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Drive Complete: 2016 Finals in Review

November 28, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

This season’s MHSAA Football Finals certainly had a familiar look. Five of 2015’s nine champions won again, and the season finished Saturday with only one winner claiming a title for the first time.

But while most finalists were regulars this time, players and coaches change even as teams stay the same. And this weekend, combined with the 8-player Final the Friday before, saw the ends of some eras and the likely beginnings of a few more.

Second Half once again covered all nine championship games, with quick recaps and links to those stories below followed by notations of performances entered into the MHSAA record book and a report on some of the biggest and best stories to emerge from the 2016 Finals.

Finals in Review

Division 1: Detroit Cass Tech 49, Detroit Catholic Central 20

In a meeting of the two top-ranked teams at the end of the regular season, the No. 1 Technicians finished a perfect run by downing the No. 2 Shamrocks in a rematch of the 2011 and 2012 Finals. Cass Tech had finished runner-up in 2015, falling to Romeo in the championship game. Click to read more.

Division 2: Detroit Martin Luther King 18, Walled Lake Western 0

There’s more below on the significance of King’s shutout, which included more points scored by the Crusaders’ defense than offense. The championship was the second straight and third overall for King, which entered this season on a heartbreaking note after coach Dale Harvel died suddenly in July. Click to read more.

Division 3: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 29, Muskegon 28

The most memorable play of the weekend at Ford Field had to be Ky’ren Cunningham’s 18-yard touchdown catch between a pair of Muskegon defenders with four seconds to play. His grab gave the Eaglets their final one-point lead and third straight Division 3 championship. Click to read more.

Division 4: Grand Rapids Catholic Central 10, Detroit Country Day 7

A defensive stalemate for most of the first three quarters got pretty exciting during the fourth, and Grand Rapids Catholic Central claimed its first championship since 2010 despite earning only one first down – on what turned out to be the game-winning play. Click to read more.

Division 5: Grand Rapids West Catholic 43, Menominee 7

Grand Rapids West Catholic became the second team of the weekend to win a fourth-straight MHSAA championship, and in the process beat Menominee in the playoffs for the fourth straight season as well. Quarterback Gaetano Vallone put up a performance that has him all over the MHSAA record book. Click to read more.

Division 6: Jackson Lumen Christi 26, Maple City Glen Lake 14

Frequent contender Lumen Christi earned its first championship since 2009, riding the running of Bo Bell (and at the goal line fullback Kyle Minder) against the passing of Glen Lake’s Cade Peterson. The Titans had started this season 1-2. Click to read more.

Division 7: Pewamo-Westphalia 28, Detroit Loyola 14

The second-leading rusher in MHSAA history, Jared Smith, ran for only 48 yards. But the Pirates took advantage of the attention he drew, with a number of contributors picking up the load as P-W won its first championship. Click to read more.

Division 8: Muskegon Catholic Central 35, Ottawa Lake Whiteford 6

The Crusaders kicked off the 11-player Finals weekend by claiming their fourth straight championship in Division 8, paced by freshman quarterback Cameron Martinez. Whiteford, making its first Finals appearance, trailed only 7-6 at halftime before MCC scored 28 straight during the second half. Click to read more.

8-Player: Powers North Central 58, Deckerville 22

The Jets turned in another dominating performance, this time against previously-undefeated Deckerville. Amid at times a sideways rainstorm, both teams found success running the ball – but especially during the first half, North Central quarterback Jason Whitens simply couldn’t be tackled. Click to read more.

Records Report

Detroit Catholic Central, with its fourth Division 1 Finals appearance this decade, moved into a first-place tie with 17 MHSAA Finals appearances since the start of the tournament in 1975. The Shamrocks share the top spot with Farmington Hills Harrison. DCC has won 10 titles, sixth-most in MHSAA history.

The record for longest Finals field goal was broken twice Saturday. Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Liam Putz drilled a 47-yarder in the Division 5 Final, and held the record for about three hours until Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Ben Fee nailed a 49-yarder in Division 3. Fee also tied the record with most field goals in a game, adding kicks of 32 and 35 yards.

Detroit Cass Tech’s Luis Borjas became one of three who have kicked seven extra points in a Final, making all seven of his tries in Division 1. Muskegon Catholic Central’s Caleb Muskovin also joined the extra point list, making all five of his tries in Division 8.

