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Southfield A&T players enjoy the first moments after their Division 1 championship win at Ford Field.

Celebration Memorable as well as Southfield A&T Savors Historic Win

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

December 7, 2023

SOUTHFIELD — Normally, having students come up and say they won’t be in school the next day might have a school administrator seething and ready to reserve seats in the detention room. 

Greater DetroitBut if there ever was a time to allow it, this was the moment. 

Following a 36-32 upset of Belleville that stunned many around the state in the MHSAA Division 1 Football Final on Nov. 26, Southfield Arts & Technology senior quarterback Isaiah Marshall said he and other players made it known, “Don’t expect us in school on Monday.” 

After all, the game was played and ended late on a Sunday night, the team achieved something nobody else in the community had done, and there were celebrations that needed to begin. 

And for the record, the players were back in school Tuesday.

Whether it’s been in school or outside the halls of Southfield A&T, it’s been a week of historic celebrations and congratulations after the Warriors captured the first MHSAA Finals championship in school history.

The A&T band plays during a break in the action.Marshall said that remained the case when he attended the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis on Saturday. 

“Everywhere I go, there is someone congratulating me,” he said. 

Over their final decades before the schools merged in 2016, Southfield High School and Southfield-Lathrup High School had plenty of talented teams with numerous players who went on to play big-time college football and even in the NFL. 

But none of those good teams was able to advance to a state championship game, let alone win it all. 

“There was a lot of people that texted me and talked to me and said they graduated from the 1980s,” said Marshall, pointing out that one former player who reached out was Nic Jones, currently a member of the Kansas City Chiefs who graduated from Southfield High. “There were a lot of older people that used to go to Southfield that told me that they couldn’t do the job. They were proud of us that we could do it for them.”

Marshall said that after the game was over Sunday, he and other teammates congregated at his house at 3 a.m. to watch a replay of the game. 

It was only the first time this week the replay was watched. 

“We watched it that day and the day after,” Marshall said. “I think we’ve been watching it the whole week.”

Fans celebrate in the stands during the victory over Belleville.A parade Saturday will start at noon at the building that housed the old Southfield-Lathrup and finish at the current school, which was the home of Southfield High before the merger. A&T then will host a celebration in the school gymnasium from 1:15-2:30 p.m.

Players will certainly soak it all in while they can, because it won’t be long before they split up. 

Marshall will soon sign to play in college for Kansas and will be enrolling early there. He plans to take his last final exams at Southfield A&T next week and head to Lawrence the first week of January. 

Teammate Jalen Todd will do the same as he is also committed to Kansas, while Tashi Braceful will enroll early at Toledo. 

But long after this year, it’s a group that won’t be forgotten in the community, or the state after it pulled off the upset of a Belleville team that was riding a 38-game winning streak and was two-time reigning Division 1 champion. 

No doubt, future reunions should be memorable and festive. 

Even Marshall admitted his still rubs his eyes in amazement over what his team did.

“Yes, I still do,” he said.

Keith DunlapKeith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties

PHOTOS (Top) Southfield A&T players enjoy the first moments after their Division 1 championship win at Ford Field. (Middle) The A&T band plays during a break in the action. (Below) Fans celebrate in the stands during the victory over Belleville. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Goodrich’s Jakoby Lagat (24) followed the block of teammate Chase Burnett during their team’s Division 4 Semifinal win over Harper Woods.

1st & Goal: 2024 11-Player Semifinals Review

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 25, 2024

Of 16 teams that earned trips Saturday to this weekend’s MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals, eight will be returning to Ford Field for at least the second season in a row – with a repeat Division 8 championship game leading off the upcoming lineup.

MI Student AidNotable as well, four schools earned an opportunity to play on the season’s final day for the first time – and those are just some of the storylines to catch up on during a quick week that will conclude the MHSAA’s 2023 Fall season.

We’ll be back with a preview of all eight championship games Wednesday evening. For now, see all 16 Semifinals at a glance:

(Note: Highlights from Saturday's 8-Player Finals will be included in a final football championship "Review" next week.)

Division 1

HEADLINER Hudsonville 27, Rochester Adams 7 Hudsonville (12-1) will play for a championship for the first time since 2005. The Eagles broke away with 20 unanswered points after the teams went into halftime tied. Adams finished 10-3, reaching double digit wins for the third time in four years. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.

HEADLINER Detroit Cass Tech 17, Detroit Catholic Central 14 Cass Tech (11-2) will make the one-mile Finals trip for the first time since 2016 after handing Detroit Catholic Central (12-1) its only defeat this season. Alex Graham returned the opening kickoff for a Technicians score, and they held off the Shamrocks late with a Corey Sadler interception and blocked field goal attempt. Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.

Division 2

HEADLINER Byron Center 41, East Lansing 14 Byron Center (12-1) advanced to a championship game for the first time with a stunning defensive performance – stopping a Trojans offense averaging 38 points per game – and on the legs of quarterback Landon Tungate, who ran for six touchdowns. East Lansing finished 9-4. Click for more from FOX 17.

