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Drive for Detroit: Week 1 in Review

September 3, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Four of last season’s 10 MHSAA football champions began 2019 over the weekend 0-1. Ten teams that didn’t win a game last season stand 1-0 – and the two longest losing streaks in the state came to an end.

How's that for a new season and fresh start? And that's not even mentioning the storms that pushed many games to finish near or after midnight Thursday and roughly 40 to be completed later in the holiday weekend. 

Below is our weekly review at some of the results that popped off the page most from every region of the state, with a little perspective on wins and losses that might mean even more as we get into late September and October.

"Drive for Detroit" is sponsored by MI Student Aid..

Bay & Thumb

HEADLINER Beaverton 16, Breckenridge 6 The Beavers are coming off two straight eight-win seasons and just missed catching Breckenridge on opening night last year, falling 20-19. This time they outpaced the Huskies, last season’s Division 8 runners-up, to take a 2-1 lead in their recent opening-night series. Click for more from the Midland Daily News and see highlights below from MI Sports Now.

Watch list Port Huron 33, Flint Carman-Ainsworth 6 Although Carman-Ainsworth is coming off a down season, expectations are always high – and Port Huron’s should be now too after avenging last season’s 38-22 defeat and as the Big Reds seek their first playoff berth since 2014.

Remember this one Montrose 16, Cass City 14 These two both could be on the way to big things; after last year’s 48-22 Montrose win, the Rams went on a Division 6 Semifinal run and Cass City won its league.

More shoutouts Freeland 27, Marshall 26 (OT) A blocked extra point and then a fumbled extra point attempt snap were part of a wild overtime that saw the Falcons defeat the Redhawks by three points or fewer for the second straight season. Davison 54, Fenton 27 The Cardinals came out best in a matchup of likely league contenders, scoring 50+ points against a Tigers program that hadn’t given up that many since 2016. 

Greater Detroit

HEADLINER Detroit Catholic Central 24, Detroit Martin Luther King 22 These two met for the first time since the 2001 playoffs, and the result was the most exhilarating of an exceptional weekend of games at the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State. DCC didn’t score during the second half but held off a potential King scoring drive late in the fourth quarter to edge the reigning Division 3 champion. Click for more from MLive-Detroit and see below for highlights from State Champs Sports Network.

Watch list Southfield Arts & Technology 28, Clarkston 14 These two will meet again in league play in Week 6, and it might be the statewide game of that week after the Warriors began their rebound from two straight sub-.500 seasons with a massive win over the reigning Division 1 runner-up.

Remember this one Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 7, Utica Eisenhower 0 It’s “six wins and in” the playoffs for one more season, and with these teams representing two of the strongest leagues statewide – Brother Rice the Detroit Catholic League Central and Eisenhower the Macomb Area Conference Red – every win counts that much more.

More shoutouts Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 35, Saline 21 Reigning Division 1 champion Chippewa Valley graduated a ton on offense but found enough against another 2018 semifinalist in Saline. Lake Orion 17, Lapeer 7 The Dragons are 1-0 for the first time since 2013 after handing the Lightning its first regular-season loss since Week 8 of 2017.

Mid-Michigan

HEADLINER Pewamo-Westphalia 14, Reading 0 The Pirates handed reigning Division 8 champion Reading its first defeat since the end of 2017, but more impressively P-W locked down an offense that a year ago posted the 10th-most points in MHSAA 11-player history. The Pirates haven’t lost a regular-season game since their 2017 opener. Click for more from the Hillsdale Daily News.

Watch list Lansing Eastern 35, Owosso 0 One win meant a million for the Quakers, who broke a 38-game losing streak – and with one more victory would equal their best finish since 2010.

Remember this one New Lothrop 54, Lake City 7 Only a game of the P-W/Reading magnitude could bump this rematch from last season’s Division 7 Semifinals out of the headlining spot, as the reigning champion Hornets again put up 50+ points on the Trojans after winning last November 51-22.  

More shoutouts DeWitt 31, Traverse City Central 26 The Panthers traveled to Thirlby Field and hung on for a nice win over an annual playoff qualifier. Central Montcalm 22, Morley Stanwood 20 After a winless 2018, Central Montcalm broke a 13-game losing streak with its first victory over Morley Stanwood since 2014.

