Drive for Detroit: Week 4 in Review
September 17, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Most conferences in Michigan have between six and eight teams, and all start each season with hopes of ending up number one.
In a few weeks, showdowns to determine those top teams will take place all over the state. But in the meantime, the leg work must be done to set up those colossal matchups. And a number of those games were played during Week 4, although the most notable result came in a game that instead matched potential MHSAA championship contenders.
West Michigan
Muskegon 36, Lowell 21
The Big Reds have two running backs on pace to rush for 1,000 yards this season if the team makes any kind of run in the playoffs, and at this point it looks like they might run away from the rest of the Division 2 field. Muskegon added another win to its impressive start, in a game that some suggested matched the two best teams in the division this fall. Click to read more from the Muskegon Chronicle.
Also noted:
Zeeland East 27, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 23 – The Chix have to be considered one of the hottest teams in all of Michigan so far, with this win perhaps its most impressive of a 4-0 start.
Caledonia 14, Grandville 7 – After two straight seasons at 4-5, Caledonia is 4-0 heading into a series of tough O-K White games.
Comstock Park 13, Allendale 8 – This was one of the best rivalries of the old O-K Silver, and this first matchup between the two since 2004 was a strong way to start off the O-K Blue schedule.
Muskegon Mona Shores 21, Grand Haven 14 – Mona Shores’ 3-1 start is its best since 1997, and comes after the team won a combined three games over the last two seasons.
Greater Detroit
Oak Park 24, Southfield 18 (OT)
This has become Oak Park's most serious conversation about league contention since at least 2003, when it finished second in the Oakland Activities Association III to Farmington – which just happens to be the other team tied for first this fall in the OAA White, and also this week’s opponent. Oak Park needed overtime in this one to get past Southfield, which fell to 2-2 but is much better than that middling record suggests. Click to read more from the Oakland Press.
Also noted:
Farmington 19, Oxford 13 (OT) – This is the other overtime thriller that helped set up this week’s OAA White matchup; the Falcons haven’t given up more than 14 points this fall.
Birmingham Brother Rice 28, Warren DeLaSalle 0 – This is usually a much closer matchup (see explanation last week), but Brother Rice’s defensive performance was stunning and earns the Warriors top billing going forward in the Detroit Catholic League Central.
Waterford Our Lady 24, Royal Oak Shrine 21 – The Catholic League has other divisions too, and with this win Our Lady earned the status as biggest contender to Loyola in the Intersectional.
Milan 21, Grosse Ile 14 – Milan moved to 4-0 after winning just one game last season; the Big Reds look like Huron League favorites heading into this week’s matchup with Monroe St. Mary Catholic.
Southwest and Border
Stevensville Lakeshore 41, Portage Central 40
This nearly ended with the classic comeback, with Portage Central trailing by 20 at halftime. But Lakeshore hung on through a two-point conversion called back because of a penalty. That one-point swing will surely come to mean more as the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West season moves into October. Click to read more from the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Also noted:
Bridgman 27, Niles Brandywine 26 – The Lakeland Conference is down to just three teams after playing with six only three seasons ago, and Bridgman looks like the favorite already after beating Brandywine for the first time since 2006.
Reading 26, Springport 20 – This was a big one as the Rangers move quietly toward another Big Eight Conference decider in Week 8 against Union City.
Portage Northern 7, St. Joseph 0 – This was the other SMAC West game of most note, with these two now among four that are 1-1 in the league and 3-1 overall, but tied for third in the league.
Sturgis 27, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 12 – The Trojans were in a bit of a rough spot at 1-2 and coming off their first playoff berth in seven seasons; this victory could kick off a run back into the mix.
Lower Up North
Grayling 28, Traverse City St. Francis 20
The Vikings ended a nine-game losing streak against St. Francis, and after falling by three and one point the last two seasons, respectively. Grayling is considered one of the best teams in Division 5 and the Lake Michigan Conference favorite, and beating the Division 7 power Gladiators will no doubt strengthen both expectations. Click to read more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Also noted:
Maple City Glen Lake 56, Benzie Central 12 – The Lakers are 4-0 for the first time since 2001 and appear to have made the Northwest Conference race a two-team battle with Kingsley.
Boyne City 14, Harbor Springs 7 – Boyne City improved to 4-0 to equal last season’s win total heading into this week’s matchup with St. Francis.
Traverse City Central 40, Petoskey 0 – The Trojans announced their Big North Conference contention in a big way over a usual favorite, and next week can equal their 2011 win total by moving to 4-1.
