Finals Flashback: Remembering the '9s'
November 29, 2019
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
This weekend’s MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field will conclude another decade for the most played and watched high school sport in Michigan.
We’ll roll into this year’s games remembering some decade-enders of the past from 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009.
Redemption
The 1979 season marked the first playoff appearance for Norway, which had failed to qualify for the MHSAA postseason in 1975 and 1976 despite undefeated seasons.
However, the scoreless first half of the Knights’ Class D championship battle with Schoolcraft wasn’t proceeding as planned.
“We went into the locker room at halftime and made a few offensive changes,” said Norway coach Bob Giannunzio. “Our running game wasn’t working, so we decided we would pass more in the second half.”
The Norway defense forced six second-half turnovers that led to three touchdowns and a 21-6 win over Schoolcraft. Quarterback Chuck Soderlund connected on 6-of-14 passes for 110 yards including a 45-yard TD pass to Gregg Noordhoff to break the scoreless deadlock. Nordhoff added a second score from four yards out early in the in the fourth quarter for a 14-6 lead. Soderlund added a game-sealing TD on a QB sneak with 1:30 remaining.
It was the first of back-to-back titles for Giannunzio and the little Upper Peninsula school located near Iron Mountain. Since that season, Norway has advanced as far as the Semifinal round twice, in both 2002 and 2006
“We said if we ever got here we’d win it, said Giannunzio to the Detroit Free Press. “We wanted to start off right for the U.P. It’s a big burden playing for the whole Upper Peninsula.”
The Greatest
In Class B in 1989, Farmington Hills Harrison scored a 28-27 victory over DeWitt in what many still consider one of the greatest games of the MHSAA’s 45-year playoff history. The reigning Class B champion and top-ranked Hawks had their hands full. Tied 7-7 after one quarter, the Panthers grabbed a two-touchdown lead in the second quarter on 32-yard run by fullback John Tellford and a 35-yard pass play from Tellford to John Cowan. Harrison responded with a Matt Conley one-yard run to cut the margin to 21-14 at the half.
Hawks quarterback Mill Coleman knotted the score at 21-21 with a dazzling 16-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but DeWitt stormed back again driving 75 yards on 13 plays. The series was highlighted by tight end Dave Riker's 24-yard, one-handed catch to the Hawks’ 3-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Chris Berkimer slipped over from the 1, and DeWitt again took the lead 27-21.
With 2:12 remaining and the ball at the Harrison 33, Coleman went to work. Three quick completions moved the ball to the DeWitt 16, and then Coleman let his legs do the rest. Following a Hawks timeout, Coleman dashed right for seven more yards to the Panthers’ 9. Facing a 2nd-and-3, Coleman dropped back to pass, escaped the rush at the DeWitt 17, then scampered up the middle and dove into the end zone for the tying points. Steve Hill added his fourth PAT of the game with 1:34 remaining for the final margin, then secured the victory with an interception on the next series.
Electrifying
Charles Rogers, perhaps the most electrifying high school receiver to ever touch the carpet at the Pontiac Silverdome, caught a single pass in the 1999 Division 2 title game, but he was the difference maker in Saginaw’s 14-7 win over Birmingham Brother Rice. The reception, defended by a single back, was a 60-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Cork on Saginaw’s first possession. Rogers broke a pair of tackles on the way to the end zone to open the scoring. The point-after attempt was blocked.
It was one of only six pass attempts by Saginaw on the day, and the only completion. But after that, as Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press wrote, “If Rogers would have gone up to the concourse for a hot dog, I’m sure a couple of Rice defensive backs would have been there to wipe the mustard off his chin.”
“He’s a big-time player, he should be in the NFL,” Rice coach Al Fracassa told McCabe. “He reminded me of Randy Moss. He’s always a threat just having him out there.”
A Saginaw fumble on the first play of the second half was recovered by Rice’s Tony Gioutsos at the Trojans’ 31. Eight plays later, Gioutsos scored from five yards out. Ross Ryan added the extra point for a 7-6 Rice lead.
Saginaw’s defense was aggressive, with constant pressure on Rice quarterback Mark Baker, sacking him twice while holding the Warriors to 78 yards rushing on 36 attempts.
