2026 MHSAA Football Playoff Pairings Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 25, 2026
Here are the pairings for the 2026 MHSAA Football Playoffs, which begin Oct. 30 and 31 with District Semifinals in the 11-Player Playoffs and Regional Semifinals in the 8-Player Playoffs.
Teams were divided into divisions before the start of play this fall. The top 32 teams in each division in 11-player and top 16 per division in 8-player, based on playoff-point average, were selected to the field.
For 11-player, qualifiers were then divided into four regions with eight teams apiece, then placed into four-team Districts based on their seeds within the region. The 8-player qualifiers were divided into four regions with four teams in each.
Pairings for the first three weeks of the tournament are based on regular-season playoff-point averages, with the highest-ranked team hosting, regardless of the distance between the two schools. For 11-Player District Semifinals, the top-seeded team will host the eighth-seeded team, the second-seeded will host the seventh-seeded, the third-seeded with host the sixth-seeded, and the fourth-seeded team will host the fifth-seeded team. For 8-Player Regional Semifinal play, the top-seeded team in each bracket will host the fourth-seeded team, and the second-seeded team will host the third-seeded team.
District Finals for 11-player and Regional Finals for 8-player will follow during the weekend of Nov. 6-7, and the weekend of Nov. 13-14 will have Regional Finals in the 11-Player Playoffs and Semifinals in the 8-Player Playoffs. The 8-Player Semifinals will pair the winners of Region 1 vs. Region 2 and the winners of Region 3 vs. Region 4 at neutral sites assigned by the MHSAA.
Semifinal games in the 11-Player Playoffs will take place Nov. 20-21, pairing the winners of Region 1 vs. Region 2 and the winners of Region 3 vs. Region 4. The MHSAA also will assign 11-Player Semifinals at neutral sites.
All playoff tickets except for Finals (both 11 and 8-player) will be sold online only via GoFan.
For 11-Player, tickets to District Semifinals and District Finals cost $8, tickets to Regional Finals are $10, and tickets to Semifinals cost $12. For 8-player, tickets for Regional Semifinals are $8, tickets for Regional Finals are $10, and tickets for Semifinals cost $12.
The 8-Player Finals will take place Nov. 21 at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome in Marquette, and the 11-Player Finals will be played Nov. 27 and 28 at Ford Field in Detroit. An all-day ticket for 8-Player Finals costs $12 and includes admission to both games, and an all-day ticket for the 11-Player Finals costs $20 and includes admission to that day’s four games.
The 11-Player Finals schedule will be as follows:
Friday, Nov. 27
9:30 a.m. - Division 8
12:30 p.m. - Division 4
4 p.m. - Division 6
7 p.m. - Division 2
Saturday, Nov. 28
9:30 a.m. - Division 7
12:30 p.m. - Division 3
4 p.m. - Division 5
7 p.m. - Division 1
Pairings for both the 11 and 8-Player brackets are as follows:
11-Player Pairings
DIVISION 1
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Grandville (4-5) 54.778 at Howell (9-0) 87.000
Hudsonville (6-3) 66.778 at Portage Central (8-1) 72.667
DISTRICT 2
Brighton (5-4) 58.000 at East Kentwood (9-0) 83.667
Rockford (5-4) 61.444 at Grand Ledge (9-0) 75.111
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Bloomfield Hills (5-4) 52.222 at Clarkston (8-1) 82.889
Hartland (7-2) 71.556 at Grand Blanc (9-0) 78.139
DISTRICT 2
Lake Orion (4-5) 53.889 at Detroit Catholic Central (8-1) 79.681
Davison (7-2) 63.583 at Oxford (7-2) 78.778
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Plymouth (4-5) 51.333 at Detroit Cass Tech (9-0) 76.861
