Playoffs: District Finals in Review
December 16, 2011
Three weeks remain in this MHSAA football season, and just two for our 8-player teams. That means we’re down to 68 total still practicing and pursuing championships either in two weeks at the Superior Dome or three at Ford Field.
Here’s a look at some of the best from the playoffs' second weekend, plus links to coverage from the biggest games and my take on those to watch in every division this weekend.
Again, if I missed a game or a highlight I should've mentioned, post below and let us know. And click here for results, schedules and more. (Rankings below by The Associated Press' panel of media voters.)
GREAT EIGHT
DIVISON 1: Detroit Catholic Central 21, Canton 14 – This has become something of an expected matchup, with these two facing off in the playoffs four times over the last 10 seasons, including two of the last three. DCC has won all four matchups, and this time the Shamrocks were ranked No. 2 and Canton No. 6.
DIVISION 2: Lowell 36, Muskegon 7 – The Red Arrows increased their playoff winning streak over Muskegon to three straight. Lowell came in No. 2 and Muskegon No. 3, and the Red Arrows now become the heavy state favorite with No. 1 Farmington Hills Harrison also losing (see below).
DIVISION 3: East Grand Rapids 45, Grand Rapids Christian 27 – Their 50-49 game in Week 9 (which Grand Rapids Christian won) made statewide waves, but this one was not nearly as close. The Pioneers have three losses this season, but appear to be hitting the gear that has resulted in five straight MHSAA titles.
DIVISION 4: Battle Creek Pennfield 14, Lansing Sexton 6 – By rankings this wasn’t an upset. But considering Sexton shared a league title with three Class A schools – including one still alive in Division 3 – and that the Big Reds beat Pennfield 47-14 in last year’s District final, there’s a lot here with which to be impressed.
DIVISION 5: Flint Powers 28, Millington 7 – This arguably was the stunner of the weekend – Millington was ranked No. 2, Powers unranked – but maybe shouldn’t be as big of a shock. The Cardinals indeed were undefeated, and Powers has three losses. But those came to No. 1 Lansing Catholic, Division 7 No. 1 Saginaw Nouvel, and Class A Davison.
DIVISION 6: Ithaca 28, Montrose Hill-McCloy 13 – Despite some close games elsewhere in this bracket, this one wins out because Ithaca is ranked No. 1 and Montrose came in No. 2. The Yellowjackets also knocked out the Rams last season on the way to winning the MHSAA title.
DIVISION 7: Hudson 22, Union City 14 – Both came in undefeated, with Hudson No. 3 and Union City tied for No. 7 in the final Associated Press poll. But Hudson ended Union City’s best season in a decade.
DIVISION 8: Mendon 28, Muskegon Catholic Central 21 – The conclusion of this incredibly competitive district pitted the teams that were tied for the top spot in the state poll heading into the playoffs. But the schedule won’t get too much easier for Mendon with five more of the top 10 still alive.
8-PLAYER: Carsonville-Port Sanilac 53, Bellaire 22 – The rematch of last season’s unofficial championship game went the Tigers’ way again. The teams also met in the regular-season finale last season after winning their respective leagues in something of an 8-player title game because the MHSAA didn’t begin sponsoring playoffs until this fall.
NUMBERS GAME
1 – Number of District championships won by Hemlock, thanks to Friday’s 27-20 win over Freeland in Division 5. The Huskies made the playoffs for the first time in 2005, and had fallen in first-round games three times before opening this postseason with a win over Carrollton two weeks ago.
519 – Carsonville-Port Sanilac’s points scored this season in 10 games (not counting the 1-0 result from another win by forfeit). That’s nearly 52 points per game, and has included outputs of 53, 57, 62, 70 and 91.
5 – Overtimes combined needed to determine two Division 6 District finals. Iron Mountain outlasted McBain 36-35 in three extra periods, while Constantine downed Schoolcraft 37-30 in two.
