Highlight Reel: Saturday Football Finals
November 28, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
The 2015 Fall sports season concluded Saturday (Nov. 28), with four more champions crowned at the 11-Player Football Finals – presented by the Michigan Army National Guard – at Ford Field in Detroit.
Below are highlight clips from every game plus links to watch them in full.
Division 7
Ishpeming 22, Pewamo-Westphalia 16
Smith’s Record Setter – Pewamo Westphalia scored first on this 25-yard run by Jared Smith, his 53rd of the season, a new MHSAA record. He also set a record in 2015 for single-single rushing yardage with 3,243 yards.
Ozzy Does It All – After scoring all three of his team's touchdowns, Ishpeming's Ozzy Corp makes the defensive play of the game by batting away a fourth-down pass in the end zone.
Watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 1
Romeo 41, Detroit Cass Tech 27
Tanner Breaks Free For TD – Romeo's Bradley Tanner rushed for 130 yards and three TDs in the Division 1 Final against Detroit Cass Tech. Here's his second score, in the second quarter.
Cass Tech Gets Back In The Game – Detroit Cass Tech pulls within a score of Romeo midway through the fourth quarter on this 36-yard pass from Aaron Jackson to Donovan People-Jones.
Watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 5
Grand Rapids West Catholic 40, River Rouge 34
Fox On The Run – David Fox rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns to lead Grand Rapids West Catholic in its Division 5 Final with River Rouge. Here’s the first of those scoring plays – a 64-yard run at the end of the first quarter.
Burgess TD Pass to Vinson – River Rouge QB Antoine Burgess passed for 354 yards and three TDs in the Division 5 Final against Grand Rapids West Catholic. Here’s a third-quarter pass that went 63 yards for a score to Aaron Vinson, who had 162 yards receiving in the game.
Watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Division 3
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 29, Chelsea 12
Tabone & Hamler Team Up For Eaglets – The combination of QB Brendan Tabone and WR Kahlee Hamler connected for two TDs in Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Division 3 Final against Chelsea. Here’s the first score in the opening period.
Bulldog Trickery – Chelsea got on the board in the second quarter on a halfback pass covering 47 yards from Graham Kuras to Noah Vanreesema.
Watch the whole game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTO: Romeo's Bradley Tanner makes a move toward the end zone during the Division 1 Final as teammate Paul Hurley appears to signal the touchdown to come.
Moment: Montague, Kater Air it Out
October 1, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
A lot of people say in any sport that there’s a play, or a sequence of plays, that swings a game – that locks down the outcome.
You might be able to define “swing” with a defensive red zone stop and the longest pass play in MHSAA Football Finals history during the 2008 Division 6 championship game.
Montague quarterback Cody Kater found Anthony Root down the right sideline for a pitch and catch that went for 98 yards and squashed a potential comeback by Leslie in a 41-20 win for the Panthers at Ford Field.
The swing began just three plays earlier, when the Montague defense stopped Leslie on downs deep in its own territory with about four minutes to play in the first half. The Blackhawks were knocking on the door, looking to cut into a 21-6 lead when a 4th-and-goal pass fell incomplete.
The Panthers were backed up, but they didn’t back down.
“They thought they had us and, boom, we’re 98 yards the other way,” Kater said to the Detroit Free Press. “I think the ball had even gotten tipped a little bit, but Anthony made a great play.” The pair had already connected for a 46-yard scoring pass in the first quarter.
Montague continued the swing moments later with a pass interception by Jordan Degen with a minute to play that led to a TD run by A.J. LaRue, which gave the Wildcats a 35-6 halftime lead.
Kater was an efficient 4 of 6 passing for 175 yards in the game, while Root accounted for 144 of that total with his two scoring catches. The Wildcats defense forced four turnovers.
PHOTO: Montague's Cody Kater launches a pass from his team's end zone in 2008 that turned into a 98-yard reception, the longest in MHSAA Finals history.