Northern Lower Peninsula

HEADLINER Maple City Glen Lake 26, Millington 7 The Lakers’ nonleague schedule is loaded, and they almost couldn’t have hoped for better against a Millington team coming off its 15th straight playoff season. Glen Lake enjoyed three touchdown passes from Reece Hazelton in scoring all of its points during the first half. Click for more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Watch list Evart 20, Frankfort 3 The Wildcats have made the playoffs once over the last five seasons and won a combined six games over the last two – but if opening night is an indication, they could match all of that this fall after downing a Frankfort team that’s made the playoffs five straight seasons and beat Evart in their last meeting 30-0 to open the 2016 playoffs.

Remember this one Grayling 22, Roscommon 6 The Vikings have made the playoffs seven times this decade, but finished only 3-6 a year ago – while Roscommon came into this season off a league title and 10-2 finish to 2018.

More shoutouts Alcona 16, Tawas 14 The Tigers went from two straight nine-win seasons to one victory in 2018, but the bounce-back has begun with this avenging of a 48-24 last-season loss. Kingsley 36, McBain 6 These teams combined to go 18-5 a year ago, and this result matched the second-best by the Stags’ defense from 2018.

Southeast & Border

HEADLINER Blissfield 33, Ottawa Lake Whiteford 14 The Royals broke a seven-game opening-night losing streak against Whiteford, in the process handing the Bobcats their first regular-season defeat since Week 9 of 2015. Whiteford also hadn’t given up 30 points in a game since the 2016 Division 8 Final. Click for more from the Toledo Blade and see highlights below from BCSN.

Watch list Erie Mason 58, Petersburg Summerfield 40 After four straight seasons of finishing 1-8, Erie Mason is 1-0 for the first time since 2003, the last time the Eagles made the playoffs.

Remember this one Jackson Lumen Christi 14, Kalamazoo United 12 The Titans ran their state-best winning streak to 24, but hardly with ease against a United team with some key new faces.

More shoutouts Homer 18, Michigan Center 0 The Trojans got off to the right start coming off their first sub-.500 season since 2009 by beating the reigning Cascades Conference runner-up. Ann Arbor Huron 63, Ecorse 14 The River Rats won for the first time in 40 games, putting up 63 points after scoring 98 over the entirety of 2018.

Southwest Corridor

HEADLINER Berrien Springs 28, Grand Rapids West Catholic 3 The Shamrocks are riding a string of five straight playoff seasons into the fall, but it’s hard to argue they’ve had a better start during this run. West Catholic has made the playoffs 16 straight seasons and is coming off a 2018 that saw respectable defeats to two eventual MHSAA champions. Click for more from the St. Joseph Herald-Palladium.

Watch list Paw Paw 42, Three Rivers 0 Edwardsburg tends to own the Wolverine Conference, and Three Rivers has been its biggest challenger the last few seasons – but that role could fall to Paw Paw coming off this big win and an 8-3 finish last year that also included a playoff victory over Three Rivers.

Remember this one Mendon 14, Decatur 7 Two of the best in the Southwest 10 Conference and also at least regionally in Division 8 saw each other right away with the Hornets running their recent winning streak over the Raiders to three straight.  

More shoutouts St. Joseph 32, Battle Creek Central 19 The Bears avenged last season’s 34-27 loss to the Bearcats, a meeting that led things off for two eventual playoff qualifiers. Coldwater 47, Haslett 30 The Cardinals also evened the score against their opening night opponent after falling to Haslett 28-7 a year ago and going on to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Upper Peninsula

HEADLINER Iron Mountain 17, Negaunee 14 These teams have proven to be just about even over two straight openers, with the Mountaineers now winning both by three points. Last year the same result previewed an 8-3 season for Iron Mountain and a 5-4 by the Miners, who are looking to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Click for more from the Iron Mountain Daily News.

Watch List Lake Linden-Hubbell 32, Norway 14 The Lakes are coming off their first back-to-back sub-.500 seasons since the early 1970s, but they’re hoping that breaking a three-game losing streak to Norway is the start of a turnaround. 

Remember this one Bark River-Harris 56, Gwinn 50 (OT) The Broncos are another team seeking a comeback after falling to 2-7 in 2018, and avenging last season’s 36-20 loss to Gwinn may have them on the way.

