Dakota stops Anchor Bay's powerful offense to win MAC Red opener – Macomb Daily

Di’Mari Malone knew the Anchor Bay Tars’ offensive streak was over.

“I was definitely thinking about the offensive shooting,” linebacker/running back Dakota said. “Nobody had a defense, and I knew since they came in here playing the best defense in the state, it wasn’t going to work.”

The Tars entered Week 3’s contest against the Dakota Cougars as one of Michigan’s top offenses, scoring 117 points in two games, including a thrilling 66-65 overtime win in Week 2 against Roseville.

But Malone and his defense, ranked as the best in the state, kept the Tars from surrendering 66 points, which dropped to just six on Friday night to help the Cougars come away with a 34-6 victory.

“I thought we prepared really well,” Dakota head coach Greg Baur said. “We had a really good game plan. I thought the kids executed it almost flawlessly.”

The game didn’t start out one-sided. The Cougars scored on their first drive when Brady Hamby ran in a 2-yard touchdown, but Dakota’s next drive ended with an interception by Anchor Bay’s Gerry Hanson III, who returned the ball from the Tars’ own red zone all the way to the Dakota 22.

This was by far Anchor Bay’s best starting position of the game, and they did it with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ryan LaFear to Gabe Marshall. The extra point was blocked, leaving them down 7-6.

From that moment on, everything revolved around Dakota.

Hamby scored his second touchdown early in the second quarter — the PAT pass was blocked — and then produced the play of the game: a 33-yard touchdown run by Malone that made it 20-6.

The Michigan State commit, who made several plays and caught a pass Friday, completed a pass behind left quarterback and future Spartan Justin Bell, ran through one defender, weaved around another while turning away from contact, took on a few other prospects and raced forward a few more yards into the end zone.

“I’ve got the ball, and my main goal all week long was to run hard,” Malone said. “Like just run straight to the end zone, no matter what. And when I see those holes open up, I’ve got to look at the open field and make some moves that I have.”

Dakota’s Di’Mari Malone (10) celebrates a touchdown with offensive linemen Justin Bell (72) and Nick Battaglia (55). (GEORGE SPITERI for MediaNews Group)

A 26-yard touchdown pass from Jadon Ford to Ryan Petrovitch and a one-yard touchdown run by Elijah Goins in the second half sealed the points for Dakota.

Anchor Bay’s offense was handicapped when it was determined that starting running back Isaiah Domey, who had averaged 255 rushing yards per game this season, was not healthy enough to play. It was a lingering injury he had been battling in practice, and after struggling to gain yards on the Tars’ first few series, head coach Mike Giannone decided to hold him off the team.

“He (Domey) is our best player,” Giannone said. “And then we got Hanson and LaFear, but they fuel each other. It was tough, but that wasn’t an excuse. If we had blocked, it probably wouldn’t have been a problem anyway.”

The move allowed players like Malone and Hamby — who is also a starting linebacker — to get some reinforcements on offense.

And while Baur praised the play of his players, Giannone didn’t hesitate to present the Cougars coaches with flowers.

“Matt Carley is an incredibly good defensive line coach,” Giannone said. “He does a great job with them. And I’ll tell you, Greg and Jason Baur are great scouting guys, and they had us in their pocket, probably better than we had us in our pocket, if there’s such a thing.

“They have some good players but they’ve put them in the right position. I thought Angelo Plouffe had a great game. They’re hard to stop and we have to come back. They’re a good football team.”

Watching the Cougars win is nothing new for Giannone – he just sees it from a different perspective. Before the game and during halftime, Dakota honored Giannone and the job he did as a former Dakota coach, highlighting the 1999 team that marked the transformation of the Cougars program from a throwaway program to what it is today.

“Greg did a great job of keeping the program going and adding to it,” Giannone said. After nine years away, they haven’t let up once, and they’ve probably gotten better. Being with that (1999) team meant a lot. It was special because they built that program, and a lot of people don’t remember them, but the foundation was laid by those guys when no one wanted to come to Dakota.”

Baur believes Giannone is well on his way to doing the same at Anchor Bay: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw them in late October.”

Photos from Friday night’s Dakota win over Anchor Bay 34-6

Dakota improved to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the Macomb Area Conference Red. They will face

Tars are 2-1 and 0-1 in the red table.

Dakota will face undefeated Stevenson next week at Runkel Field in Sterling Heights.

Anchor Bay’s attempt to rebound will allow them to return for a trip to Shelby Township where they will face undefeated Eisenhower.

Originally published: September 13, 2024 at 11:11 PM