27 – East Grand Rapids’ consecutive playoff wins. The run has included five straight MHSAA championships. The last postseason loss came in 2005 to Caledonia, which then went on to win the Division 3 title.
MORE FANTASTIC FINISHES
Port Huron 27, Rochester Adams 21 – A late 85-yard scoring run following a goal-line stand helped Port Huron advance in Division 3 and win its 10th game for the first time in program history. Click for more from the Port Huron Times-Herald.
Birmingham Brother Rice 30, Farmington Hills Harrison 7 – Not quite close, but significant. Reigning MHSAA champion Harrison was again the favorite, and did play without its starting quarterback. But No. 7 Brother Rice will be a popular choice now to reach its first final since 2005.Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.
Mount Pleasant 35, Petoskey 28 – The Oilers trailed by two touchdowns on three occasions before coming away with a season-extending – and upset-avoiding – victory. Click for more from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun.
Grass Lake 23, Leslie 22 – One of our Prep Zone games on FoxSportsDetroit.com, this one went down to the final minute. At the end, undefeated Grass Lake prevailed – but not without a scare. Click for more from the Jackson Citizen-Patriot.
Fowler 24, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 21 – Fowler was certainly the favorite, and tied for the No. 9 spot in the state poll. But the Eagles did have to outlast a fast start and then late run by the Irish, last season’s MHSAA champion. Click for more from the Lansing State Journal.
UP NEXT – REGIONAL FINALS and 8-player SEMIS
DIVISION 1: Detroit Cass Tech (8-3) at Warren DeLaSalle (9-2) – 7 p.m. Friday at SCS Lake Shore – DeLaSalle can reach 10 wins for the third time in six seasons, and its list of fallen foes is, as usual, impressive. But Cass Tech ranks well with the best the Pilots have seen. The Technicians own a win over Detroit Martin Luther King (see below) with losses to Division 2 No. 1 Farmington Hills Harrison and twice to Detroit Crockett (also mentioned below).
DIVISION 2: Detroit Martin Luther King (8-3) at Wyandotte Roosevelt (10-1) – 7 p.m. Friday – Roosevelt is 10-1 for the second straight season, and tied for the No. 7 spot in the state poll. But unranked King might be the best three-loss team this side of East Grand Rapids. All three of King’s this fall were to teams still alive, and by a combined 11 points.
DIVISION 3: East Grand Rapids (8-3) at Holland (9-2) – 1 p.m. Saturday – A tremor was felt all the way from the lake shore when Holland knocked off East Grand Rapids 30-22 in Week 2. And that was just the start, as Holland has gone on to earn its second playoff berth ever and first postseason win. Still, the Pioneers came into the postseason ranked No. 9, while Holland is unranked and at least some people’s underdog.
DIVISION 4: Detroit Crockett (10-1) at Marine City (11-0) – 7 p.m. Friday – Top-ranked Marine City has taken out Nos. 6 and 8 from the top 10 so far, and now will try to do the same with No. 5 Crockett. But Crockett’s only loss was to Division 2 District champ King, which Crockett then beat in a rematch. The Rockets and strong-armed quarterback Brian Blackburn made the Semifinals last season, and won’t go quietly.
DIVISION 5: Menominee (9-2) at Grand Rapids West Catholic (9-2) – 3 p.m. Saturday – West Catholic is the reigning Division 5 champion, but had to escape Menominee 24-20 in a Semifinal along the way last fall. The Maroons always are a point of curiousity because of their thriving single wing offense, and come in ranked No. 5 to West Catholic’s No. 7.
DIVISION 6: Morley-Stanwood (10-1) at Iron Mountain (10-0) – 1 p.m. Saturday – Morley-Stanwood has double figures wins for the third straight season, and already has taken out No. 6 Shelby and No. 8 Clare. Now the Mohawks will attempt the same against No. 3 Iron Mountain, which survived a close one against McBain to reach 10 wins for the fourth time in five seasons.