Belleville (6-3) 70.667 at Dearborn Fordson (7-2) 71.333
DISTRICT 2
Dearborn (5-4) 55.667 at Saline (9-0) 76.778
Brownstown Woodhaven (7-2) 66.000 at Northville (7-2) 74.000
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
New Baltimore Anchor Bay (5-4) 54.778 at Romeo (9-0) 83.667
Macomb Dakota (5-4) 64.667 at Rochester (6-3) 67.444
DISTRICT 2
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North (6-3) 54.889 at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (7-2) 72.111
Utica (6-3) 56.444 at Rochester Adams (6-3) 70.000
DIVISION 2
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Muskegon (4-5) 47.444 at Byron Center (7-2) 71.667
Portage Northern (5-4) 59.000 at Traverse City West (6-3) 63.889
DISTRICT 2
East Lansing (4-5) 48.667 at Caledonia (7-2) 70.903
Traverse City Central (4-5) 49.667 at Muskegon Mona Shores (8-1) 69.833
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Midland (4-5) 47.222 at Milford (8-1) 73.333
Walled Lake Western (7-2) 65.333 at Midland Dow (7-2) 66.222
DISTRICT 2
Flushing (5-4) 49.778 at South Lyon (7-2) 72.000
Saginaw Heritage (6-3) 60.917 at South Lyon East (7-2) 68.333
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Roseville (4-5) 53.778 at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (7-2) 66.889
North Farmington (6-3) 59.111 at Ferndale (7-2) 61.000
DISTRICT 2
Birmingham Groves (5-4) 54.556 at Orchard Lake St. Mary's (6-3) 65.667
Birmingham Seaholm (5-4) 56.444 at St. Clair Shores Lakeview (7-2) 62.111
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Detroit Mumford (5-4) 47.333 at Gibraltar Carlson (9-0) 77.444
Livonia Franklin (7-2) 63.111 at Allen Park (7-2) 64.111
DISTRICT 2
Dearborn Heights Crestwood (5-4) 53.556 at Grosse Pointe South (8-1) 71.889
Livonia Churchill (5-4) 54.889 at Temperance Bedford (7-2) 64.889
DIVISION 3
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Petoskey (6-3) 49.556 at Mount Pleasant (8-1) 69.556
Marquette (6-3) 54.000 at Cadillac (7-2) 58.222
DISTRICT 2
Lowell (6-3) 53.556 at DeWitt (7-2) 67.111
East Grand Rapids (6-3) 53.556 at Coopersville (8-1) 65.556
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Zeeland East (5-4) 45.889 at St. Joseph (7-2) 65.889
Coldwater (6-3) 48.333 at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg (6-3) 52.556
DISTRICT 2
Niles (4-5) 46.111 at Zeeland West (7-2) 61.972
Battle Creek Central (5-4) 47.556 at Battle Creek Harper Creek (6-3) 52.889
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Waterford Mott (5-4) 47.111 at Chelsea (9-0) 70.556
Linden (6-3) 56.889 at Redford Thurston (8-1) 57.111
DISTRICT 2
Dexter (4-5) 52.444 at Mason (8-1) 67.000
Holly (7-2) 55.444 at Fenton (7-2) 64.333
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
New Boston Huron (6-3) 48.000 at Port Huron (9-0) 75.222
Warren De La Salle Collegiate (5-4) 55.524 at Trenton (5-4) 57.000
DISTRICT 2
Warren Fitzgerald (6-3) 48.556 at Harper Woods (7-2) 72.333
Grosse Pointe North (6-3) 52.333 at Detroit Martin Luther King (6-3) 66.556
DIVISION 4
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Grand Rapids Christian (4-5) 43.667 at Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (8-1) 66.333
Fruitport (7-2) 47.778 at Ludington (7-2) 48.111
DISTRICT 2
Big Rapids (5-4) 44.111 at Ada Forest Hills Eastern (8-1) 60.556
Spring Lake (5-4) 46.333 at Hudsonville Unity Christian (5-4) 52.778
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Vicksburg (7-2) 58.889 at Edwardsburg (9-0) 66.111
Paw Paw (8-1) 62.778 at Portland (9-0) 63.778
DISTRICT 2
Hastings (7-2) 60.556 at Stevensville Lakeshore (8-1) 66.000
Marshall (8-1) 60.889 at Grand Rapids South Christian (8-1) 65.222
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Williamston (5-4) 45.444 at Goodrich (9-0) 66.667
