Grosse Pointe North 21, Warren Cousino 19

G.P. North gallops to victory

Workhorse RB Watkins wears down Cousino in key division game

Tom Markowski / The Detroit News

Grosse Pointe Woods -- Tommie Watkins, Grosse Pointe North's workhorse running back, had one thought with his team nursing a two-point lead with less than four minutes remaining.

"I just wanted to hold on to the ball and get the yards I needed," he said. "If I would have fumbled I think I would have cried."

Watkins was all smiles after North slipped past Warren Cousino, 21-19, on Friday in a key Macomb Area Conference White Division game at North.

Watkins, a 5-8, 188-pound senior, rushed for his season average, 201 yards, and two touchdowns on 32 carries. He didn't fumble and he didn't cry.

"I just run hard," he said. "They give me the plays and I do what I do."

Watkins carried North (3-1, 2-0) in the first half as he rushed for 146 yards and the two touchdowns for a 13-7 lead.

Cousino struck in the first quarter, when Ben McCord slipped past the secondary and caught a 41-yard TD pass from Brian Blackburn with 3:55 left.

A kind bounce helped stake North to a 21-7 lead. Facing a second-and-13 from Cousino's 30, Troy Williams, North's seldom-used fullback, ran a dive play but dropped the football. It took one bounce back into his arms and Williams ran for a touchdown with 7:39 left in the third quarter.

"It just came right back," he said. "I just kept on running."

Cousino controlled the last 19 minutes of the game and got within 21-13 on a 3-yard touchdown run by fullback Duane Causley (17 carries, 86 yards).

"Our objective was to keep them off the field," Cousino coach Mike Powell said. "Our defensive line was being driven off the ball in the first half. We got lower in the second. I don't fault anyone for this one. They've got a good team."

Cousino (2-2, 1-1) stopped North without first down and gained possession at its 30. Fifteen plays later, 14 rushing, Cousino scored on a 3-yard run by quarterback Brian Blackburn (14 carries, 63 yards) with 3:55 left in the game. Jadon Cook broke up his conversion attempt to Max Ameye.

North recovered the inside kick and Watkins' 20-yard run on a third-and-three sealed the victory.

"Simple offense," North coach Frank Sumbera said. "We wanted to do a few other things but he was running so hard. He's my adopted son. Protect, protect, protect. That's what we wanted him to do. That last run he ran so hard he lost his balance, or else he would have scored."

tom.markowski@detnews.com

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