Football Finals Re-Air Christmas Eve, Day

December 16, 2015

By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director

Eight presents await high school football fans on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as FOX Sports Detroit will re-air the championship games from the 2015 MHSAA 11-Player Football Playoffs – presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.

The action begins at 4 p.m. each day, with the odd-numbered divisions being shown on Christmas Eve and the even-numbered title games on Christmas Day in the order they were played at Ford Field in Detroit.

Here’s the complete schedule:

Dec. 24

4 p.m. – Division 8 – Muskegon Catholic Central 7, Waterford Our Lady 0 – In a matchup dominated by defense, Muskegon Catholic’s Christian Martinez scored on a 45-yard run early in the fourth quarter for the game’s only points.

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6 p.m. – Division 2 – Detroit Martin Luther King 40, Lowell 38 – No one will ever forget King’s 95-yard drive in the last 37 seconds, and Armani Posey’s 40-yard TD pass to Donnie Corley on the game’s final play.

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8 p.m. – Division 6 – Ithaca 27, Clinton 20 – Yellowjackets quarterback Jake Smith ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns, and passed for another 180 yards and a fourth score to lead his team to the win.

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10 p.m. – Division 4 - Zeeland West 40, Flint Powers Catholic 14 – These Dux were indeed mighty on this day, as quarterback Casey Brinks directed West for the second time in three seasons to a title.

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Dec. 25

4 p.m. – Division 7 – Ishpeming 22, Pewamo-Westphalia 16 – Ozzy Corp does it all in this one, scoring all three of his team’s touchdowns and batting away a last-minute pass into the end zone to give the Hematites their third crown in four years.

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6 p.m. – Division 1 – Romeo 41, Detroit Cass Tech 27 – Bradley Tanner rushed for 103 yards and three touchdowns, and Paul Hurley threw for 203 yards and one score to lead the Bulldogs.

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8 p.m. – Division 5 – Grand Rapids West Catholic 40, River Rouge 34 – Gaetano Vallone and David Fox shared the quarterback duties and combined for 288 yards rushing and 106 passing to lead the Falcons to a third straight championship.

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10 p.m. – Division 3 – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 40, Chelsea 12 – The Eaglets got two scoring passes from the combination of Brendan Tabone to K.J. Hamler, and pounded the rock for 293 yards rushing to win their second straight championship.

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Things are winding down for the holidays on MHSAA.tv with School Broadcast Program members heading into a break.

In its seventh year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. 

The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.  

All sporting events – Live or On-Demand – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online.  They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.

Here’s the schedule of events that School Broadcast Program members plan to stream the rest of the month for broadcast at MHSAA.tv. On-Demand listings may be available as soon as one hour following an event’s completion.  (List as of Dec. 15):

Wednesday – Dec. 16

Thursday – Dec. 17

Friday – Dec. 18

Saturday – Dec. 19

Monday – Dec. 21

Tuesday – Dec. 22

Monday – Jan. 4, 2016

Tuesday – Jan. 5

Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.

This week's SBP highlights package includes clips from the Portage Northern/Plainwell girls basketball and Cheboygan/Alpena ice hockey games, plus buzzer-beating shots from around the state. 

Football Classics Featured Friday on FOX

June 4, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

FOX Sports Detroit on Friday will air a series of “Classic” games from the MHSAA Football Finals, including the longest game in Finals history. 

Here’s the complete schedule:

Noon - 1998 Class AA Final: Detroit Catholic Central vs. Rockford – Catholic Central repeats in Class AA with a 27-23 victory. Rockford took a 23-14 lead into the fourth quarter before the Shamrocks got a nine-yard touchdown run from Casey Rogowski on the first play of the segment. With 5:04 to play, a 70-yard pass play from Dave Lusky to Derek Anderson scored the winning points.

2:30 p.m. - 2000 Division 1 Final: Grand Ledge vs. Utica Eisenhower – One of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the Finals, as Grand Ledge scores twice in the final minute to capture the Division 1 title, 19-14.  The Comets drove 80 yards in eight plays, capped by a five-yard scoring run by quarterback Matt Bohnet with 53 seconds to go, but failed on the two-point conversion which would have given them the lead. Grand Ledge recovered the ensuing onside kick, and two plays later, Bohnet hit Tim George with a 45-yard touchdown pass with 22 ticks left on the clock for the game winner.

4:30 p.m. - 2006 Division 2 Final: Muskegon vs. Warren De La Salle Collegiate – These two teams went back and forth, with the fourth lead change going Muskegon’s way en route to a 32-30 win for the Big Reds. Ronald Johnson opened the scoring for Muskegon by returning a De La Salle fumble 36 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and then delivered the winning blow on the first play of the fourth quarter, catching a Chris Crawford pass for a 47-yard scoring play. Crawford rushed for 228 yards and passed for 137.

7 p.m. - 2007 Division 3 Final: East Grand Rapids vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – After ending regulation tied at 14-14, these two teams went for five overtimes before East emerged as a 46-39 winner.  During regulation, Joe Glendening scored twice on runs of 68 and eight yards; and in overtime, he scored in the fourth and fifth extra periods.

Some portions of the games may be edited out due to time constraints.