Ortonville Brandon (6-3) 49.556 at St. Johns (7-2) 51.222
DISTRICT 2
Lansing Sexton (6-3) 46.333 at Dearborn Divine Child (8-1) 63.556
Tecumseh (6-3) 49.000 at Adrian (8-1) 59.778
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Detroit Southeastern (6-3) 45.667 at Marysville (5-4) 52.556
Macomb Lutheran North (8-1) 50.556 at Detroit East English (7-2) 51.333
DISTRICT 2
St. Clair (7-2) 47.444 at Detroit Cody (8-1) 52.556
Detroit Country Day (6-3) 48.000 at Madison Heights Lamphere (5-4) 51.667
DIVISION 5
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Howard City Tri County (5-4) 38.222 at Kingsford (9-0) 56.889
Negaunee (5-4) 40.556 at Shepherd (7-2) 46.222
DISTRICT 2
Remus Chippewa Hills (7-2) 39.778 at Muskegon Orchard View (7-2) 49.222
Reed City (6-3) 40.111 at Ogemaw Heights (7-2) 46.778
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Comstock Park (4-5) 38.111 at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (7-2) 65.194
Berrien Springs (8-1) 51.333 at Lake Odessa Lakewood (8-1) 54.000
DISTRICT 2
Wyoming Godwin Heights (7-2) 47.667 at Grand Rapids West Catholic (7-2) 59.556
Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep (9-0) 48.613 at Hopkins (8-1) 56.000
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Whitmore Lake (6-3) 39.000 at Frankenmuth (8-1) 56.222
Armada (5-4) 45.889 at Flint Powers Catholic (7-2) 48.667
DISTRICT 2
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (5-4) 40.333 at Saginaw Swan Valley (8-1) 52.889
Corunna (4-5) 41.222 at Imlay City (7-2) 49.222
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Flat Rock (3-6) 33.444 at Monroe Jefferson (8-1) 55.556
Ida (7-2) 43.444 at Detroit Voyageur College Prep (6-3) 43.819
DISTRICT 2
Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (5-4) 40.222 at Romulus Summit Academy North (6-3) 49.778
Detroit Denby (6-3) 40.444 at Redford Union (5-4) 46.000
DIVISION 6
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Mason County Central (5-4) 31.222 at Kingsley (9-0) 49.806
Calumet (6-3) 39.000 at Traverse City St. Francis (6-3) 41.000
DISTRICT 2
Elk Rapids (6-3) 33.986 at Sanford Meridian (9-0) 49.278
Harbor Springs (8-1) 36.778 at Gladwin (5-4) 43.444
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Flint Elite (5-4) 32.444 at Almont (9-0) 61.111
Midland Bullock Creek (5-4) 37.278 at Algonac (6-3) 41.667
DISTRICT 2
New Haven (6-3) 34.111 at Marine City (9-0) 56.667
Durand (6-3) 35.667 at Montrose (7-2) 44.000
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Brooklyn Columbia Central (6-3) 36.000 at Jackson Lumen Christi (7-2) 58.222
Napoleon (8-1) 41.444 at Buchanan (7-2) 41.556
DISTRICT 2
Adrian Madison (6-3) 37.444 at Belding (7-2) 49.889
Kent City (7-2) 37.778 at Olivet (6-3) 45.778
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Dearborn Heights Robichaud (5-4) 34.333 at Detroit Edison (8-1) 52.778
Clawson (6-3) 43.444 at Clinton (8-1) 49.667
DISTRICT 2
Detroit Communication Media Arts (5-4) 36.333 at Ecorse (8-1) 52.333
Warren Michigan Collegiate (5-4) 39.222 at Detroit Central (8-1) 49.778
DIVISION 7
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Lakeview (5-4) 28.222 at Menominee (8-1) 52.778
Manton (7-2) 32.889 at Manistee (4-5) 36.889
DISTRICT 2
Oscoda (6-3) 31.222 at Charlevoix (6-2) 41.361
Harrison (7-2) 32.708 at McBain (7-2) 39.472
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Cass City (6-3) 31.778 at Pewamo-Westphalia (8-0) 43.264
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker (7-2) 39.556 at Burton Bendle (9-0) 40.111
DISTRICT 2
Clinton Township Clintondale (3-6) 32.444 at Millington (9-0) 42.889
Saginaw Valley Lutheran (6-3) 33.444 at Ithaca (8-1) 40.778
