DETROIT - With the score 12-7, in Denby's favor, with 9:55 to go in the second quarter, it appeared that the No.4 team in the city was ready to pull off the upset of the No.3 ranked team in the city, East English Village Prep. Then EEVP rolled off 35 consecutive points, extending into the third quarter, to leave with a 48-18 win.

Junior cornerback Zhamaine March got the onslaught started with an interception late in the second, allowing Delvin Washington to connect with fellow senior Sam Womack two plays later on a 47-yard touchdown. EEVP (3-1, 2-0) scored again just before the half, on a 36-yard touchdown from Washington, capping off a 15-0 run, to take a 22-12 lead into the half.

"Hats off to them," EEVP head coach Rod Oden said about Denby. "They are a much better team than last year, and they were a quality opponent today. We had to adjust to their blitzes, and it took us a minute to adjust. They came out strong, like we knew they would, but we made the right adjustments right before halftime to get some breathing room."

EEVP only has a total of five seniors on its team, and two of them had a field day against the Denby pass defense. Washington and Womack hooked up four times on the day for touchdowns. With the score 35-12 late in the third, Womack stripped Denby quarterback Romel Taylor, and recovered the fumble. A couple of plays later, Washington found him along the sideline for a 15-yard score to push the lead to 42-12. The duo would cap the day off with a spectacular 55-yard bomb late in the game.

Washington went 11-17 for 230 yards and four touchdowns. Womack was just as impressive, catching six passes for 148 yards and four touchdowns, as well an interception, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

"We talked about this a lot the past three weeks, that our seniors need to lead more," said Oden. "This is the time that they need to play their best ball, going into midseason, and the meat of our schedule. I thought Delvin and Sam got the job done today, not only in the air, but Delvin running the ball for first downs, and Sam making plays after play on defense."

"There was nothing special about today," Washington added. "I was just going for my reads, and finding the weaknesses in the defense. Sam just happened to be there every time."

Although EEVP held a huge lead over Denby late in the game, Oden was not pleased with his team's play near the end. Denby running back Adonte Calhoun rushed for 150 yards and three total touchdowns in the game, most of those yards coming in the fourth quarter with the game out of reach. The teams EEVP has faced in the past couple of weeks have been inferior to them, but Oden still wants his players to play as if the game was on the line late.

"When you play games like this, you practice finishing games to your kids," he said. "A lot of times you get up, and you get complacent, and then your second half statistics look bad for you, or good for the other team. But to get ready for the state playoffs, you have to play a lot of guys, because you have to build that depth."

"You also have to play that man in the middle. You're playing your opponent, but you also have to play yourself, and use games like these to get better."

For Denby (3-1, 2-1), this game was a measuring stick to see where the belonged in the city, with the elite, or with the rest. They go back to the drawing board against Central next week. EEVP visits Cass Tech next Saturday.