Elk Rapids 48, Charlevoix 22 – Two losses by a combined 11 points have put the Elks at 2-2 and against the playoff wall, but this was a big step with two more tough games coming up.
Upper Peninsula
Escanaba 31, Marquette 22
This was a little unexpected, perhaps more than a little, with Marquette coming in undefeated and the Eskymos having been outscored 99-37 during their 1-2 start. But Escanaba’s defense shut down the Redmen during the second half to win the Great Northern Upper Peninsula Conference opener. Click to read more from the Marquette Mining Journal.
Also noted:
Bessemer 39, Lake Linden-Hubbell 12 – Bessemer not only broke an eight-game losing streak to Lake Linden-Hubbell, but this victory also helped the Speedboys move to 3-1 and equal last season’s three wins.
Negaunee 28, Iron Mountain 6 – The Miners’ broke a two-game losing streak to Iron Mountain and have started 4-0 for the first time since 2006.
Ishpeming 38, Ishpeming Westwood 8 – Ishpeming pushed it to 16 straight over Westwood and hs now won 11 straight regular-season games.
Iron Mountain North Dickinson 55, Stephenson 30 – The Nordics’ point totals this season, in chronological order, have been 41, 42, 48 and 55.
Mid-Michigan
DeWitt 28, Haslett 27
The Panthers have won this rivalry game 10 straight times, which might make it seem like it shouldn’t be a rivalry anymore. Don’t buy it. This game still matters a ton to both communities, and this brought back memories of the classics from the beginning of the 2000s. It also kept DeWitt tied for first in the Capital Area Activities Conference Red and has Haslett needing to win out to guarantee a playoff berth.
Also noted:
Perry 14, Flint Beecher 13 – The Ramblers should celebrate some small victories, like their best start since 2006; two wins already equals their most since that same season.
Lansing Everett 21, Holt 3 – This was the first of four tough CAAC Blue foes the Vikings must survive; Grand Ledge, East Lansing and Lansing Sexton still loom after a 4-0 start.
St. Johns 14, Owosso 13 – The CAAC Red has been tough to read so far, but this combined with the DeWitt win means the Panthers and Redwings likely will play for the title again.
Morrice 44, Burton Atherton 14 – Before opening night, the last time Morrice (4-0) had won was 2009; the last time Morrice won four games in a season was 2006, and the last time the Orioles started 4-0 was 1997.
Thumb and Bay
Flint Powers Catholic 34, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic 12
This game may not have turned out as close as might have been expected. But the reigning Division 5 champion Chargers had plenty to celebrate after falling to Nouvel 55-14 in 2011, when Nouvel finished as Division 7 champion. Click to read more from The Saginaw News.
Also noted:
Saginaw Swan Valley 31, Alma 26 – The Vikings handed Alma its first Tri-Valley Conference Central loss, meaning Swan Valley and Hemlock are the only two still perfect in league play.
Montrose 13, Goodrich 12 – This leaves Montrose and Lake Fenton as the teams to beat in the Genesee Area Conference Red.
Almont 17, Richmond 13 – By way of a series of three and four-point games, including this one, Almont is again among those chasing Croswell-Lexington at the top of the Blue Water Conference standings.
Beaverton 26, Houghton Lake 21 – The Beavers might not contend in the Jack Pine Conference after losing big to Gladwin in Week 3, but this win put them at 3-1 to equal their most wins since 2007 and has them halfway to their first playoff berth since 2000.
Trophy Games
Each week, the MHSAA highlights trophy games around the state. A number were played during Week 4.
- Little Brown Jug: Union City hosted Athens in a Big Eight Conference matchup and kept the trophy for the 12th straight season. Final: Union City 33, Athens 18.
- Little Brown Jug: The Kingsley/Suttons Bay matchup has been much more even, with the teams splitting their last 10 games although Kingsley won for the second straight: Final: Kingsley 62, Suttons Bay 7.
- Little Brown Jug: Concord won its ninth of the last 10 against Homer (including a forfeit in 2006), but this was the closest of the recent renditions. Final: Concord 28, Homer 27.
- The Axe: Newberry kept its strong start going by breaking a seven-game losing streak to rival Munising. Final: Newberry 29, Munising 12.
- Rocket-Rebel Trophy: Wyoming Kelloggsville has won all six since it began playing Wyoming Lee annually again in 2007. Final: Kelloggsville 21, Lee 6.