DIVISION 7: Hudson (11-0) at Detroit Loyola (11-0) – 1 p.m. Saturday at Madison Heights Bishop Foley – Reigning champion Hudson has won its last seven playoff games and 11 of its last 12, but comes into this as a rare underdog ranked No. 3 with Loyola No. 2. That said, the Tigers have scored at least 35 points in all but two games this season. But Loyola has posted shutouts in five of its last six.
DIVISION 8: Crystal Falls Forest Park (9-1) at St. Ignace La Salle (11-0) – 7 p.m. Friday – It’s a rare day when Forest Park isn’t the heavy favorite to get down state – the No. 6 Trojans have played in seven of the last 11 Division 8 Finals. But No. 3 St. Ignace is having its best season since 1988 and dropped a season-high 55 points on Rudyard in the District final win.
8-PLAYER: Engadine (7-4) at Rapid River (10-1) – 1 p.m. Saturday --- These two are in the same league and faced each other during the regular season; Rapid River won 50-32. With all of the points scored in 8-player games, that’s not as wide a margin as it might seem. But Engadine still must slow down a Rapid River offense averaging 52 points per game – just as the Eagles did in upsetting Cedarville 36-14 last week in another rematch.
In the Long Run: Only 15 Rushers Share State Record with 99-Yard Scoring Sprint
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
August 26, 2024
Jakob Price remembers the defense forcing him into a subtle change of plans at the line of scrimmage, then about a dozen seconds later finishing his run into the MHSAA record book.
It's a rare story that only 15 football players in MHSAA history can tell, most involving similar circumstances. A couple of key blocks, the opening of but a sliver of a hole, a fortuitous breakdown on defense including a broken tackle or two, capped, in many cases, by simple luck.
When it comes to a rusher busting loose on a 99-yard run, there is much that has to fall into place. In the case of Price, a sophomore at Muskegon when he became the last player to make that rare record-tying dash on Oct. 8, 2021, it was all the above.
"I remember we ran what we called a "power 6" and I hit the line hard," Price said. "I saw that the hole off the center was clogged, and I thought I was going to get hit, but I made a move. Three guys had a shot at me, but someone took out the tackle with a block and I saw nothing but green. It was almost a safety, but then this hole opened up and I was gone."
In comparison, for instance, there have been 81 players who've thrown for at least six touchdowns in a game. But only 15 players in Michigan history have snatched a handoff and sped 99 yards to pay dirt. It's a wide cast of characters that stretches from one player who has played in 12 major league baseball games to another who collected three times as many receiving yards as rushing and whose previous longest run had been a modest 25.
The first 99-yard run chronicled in the MHSAA record book was by James Edington of Morrice, who raced 99 yards against Kingston on Oct. 29, 1999. Edington's run was one of his last during an outstanding four-year career that included being named all-state three times. He remembers the play, which came late in a playoff game, being an inside trap where he broke at least two tackles. Edington said the play wasn't designed for anything more than to keep the defense from notching a safety.
"I was just trying to get out of the end zone, get us some room," said Edington, who remembers having 4.7 speed in the 40-yard dash. "I remember it was at the end of the game and I was so tired. I was a two-way player who rarely came off the field. I know that in a 99-yard run the blocks have got to be there when the defense hits the box. I knew if I could just get past this linebacker, there was a lot of green grass in front of me."
Morrice, coincidentally, also is the only program to have a 99-yard runner in 8-player football. Morrice switched from 11 to 8-player with the start of the 2014 season, and Jake Rivers made the 99-yard sprint twice in 2015.
Saugatuck coach Bill Dunn is the only coach to have two players on the list, including his son Blake, on Sept. 25, 2015, against Decatur.
From a coaching standpoint, Bill Dunn said there is nothing like a crushing 99-yard burst to change a game's momentum. When a team is clinging to the ball at its 1-yard line, the possible outcomes are seemingly dark – from surrendering a safety to a punt that puts the opposition in prime position to score.
"A lot of things have to happen in a 99-yard run," Dunn said. "There can absolutely be luck. And it can be a backbreaker. You got a team at the 1-yard line, and the defense knows it's going to get good field position with a punt. But instead you get a guy who breaks one for 99."
