Chasing quarterback Jack Lupo around in practice every day was good preparation for Grosse Pointe South’s defense when it faced Roseville and its elusive signal caller Jordan Simes.

“It certainly helps,” said senior linebacker Lex Willson Friday after the Blue Devils held on for a 27-26 victory against the Panthers in a Division 2 district semifinal football game. “That kind of practice is definitely good.

“They have absolutely unreal athletes. It definitely makes it challenging when they have a shifty quarterback like that. We just tried to be consistent with constant pressure.”

That was never more obvious than the next to last play of the game.

Roseville had driven from its 8-yard line to the South 15 on the strength of Simes’ passing. He completed throws of 24, 18 and 15 yards to Herman Searcy and a 36-yarder to Eric Slater.

On fourth down, Willson knew the Blue Devils’ undefeated season was hanging in the balance.

“I was trying to get everybody hyped,” Willson said. “I didn’t want this to be my last game of high school football. I wanted us to leave it all out there. I was trying to flush him out of the pocket and we got a lot of pressure. He threw it and it was incomplete. We made a lot of great plays on defense tonight.”

The win sends South into the district final next week at home against De La Salle, which beat Port Huron 49-0 in its semifinal.

When South’s Onction Zape connected on a 30-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Blue Devils had a 27-12 lead.

That left the Panthers with plenty of time to make things uncomfortable for the Blue Devils and their fans.

Roseville drove 91 yards in 10 plays to score on a 1-yard run by Desmond Straughton. Simes passed to Da’Myron Brown for the 2-point conversion and South’s lead was 27-20.

“(Simes) was hurting us all day,” said South coach Chad Hepner. “He was throwing the ball a little more accurately than we thought and making plays with his legs, too. Similar to our quarterback.”

The Panthers’ defense forced a three-and-out on the Blue Devils’ next possession and Roseville took over on its 40. A 20-yard pass to Searcy and the running of Straughton and Simes set up a 13-yard scoring strike to Slater. Roseville’s attempt at a 2-point conversion failed and South still led by a point.

The Panthers’ defense held again and D’Ondre Fordham’s sack on third down forced the Blue Devils to punt. Roseville got the ball for its final drive with 3:13 remaining.

“It’s been like that all year. We keep fighting hard,” said Roseville coach Vernard Snowden. “It was West Bloomfield last week, Romeo the week before. They’re tough kids. I hate that it ended this way but Grosse Pointe South is a tough team and they just pulled it out. I’m very proud of my kids. I like where our program is.”

Roseville finished 7-3, the fourth straight year the team has won at least seven games.

South took advantage of a Roseville fumble and Noah Hart’s recovery to score early in the first quarter on a 16-yard pass from Lupo to Trey Grabowski.

Lupo’s scrambling and passing led to the Blue Devils’ second score — a 31-yard run by Sam Rouleau early in the second quarter. Lupo passed for 22 yards to Grabowski, 14 to Vince Vachon and 13 to Rouleau in the 82-yard drive.

Straughton’s 1-yard run put Roseville on the scoreboard with 2:53 left in the first half, but Zape’s 23-yard field goal on the final play of the half sent South to the locker room with a 17-6 lead.

The Blue Devils increased their lead to 24-6 on a 22-yard pass from Lupo to James Michelotti early in the second half. Franklin Gallagher’s fumble recovery set up the score.

“Two years in and Jack’s still improving — his checks at the line, his audibles and the way he runs the offense to put us in the best position to make a play,” Hepner said. “When things break down he’s able to do things with his legs. I’m sure he has to be very frustrating for defenses.”

Lupo has an excellent receiving corps.

“We have a lot of depth at receiver,” Hepner said. “Every kid who’s out there on every play is dangerous. If you take one away we’re very comfortable going to the other guys.”

Roseville began its comeback late in the third quarter on a 19-yard run by Simes. The score was set up by a 32-yard pass from Simes to Searcy. The extra point attempt was stopped on a tackle by Josh Lemanski and Henry Domzalski.

“I’ve enjoyed watching Jordan mature and grow the last three years,” Snowden said. “He and Herman did a lot of good things in the game.”

South’s 10th win set a school record.

“I think that’s something we’ll sit back and reflect on more when the season is over,” Hepner said. “That’s a huge accomplishment. There’s been a lot of good football played here but right now we’ve still got goals in front of us.”

Hepner predicted a rematch with Roseville after the Blue Devils defeated the Panthers 38-21 in a battle for first place in the Macomb Area Conference White Division.

“That’s how the districts are put together these days,” he said. “You’re going to get schools in close proximity. As much as we knew we were going to face a good team, we did kind of like the challenge to get revenge against the team that knocked us out last year.”