Jackson Lumen Christi’s Bo Bell easily was the biggest rusher of the weekend, joining the MHSAA list for yards on the ground with 238 on 40 carries in Division 5. As a team, Lumen Christi ran 65 times, which tied for third-most in a Final.

Gaetano Vallone connected with Brett Meyers for a 91-yard pass for West Catholic in the Division 5 Final, the fourth-longest passing play in Finals history and the Falcons’ first touchdown of the game. Vallone finished with 311 yards on 13 of 20 passing, good for the fifth-most passing yards in a Final. He also became one of 10 passers to throw for four touchdowns, and his 394 total yards (including 83 rushing) rank sixth. With teammates Dominic Stornant (six yards) and David Fox (34) also completing one pass apiece, West Catholic threw for 351 yards – third most by one team.

Maple City Glen Lake quarterback Cade Peterson also made the passing yards list, throwing for 254 on 15-of-20 passing in Division 5.

Cass Tech quarterback Rodney Hall capped his high school career by tying the MHSAA Finals record for passing touchdowns in a game, connecting for five in the Technicians’ win over DCC. As a team, Cass Tech tied for the sixth-most points in a Final with 49 in the 49-20 win and also became the 23rd team to not punt in an MHSAA Final.

Menominee’s Hunter Hass scored the first blocked field goal return touchdown in Finals history, bringing one back 73 yards in Division 5.

Detroit Martin Luther King’s Jay-Veyon Morton and Jesse Scarber and West Catholic’s Connor Bolthouse and Sam Neville joined 26 others with at least two interceptions in a game, each snaring two this weekend in Divisions 2 and 5, respectively. Morton and Scarber both returned an interception for a touchdown, allowing Martin Luther King to tie its 2007 Finals record with two interception return scores.

Yellow flags flew at a minimum over the two days of the 11-player Finals, and especially in the Division 8 game; Muskegon Catholic Central (no penalties) and Ottawa Lake Whiteford (one penalty- five yards) combined for the second-fewest penalty yards in a championship game.

Powers North Central quarterback Jason Whitens left his name all over the 8-Player Finals record book. He set records with 352 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, tied the record with six total touchdowns, and was second with 40 points scored (he had two two-point conversions as well) and 452 total yards.

As a team, the Jets put up 58 points – tied with their 2015 team for third-most in an 8-Player Final – and combined with Deckerville (22) for 80 points, which also ranks third. Powers North Central also set team records with 469 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, and the two teams set an 8-Player Finals record with 971 total yards between them with North Central’s 569 the fourth-most by one team. Deckerville also made the single-game rushing list with 330 yards.

Stories behind the scores

Public School League pride: For the first time, multiple Detroit PSL teams left Ford Field as MHSAA champions. Cass Tech and King – which had met twice during the regular season, including in the PSL Final – both won titles. King had won Division 2 last season, but Cass Tech fell in the Division 1 Final.

First – and last – first down: The Division 4 Final between Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Detroit Country Day included a lot of defense – and a few of the most statistical curiosities to be found in recent Finals history. The teams combined to rush 69 times – but each ended up with only eight rushing yards. GRCC had an incredible 11 sacks – and yet, also won the game with only one first down, on Michael Brown’s 44-yard receiving touchdown that gave the Cougars their final lead early in the fourth quarter.

Impressive zero: Speaking of defense, King’s shutout of Walled Lake Western was the third total by any team in the Finals over the last three years – but first ever in either Division 1 or Division 2 (the division format began in 1999). It was also the first shutout in a Final of one of the two divisions made up of the state’s largest schools since Detroit Catholic Central shut out Holt 24-0 in 1995 in Class AA.

Impressive zero, part II: With its second straight perfect season, Powers North Central remains undefeated in two years of 8-player football. The Jets are 26-0 since making the switch before the start of the 2015 season, and in that time no opponent has come within single digits of matching them. Crystal Falls Forest Park, in falling 60-50 in this season’s Regional Final, gave North Central its closest game of the two-season run.