More shoutouts Sault Ste. Marie 22, Cheboygan 16 The Blue Devils went 5-4 last season while averaging just 15 points per game, and this week’s 22 would’ve been their second-highest total last fall. West Iron County 32, Munising 6 Beating Munising on opening night has been good to the Wykons, who made the playoffs all four previous seasons this decade after they won that matchup. West Iron missed the playoffs in 2015 after falling to the Mustangs in Week 1.

West Michigan

HEADLINER Muskegon 41, Warren De La Salle Collegiate 7 After closing last season with a tough defeat in the Division 3 Final, the Big Reds opened this fall with a second straight win over two-time reigning Division 2 champion De La Salle. During the first half alone, Muskegon quarterback Cameron Martinez ran 13 times for 109 yards and three scores. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.

Watch List Grand Rapids Catholic Central 17, River Rouge 14 GRCC is coming off a third straight trip to at least the Division 4 Semifinals and is back in the swing after winning this one on a field goal with 2:15 to play.

Remember this one Hart 48, Holton 40 (2OT) Hart hasn’t had a winning season since 1997 and didn’t have a varsity at all in 2015, but started this fall with this victory over a 2018 Division 8 semifinalist.

More shoutouts Montague 42, Reed City 0 Last season’s Division 6 runner-up avenged a 34-13 loss to the Coyotes while handing them only their second regular-season defeat over the last five years. Zeeland West 28, East Grand Rapids 21 Surprisingly, this was the first meeting between these perennial Division 3 powers – so although they’d never met before, it’s not hard to anticipate them possibly meeting again in the playoffs.

8-Player

HEADLINER Brimley 24, Rapid River 12 Simply put, this was the Bay’s biggest win during a decade of 8-player football. Rapid River is the reigning 8-Player Division 2 champion and had beaten Brimley 80-55 in last year’s regular-season finale. Click for more from the Escanaba Daily Press.

Watch List Pickford 48, Crystal Falls Forest Park 16 A junior-heavy Pickford team finished 8-Player Division 1 runner-up last season and opened its return by nearly doubling up on last season’s 18-point win over the always-powerful Trojans.

Remember this one Climax-Scotts 16, Wyoming Tri-unity Christian 12 The Panthers’ 8-player debut was as good as expected, and they quickly will have more chances to show what they can do with Lawrence, Bellevue and Camden-Frontier coming up over the next three weeks.

More shoutouts Powers North Central 66, Cedarville 12 The Jets lasted only a week in last season’s Division 2 playoffs, but opened this fall with a win over a 2018 semifinalist. Martin 20, Bellevue 12 The Clippers are another new 8-player team and coming off a playoff season in 11, and they should be excited after this debut against one of the state’s best in 8 over the last two seasons.

Second Half’s weekly “Drive for Detroit” previews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. 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 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter@mistudentaid.

PHOTO: Davison put 54 points on the scoreboard to win its season opener against Fenton. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)

Rose's Legend Grows in Shores Repeat

January 22, 2021

By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half

DETROIT – Game planning for an all-state football player like Brady Rose certainly isn’t easy. 

In fact, it’s downright awful just to think about. 

The Muskegon Mona Shores senior quarterback once again proved that point to be true Friday afternoon, leading his team to a 25-19 victory over Warren De La Salle Collegiate and a second consecutive MHSAA Division 2 championship at Ford Field in Detroit. 

Rose rushed 22 times for 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But it was a 65-yard scamper early in the fourth quarter that proved to be the play of the game – a game filled with key plays by Rose.

“We ran that play quite a bit (today), but I wasn’t being patient, I wasn’t bouncing it to the outside,” Rose said. “(This time) I just let it develop, let it do what it was supposed to do and I bounced it outside and took it down into the red zone.”

The play lifted the spirits of the entire team and provided a much-needed boost of confidence.

“We get the ball down there, everybody is excited again. Everybody is hyped,” he added. “After that run, we knew we were going to punch it in. Anytime we get into the red zone, we have to punch it in, and we did.”

Three plays later, senior wideout Keondre Pierce scored on a 10-yard pitch to the right side, giving Mona Shores a 19-7 lead with 9:25 left in the game. 

