Detroit King nearly pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks imaginable Saturday afternoon against rival Detroit Cass Tech in a game restarted 17 hours after its suspension.
An onside kick recovery with 40 seconds left gave King a chance to erase a 27-point deficit, but Cass Tech held on defense for a 27-22 win.
King drove to the Cass Tech 17-yard line with 14 seconds, but senior linebacker Marcus Jennings (Pitt commit) came off the edge with a blitz and sacked King quarterback Andrew Knight. The clock ran out to end the game.
Cass Tech had a sack the play before from Darrius Summers, who also drew a holding penalty. The clock started on the referee’s whistle following the holding penalty.
A day after the game was suspended due to overcrowding at Wayne State’s Tom Adams Field with Cass Tech leading, 20-0, with 5:58 remaining in the third quarter, the Crusaders put on an epic rally at King High School in front of a small crowd of family members due to security reasons.
The game restarted at 2 p.m. Saturday with about 100 people in attendance.
Cass started with the ball and marched 49 yards in nine plays, scoring on a Julius Taylor rushing touchdown to push the lead to 27.
King, with a renewed focus on their home field, answered with a 61-yard scoring drive, aided by two personal fouls against Cass Tech. The Crusaders reached the 1-yard line, and Knight ran a sneak to find the end zone. He also sneaked it in for the 2-point conversion.
Cass’ next drive ended with a punt following a personal foul, giving King the ball back on its own 42. Running back Marion Stewart broke a 57-yard run up the middle on the first play to reach the goal line, and Knight snuck it again. The successful 2-point conversion cut the Technicians’ lead to 27-16.
Cass Tech marched from its own 42 to King’s red zone. Facing a 4th-and-14, Cass Tech standout quarterback Donald Tabron II tried to find Will Sykes on a post over the middle, but sailed the throw. Referees called defensive pass interference, giving Cass 4th-and-2 at the 12. King’s defense stuffed Taylor on a run up the middle, forcing a turnover on downs.
Knight spun out of multiple would-be sacks and launched a pass across the field to Darryl Flemister for a 45-yard gain. He then hit Stewart out of the backfield for 23 yards. After a few runs, King was inside the 5 again, and Knight scored his third rushing touchdown from 2 yards away with 53 seconds left, cutting it to 27-22.
King lined up for an onside kick and recovered near its own sideline with just over 50 seconds left. After a 17-yard scramble from Knight, King had it inside the red zone with around 20 seconds left, but Cass Tech’s pass rush ended the game with two sacks.
Around 8:30 p.m. Friday, Detroit Public Schools gathered at midfield to discuss the overcrowding situation with coaches and referees. Fans had congregated around the south entrance and the southwest corner of the field and were asked to move into the stands.
Fans were also seen hopping the fence at the south and east entrances, bypassing security to get into the stadium. Tom Adams Field has a capacity of 6,439, according to the university, and tickets were sold beforehand to accommodate fans from both sides for the rivalry game.
“It was a large crowd,” Labrit Jackson, DPSCD chief of public safety, running security for the event, said Friday night. “We had people jump the fence, kids got excited. We had to shut it down.”
After the handshake line on Saturday, Cass Tech coach instructed his team to immediately sprint to the team bus parked on Mt. Elliott next to King’s field. Rushing declined to speak with the media postgame while shepherding his kids onto the bus.
King coach Terel Patrick was proud of his team’s response Saturday, but said it needs to start faster instead of waiting to throw counterpunches.
“We didn’t match the intensity last night,” Patrick said.
King should get another shot at Cass Tech in Week 8 in the PSL Blue Division championship.
Free Press sports writer Christian Romo contributed reporting from Friday’s suspended game.
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Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit King just misses improbable comeback vs Cass Tech after restart of suspended game
Reporting by Jared Ramsey, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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