- Pioneer-Thunderbird Spirit Bowl: Dearborn has won three straight over its Western Wayne Athletic Conference rival Edsel Ford. Final: Dearborn 35, Edsel Ford 14.
PHOTO: Southfield (blue) and Oak Park battled into overtime of a key Oakland Activities Association game that in the end went Oak Park's way, 24-18. (Click to see more at Terry McNamara Photography.)
Undefeated Contenders Make Claims as 1925 High School Football Champion
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
November 14, 2025
It was another football season without an official postseason, just as they all were prior to 1975 in Michigan.
Well – that’s not exactly true – but we will detail that story on another day.
In the Great Lakes State, the 1925 prep season – now 100 years ago - provides a beautiful illustration of the fun, fascination, and frustration in proclaiming gridiron championships in Michigan before the arrival of the MHSAA playoffs.
“The Roaring Twenties” – built in the age of prosperity that followed the end of World War I – were an age of excess, an era of more, and a time where anything seemed possible.
The Twenties are also known as the Golden Age of College Football, and excitement for the sport certainly trickled down to the high school level. The need or desire to open or break ground on impressively bigger and better stadiums hit schools around the nation. The 1925 season marked the opening of the University of Pittsburgh’s Pitt Stadium, with potential seating for 70,000. In Michigan, just upriver on Saginaw Bay in Bay City, the town’s Central High School unveiled a facility with a capacity of 7,100. That season marked the end of college careers for University of Illinois’ legend Harold “Red” Grange, Dartmouth’s Andy Oberlander, and Stanford’s Ernie Nevers. It was also the first varsity season at University of Michigan for Muskegon High School’s Bennie Oosterbaan, who became the school’s first three-time football All-American.
With a lack of lighted fields in Michigan, prep contests were mostly played on Saturdays, and the kickoff to seasons began around mid-September. Scheduled games generally ended in late November, with a few schools around the state closing their slate with a traditional Thanksgiving Day game.
Call it what you will – bragging rights, statewide acclaim, untethered validation, or an unsatisfied heart – but the regular season did not end the fascination and desire to name a state champion. While the state’s governing body did not sponsor championships, that did not stop cities, schools, the media, and the fan base from attempts to assign bragging rights to teams with unbeaten records. That was pretty much the case since the start of the prep game, dating back to 1888.
The era was often filled with “post season” challenges for games between teams to crystalize a claim on a championship. In general, they seldom came to fruition.
The MHSAA
The recently-created Michigan High School Athletic Association established three classes based on hard student enrollment numbers, with Class A – comprised of the state’s largest schools, each with a minimum of 500 students – Class B with between 175 and 499 enrolled, and Class C for schools with fewer than 175 pupils. Back then, the classifications were not segmented with an equal number of schools in each Class, as they are in today’s Division format. Rather, there were many more schools that fell into Class B and Class C than Class A. (Additional subdividing, adding Class D, and Class E, would come later).
Spurred on by fans and sportswriters, schools who wanted a share of the spotlight saw those classifications conveniently offering a means to segment claims on a state title. Acknowledging that they could seldom compete successfully against the larger schools in football, there was nothing to stop unbeaten teams from declaring themselves Class B or Class C gridiron champions.
The Fall of '25
Following the results of mid-November games across the state, just two prep teams in Michigan’s emerged as possible claimants to the title in Class A. Both Flint Central and Grand Rapids Union were unbeaten and untied. Flint would play Bay City Central at home on Saturday, Nov. 21, then square off for a Thanksgiving game with Ann Arbor in the university city.
Union would complete its regular season in a showdown with crosstown rival Grand Rapids South on Nov. 21. Unbeaten in 1924, South had shared that season’s mythical state title with Flint Central.
Just days before kickoff however, a third school emerged, making lots of noise.
Port Huron Times-Herald reporter Ray Bouslog penned an article that appeared in the Tuesday, Nov. 17 edition.
“Comparing Port Huron with the other two undefeated teams, the locals appear to have just as good a record as their rivals,” he noted. Comparing scores of games among the three schools against common opponents, and opponent’s common opponents – a common practice among fans and sportswriters then and now – he felt the local school was among the state’s best regardless of class.
Two days later, in the same paper, Port Huron’s athletic director and head coach Melvin J. Myers, acknowledging they had two more games on their schedule, was quoted by Bouslog:
“Having gone through the schedule unbeaten, untied, and unscored on, we consider that we have as much a claim (on the state title) as either Grand Rapids Union or Flint Central. But unlike the situation in former years, when the teams were unable to agree on terms of the post season battle, we are willing to play either of these schools at home or away.”