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Saranac (7-2) 31.083 at Constantine (8-1) 46.169
Cassopolis (8-1) 37.000 at Ravenna (7-2) 42.222
DISTRICT 2
Galesburg-Augusta (7-2) 33.000 at Schoolcraft (7-2) 44.905
Lawton (5-4) 33.058 at North Muskegon (8-1) 43.625
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Leslie (4-5) 30.778 at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (8-1) 54.778
Bronson (7-2) 34.778 at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (7-2) 35.292
DISTRICT 2
Jonesville (5-4) 31.444 at Hanover-Horton (7-2) 41.222
Union City (7-2) 32.333 at Detroit Community (8-1) 37.444
DIVISION 8
REGION 1
DISTRICT 1
Beaverton (4-4) 24.458 at Beal City (9-0) 44.778
East Jordan (7-2) 34.764 at Iron Mountain (7-2) 35.778
DISTRICT 2
L'Anse (4-5) 25.222 at Bark River-Harris (7-2) 37.958
Frankfort (5-4) 28.889 at Maple City Glen Lake (7-2) 36.333
REGION 2
DISTRICT 1
Vestaburg (6-3) 26.778 at New Lothrop (8-1) 46.000
Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (6-3) 31.736 at Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart (6-3) 32.319
DISTRICT 2
Vassar (5-4) 27.222 at Ubly (6-3) 33.444
Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central (5-4) 29.889 at Unionville-Sebewaing (7-2) 32.889
REGION 3
DISTRICT 1
Sand Creek (5-4) 26.444 at Hudson (8-1) 49.556
Fowler (6-3) 33.750 at Manchester (7-2) 34.333
DISTRICT 2
Vermontville Maple Valley (5-4) 27.333 at Decatur (9-0) 47.000
Saugatuck (6-3) 32.222 at Springport (8-1) 37.444
REGION 4
DISTRICT 1
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (5-4) 24.333 at Madison Heights Madison (7-2) 45.111
Burton Atherton (6-3) 30.111 at Southfield Bradford Academy (6-3) 33.444
DISTRICT 2
Marine City Cardinal Mooney (6-3) 25.889 at Royal Oak Shrine Catholic (8-1) 39.778
Allen Park Cabrini (5-4) 26.889 at Clarkston Everest Collegiate (8-1) 39.111
8-Player Pairings
DIVISION 1
REGION 1
Mio (6-3) 31.619 at Pickford (7-2) 36.736
Ishpeming (7-2) 32.111 at Rudyard (7-2) 33.569
REGION 2
Kingston (5-4) 30.639 at Dryden (9-0) 38.750
Marlette (7-2) 31.111 at Deckerville (8-1) 33.639
REGION 3
Concord (6-3) 30.125 at Climax-Scotts (7-2) 35.236
Bridgman (8-1) 33.306 at Colon (8-1) 33.681
REGION 4
Fulton (6-3) 31.952 at Merrill (8-1) 36.556
Blanchard Montabella (8-1) 33.889 at Dansville (7-2) 35.111
DIVISION 2
REGION 1
Powers North Central (7-2) 32.444 at Lake Linden-Hubbell (9-0) 38.000
St. Ignace (8-1) 35.556 at Gaylord St. Mary (9-0) 35.833
REGION 2
Onekama (6-3) 29.333 at Portland St. Patrick (9-0) 38.333
Grand Rapids Sacred Heart (8-1) 32.889 at Marion (9-0) 35.333
REGION 3
Adrian Lenawee Christian (4-5) 27.778 at Mendon (9-0) 40.458
Marcellus (6-3) 29.750 at Litchfield (8-1) 31.681
REGION 4
Peck (6-3) 27.845 at Bay City All Saints (8-1) 34.984
Britton Deerfield (7-2) 30.778 at Kinde North Huron (7-2) 31.861
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
PHOTO Menominee's Kahne Clarke (52) lifts Jackson Myszak (6) after Myszak runs for the first touchdown of the game during a Sept. 3 win at Marquette. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)
Finals Flashback: Remembering the '9s'
November 29, 2019
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
This weekend’s MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field will conclude another decade for the most played and watched high school sport in Michigan.
We’ll roll into this year’s games remembering some decade-enders of the past from 1979, 1989, 1999 and 2009.
Redemption
The 1979 season marked the first playoff appearance for Norway, which had failed to qualify for the MHSAA postseason in 1975 and 1976 despite undefeated seasons.
However, the scoreless first half of the Knights’ Class D championship battle with Schoolcraft wasn’t proceeding as planned.