Blake Dunn, now a prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system, was an all-state sprinter in high school as part of earning 16 varsity letters across four sports. Dunn said he made a "mid-line read" after the fullback dove into the line. The defense collapsed on him, Dunn cut back against the grain and was off to the races.
"Our fullback dove down the mid-line, and my read crashed down to him," said Dunn, whose 101 career touchdowns are fourth in state history while his 6,954 rushing yards rank eighth.
"When I followed my blocks through the hole, there was a bunch of open grass. I think there might have been a linebacker that almost tripped me up from the backside, but nobody was able to get me and then 99 yards later it ended in a touchdown. It was pretty cool fun in the moment and fun to look back on it now."
Kyle Raycraft of Frankenmuth made his 99-yard run against Caro on Sept. 5, 2003. Like many of his brethren’s stories, Raycraft, who remembers running for more than 200 yards and three or four touchdowns in the game, said the play came down to a couple of blocks, shaking off potential tacklers, and having daylight in front of him.
"I went up the middle and got good blocking at the line and broke a couple tackles," said Raycraft, also an all-state sprinter and currently an emergency room doctor in Sault Ste. Marie. "I really didn't think that much of it at the time. I think it got us the lead at a key time and that was exciting, but I didn't think it was so rare. There's been a lot of high school football and only (15) kids have done this, so that's a pretty short list."
Matthew Hoffman of Sanford Meridian, by his own admission, wasn't particularly fast. So speed played a minimal part in his run Sept. 11, 2015, against Beaverton.
Hoffman ran track in the spring, but not as a sprinter; he ran distances. His piece of football history was more a result of getting a couple of key blocks, breaking through the line, making a cut and finding running room along the sideline.
"I broke to the line and swerved to the left to the sidelines," said Hoffman, now a certified rescue boat operator working on the Gordie Howe International Bridge for the Bridging North America company. "I was quick and shifty and I'd get a few breakaways, but I wasn't fast. I think the defense was looking for me on the right side, and it was a counterplay to the left. The offensive line did a great job on that play.
"It was exciting, but (instead of records) it was more it just happened so quickly. People met me in the end zone after the play was over, but then we were just focused on defense and the next play."
Coleman's Mitch Franklin has another different slant on his 99-yard story. He was primarily a receiver who recorded 1,014 yards at that position as opposed to around 300 as a running back. But on Sept. 13, 2014, against Charlevoix, Franklin took advantage of a rare handoff after a quarterback sneak had netted virtually no gain on first down.
"Best blocking we had all year. A hole opened up, I stiff-armed a guy and just ran," said Franklin, a former Gladwin County sheriff’s deputy. "I remember I was fortunate to run on our right side where we had bigger guys. It was fortunate that we caught the defense off guard. I think it was about our first power run that game and a lot of fortunate things had to happen.
"One of the things I remember is our principal patting me on the back and telling me what a good run it was."
While the members of the select 99-Yard Club may have different memories as to how they successfully dashed from their team's 1-yard line into the other team's end zone, their goals were the same: Just somehow move their team from the shadow of their own goalposts into more favorable territory.
And one last goal, recalled Franklin.
"Hey, you just don't want to make that long drive home with a big, fat ‘L,’” he said. "You want to win the game. That's what was important."
The MHSAA is continuously adding to its record books, and there is no deadline for an accomplishment to be submitted. Find directions to do so and the football record books in full at this link.
PHOTOS (Top) Coleman's Mitch Franklin (right) turns upfield during a 99-yard scoring run against Charlevoix on Sept. 13, 2014. (Middle) Muskegon's Jakob Price (left) makes a move on the way to a 99-yard touchdown run against Muskegon Mona Shores in 2021. (Below) Saugatuck's Nick Stanberry breaks away for a 99-yard TD run against Kent City in 2018. (Photos provided by Franklin, Price and the Saugatuck football program.)