It was a bold statement. Port Huron was classified as a Class B school by the MHSAA. Five of its eight wins had come against Class B or Class C competition. While its goal line had not been crossed, Port Huron had scored 151 points – an average of just under 19 per contest.
Port Huron also had scheduled a Turkey Day game with Richmond, a Class C opponent. Myers considered the contest “only a workout for the team,” with victory by a large margin expected. But Saturday’s contest was on the road against a University of Detroit High School squad – no pushover. Port Huron, of course, would fall out of the race with a defeat in either contest.
On Friday, the Flint Daily Journal, in an Extra edition, acknowledged the Myers’ challenge: “(T)he recognized leader in Class B having no blemish on her record ... Port Huron is willing to step out of her class (and) has hurled challenges at both Flint and Union, provided they are untied and unbeaten.”
Since Union did not have a scheduled Thanksgiving Day contest, Myers stated he was willing to reschedule the Richmond game and meet Union, in Grand Rapids, on the holiday. The move would set up a “playoff” for an undisputed championship.
Union coach John Truesdale responded in the Grand Rapids Press, stating “This is no time to talk such stuff. The proper time for serious entertainment of such ideas is after the South game is played. If we win Saturday we talk. If we lose, and that is not impossible, then we will be in a position to consider such things.”
Union brushed off Coach Myers’ desire for a game on Thanksgiving. Truesdale indicated he was willing to listen to proposals from either Flint or Port Huron – not Thanksgiving Day – but on Saturday, Nov. 28, and no later.
Flint coach Charles Bassett was blunt with his response to the talk: “It is absolutely out of the question for Flint to even think of playing Union or any other team on Nov 28. We have a regularly scheduled game with Ann Arbor only two days before that time. It would be physically impossible for the boys to play two games in three days.”
Emphasizing that his two remaining games had been scheduled over a year ago, he stated, “Union knows our schedule and so does every other school in Michigan. I have no intention whatever of trying to change it. … If Union or Port Huron desire to play at some later date, after my boys have had a suitable rest, I shall be glad to listen to their proposals.”
Stage is Nearly Set
All three schools won their game on Saturday, Nov. 21. Rocky Parsaca nailed three out of four drop-kicks as Union topped South, 9-0, while Port Huron slipped past U of D High, 6-0, on a fourth-quarter TD by senior fullback Cecil Turner. Flint crushed Bay City Central, 32-0, to set the stage.
With that win, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Bassett told the Journal, “If Central is successful against Ann Arbor tomorrow, we stand ready and willing to play either Port Huron or Grand Rapids Union for the undisputed state championship. This should settle all doubts as to our sincerity in believing we have the best team in the state. We are willing to test it on any neutral field.”
By then, however, negotiations for a three-way series involving Union had broken down and the news had reached the paper. In the same edition, it was noted that Union had packed up for the fall. Without a game on Thanksgiving or the Saturday following, Truesdale stated Union could not carry its squad for two full weeks without a game. On Monday, Nov. 24, the Press had announced that Union had closed out its football season and was now focused on basketball.
With that bit of news, the Flint paper stated, “It is probable that Flint and Port Huron will arrange a game for Saturday, Dec 5.”
Thanksgiving
Played on Ann Arbor’s high school field, located just three blocks from University of Michigan’s Ferry Field, Flint had its hands full, downing the hosts, 6-3, on a second-quarter touchdown by senior captain Lloyd Brazil, before 5,000 fans. A future star, and later head coach at the University of Detroit, Brazil intercepted an Ann Arbor pass during the closing minutes, capping a scoreless second half and sealing the win.
As expected, Port Huron trounced Richmond, 55-0.
Talk about a game with Flint to be played at Michigan State College at the new State stadium hit the papers. But discussions failed, and by the weekend, Port Huron and Flint Central also closed out their seasons.
With that, multiple schools laid claim to the crown proving, once again, football championships from the era are valid, but “mythical.”
Check back next week for a second installment on the 1925 football “championship” race.
PHOTOS (Top) From left, Port Huron standout Cecil Turner, Grand Rapids Union football coach John Truesdale, Flint Central players huddling and Central’s Lloyd Brazil. (Middle) The 1925 Flint Central team. (Below) The 1925 Port Huron team. (Photos gathered by Ron Pesch.)