“We went into the locker room at halftime and made a few offensive changes,” said Norway coach Bob Giannunzio. “Our running game wasn’t working, so we decided we would pass more in the second half.”
The Norway defense forced six second-half turnovers that led to three touchdowns and a 21-6 win over Schoolcraft. Quarterback Chuck Soderlund connected on 6-of-14 passes for 110 yards including a 45-yard TD pass to Gregg Noordhoff to break the scoreless deadlock. Nordhoff added a second score from four yards out early in the in the fourth quarter for a 14-6 lead. Soderlund added a game-sealing TD on a QB sneak with 1:30 remaining.
It was the first of back-to-back titles for Giannunzio and the little Upper Peninsula school located near Iron Mountain. Since that season, Norway has advanced as far as the Semifinal round twice, in both 2002 and 2006
“We said if we ever got here we’d win it, said Giannunzio to the Detroit Free Press. “We wanted to start off right for the U.P. It’s a big burden playing for the whole Upper Peninsula.”
The Greatest
In Class B in 1989, Farmington Hills Harrison scored a 28-27 victory over DeWitt in what many still consider one of the greatest games of the MHSAA’s 45-year playoff history. The reigning Class B champion and top-ranked Hawks had their hands full. Tied 7-7 after one quarter, the Panthers grabbed a two-touchdown lead in the second quarter on 32-yard run by fullback John Tellford and a 35-yard pass play from Tellford to John Cowan. Harrison responded with a Matt Conley one-yard run to cut the margin to 21-14 at the half.
Hawks quarterback Mill Coleman knotted the score at 21-21 with a dazzling 16-yard run early in the fourth quarter, but DeWitt stormed back again driving 75 yards on 13 plays. The series was highlighted by tight end Dave Riker's 24-yard, one-handed catch to the Hawks’ 3-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Chris Berkimer slipped over from the 1, and DeWitt again took the lead 27-21.
With 2:12 remaining and the ball at the Harrison 33, Coleman went to work. Three quick completions moved the ball to the DeWitt 16, and then Coleman let his legs do the rest. Following a Hawks timeout, Coleman dashed right for seven more yards to the Panthers’ 9. Facing a 2nd-and-3, Coleman dropped back to pass, escaped the rush at the DeWitt 17, then scampered up the middle and dove into the end zone for the tying points. Steve Hill added his fourth PAT of the game with 1:34 remaining for the final margin, then secured the victory with an interception on the next series.
Electrifying
Charles Rogers, perhaps the most electrifying high school receiver to ever touch the carpet at the Pontiac Silverdome, caught a single pass in the 1999 Division 2 title game, but he was the difference maker in Saginaw’s 14-7 win over Birmingham Brother Rice. The reception, defended by a single back, was a 60-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Cork on Saginaw’s first possession. Rogers broke a pair of tackles on the way to the end zone to open the scoring. The point-after attempt was blocked.
It was one of only six pass attempts by Saginaw on the day, and the only completion. But after that, as Mick McCabe of the Detroit Free Press wrote, “If Rogers would have gone up to the concourse for a hot dog, I’m sure a couple of Rice defensive backs would have been there to wipe the mustard off his chin.”
“He’s a big-time player, he should be in the NFL,” Rice coach Al Fracassa told McCabe. “He reminded me of Randy Moss. He’s always a threat just having him out there.”
A Saginaw fumble on the first play of the second half was recovered by Rice’s Tony Gioutsos at the Trojans’ 31. Eight plays later, Gioutsos scored from five yards out. Ross Ryan added the extra point for a 7-6 Rice lead.
Saginaw’s defense was aggressive, with constant pressure on Rice quarterback Mark Baker, sacking him twice while holding the Warriors to 78 yards rushing on 36 attempts.
Saginaw took advantage of the extra attention received by Rogers. Terry Jackson pounded out 106 yards on 18 carries, including 60 of Saginaw’s 84 yards on their game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. With Rogers drawing triple coverage, Jackson dashed opposite side for a 17-yard TD with 7:03 to play. Jackson also added the 2-point conversion for the game’s final margin.