Leaving no doubt: Three 11-player champions made especially impressive runs to Ford Field, eliminating a number of contenders along the way. Grand Rapids West Catholic won its fourth straight Division 5 championship by playing its first three games this playoffs on the road before the neutral-site Semifinal, taking down top-ranked Portland and No. 4 Lansing Catholic on the way. Division 1 No. 1 Cass Tech downed No. 2 DCC in the Final after beating No. 3 Utica Eisenhower in the Semifinal, No. 4 Saline in the Regional Final and Nos. 7 and 8 Dearborn and Dearborn Fordson as well. Pewamo-Westphalia in Division 7 had a similar story; the Pirates entered the postseason ranked No. 2, then beat No. 3 Saugatuck, No. 1 Traverse City St. Francis and No.4 Ubly before downing No. 5 Loyola.

The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.

PHOTOS: (Top) All nine MHSAA champions, at some point in their Finals marches. (Middle) Detroit King's defense brings down a Walled Lake Western ball carrier in Division 2. (Below) Grand Rapids Catholic Central raises the Division 4 championship trophy.

Haslett/Okemos football

1st & Goal: 2021 Week 2 in Review

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 6, 2021

From Niles to Napoleon to Petoskey, teams that frequently were stopped in their tracks a year ago have successfully made that first cut into the open over the first two weeks of the 2021 season.

Others like Detroit Cass Tech and Martin Luther King have found full stride – their breakaways coming over the weekend against a pair of annual contenders from the opposite side of the Lower Peninsula and right on time to set up potentially the most high-powered matchup of this regular season.

Below is a glance at especially eye-catching scores and some of the stories behind them from Week 2.   

Bay & Thumb

HEADLINER Bad Axe 42, Cass City 0 The game that couldn’t be played last season was finally played last week, and Bad Axe sent a statement in the Greater Thumb Conference West. Both Bad Axe (2-0) and Cass City (0-2) had finished unbeaten in the league last season, but their early-season game had been canceled. The Hatchets won this matchup for the first time since 2014, ripping 50 and 60-yard touchdown runs on the way. Click for more from the Huron Daily Tribune.

Watch list Croswell-Lexington 28, North Branch 7 The Pioneers’ lost last season only twice, both times to eventual Blue Water Area Conference and District champion North Branch. Circle Croswell-Lexington’s Week 5 against Richmond as a potential BWAC title decider.

Remember this one Standish-Sterling 27, Ithaca 20 While last week’s big win over Pinconning was worth celebrating too, this week’s Panthers victory over Ithaca could be much more telling of a potential turnaround. Standish-Sterling (2-0) is seeking its first winning season since 2013; its only victory last season came by forfeit.

More shoutouts Marlette 36, Sandusky 12 The Red Raiders (1-1) defeated reigning GTC East champion Sandusky for the first time since 2013. Grand Blanc 38, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 34 The Bobcats moved to 2-0 thanks to Hunter Ames’ 74-yard go-ahead touchdown toss to Nasir Carson with 30 seconds to play.

Greater Detroit

HEADLINER Detroit Martin Luther King 40, Muskegon Mona Shores 19 With their first of three recent meetings in the 2019 Division 2 Final, these two have arguably the best cross-state series running. The Sailors (1-1) won the first two matchups and had won 19 straight including the last two Division 2 titles. King (1-1) couldn’t have earned a better bounce-back after falling in its opener on a game-ending touchdown pass. Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.

Watch list Detroit Cass Tech 49, Muskegon 14 Undefeated Cass Tech’s dominating performance on the road against one of the top programs in the state just added to the anticipation of this week’s matchup with King.

Remember this one Warren De La Salle 38, River Rouge 29 Both had to scramble after losing Week 2 opponents, and the result was a high-caliber matchup between two teams that ended at Ford Field last season.

More shoutouts Detroit Catholic Central 35, Davison 14 The Shamrocks quickly bounced back from their Week 1 loss to Chippewa Valley with a solid win over a Davison team that while 0-2 has to be one of the best teams in Michigan still looking for a first win. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 17, Hudsonville 15 The Eaglets are 2-0 with those wins by a combined seven points against strong opponents; consider Hudsonville another of the best 0-2 teams in the state after two defeats by a combined six points against top competition.

Mid-Michigan

HEADLINER Portland 20, DeWitt 17 Keeping in mind that Portland played for the Division 5 championship just three seasons ago and had split games the last two seasons with the Panthers (1-1), this one still reverberated across the state. That’s mostly because of how the Raiders pulled it off. First, Portland (2-0) stopped a veteran DeWitt offense that averaged 45 points per game last year and scored 47 in its season opener. Then came the game-winning score with 22 seconds to play. Click for more from the Ionia Sentinel-Standard.