Saginaw took advantage of the extra attention received by Rogers. Terry Jackson pounded out 106 yards on 18 carries, including 60 of Saginaw’s 84 yards on their game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. With Rogers drawing triple coverage, Jackson dashed opposite side for a 17-yard TD with 7:03 to play. Jackson also added the 2-point conversion for the game’s final margin.
A Wild Ride
Farmington Hills Harrison picked up its 10th state title with a 42-35 win over Grand Rapids Creston in a 1999 Division 3 championship game filled with wide-open play. Creston opened the title contest with a recovered onside kick and then drove 49 yards in five plays, ending with an Andrew Terry’s touchdown from a yard out. Harrison rebounded with a field goal, followed by a three-yard TD run by Kevin Woods off a pass interception for a 10-7 lead.
Creston responded with a four play, 79-yard touchdown drive that consumed a little over two minutes. Featuring a 41-yard pass play from QB Carlton Brewster to Lanard Latham near the end of the first quarter, the Polar Bears opened the second with a 25-yard run to the end zone by Terry. Odene Pringle’s extra point gave Creston a 14-10 lead.
Harrison then went 68 yards in six plays and under three minutes as Woods scored again from a yard out to regain the lead for his team 17-14.
The fireworks continued following another pass interception by the Hawks and another three-yard TD by Woods that upped the lead to 24-14. By halftime it was 27-21.
Harrison’s lead was short-lived as coach Charles “Sparky” McEwen’s Creston squad went 80 yards in 2:27 following the kickoff, capped by a Brewster to Latham 11-yard scoring strike. Pringle’s kick made it 28-27.
The Hawks responded on the next drive. It was 35-28 at the end for three quarters, then 42-28 when Woods scored again near the beginning of the fourth. In total, he would finish with 153 yards on 33 carries and four touchdowns, tying then-Final scoring marks for touchdowns and points.
Creston struck again with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Richard Gill from Brewster with 7:00 remaining to pull within a seven, 42-35. The Polar Bears regained the ball with 57 second remaining, but a final Hail Mary fell incomplete, ending one of the tournament’s most entertaining games.
Thriller
In 2007, the East Grand Rapids-Orchard Lake St. Mary’s championship battle was a 5 OT affair.
In 2009, it was again anybody’s guess who would emerge as the winner between the schools. The Pioneers entered undefeated, while Orchard Lake St. Mary’s carried four losses into the contest. They began the year with two defeats for the first time since 1991. The first was to this same East team, 21-7. Two others were to Division 1 Detroit Catholic Central, 27-0 and then 7-0.
The opening quarter of the Division 3 Final was scoreless. Orchard Lake opened the scoring early in the second. Quarterback Robert Bolden hit Gary Hunter for a 49-yard completion, and three plays later Bolden broke a pair of tackles to ramble across the goal line from 13 yards out. The Pioneers tied the game at 7-7 with 30 seconds remaining before the intermission, when 6-foot-7 Colin Voss caught a five-yard pass from Ryan Elble and snaked the last two yards into the end zone. St. Mary’s nearly answered in the time remaining as Hunter returned the kickoff 63 yards to the Pioneers’ 24. A false start penalty sent the ball back to the EGR 29, but then Bolden completed a pass to Allen Robinson for 28 yards to the Pioneers’ 1-yard line. Two rushing attempts by St. Mary’s were stopped at the goal line as time expired in the half, the last by Bolden that was ended by East’s Joshua Laarman.
Orchard Lake had opened a 21-17 lead with 9:12 remaining in the game following a three-yard TD by Cortez Riley and an extra point by Nathan Perry. With 4:01 left, that score still stood as the Pioneers took possession at their own 13 following an Eaglets punt. Kirk Spencer dashed for 38 yards to the Orchard Lake 49 on the first play. But with 2:49 remaining, East faced desperation at 4th-and-14. The ensuing pass, intended for Voss, slipped off his fingertips, but was caught by Spencer for a gain of 27 yards to the St. Mary’s 26. With 1:14 to play, Elble found Deon Jobe in the end zone from 15 yards out. Bobby Aardema’s kick gave East Grand Rapids a 24-21 lead.
