It was an open invite to the ground-and-pound show Friday night at Wayne State's Tom Adams Field. 

The Pilots (7-0, 3-0 Catholic League Central Division) rushed for seven touchdowns in their 47-26 victory over Harper Woods High School on Senior Night. 

Junior quarterback Brady Drogosh led the way on the ground for the Pilots, with a game-high five rushing scores. 

Drogosh & company's big night running the football was aided by some highly productive run blocking from the offensive line, and De La Salle head coach Dan Rohn was very complimentary of the O-line's performance after the game. 

"You have to give credit to those guys up front -- (senior) Tevon Mixon, (senior) Noah Dobbs and even Brendan Shaeffer who didn't play a lot tonight but is one of our seniors and plays a lot typically. Also, give credit to (senior) Kadin Featherstone and (senior) Jeff Roskopp, and even (senior) Gavin Grzywacz," Rohn said. "Those kids have played really hard for us all week long, and we had some passing opportunities that we missed tonight. But, we figured it was better just to grind it out and keep the defense off the field." 

And boy, did the Purple and Gold grind it out. 

Harper Woods started off the scoring with a 29-yard TD run by senior Christion Stokes, whom the Pilots had a tough time trying to stop all night long. 

"When you play a kid like him and you don't make sure that you're gap sound, he's going to hurt you," Rohn said. "And, we missed twice, when he had big runs against us. We weren't gap sound, and he cut back and made a play against us. And that's going to happen when you're playing against a kid who's going Division I (West Virginia)." 

De La Salle answered right back after the Stokes score, though, scoring via a 59-yard TD run from Drogosh on the subsequent drive. It gave the Pilots a 7-6 lead with 5:44 to play in the first quarter. 

Drogosh scored once more in the first quarter, on a 33-yard run. 

Stokes' dominance on the ground in the quarter wasn't over just yet, either. He took it 75 yards to the house, with just seconds remaining on the clock in the opening quarter. After a failed 2-point conversion attempt from Harper Woods, the Pilots led the Pioneers, 14-12, going into the second quarter. 

Harper Woods retook the lead in the second quarter, via a 32-yard TD run from senior Vinny Booth. After a successful 2-point conversion, the Pioneers led the Purple and Gold, 20-14, with 5:53 to play in the first half. 

Harper Woods kept the lead until Drogosh punched it in the end zone for the Pilots from three yards out, with 0:10 to play in the half. 

It gave De La Salle a 21-20 halftime advantage. 

The Purple and Gold extended their lead to open up the second half, on an 8-yard TD run by sophomore Rhett Roeser. It came with 9:08 to play in the third quarter. 

The Pilots didn't put away the Pioneers just yet, though. 

After an interception from Drogosh, Booth and Harper Woods took advantage, and scored through the air on their ensuing possession. After a failed 2-point conversion attempt, it was a one-point game, 27-26, with 1:47 to play in the third quarter. 

It was the same score at the start of the fourth quarter. 

And that's when the wheels fell off for the Pioneers. 

Drogosh & Co. proceeded to score 20 unanswered points in the final quarter -- 14 of which came courtesy of touchdown runs from the Pilots signal-caller. 

He scored on a 14-yard carry to open up the quarter and then on a 6-yard keeper on his final TD run of the night. The latter was set up by a fumble recovery by junior Griffin Phillips. 

Drogosh finished with 220 yards on the ground, to go along with his five scores. 

He paid credit to the De La Salle coaching staff and offensive line for his standout performance Friday. 

"The preparation from the coaching staff all week was great. We installed a great gameplan, and my offensive line did its job all game long," Drogosh said after the game. "And, when your offensive line is playing for you like that, you want to play for them. So, me leaving my body on the line to get the win for them, my brothers, is the least I could have done." 

Senior Seth Ray scored the final touchdown of the contest for the Purple and Gold, on a 53-yard dash to the end zone. 

Up next for the Pilots is their Catholic League Prep Bowl tilt with Detroit U-D Jesuit Saturday, Oct. 23. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. at Ford Field.