Watch list Hartland 19, Novi 7 The Eagles are seeking their first winning season since 2015 and are off to a 2-0 start for the second season in a row. They just missed getting back over the hump last year finishing 3-4 with two close losses at the end.

Remember this one Corunna 20, Hemlock 13 The Cavaliers (1-1) won more games last season than the previous two combined in going 5-4. If they take another step, this could be remembered as the win that put them back on the right track. Jaden Edington’s touchdown run with 10:26 left was the game-winner.  

More shoutouts Hastings 38, Battle Creek Harper Creek 35 The reigning Interstate 8 Athletic Conference champ Saxons (2-0) survived a close one as they embarked on their repeat quest. Lansing Catholic 30, Williamston 21 Portland is going to get all the buzz coming out of this week, but the Cougars also showed against a top-tier program that they’ll be in the thick of the Capital Area Activities Conference White race as well.

Northern Lower Peninsula

HEADLINER Kingsley 48, Maple City Glen Lake 0 The Stags (2-0) are going to be a team we all watch this season. They’ve now won 22 of their last 23 on the field, and Glen Lake (1-1) hadn’t taken a loss of this magnitude since the teams’ 2019 meeting (after which the Lakers bounced back to finish Division 6 runner-up). League play starts next week for both, and you can already circle Kingsley vs. Traverse City St. Francis in Week 9 among the most intriguing regular-season finales statewide. Click for more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Watch list Petoskey 44, Escanaba 27 The Northmen (2-0) haven’t won more than two games in a season since 2018, but that’s almost assured with this especially impressive as Escanaba (1-1) has been one of the Upper Peninsula’s best again over the last half-decade.

Remember this one Boyne City 27, Charlevoix 8 The Ramblers (2-0) had dropped two straight to the Red Rayders, who suffered their first regular-season loss since Week 8 of 2019.

More shoutouts Traverse City Central 60, Marquette 28 The Trojans (1-1) bounced back from an opening loss to DeWitt with their seventh-straight win over Marquette (1-1). Elk Rapids 48, Johannesburg-Lewiston 28 Even with the Cardinals (0-2) off to a rare slow start, this provided plenty of reason to celebrate after Elk Rapids won once last season.

Southeast & Border

HEADLINER Hudson 22, Erie Mason 0 The Tigers raised some eyes with an opening-night win over Ithaca, and many more will be watching now that they’ve shut out the reigning Tri-County Conference champion as well. They are 2-0 for the first time since 2017, and they have another opportunity to make some noise this week when they start the Lenawee County Athletic Association schedule against last season’s Division 6 runner-up Clinton. Click for more from the Adrian Daily Telegram.

Watch list Napoleon 54, East Jackson 0 The Pirates are 2-0 for the first time since 2002, and already have doubled their victory total from 2020.

Remember this one Ottawa Lake Whiteford 34, Ida 14 In these teams’ first meeting since 1976, Whiteford earned its first win over Ida since 1968 according to Michigan-football.com.

More shoutouts Reading 30, Grass Lake 12 The Rangers’ defense has been especially impressive so far, following up a shutout by giving up only 12 points to a Warriors team that hasn’t finishing below .500 since 2001. Milan 27, New Boston Huron 19 These two tied for second in the Huron League last season behind Riverview. This season’s race is only getting started, of course, and Huron (1-1) gets the undefeated Pirates this week while Milan has defeated opponents that went a combined 16-3 in 2020.

Southwest Corridor

HEADLINER Niles 26, Buchanan 0 Former Three Rivers coach Scott Shaw – who led that program to the 2003 Division 4 title – has made Niles another team on the rise in his first season. The Vikings won one game a year ago, two the season before and no more than three since 2014. But Niles followed up an opening-night victory over Sturgis with this shutout of the Bucks, who finished 8-1 in 2020. Click for more from the South Bend Tribune.

Watch list Niles Brandywine 30, Cassopolis 24 After opening with a win over reigning Division 8 champ Centreville, Brandywine moved to 2-0 against a Rangers team (1-1) looking to bounce back from a rare off year.

Remember this one Battle Creek Lakeview 42, Portage Northern 21 The Spartans (2-0) also are off to a strong start, including this win over the team that would’ve had a claim to the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title if one had been awarded during the abbreviated 2020 season. Lakeview takes on River Rouge this week – an excellent test – and regardless of the result should be a contender in the SMAC when it returns to league play Week 4.