De La Salle, which trailed 13-0 at halftime, didn’t give up. The Pilots answered right back on a 52-yard touchdown run by senior JC Ford with 7:58 to play. The drive took just 1:21 off the clock and also included a 23-yard pass from Ford to senior running back Brett Stanley to help set up the touchdown run. 

After a quick three-and-out, the Sailors then relied on their defense to get the ball back. Coach Matt Koziak’s team came up with a clutch stop on fourth down, on De La Salle’s half of the field. Seven plays later, Rose scored his second touchdown of the game, this time from four yards out to give his team a 25-13 lead with just 1:47 left to play.

De La Salle did move the ball down the field quickly, scoring on a four-yard keeper by sophomore quarterback Brady Drogosh with 16 seconds to play. But it wasn’t enough, as Rose recovered the ensuing on-side kickoff attempt and then took a knee to end the game. 

“They did have us on our heels a little bit,” Koziak said. “We jumped up on them, 13-0 going into halftime, then they come right back in the second half. We said it at halftime, ‘They’re not going to go away. They’re not going to let you win this, you’ve got to go take it.’”

The Mona Shores defense, led by senior Kyree Hamel, who finished with 11 tackles and an interception, held De La Salle to just 50 total yards and three first downs in the first half. The Pilots totaled 62 yards on the ground during their drive to start the second half. Ford provided a change of pace for De La Salle, running the ball six straight times to begin the drive. After runs of 15 and 10 yards by freshman Rhett Roeser moved the ball inside the 5-yard line, Ford capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run to get his team on the scoreboard.

“We didn’t run a lot of plays in the first half, and we couldn’t get into a rhythm,” De La Salle head coach Dan Rohn said. “So we went into halftime and said, ‘Let’s change things up a little bit and up the tempo.’ It’s kind of been JC’s role all year long. We haven’t needed it in the playoffs because he’s playing two ways.”

Ford finished with 111 yards on 15 carries and those two touchdowns. Stanley had 42 yards and Roeser added 38 for the Pilots. Defensively, junior Will Beesley had a game-high 20 tackles, while senior Jayden Conklin added 14. Junior Dionte Dandridge had an interception.

Mona Shores (12-0) finished with 311 rushing yards. Along with Rose, junior Elijah Johnson also had a good game on the ground. He carried the ball 14 times for 81 yards and had a nine-yard touchdown in the first half. Rose also returned three kicks for 48 yards, averaged 39 yards on his three punts, blocked an extra point and had eight tackles on the other side of the ball.

“What a legacy for him to leave,” Koziak said of Rose, who will play collegiately at Ferris State University. “Obviously he’s a tremendous player, a tremendous competitor. It’s so easy to root for a dude like that. He’s not 6-foot-3, he doesn’t run a 4.3 40 (yard dash). He’s not a 5 star. But all great stories usually have an underdog in it, so it’s easy for people to get behind him, for his teammates to get behind him. They love him. I think when we look back on one of the great players, and performances, in the state over the past two seasons, he’s got to be in the conversation.”

Rohn, who completed his first year at De La Salle after having won four Division 5 championships at Grand Rapids West Catholic, said he was proud of his team for battling through a lot of adversity over the past year.

“We went against one of the best football teams in the state of Michigan and one of the best football players in the state of Michigan,” Rohn said. “Hats off to Matt (Koziak) and his team. I have nothing but respect for their program and the way they played today. Who would have thought that we’d be sitting here on January 22 with an opportunity to win a state championship?”

Koziak praised Rohn for all his accomplishments at De La Salle, while also crediting players from all over the state for forging ahead despite all the obstacles they faced over the past year. 

“I’m proud of our young men. I’m proud of the state of Michigan, the football players,” Koziak said. “These young men have been through the ropes. They’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. Football prepares you for life. But this season, holy cow, it’s going to teach you disappointment, it’s going to teach you hope, it’s going to teach you surprise, it’s going to teach you humility. I have no doubt these young men are going to be good fathers, and better sons, better husbands because things didn’t go their way this year. Whether it was wins or losses, or COVID, or a pause in the season, whatever it was. They’re all going to be better human beings for it, and I think that’s a special message we tried to preach all year.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon Mona Shores quarterback Brady Rose drops back to pass during Friday’s Division 2 championship game at Ford Field. (Middle) De La Salle’s Will Beesley makes his move as Shores defenders close in. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)