“But it wasn’t quite over until we heard from Laarman and Spencer one more time,” wrote McCabe about play after the touchdown. “Bolden completed two passes to get to East’s 44 when he took off running. Earlier he scored on a breathtaking 83-yard keeper (giving St. Mary as 14-10 lead in the third quarter).
“The first thing Laarman thought of when he saw Bolden take off was: here we go again.”
Laarman caused a fumble on his attempted stop, and Spencer came up with the ball to seal victory. The win gave East Grand Rapids its fourth consecutive championship. East Grand Rapids would win five straight Division 3 titles between 2006 and 2010.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Harrison scored late to edge DeWitt 28-27 in the 1989 Class B Final. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)
1st & Goal: 2023 Football Finals Review
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 29, 2023
On jaw-dropping moments alone, the 2023 Football Finals played over the last two weekends at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome and Ford Field were an unforgettable success.
The two longest active winning streaks in the state were ended by first-time champions. Perhaps the two most recognizable players in Michigan faced off in the season finale. The winningest active coach in state history led his team to a record-tying title, while two more coaches retired with their program’s first. The lone repeat champion needed every last second to score all of its points during the fourth quarter, and four reigning champions saw their repeat or three-peat bids denied.
Consider those an opening kickoff of the final “1st & Goal Review” this season.
MHSAA.com covered all 10 championship games, with quick recaps and links (click on the game scores) to those stories below followed by notations of performances entered into the MHSAA Finals record book and a report on some of the main storylines to emerge as those championships were being decided.
Finals in Review
11-Player Division 1: Southfield Arts & Technology 36, Belleville 32 – Read
The concluding game of this season’s Finals kept everyone on the edge of their seats as A&T not only claimed its first championship but ended reigning champ Belleville’s winning streak at 38 games. This matched up arguably the top quarterbacks in the state, with senior Isaiah Marshall piling up 415 total yards while running for a touchdown and throwing for two more, and Belleville junior Bryce Underwood totaling 203 total yards with a passing score as he attempted to lead the Tigers to a Division 1 title for the third-straight season.
11-Player Division 2: Muskegon 33, Warren De La Salle Collegiate 21 – Read
Muskegon also ended a two-year title streak, as De La Salle was the reigning champion and making its fourth-straight Finals appearance. The Big Reds had finished Division 3 runner-up in 2022, but followed senior quarterback M’Khi Guy, who piled up 374 total yards, ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for two more.
11-Player Division 3: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 27, Mason 10 – Read
Both were playing for a first championship, and Forest Hills Central after finishing Division 2 runner-up last season. Several top contributors from the 2022 Rangers team were back, and they limited a Mason offense that had averaged 41 points per game entering the finale. In doing so, FHC sent retiring coach Tim Rogers out with the ultimate win.
11-Player Division 4: Harper Woods 33, Grand Rapids South Christian 27 – Read
Harper Woods was another first-time champion, carrying a 14-0 lead into the second quarter and extending it to as many as 20 before South Christian made a late run behind the record-setting passing of junior quarterback Carson Vis. Harper Woods lost junior lead back Colby Bailey on the second play, but junior Donald Adams stepped in and averaged 10 yards per carry with 174 total.
11-Player Division 5: Grand Rapids Catholic Central 21, Corunna 7 – Read
After missing out on a Ford Field trip last fall, Grand Rapids Catholic Central claimed its third Division 5 title over the last four seasons. Senior quarterback Connor Wolf ran for all three touchdowns and senior running back Kellen Russell-Dixon powered the attack with 133 yards on the ground. Corunna was making its first Finals appearance and gave the Cougars one of their closest games, as all but three wins had come by at least 32 points.
11-Player Division 6: Kingsley 38, Almont 24 – Read
Kingsley claimed its first Finals championship since 2005 led by another record-setting performance. Senior running back Eli Graves tied the Finals record scoring 30 points, the last of his four touchdowns with 2:19 to play and after Almont had pulled within six points of the lead. The Stags controlled the ball for more than 33 minutes – or nearly 70 percent of the game.
