Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep built a 14-6 halftime lead, then watched it vanish in a 27-20 loss to Catholic Central on Friday, Oct. 9.

The defeat, which carried Catholic League Central Division title implications, dropped the Eaglets to 5-2. Catholic Central improved to 7-0 and extended its winning streak to 21 games, as reported by the Detroit Free Press. MaxPreps’ box score shows St. Mary’s extended its lead to 20-6 after three quarters.

Quarterback Jabin Gonzales completed 17 of 21 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown, added 78 rushing yards and another score, and finished with 259 total yards, according to the OLSM athletics recap.

DJ Taylor made plays in all three phases. He ran for 74 yards and a touchdown, caught three passes for 44 yards, blocked an extra point on special teams and recorded five tackles and a tackle for loss on defense.

B.J. Adams caught three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown. His 20-yard touchdown catch from Gonzales made it 20-6 late in the third quarter, the Free Press reported. Lorenzo Barber led the team with 46 receiving yards on four catches. Brannon Hardy added four receptions for 37 yards.

Chase Arnold anchored the defense with a team-high 10 tackles and a sack. Vince Balone added nine tackles. Treighjan Gibson contributed five solo tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack.

None of it was enough.

Catholic Central scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, capped by a go-ahead touchdown with 10 seconds remaining, the Free Press reported. Interceptions by Gideon Gash, a Texas Tech commit, and linebacker J.J. Chevalier kept the Shamrocks within striking distance during the first half.

Missed conversions and penalties proved costly for the Eaglets. OLSM failed on all three extra-point or two-point conversion tries, and a celebration penalty gave Catholic Central favorable field position before halftime.

"We beat ourselves with penalties," OLSM head coach Jermaine Gonzales said, according to the Free Press.

Despite the loss, St. Mary's Prep sits at No. 2 in the MaxPreps overall state computer rankings heading into Week 8. Catholic Central holds the No. 1 spot.

The Eaglets travel to Toledo Central Catholic on Friday, Oct. 16, for a 7 p.m. kickoff.