League streak lives on: South rallies in fourth to down Roseville 38-21

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — The right image can tell a story.

The image of Grosse Pointe South senior running back Lex Willson outrunning the Roseville defense for a 61-yard touchdown not only told the story of an eventual 38-21 win in favor of the Blue Devils, but the life of a streak that continues to live on.

Since Sept. 11 of 2015, South has not lost a Macomb Area Conference White regular season game, reaching 36-straight wins and six league titles in the process (South spent 2020-2021 in the MAC Red), and South (5-0) is well on its way to another MAC White title with its win over Roseville (3-2) on Sept. 27 at Grosse Pointe South High School.

“A lot of the emphasis today has shifted towards making the playoffs and a playoff run,” South head coach Chad Hepner said. “We still have a lot of pride in winning the league. This is a tough league and we’ve been playing a lot of the same teams, so we’ve built some rivalries like with Roseville.”

Aside from continuing its streak and setting itself up well for another league title, South was also in the business of revenge after Roseville eliminated South from playoff contention in 2023.

The Panthers were in the driver seat after a 5-yard touchdown run by senior running back Desmond Straughton gave Roseville its first lead of the night at 21-17 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.

Straughton, a University of Illinois commit, paced the Roseville offense all night with three rushing touchdowns, including an 84-yard score, but the fourth quarter would be owned by South.

A South defensive stop gave senior quarterback Jack Lupo and company field position near midfield, and senior running back Matthew Agnone ignited the crowd with a 29-yard run on the first play of the drive, setting up shop at the Roseville 11.

Three-straight penalties put a pause to the momentum, but only momentarily as Lupo scrambled right and floated a 27-yard pass just over the Roseville secondary to senior wideout James Michelotti, who walked into the endzone for a 24-21 South lead.

With six minutes left to play in the fourth and looking to retake the lead, Roseville senior quarterback Jordan Simes was intercepted by senior defensive back Adam Czarnik. 

Czarnik took matters into his own hands as he returned it all the way to the Roseville 5-yard line, setting up a Willson rushing touchdown.

The Blue Devils defense would force another turnover as senior Henry Domzalski added an interception to his stats, sealing the win for a defense that played hungry all night.

“It’s all grit,” junior Ben Kocik, who also had an interception in the win, said. “We came in here thinking we were going to win, so we came in and won. That’s just what we do at Grosse Pointe South football.”

Kocik’s interception early in the third quarter set up a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Lupo, who also connected with sophomore Sam Rouleau for a 14-yard touchdown to open up the scoring as Rouleau made a leaping grab over a Roseville defender.

The South offense exhausted every resource it had in its back pocket against a physical Roseville defense, but Hepner said games like that are much-needed.

“It took every card in the deck tonight, but we feel like we’re a really balanced team,” Hepner said. “We got a lot of playmakers at the running back and receiving positions, so we’re really happy when we can get them all involved.”

South, currently 3-0 in the league and in first, will end its MAC White schedule with Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (0-5) on Oct. 4 and St. Clair Shores Lakeview (2-3) on Oct. 11 before taking on New Baltimore Anchor Bay (Oct. 18) and hometown rival Grosse Pointe North (Oct. 25) just before the state playoffs.

Wins over North and Lakeview would secure South’s seventh-straight MAC-White title, giving them the confidence that they can hang with anyone.

“We’re contenders in the MAC Red,” Kocik said. “We can win any game in the MAC Red and we can win every game in the MAC White. That’s what we do.”

Roseville will look to rebound next week against Utica (2-3).