Flashback 100: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome
November 22, 2024
The MHSAA 8-Player Football Finals will be played Saturday for the eighth time at the Superior Dome at Northern Michigan University in Marquette — though that run of eight seasons has not been consecutive.
The MHSAA began sponsoring playoffs for 8-player football in 2011, initially with just one division. The first championship game was played at the Superior Dome, where Carsonville-Port Sanilac defeated Rapid River to claim the title.
From 2012 to 2016, Greenville High School hosted the Finals. In 2017, 8-player split into two divisions and the Finals returned to the Superior Dome, where two division champions were crowned in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The COVID-delayed 2020 8-Player Finals were played at the Legacy Center in Brighton, before the champonships returned in 2021 to Marquette, where they have since remained.
To recap: one year in Brighton, five years in Greenville, and this marks the eighth year at the Superior Dome.
Powers North Central is the only team to win a Final at all three locations. The Jets are undefeated in 8-player championship games, with five titles to their name — two in Greenville, two at the Superior Dome, and one in Brighton.
The Superior Dome, which opened in 1991, is the largest wooden dome in the world. It’s a geodesic dome, meaning its structure is based on a polyhedron lattice. You might recognize this design from the Spaceship Earth exhibit at Epcot. The dome stands 143 feet tall, has a diameter of 536 feet, and covers more than five acres. Its retractable artificial playing surface serves as the home field for the Northern Michigan University football, women’s lacrosse, and women’s track & field teams.
8-Player Football Finals at the Superior Dome
2011: Carsonville-Port Sanilac over Rapid River 59-20 (recap)
2017 Div. 1: Central Lake over Deckerville 32-30 (recap)
2017 Div. 2: Crystal Falls Forest Park over Portland St. Patrick 54-12 (recap)
2018 Div. 1: Morrice over Pickford 44-16 (recap)
2018 Div. 2: Rapid River over Onekama 30-18 (recap)
2019 Div. 1: Colon over Suttons Bay 26-24 (recap)
2019 Div. 2: Pickford over Portland St. Patrick 48-15 (recap)
2021 Div. 1: Adrian Lenawee Christian over Suttons Bay 31-20 (recap)
2021 Div. 2: Powers North Central over Colon 63-0 (recap)
2022 Div. 1: Martin over Merrill 74-24 (recap)
2022 Div. 2: Powers North Central over Mendon 66-26 (recap)
2023 Div. 1: Marin over Indian River Inland Lakes 30-26 (recap)
2023 Div. 2: Adrian Lenawee Christian over Marion 36-18 (recap)
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
Flashback 100: Multi-Sport Star Look Becomes Super Bowl Officiating Legend
February 6, 2025
In 1960, Dean Look was drafted by both the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball and the Denver Broncos of the American Football League. For those familiar with Look’s athletic career at Lansing Everett and Michigan State University, his professional prospects in multiple sports came as no surprise.
A standout in football, baseball, and track, Look instead would make his most memorable pro sports mark as one of the NFL’s top officials.
At Everett during the mid-1950s, Look played a key role in leading his school to two state track & field championships (1954 and 1956) under legendary coach Archie Ross. Look also captured three individual state titles – two as part of 880-meter relay teams (1954 and 1956) and one in the pole vault (1956). In addition to his track achievements, Look was a star performer for Everett’s football and baseball teams.
After high school, Look continued his multi-sport career at Michigan State, excelling in both football and baseball. He finished sixth in the 1959 Heisman Trophy voting and was a key contributor to MSU’s shared football national championship in 1957.
Following college, Look signed with the White Sox, turning down an opportunity with the Broncos. After a brief stint in professional baseball, he returned to football, playing for the AFL’s New York Titans in 1962.
However, it was as an NFL official that Look truly left his legacy. Over a 29-year officiating career (1972–2001), he was assigned to three Super Bowls – Super Bowl XIII (1979), Super Bowl XV (1981) and Super Bowl XXVII (1993). One of his most iconic moments came during the 1981 NFC Championship Game, where he signaled "touchdown" after Joe Montana's legendary pass to Dwight Clark – forever known as “The Catch.”
Listen to Look discuss that historic play here: Watch on YouTube.
Athletic talent ran in the family, as Dean’s brother Bruce Look also played professional baseball, spending time with the Minnesota Twins.
Michigan has produced several notable Super Bowl officials, including brothers Carl, Dino, and Perry Paganelli from Wyoming Rogers High School. Carl officiated in Super Bowls XXXIX, XLI, XLVI, and XLVIII. In Super Bowl XLI, he and Perry made history as the first brothers to work on the same Super Bowl officiating crew. Perry also officiated Super Bowl LII, while Dino has been part of three Super Bowls – XLVII, LV, and LVII. Remarkably, at least one Paganelli has officiated in eight of the 59 Super Bowls.
This year’s Super Bowl referee is Ron Torbert, a fellow Michigan State graduate who has been an NFL official since 2010. Like Look and the Paganellis, Torbert also got his start officiating Michigan high school football.
For more information on becoming an MHSAA official, visit the MHSAA Officials page.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Jan. 31: Johnson Family Put Magical Stamp on Michigan High School Hoops - Read
Jan. 24: Future Hall of Famers Face Off First in MHSAA Class A Final - Read
Jan. 17: First-Ever WNBA Draft Pick Rocked at Salem, Won Titles at Tennessee - Read
Jan. 10: Despite Launching Before 3-Point Line, Smith Still Tops Scoring List - Read
Jan. 3: Edison's Jackson Earns Place Among State's All-Time Elite - Read
Dec. 20: Future Olympian Piper Leads Grosse Pointe North to Historic Heights - Read
Dec. 13: The Other Mr. Forsythe in Michigan School Sports - Read
Dec. 6: Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat - Read
Nov. 29: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
(Photos courtesy of Referee Magazine.)