the deficit to 12-5 on the first play of the second quarter.
Then Cass Tech forced a fumble on a short pass from Flemister and got a short field at the Kings 40-yard line with 1:15 left in the half.
But King’s defense stepped up and on third-and-12, Sendry was sacked by Fletcher, followed by Windom’s second interception of the night on the final play of the half.
Windom also caught Sadler, who had played quarterback on several series in the first half, on third and sixth downs without gaining any ground, forcing a punt.
Flemister completed 6 of 11 passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Cass Tech had a 2-1 lead in runs played (48-24) before overtime.
King limited Cass Tech to 163 total yards.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(787x202:789x204)/justin-timberlake-court-091324-2-c44270a507f542dfa7535d77ec2a7615.jpg "Justin Timberlake says ‘don’t get behind the wheel’ after drinking")
