The football team won its first game of the season today against Venice High School, coming out with a 35-28 victory in a game that came down to the final play. After a slow start offensively, the Wolverine’s offense improved in the second quarter, taking a 21-14 lead heading into halftime. The squad continued that momentum over to the second half, maintaining the one touchdown lead.

Quarterback Marshall Howe ’21 led the way, accumulating four touchdowns to three different receivers, capped off with a fourth down touchdown pass to receiver JT Thompson ‘22 late in the fourth quarter that put the Wolverines up for good.

The team rebounded from a tough 34-0 shutout loss at Birmingham High School last week. The team attitude and camaraderie greatly improved in the last week while preparing for the matchup against Venice, Thompson said.

“Everyone just bought in together,” Thompson said. “Everyone’s trusting each other, we trust the coaches and they trust us. Tonight was a really big step forward for us, and I think it’s just going to continue to grow as we go on.”

On the final play of the night, Brendan Kang ’20 disrupted a Venice hail mary attempt that would have tied the game. In addition, Kang contributed on the offensive end, finishing with two receiving touchdowns. He was joined in the scoring by receiver Chase Harelston ’21 and running back Charlie Wang ’21, who scored receiving and rushing touchdowns, respectively. Defensively, safety Ben Lee ’21 recorded one interception and safety Evan Roderick ’21 recovered a fumble in the red zone.

The Wolverines are staying home next week, taking on Crespi High School on Sept. 6.