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Detroit King defeats Cass Tech in overtime

Posted on by Vanessa
Detroit King defeats Cass Tech in overtime

The showdown between Detroit Cass Tech and Detroit King in the Detroit Public School League could not be decided in regular time.

No. 7 King (Division 3) defeated No. 8 Cass Tech (Division 1) 18-12 in overtime in front of a packed crowd at Cass Tech High School. Sophomore quarterback Darryl Flemister III drove King's offense to the 3-yard line on three runs, then faked a run and hit running back Tayshawn Henry-Johnson charging out of the backfield for the opening score.

“We've been doing it all week and it takes a lot of guts to call that at that point in the game,” King head coach Terel Patrick said. “So that was a great call by my offensive coordinator, Jerrel Noland. I heard it on the headset and was going to disapprove of the call, but it was a great idea.”

Cass Tech's offense got the ball on second down on the extra inch, but only went backwards. After starting with a 5-yard penalty, Cass Tech was pushed back to the 27 after quarterback Seth Sendry was sacked by Willie Fletcher on second down. King threw the final two passes, beating Cass Tech for the first time since 2022.

“I knew the sack was necessary,” said Fletcher, a three-star defensive lineman in the class of 2025. “I knew we had to get back there. Time was running out, it was going into overtime, so I had to make a play.”

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The first 48 minutes were a defensive battle dominated by both defenses thwarting the run. When the Crusaders took an early lead, the score was 12-12, and the Technicians were able to slowly reduce the lead over the final three quarters. But the Kings offense regained momentum at the right time.

“They were superior to us defensively and I think we did a good job of standing up to them defensively,” Patrick said.

With the win, King improves to 3:1 (2:0 in the PSL). Cass Tech falls to 2:2 (1:1).

Cass Tech forces overtime with dominant defense in the second half

King managed only two first downs in the second half as Cass Tech's defense closed the game down 12-5 at halftime.

The Technicians forced a quick punt after a first down on the opening drive, then used most of the third-down clock on a 70-yard drive to score their first touchdown and tie the game in the fourth quarter. Sendry faked a block and then hit a fade to a completely free junior Corey Sadler Jr. for a 25-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, King made three attempts and was out, giving Tech a chance to take the lead, but with five minutes left he fired a 33-yard field goal wide right.

Big plays and Windom pick-6 give King a 12-5 lead at halftime

Two big plays on the first two drives gave King an immediate two-point lead. On the third play, Flemister stepped into the pocket and hit Damon Stennis on a deep route after finding space behind the Cass Tech safeties, and he turned it into a 71-yard touchdown that put King up 6-0.

On Cass Tech's first drive, King safety Jaidon Windom doubled the lead with an 80-yard pick-six after lining up in front of a third-down throw from Sendry at King's 20-yard line.

King was assisted on the next drive and managed a snap over Flemister's head through the end zone for a safety to make it 12-2. Then Cass Tech scored a field goal on the next drive to cut the game to a touchdown at the end of the first quarter. Cass Tech's defensive backs forced a fumble in King's territory with a minute left in the second quarter, but Windom made his second interception with a last-second Hail Mary.

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