HEADLINER Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 28, Birmingham Groves 27 (OT) Groves scored first in overtime, but St. Mary’s (10-3) stopped a 2-point conversion try and then scored and made the extra point to earn a first Finals trip since 2016. Groves was playing in its fourth Semifinal over the last nine years and finished 12-1. Click for more from the Oakland Press.

Division 3

HEADLINER Zeeland West 32, DeWitt 20 West (12-1) was able to slow down one of the most productive offenses in MHSAA history, holding the Panthers (12-1) to nearly 37 points below their season average to reach Ford Field for the first time since 2015. DeWitt did finish its season with 702 points, good for seventh all-time, with its final 54 ppg average ranking eighth. Click for more from the Holland Sentinel.

HEADLINER Detroit Martin Luther King 35, Mason 14 The Crusaders (10-3) avenged last season’s Semifinal loss to Mason to earn a return to Ford Field for the seventh time in nine seasons. Mason finished 10-3 this fall, and a combined 45-8 over quarterback Cason Carswell’s four seasons on varsity. Click for more from MLIVE-Detroit.

Division 4

HEADLINER Niles 62, Grand Rapids South Christian 30 Niles will carry its longest playoff run ever into the season’s final weekend after putting up its most points this season. South Christian scored first, but the Vikings (12-1) took a 38-14 led into halftime and denied the Sailors (8-5) what would have been a third-straight trip to Ford Field. Click for more from the Niles Daily Star.

HEADLINER Goodrich 28, Harper Woods 14 In another 2023 Semifinal rematch, Goodrich also avenged by defeating the reigning Division 4 champion. Standout running back Chase Burnett scored three times to help send the Martians (12-1) back to Ford Field for the second time in three seasons. Harper Woods finished 9-4. Click for more from the Flint Journal.

Division 5

HEADLINER Frankenmuth 42, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 35 In their fourth playoff matchup over the last five seasons, Frankenmuth (13-0) was able to get past its nemesis for the first time taking at one point a 28-7 lead before holding off the Cougars’ comeback attempt. Frankenmuth had three rushers reach 100 yards, while quarterback Odin Spencer threw for 390 and three scores for GRCC (8-5). Click for more from the Saginaw News.

HEADLINER Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 49, Flat Rock 7 Notre Dame Prep (11-1) earned its first trip to the Finals with the latest of several impressive performances this fall. Most notably, the Fighting Irish stopped a Flat Rock offense averaging 43 points per game, while putting up 49 against a defense that was giving up only 13. The Rams finished their second-straight Semifinals season at 10-3. Click for more from the Oakland Press.

Division 6

HEADLINER Lansing Catholic 34, Boyne City 22 Quarterback Alex Fernandez starred again, leading Lansing Catholic (10-3) back to Ford Field for the first time since 2021 but third time over the last six seasons. Boyne City capped its longest playoff season in a decade at 10-3. Click for more from WLNS.

HEADLINER Jackson Lumen Christi 35, Marine City 6 Lumen Christi (12-1) will finish its season at Ford Field for the third straight and seventh time over the last nine seasons. Kadale Williams ran for four touchdowns, including three of at least 60 yards. Marine City (10-3) was averaging 45 points per game before the Titans defense posted its third single-digit performance of the playoffs. Click for more from WILX.

Division 7

HEADLINER Millington 35, North Muskegon 28 Millington (12-0) earned its first championship game berth, beginning to pull away during the closing seconds of the first half on a hook-and-ladder touchdown pass and then holding off North Muskegon’s comeback attempt at the end. The Norsemen finished their second-straight Semifinals season at 11-2. Click for more from the Saginaw News.

HEADLINER Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central 38, Schoolcraft 7 It was quite a weekend for Monroe St. Mary, as the volleyball team won its first Finals championship since 2020 and the football team advanced to Ford Field for the first time since 2019. The Falcons (13-0) did so in part by locking down a Schoolcraft offense that averaged nearly 37 points per game entering the weekend. The Eagles finished 11-2. Click for more from the Monroe News.

Division 8

HEADLINER Beal City 17, Fowler 16 Beal City (11-2) has proven tough to overtake in close games this month as the Aggies claimed their third in a row by seven points or fewer – and actually fourth of the season with their two losses also by just four points apiece. Beal will return to Ford Field for the first time since 2021, while Fowler ended its first Semifinal run since 2019 at 12-1. Click for more from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun.

HEADLINER Riverview Gabriel Richad 36, Decatur 30 Gabriel Richard earned its first trip to the Finals with big days from senior Joey Calhoun and junior Derek Lesko. Calhoun scored three touchdowns and Lesko twice with two interceptions as the Pioneers held of Decatur (11-2), which completed its best season since 2002 with two losses by a combined 14 points. Click for more from the Southgate News-Herald.

MHSAA.com's weekly “1st & Goal” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Click to connect with MI Student Aid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.

PHOTO Goodrich’s Jakoby Lagat (24) followed the block of teammate Chase Burnett during their team’s Division 4 Semifinal win over Harper Woods. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)