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Moment: Marcotte's Return Sets Record

November 12, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

Lake Linden-Hubbell took advantage of a Mendon miscue in the 1991 MHSAA Class DD Football Final to prevent a potential score and extend its lead at the time with one the longest defensive scoring plays in a championship game.

After falling behind 8-0 midway through the first quarter, Mendon marched down the field to the Lakes' 8-yard line. On a 3rd-and-8, quarterback Mike Smith rolled left and under pressure lofted an errant pitch which was picked up by Lake Linden linebacker Rick Marcotte, who ran 79 yards the other way on the final play of the first quarter for the longest fumble return in a title match.

It was the second time that weekend the fumble return record had been broken. In the Class C finale the day before, Nate Cierlak of Muskegon Catholic Central returned a fumble 56 yards for a score against Harbor Beach.

Marcotte's score gave the Lakes a 14-0 lead at the time. Smith, however, would engineer a scoring drive off the ensuing kickoff, negotiating the last 10 yards himself to start the comeback for the Hornets, who would score the next 22 points en route to a 30-14 victory and second championship in three years for coach John Schwartz’s squad.

Moment: Nick & Nick Go 90, 27 Years Apart

October 30, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

The longest rushing play in the MHSAA Football Finals is one of two marks that has two players tied for the top spot.

Nick Williams of Farmington Hills Harrison originally set the standard in 1994, in the Class A Final against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, a game won by the Hawks, 17-13.
It took 27 years for the equalizer, when Edwardsburg’s Nick Bradley ripped off a 90-yard scoring run in the Division 4 finale against Grand Rapids Catholic Central, a game in which the Eddies fell to the Cougars, 42-31.
Williams, at 6-foot-2 and 248 pounds, blasted from his fullback’s spot through a hole and went untouched to start the second quarter for the Hawks against Forest Hills Central. Roy Granger followed-up with an 80-yard scoring run in the third quarter to stake coach John Herrington’s team to a 14-0 lead.
“It was the big play.” Williams told the Detroit Free Press after the game. “We’ve got a lot of guys on this team who can make the big play, and everybody wants to make the big play. If you’ve got guys who can make the big play, and they want to make the big play, then they will make the big play.”
Bradley’s 90-yarder was one of two championship game records set in 2017 – the only time that has happened. Caden Coggins had a 99-yard kickoff return for a score in the same game. Bradley's TD cut the Cougars' lead to 35-31 with just over eight minutes left to play.
It was a wild game in the respect that Edwardsburg had five scoring plays in excess of 50 yards, but in the end it was Nolan Fugate, rushing for four touchdowns, who gave CC the victory. Fugate caught a pass for a record-tying fifth touchdown in the game and had 306 yards rushing – one yard short of a Finals game record.