A Wild Ride
Farmington Hills Harrison picked up its 10th state title with a 42-35 win over Grand Rapids Creston in a 1999 Division 3 championship game filled with wide-open play. Creston opened the title contest with a recovered onside kick and then drove 49 yards in five plays, ending with an Andrew Terry’s touchdown from a yard out. Harrison rebounded with a field goal, followed by a three-yard TD run by Kevin Woods off a pass interception for a 10-7 lead.
Creston responded with a four play, 79-yard touchdown drive that consumed a little over two minutes. Featuring a 41-yard pass play from QB Carlton Brewster to Lanard Latham near the end of the first quarter, the Polar Bears opened the second with a 25-yard run to the end zone by Terry. Odene Pringle’s extra point gave Creston a 14-10 lead.
Harrison then went 68 yards in six plays and under three minutes as Woods scored again from a yard out to regain the lead for his team 17-14.
The fireworks continued following another pass interception by the Hawks and another three-yard TD by Woods that upped the lead to 24-14. By halftime it was 27-21.
Harrison’s lead was short-lived as coach Charles “Sparky” McEwen’s Creston squad went 80 yards in 2:27 following the kickoff, capped by a Brewster to Latham 11-yard scoring strike. Pringle’s kick made it 28-27.
The Hawks responded on the next drive. It was 35-28 at the end for three quarters, then 42-28 when Woods scored again near the beginning of the fourth. In total, he would finish with 153 yards on 33 carries and four touchdowns, tying then-Final scoring marks for touchdowns and points.
Creston struck again with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Richard Gill from Brewster with 7:00 remaining to pull within a seven, 42-35. The Polar Bears regained the ball with 57 second remaining, but a final Hail Mary fell incomplete, ending one of the tournament’s most entertaining games.
Thriller
In 2007, the East Grand Rapids-Orchard Lake St. Mary’s championship battle was a 5 OT affair.
In 2009, it was again anybody’s guess who would emerge as the winner between the schools. The Pioneers entered undefeated, while Orchard Lake St. Mary’s carried four losses into the contest. They began the year with two defeats for the first time since 1991. The first was to this same East team, 21-7. Two others were to Division 1 Detroit Catholic Central, 27-0 and then 7-0.
The opening quarter of the Division 3 Final was scoreless. Orchard Lake opened the scoring early in the second. Quarterback Robert Bolden hit Gary Hunter for a 49-yard completion, and three plays later Bolden broke a pair of tackles to ramble across the goal line from 13 yards out. The Pioneers tied the game at 7-7 with 30 seconds remaining before the intermission, when 6-foot-7 Colin Voss caught a five-yard pass from Ryan Elble and snaked the last two yards into the end zone. St. Mary’s nearly answered in the time remaining as Hunter returned the kickoff 63 yards to the Pioneers’ 24. A false start penalty sent the ball back to the EGR 29, but then Bolden completed a pass to Allen Robinson for 28 yards to the Pioneers’ 1-yard line. Two rushing attempts by St. Mary’s were stopped at the goal line as time expired in the half, the last by Bolden that was ended by East’s Joshua Laarman.
Orchard Lake had opened a 21-17 lead with 9:12 remaining in the game following a three-yard TD by Cortez Riley and an extra point by Nathan Perry. With 4:01 left, that score still stood as the Pioneers took possession at their own 13 following an Eaglets punt. Kirk Spencer dashed for 38 yards to the Orchard Lake 49 on the first play. But with 2:49 remaining, East faced desperation at 4th-and-14. The ensuing pass, intended for Voss, slipped off his fingertips, but was caught by Spencer for a gain of 27 yards to the St. Mary’s 26. With 1:14 to play, Elble found Deon Jobe in the end zone from 15 yards out. Bobby Aardema’s kick gave East Grand Rapids a 24-21 lead.
“But it wasn’t quite over until we heard from Laarman and Spencer one more time,” wrote McCabe about play after the touchdown. “Bolden completed two passes to get to East’s 44 when he took off running. Earlier he scored on a breathtaking 83-yard keeper (giving St. Mary as 14-10 lead in the third quarter).
“The first thing Laarman thought of when he saw Bolden take off was: here we go again.”
Laarman caused a fumble on his attempted stop, and Spencer came up with the ball to seal victory. The win gave East Grand Rapids its fourth consecutive championship. East Grand Rapids would win five straight Division 3 titles between 2006 and 2010.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Harrison scored late to edge DeWitt 28-27 in the 1989 Class B Final. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)