Dearborn High’s Mikey Phillips celebrates his touchdown against Romulus Friday in Dearborn. Phillips has a run-or-pass option on almost all of Dearborn’s plays.
It did not take long for it to become apparent which side of the field Dearborn’s Hussien Hannawi was running with the ball.
“It was the left side,” Hannawi said.
What is so special about the left side of his offensive line?
“That’s because we’ve got a Michigan State commit that way,” Hannawi said. “It’s a little bit easier to run that way than the right.”
The MSU commit is 6-foot-6, 288-pound Mustafa Khaleefah, and the Dearborn offense moved behind him Friday night on its way to a 22-8 victory over Romulus in a key Western Wayne Red Division game.
Hannawi carried the ball 19 times and gained 106 yards, and he typically ran through holes provided by Khaleefah.
“It’s fantastic running behind him,” Hannawi said. “He opens it up for me every single time. He’s too strong for everybody we play against.”
As he ran through the Romulus defense, Hannawi spotted Romulus players lying on the ground, thanks to Khaleefah’s blocks.
“I don’t know many pancake blocks I had, a lot I guess,” Khaleefah said. “I don’t really keep count. I keep count of that, and that’s all that matters.”
Khaleefah was pointing at the scoreboard’s final score, which improved the Pioneers to 4-1 (3-0), as Romulus dropped to 4-1 (2-1), despite far too many Dearborn penalties for a Week 5 game.
The running of Hannawi opened up the passing game for quarterback Mikey Phillips, who completed 15 of 22 throws for 126 yards.
Phillips has a run-or-pass option on most plays, and he makes up his mind which play to call just before the ball is snapped.
“It’s all about counting how the defense is set,” Phillips said. “The coaches believe in me to make the right choice. It’s just simple: If they’re going to give me the run, then I want to run the ball. My linemen and our running back, I think, are the best in the state and I’m going to let that happen. If the pass is open, then I’m going to pass the ball.”
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Dearborn safety Hassan Beydoun ended Romulus’ first drive by knocking the ball away from a receiver and up into the air, managing to catch it on its way down for an interception at midfield that led to Phillips’ one-yard sneak.
Romulus’ DeAndre Holmes alertly recovered a bouncing punt after it hit the leg of a Dearborn player, and the Eagles took over at Dearborn’s 32-yard line. Following a short gain supplemented by a 15-yard penalty for a helmet-to helmet hit on Dearborn, Treylarenz Armstrong-Anderson scored on a 13-yard run for an 8-7 lead.
The Pioneers answered immediately, using a horse-collar penalty and a 45-yard run by Hannawi to set up Ayman Baydoun’s 13-yard run as Dearborn took a 13-8 halftime lead.
Dearborn opened the third quarter with Jamil Chami’s 32-yard field goal for a 16-8 lead, and then had a rare penalty-free possession the next time it had the ball. A 16-yard pass to Ali Fayad set up Issa Khalil’s twisting 5-yard TD run for a 22-8 lead with 10:23 left to play.
Khaleefah might not keep track of his pancake blocks, but there is something he does count.
“I did have a sack, which is my first of the season, which I’m really proud of,” he said. “It was awesome. This is my first year playing defense. It’s hard to work those moves, but I finally got it down.”
Contact Mick McCabe: 313-223-4744 or mmccabe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mickmccabe1.