A veteran quarterback doesn’t panic when the going gets tough.

Two-year starter Jack Lupo fit the bill perfectly for Grosse Pointe South Friday in its showdown with Roseville for first place in the Macomb Area Conference White Division.

Lupo passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Blue Devils to a come-from-behind 38-21 victory. The win kept South unbeaten in five games this year and 3-0 in the division.

No play was more impressive than Lupo’s 26-yard scoring strike to James Michelotti early in the fourth quarter to give the Blue Devils a 24-21 lead. The Panthers were applying heavy pressure but Lupo scrambled around until he saw Michelotti at the edge of the end zone.

“We called a fade to the receiver on the left, Trey Grabowski,” Lupo said. “(Roseville) ran the cover 3 and it wasn’t open so I scrambled around. Out of the corner of my eye I saw James wide open in the end zone. I threw it up to him and he got the job done. There were a lot of factors going on in that play but we got it done.”

A 29-yard run by Matt Agnone took South to the Roseville 11, but three-straight penalties against the Blue Devils shoved them back to the 26.

“I think the guys were a little disappointed,” Lupo said. “We just had that big run by Matt Agnone. He made a great play and the penalties kind of killed the vibe.”

The play left South coach Chad Hepner in awe.

“His athleticism to keep the play alive was impressive but even more impressive was his vision to find James on such a broken play and then to have the wherewithal to get him the ball,” Hepner said. “We were on our heels a little bit and that sure helped to shift the momentum.”

Then the defense, which has been South’s strength all season, took over.

Interceptions by Adam Czarnik and Noah Hart killed Roseville’s comeback bid and set up the Blue Devils’ final touchdowns, runs of 6 and 61 yards by Lex Willson.

Ben Kocik’s interception on the first play of the second half at the Roseville 10, set up Lupo’s 3-yard touchdown run.

The Panthers answered immediately on an 84-yard touchdown run by Desmond Straughton to cut the South lead to 17-14. Roseville took the lead late in the third quarter on a 3-yard run by Straughton, his third TD of the game. It was set up by Bryant Holland-Snowden’s interception.

South scored the game’s first touchdown early in the second quarter on a 14-yard pass from Lupo to Sam Rouleau.

The Panthers came back with an 87-yard scoring drive, capped by a short run by Straughton. A 2-point conversion pass from Da’Myron Brown to Jeremiah Davis gave the Panthers an 8-7 lead.

A 31-yard field goal by Onction Zape with 21 seconds left in the first half sent the Blue Devils off at halftime with a 10-8 advantage.

Hepner and Lupo both said defense has been the key to South’s success this season in its bid for a third-straight MAC White title.

“The key to our team is our defense,” Lupo said. “We’ve had so many big plays from our defense and that’s been going on all season. Roseville’s really good. That’s a tough team to play. To hold them to 21 points is a great game for our defense.”

Hepner said the defense is an experienced unit.

“We have a lot of guys coming back from a defense that gave up less than seven points a game last year,” he said. “We had high expectations for that side of the ball and they’ve lived up to those expectations.”

Roseville and South have established quite a rivalry in recent seasons. Last year, South won the regular season game and the Panthers turned the table in the playoffs.

“We’re already mentally preparing to face this team again,” Hepner said.