Playoff roundup: Dakota rallies past Eisenhower

Macomb — For Macomb Dakota, the only thing sweeter than beating Macomb Area Conference Red Division rival Utica Eisenhower is doing it twice in the same season.

Behind a three-touchdown performance by sophomore Kaiser Carelton, Dakota was able to power through the whipping windy and rainy conditions and end Eisenhower's season with a dramatic 21-14 victory in a Division 1 pre-district football game Friday night.

Dakota (8-2) will play the winner of Saturday's matchup between league foes Clinton Township Chippewa Valley and Sterling Heights Stevenson in a district final at a time, date and place to be determined.

Trailing 14-13 with under four minutes left in the game, Dakota got the ball and took it all the way down to the Eisenhower 17-yard line with under a minute remaining after a pair of costly penalties and an 11-yard run by Maurice Moon on a fourth-and-10 near midfield kept the drive alive.

And on second-and-10, Carelton shed a couple tackles, bounced to the outside and scored on a 17-yard run to give Dakota a 19-13 lead with 49 seconds remaining. Moon hit Daniel Crawford in the back of the end zone to convert the 2-point conversion and make it 21-14.

"The blocking was great. We saw a seam and we hit it," Carelton said.

"It feels so great to come back. We knew we could ... we just worked really hard and kept our composure."

Eisenhower (5-5) made things interesting after Jake Bradsher completed a couple of passes up to the Dakota 41-yard line with 20 seconds left. But Dakota sealed the victory when Benji Marshall sacked Brasher and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Blake Brady.

"It came down to discipline at the end of the game and we had more," Dakota coach Mike Giannone said. "There are certain times when big guys got to rise up and our big guys rose up. Kaiser and Moon stood up when they were supposed to."

At halftime, Dakota led 13-7 and opened the second half with a long, 12-play drive that ate up nearly eight minutes. Eisenhower's first two drives both stalled until Brandon Metcalf blocked a Dakota punt to give Eisenhower the ball at Dakota's 25 with 6:26 left.

Four plays later, Bradsher scored on a 10-yard run to put Eisenhower on top, 14-13, with 3:49 left before Dakota reclaimed the lead on its dramatic final drive.

"The penalties killed us at the end," Eisenhower coach Chris Smith said. "It's the same thing that happened when we played them last time.

"We moved the ball well but Dakota really drove the ball on us, kept the clock going and we just couldn't stop them."

Eisenhower scored less than two minutes into the game on a six-play, 80-yard drive, Jack Provencher finishing it with a 5-yard run to take a 7-0 lead. Provencher ran the ball four times for 36 yards on the drive and his score was set up by Bradsher's 31-yard run to the Dakota 5-yard line.

Then after a bad snap on Dakota's punt, Eisenhower took over at the Dakota 26. Eisenhower continued to run the ball right at Dakota and had a third-and-2 at the Dakota 7. But Dakota held Eisenhower to a 1-yard rush on third down and came up with a huge stop on fourth-and-1 to force a turnover on downs after a questionable spot.

Dakota rode the momentum swing as Carelton burst through the middle for 43-yard rushing touchdown to knot it at 7-7 with 11:51 left in the second quarter.

On the first play of Eisenhower's ensuing possession, Bradsher was hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Dakota's Zack Zabonick at the Eisenhower 36.

Dakota took advantage of the short field and Carelton scored on a 2-yard run around the right edge for a 13-7 lead with 7:01 remaining in the second quarter.

Carelton led Dakota's rushing attack with 163 yards and three scores on 24 carries, while Zabonick and Moon added 60 and 56 yards, respectively.

Kadari Johnson and Provencher each finished with 60 yards rushing for Eisenhower.

The win gave Dakota its first playoff victory over Eisenhower since 2009 and its ninth trip to a district final in the past 10 seasons.

More football

Division 2

Walled Lake Western 14, South Lyon 13: Kyle Thomas had 10 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown and Jake Prokes had nine carries for 69 yards and a touchdown for Western (9-1). South Lyon is 8-2.

Warren De La Salle 43, Grosse Pointe North 14 Allen Stritzinger had 14 carries for 108 yards and three touchdowns for De La Salle (7-3). Michael Dana made eight tackles — two for loss and a sack. North's season ends at 6-4.

Division 3

Trenton 20, Romulus 7: Christian Mercure had three rushing touchdowns for Trenton (7-3). Romulus is 6-4.

Division 4

Chandler Park 50, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood 8: Alan Kelly had 11 carries for 225 yards and three touchdowns for Chandler Park (8-2). DJ Griffin added 22 carries for 211 yards and a touchdown. Cranbrook is 6-4.

Division 5

River Rouge 8, Detroit University Prep 0: Dontez Blackshear had one rushing touchdown and 12 tackles and a fumble recovery for River Rouge (9-1). University Prep is 6-4.

Division 7

Detroit Loyola 47, Riverview Gabriel Richard 0: Marvin Campbell had 13 carries for 181 yards and three touchdowns, Mideyin Wilson had eight carries for 99 yards and a touchdown, and Blaine Woodland had four tackles and two interceptions, including an interception return for a touchdown, for Loyola (10-0). Gabriel Richard is 5-5.

James Hawkins is a freelance writer; News staff contributed