DETROIT - East English Village Prep has never beaten Cass Tech in four previous tries, and will have to wait next year for another chance at doing it, as the Technicians dominated the Bulldogs 58-18. After a slow start in the first quarter that got head coach Thomas Wilcher fired up, Cass Tech (5-0, 4-0) scored 35 points in the second quarter to put the game away, leading 42-8 at half.

"We knew East English was going to come out and play tough," Wilcher. "We just needed our kids to understand that, and get out there and make plays."

Cass Tech senior Donovan Peoples-Jones got the message from his coach. The top wide receiver in the nation did not record a catch in the game, but mad his presence felt on defense. Cass Tech already held a healthy 28-8 lead over EEVP late in the half, when Peoples-Jones intercepted a pass and took it 64 yards for a touchdown. The EEVP wide receiver tried to tip the ball to himself, but instead it landed in Peoples-Jones' hands, who stood there for a second, then ran up the sidelines for the score.

On EEVP's (3-2, 3-1) ensuing possession, Peoples-Jones scooped up a fumble by quarterback Delvin Washington, broke a few tackles, and ran it in from 39 yards out to put Cass Tech up by 34.

"We were in a two-deep formation on defense, so I was just running over to get to the ball," Peoples-Jones said on the interception. "I saw the ball pop up in the air, I caught it, and I didn't even know it was a live play. I heard coaches yelling for me to go, so I ran it in."

"We did a good job on the fumble recovery. Their quarterback ran up in the hole, someone got a good strip on him, and I saw the ball rolling on the floor. I picked it up and ran that one in too."

Cass Tech did not take its foot off the pedal either coming out the half. EEVP failed to recover the opening kickoff of the third quarter, which Cass Tech did inside its own 20-yard line. A few plays later, Jaylen Kelly-Powell rumbled into the end zone from eight yards out to extend its lead to 49-8 with 11:14 left in the third. Rodney Hall tosses a 4-yard touchdown to Donovan Parker just before the quarter ended to make it 56-8.

"I was impressed with how we were resilient after our slow start," Wilcher said. "The kids were not happy with how they started the game, and everyone came out making plays on both sides of the ball. I thought we were impressive today, especially against a good football team."

EEVP took an early 2-0 lead over Cass Tech in the first quarter, and led 8-7 with 10:16 left in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by Washington, but was never able to get things going on offense. The Bulldogs will look to rebound against Osborn next week.

Cass Tech has a huge game for them at home against rival King, who is also 5-0 on the year. The Crusaders defeated the Technicians twice last season, and after Cass Tech broke its huddle after the game ended, declared this week of practice as "King week."

"We have not lost here in awhile," Peoples-Jones said about playing King at home. "King is our rival, and that is who we will prepare for this week."