11-Player Division 7: Jackson Lumen Christi 34, Menominee 30 – Read
The Titans and longtime coach Herb Brogan tied the MHSAA record with their 13th Finals championship as they scored the game-winning points with 4:04 to play to complete this repeat title run. Junior running back Kadale Williams ran for 276 yards, the fifth-most in Finals history, and scored his first two touchdowns during the second quarter to bring Lumen back from an early 14-0 deficit.
11-Player Division 8: Ubly 21, Ottawa Lake Whiteford 6 – Read
The rematch of the 2022 Division 8 Final – won by Whiteford – this time went Ubly’s way as the Bearcats also ended the Bobcats’ 27-game winning streak in coach Eric Sweeney's final game. Ubly had finished Finals runner-up three times, but concluded its first championship season 14-0. The teams played a scoreless first quarter and Whiteford scored first in the second before the Bearcats stacked three scoring drives of at least 5 minutes, 30 seconds apiece.
8-Player Division 1: Martin 30, Indian River Inland Lakes 26 – Read
Martin scored all 30 of its points during the final 10:17 to repeat as Division 1 champion in unimaginable fashion. Junior quarterback Gavin Meyers’ 21-yard run with five seconds to play put the Clippers ahead for good, and he finished with 358 total yards and also threw a touchdown pass with 33 seconds left to pull Martin within four points of the lead. Inland Lakes was playing its first Final.
8-Player Division 2: Adrian Lenawee Christin 36, Marion 18 – Read
Lenawee Christian clinched its third Finals championship over the last four seasons and after falling short a year ago. Senior quarterback Sam Lutz piled up one more massive statistical performance, throwing for 350 yards and three touchdowns on near-perfect passing, while also running for two scores. Marion was making its first Finals appearance since 1990.
Records Report
As noted above, Jackson Lumen Christi tied the MHSAA football record by winning its 13th Finals championship. The Titans share that top spot with now-closed Farmington Hills Harrison, and Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Muskegon also moved up that list with their eighth and seventh titles, respectively. Lumen Christi also played in its 16th championship game – third-most and two short of Harrison’s record in that category, while Muskegon played in its 14th, GRCC in its 10th and Grand Rapids South Christian and Warren De La Salle Collegiate both in their ninth Final.
Kingsley senior Eli Graves became one of five to score a record 30 points in an 11-Player Final, doing so with four rushing touchdowns and three 2-point conversions. His four touchdowns tied for fifth-most TDs in a Final and tied for third-most rushing scores. Graves also made the single-game rushing yards list with 210 yards on 33 carries.
Jackson Lumen Christi junior Kadale Williams finished his season with more than 1,900 yards rushing after reaching the single-game Finals rushing list with 276 on 27 carries. Muskegon senior quarterback M’Khi Guy joined Williams and Graves with 215 rushing yards on 25 carries.
Although Harper Woods and Grand Rapids South Christian combined to score just 60 points, they combined for 1,030 total yards, second-most on the list for both teams combined, and South Christian’s 533 total yards alone tied for fourth-most by a single team. Sailors junior quarterback Carson Vis set 11-Player Finals records with 441 passing yards, 30 completions and 513 total yards, and his 44 pass attempts rank second. His senior receiver Jake Vermaas made lists with 10 receptions and 176 yards. Not surprisingly, Vis’ passing yards also make the most by one team in an 11-Player Final.
Southfield A&T senior Isaiah Marshall also made the total yardage list with 415, ranking fourth, and his 281 passing yards and 20 completions also earned entries. Guy made the total yardage list with 374 and also the longest pass list with a 94-yarder to senior Destin Piggee for a score. De La Salle junior Sante Gasperoni made the single-game passing yardage list with 249, and Harper Woods sophomore Nate Rocheleau also made the longest throw list with a 90-yard scoring toss to senior Ramonty Houze. Mason junior Cason Carswell made the attempts and completions lists connecting on 22 of 40 passes.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior Alex Moeller made the single-game field goals list in 11-player with two, from 35 and 27 yards out. Lumen Christi junior Andrew Salazar made the single-game extra points list with five in five tries.