More shoutouts Centreville 28, Schoolcraft 7 The Bulldogs (1-1) rebounded from that Brandywine defeat by handing the second this fall to last season Division 7 semifinalist Schoolcraft. Stevensville Lakeshore 41, Kalamazoo United 19 Ryan Korfmacher set a Lakeshore passing record with 385 yards as his team moved to 2-0.

Upper Peninsula

HEADLINER Ishpeming Westwood 28, Iron Mountain 0 The Patriots (2-0) already look like the team to beat in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper, and running back Zack Carlson just missed getting to 10 touchdowns before Labor Day. And don’t forget the defense, which handed the Mountaineers (1-1) their first shutout since 2018. Click for more from the Iron Mountain Daily News.

Watch list Negaunee 35, Calumet 21 The Miners (1-1), who lost by two Week 1 to Iron Mountain, are now the main candidates standing in the way of a Westwood league title – although Calumet (0-2) still has a say as well and will face Westwood this week.

Remember this one Bark River-Harris 53, West Iron County 6 The Broncos (2-0) already look very good in the West-PAC Iron title race at 2-0 with two games to play and this big win over a Wykons team coming off an undefeated 2020 regular season.

More shoutouts Hancock 20, Ishpeming 12 The Bulldogs (1-1) bounced back nicely from an opening-night loss, while handing Ishpeming (1-1) its first of the fall. Kingsford 21, Gladstone 6 The Flivvers (2-0) haven’t lost in this series since 1998 and this fall have given up only 12 points total.

West Michigan

HEADLINER Muskegon Oakridge 32, Whitehall 19 Although reigning champ Montague bounced back big from its Week 1 loss, this early matchup very well could have a lot to say in the West Michigan Conference race before it’s over. Oakridge (2-0) got up by 20 during the third quarter and held on the rest of the way. The Eagles see Montague in Week 4, and Whitehall (1-1) gets the Wildcats in Week 8. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.  

Watch list Spring Lake 56, Zeeland East 21 Spring Lake had to wait an extra week to get started, taking a forfeit win in Week 1. But the Lakers were the talk of West Michigan once they finally got on the field, impressing against one of the region’s annual powers.  

Remember this one Rockford 35, Cedar Springs 6 This was a great sign for the Rams heading into Ottawa-Kent Conference Red play, especially defensively, as Cedar Springs is likely again to make some noise in the Gold.

More shoutouts Allendale 14, Hopkins 0 The Falcons head into O-K Blue play coming off a shutout of last season’s Silver champion. East Grand Rapids 30, Grand Rapids South Christian 21 The Pioneers (1-1) rebounded from an opening loss to run their winning streak over the Sailors to five with the O-K White schedule set to begin.

8-Player

HEADLINER Deckerville 50, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 26 The Eagles also had to wait an extra week to get rolling, but it didn’t take long for them to catch up against an Irish team that reached the Division 2 Regional Finals last season. Both should contend in North Central Thumb League divisions, Deckerville after finishing third in the Stars last season and Sacred Heart coming off a runner-up run in the Stripes.

Watch list Mio 12, Hillman 0 The Thunderbolts went from 9-2 in 2019 to 0-6 in 2020, but at 2-0 they’re headed back up in a hurry. They have yet to give up a point.

Remember this one Rudyard 63, Cedarville 6 The Bulldogs (2-0) had lost all eight games to Cedarville since moving to 8-player football in 2016, and they also upped their scoring margin this fall to a combined 115-6.

More shoutouts Lake Linden-Hubbell 60, Rapid River 6 The Lakes (2-0) are finding their footing in 8-player and have outscored their first two opponents of the season by a combined 102-14. Pellston 36, Hale 12 After trailing at the half, Pellston (2-0) outscored Hale 28-0 during the second to run its regular-season winning streak to 10.

PHOTOS: (Top) Haslett drives on Okemos during Thursday's 47-0 win. (Middle) Detroit Catholic Central's Declan Byle unloads a pass as Davison defenders close in. (Below) Negaunee quarterback Gerald Johnson keeps the ball but is tackled by Calumet's Hans Killunen. (Photos by John Johnson, Terry Lyons and Cara Kamps, respectively.)