Elk Rapids Ends Stalemate with Overtime Goal to Clinch First Finals Title since 1998
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 7, 2026
GRAND LEDGE — Elk Rapids junior Noah Liggett admitted he was “dreading” seeing the Division 3 Boys Soccer Final go into penalty kicks.
So, just in the nick of time, he did something about it.
Just when it appeared Elk Rapids and Williamson were heading into a shootout, Liggett scored with 2:07 remaining in overtime to give Elk Rapids a 1-0 win.
It was the third Finals championship overall for Elk Rapids and the first since it won the second of back-to-back titles in 1998. The Elks had lost two years ago in the championship match to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
The winning goal was started by senior Eli Zbylowski, who served a ball into the box that was headed toward Liggett by an Elk Rapids player.
Liggett pounced on the chance, finding room to get a foot on it before driving the ball just underneath the crossbar to set off a wild celebration.
“I can’t even recall what happened,” Liggett said. “I just remember hitting it and running down the sideline. But it’s amazing.”
Liggett’s goal capped off a match during which Elk Rapids (24-1-3) controlled a majority of the possession but couldn’t penetrate a stout Williamston defense.
That didn’t change until Liggett broke through, ending nearly three decades of waiting for a third title in school history.
“I think we’ve known for a while that this group is capable of an awful lot,” Elk Rapids head coach Nate Plum said. “But (you don’t fully know) until you start putting all the pieces on the field and you start seeing what they look like and how they shape up in the early fall. There’s always waves through a season. We’ve had our waves where sickness hit us and we had our injuries. But we finished that game with 100 percent of our team ready to play and able to play. Just super happy with them, and we knew they could do something like this.”
Williamston (12-9-4) was seeking its first Finals title to cap a rather improbable tournament run. The Hornets started the year off 1-6-3, but ended up winning eight in a row going into the championship match, its fourth in school history and first since 2015.
The Hornets had already earned two shootout wins during these playoffs – over Eaton Rapids in a District Final and Grosse Ile in a Semifinal – and rightfully felt good about their chances had they been able to get into penalty kicks again.
It wasn’t meant to be Saturday, but the last three weeks still provided a great tournament ride for their school and community.
“We should be proud of the effort they put in this season,” Williamston head coach Ian Kurth said. “Coming into the postseason, we were 6-8-4. We had to fight our way with every single match. The performance and the effort the boys turned in is what got us here. And we should be proud of that.
“You know, one mistake late in the game against a really quality Elk Rapids program. They deserve that championship, and we’ll look to reload and maybe we can get back here next year.”
Elk Rapids didn’t allow a goal over its final 15 matches this season and will carry the third-longest shutout streak in MHSAA history into next fall.
PHOTOS (Top) Elk Rapids players celebrate their Division 3 championship win Saturday at Grand Ledge. (Middle) The Elks’ Gavin Hamilton (3) works to find an opening against Williamston’s Trey Moulton. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Lenawee Christian Nets 1st Title on Final Rush
November 7, 2020
By Perry A. Farrell
Special for Second Half
NOVI – Either Adrian Lenawee Christian or Grandville Calvin Christian was going to make history Saturday at the MHSAA Division 4 Final at Novi High School.
Both were primed to win a boys soccer title for the first time.
In dramatic fashion senior Francisco Cabrera made sure it would be Lenawee Christian, turning a great rush down the right sideline into a goal by senior Gabe Henley with 22 seconds left to stun Calvin Christian and give the Cougars a 2-1 victory.
Battling sore shins, Cabrera made it happen when his teammates needed it most by sending a pass into Henley to set up the go-ahead goal.
“I saw the left back make the runoff. I knew it was time,’’ said Cabrera. “Big players show up in big moments. I think I was lucky a teammate got on that one. I was going to try and look for a shot. I just put it out there, and a teammate came through. I have no words for when I saw the ball go in. Glory to God. We deserved this. The team and the school.’’
Henley scored both goals for the winners and kept an eye on Cabrera while he was making his run down the field.
“It was beautiful; his hustle along the outside,’’ said Henley. “Once I saw that he had beaten the defenders and I knew I was positioned backside … it laid out perfectly. I couldn’t have asked for anything better; right to my foot and be able to tap it in. I was hoping we could finish it there. We’ve played one time 110 minutes, and it’s just grueling. We just knew we could finish there.’’
Calvin Christian kept the pressure on in the early going and converted when Abraham VandenHoek directed a header into the net with 21 minutes, 2 seconds left in the first half on an assist from Andrew Heeringa to give the Squires a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Lenawee Christian’s offense was being shut down by the Squires. In the first 25 minutes, the Cougars (16-2-1) had one shot on goal.
But 38 seconds into the second half, Henley fooled the Calvin Christian keeper and rolled in a shot to tie the score, 1-1. The goal was just the third allowed all season by the Squires.
“We really needed something to get going,’’ said Henley. “Anyone can score in the beginning, but we’ve kept our cool. We’ve been scored on, one of two goals, and we’ve come back. We were confident we could come back. We needed that.’’
“Let’s Go Blue’’ blared from the Lenawee Christian stands as the Cougars carried the momentum with time ticking away, although Calvin Christian just missed netting a second goal with five minutes to play.
“I felt like we played a little scared at the beginning,’’ said Lenawee Christian coach Nate Sharpe. “The halftime talk was you have to go out and play the way that got us here. You can’t be scared. They stepped up and did it for most of the half. We got an early one in that second half to bring it up. That gave them hope and belief that they could do it. Then it was just a battle back and forth in the midfield.
“We caught them on a transition at the end of the game. They were all up, the ball bounced up. We played it up to Franny (Cabrera); Franny beats them down the line and plays a great ball to Gabe.’’
The loss was the only one this fall for Calvin Christian, which finished 19-1-2.
“We play a lot better,” Squires coach Karel de Waal Malefyt said. “This was our first time here, and it showed.’’
Click for the full stat summary.
PHOTOS: (Top) Adrian Lenawee Christian's Scott Knoll (3) works to gain possession while Calvin Christian's Joseph Bos defends Saturday. (Middle) Evan Hendershot comes up with a save for the Cougars. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)