Senior Tashi Braceful was on the other end of some of Marshall’s record work making the 11-player receptions list with 10 catches, for 152 yards.
Conversely, two teams made the list for fewest passing attempts in an 11-player championship game – Almont, which completed one pass on two attempts, and Ubly, which attempted three passes and completed two.
South Christian earned one more entry from the Division 4 game, tying for third-most first downs with 28. Kingsley also made that list, ranking sixth with 27.
Kingsley and Ubly also made the list for fewest punts in an 11-Player Final, as neither punted last weekend.
Marion senior Gavin Prielipp set the 8-Player Finals record for the fastest touchdown scored on an opening kickoff, bringing it back in Division 2 76 yards for a score over the game’s first nine seconds.
Lenawee Christian sophomore Max Stamats made the records for longest field goal also in that game, drilling a 42-yarder.
Cougars senior quarterback Sam Lutz is all over the record book. His 396 total yards in the Division 2 Final rank fifth on that list, while his 350 passing yards are third and .870 percentage throwing the ball (20 for 23) is the first entry in that category. The 350 passing yards also represent the third-most on the team list for 8-Player Finals.
Senior teammate Easton Boggs also made his marks in Division 2, with his 210 receiving yards ranking third and his three touchdown receptions tying for second-most in an 8-Player title game.
Both Division 1 quarterbacks also made the 8-Player Finals list for total offense, Martin junior Gavin Meyers with 358 yards and Inland Lakes junior Aidan Fenstermaker with 323.
Martin as a team ranked second on the 8-player list for most points scored in a quarter, with its 30 during the fourth, and also made the first downs list with 27. Neither Martin nor Inland Lakes punted in that Division 1 game, placing those teams on the lists for fewest punts by one team and fewest between both teams in one game.
Stories Behind the Scores
Legendary Lineup: From a competitiveness point of view, this was as strong a set of Football Finals as we’ve enjoyed in recent memory. Over the last five seasons alone, only 12 championship games – out of 50 – had been decided by seven points or fewer, and only 24 had margins of 14 or fewer points, including only three of 10 games in 2022. But the last two weekends saw four games decided by seven points or fewer, three more by 8-14 points, and the remaining three by 15, 17 and 18.
Some Old, Some New: Of 10 champions this season, four earned football titles for the first time – and only two were repeat winners from 2022. While nine teams played in Finals for at least the second season in a row, five played in a championship game in this sport for the first time. More than 45,000 fans attended the 11-Player Finals, up 2,000 from a year ago and thanks in part to notable crowds from first-time finalists Mason, Corunna and A&T.
Scheduling Notes: Due to Michigan State playing Penn State on Friday at Ford Field, the MHSAA 11-Player Finals were moved to Saturday and Sunday, and Sunday’s games also started at 9:30 a.m. instead of the traditional 10 kickoff time. The schedule adjustment also allowed for experimentation with the order of games, with the largest schools each day – Division 2 on Saturday and Division 1 on Sunday – moved to the final time slots those evenings.
Dazzling Finishes: The Division 1 games – both in 11-player and 8-player – provided last-minute game-winning touchdowns to cap storybook seasons. In 11-player, Isaiah Marshall’s 11-yard scoring run with 47 seconds to play pushed Southfield Arts & Technology past Belleville 36-32 after the Tigers previously had come back from an 18-point deficit. In 8-Player Division 1, Martin scored all of its 30 points during the fourth quarter – the last 16 over the final 33 seconds – and with quarterback Gavin Meyers scrambling 21 yards for the winning score with five seconds to play. The Martin win kicked off the championship weekends, while the Southfield A&T victory ended the season.
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PHOTOS (Top) Our collage includes photos from all 10 MHSAA Football Finals. (2) Muskegon’s Da'Carion Taylor holds up the ball after his touchdown catch during the 11-Player Division 2 game. (3) Inland Lakes’ Jacob Willey (4) and Avery Enos celebrate Willey’s second touchdown of the 8-Player Division 1 Final. (4) Southfield A&T’s DeMario Quarles enjoys a moment after his team’s 11-Player Division 1 victory. (11-Player Finals photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos. 8-Player Finals photos by Cara Kamps.)