Fresh Off Newfound Spring Swing, Tabron Remains Driver of Cass Tech Title Hopes
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 20, 2026
DETROIT — One of the country’s top football recruits in the Class of 2028, Detroit Cass Tech junior quarterback Donald Tabron pursued a newfound passion this spring even while zigzagging across the country on recruiting visits to prominent college football programs.
When he wasn’t busy with school studies, recruiting trips or football training, Tabron happily was a member of Cass Tech’s boys golf team, building on a love for that sport he developed the previous spring as he was winding down his freshman year of high school.
Tabron said one of his football teammates who was also on the golf team introduced him to a golf simulator at the school, and the seed was planted.
“We got down and hit golf balls in the simulator,” Tabron said. “We did that the last few weeks of the school year. He was like, ‘You have a pretty decent swing. I’ll get you with our golf coach,’ So I got with Coach Mike (Schuchard). I love Coach Mike. He helped me out during that summer, giving me lessons once a week. I went to Five Iron Golf and those indoor simulators on Sundays and just suddenly was getting better. I got my first set of clubs.”
Tabron liked golf so much that he decided to not participate on the track & field team at Cass Tech, where he shined in the high jump as a freshman.
In fairness, his busy schedule of football recruiting trips also played a factor in not going out for track. But he made time for golf, finishing up by competing in his team’s Regional tournament in May.
There are physical characteristics of playing golf that Tabron said should help him in football, such as similar torso turning and strength needed to both swing a golf club and throw a football. But it’s the mental side of golf that he feels will make him a better quarterback.
“A lot of times in football you may take a bad hit or make a bad play, and in golf you may hit a bad shot,” Tabron said. “It’s how you rebound from that. As a quarterback, you have to be able to stay cool, calm and collected. You can’t get too over your head or too low. That’s the same for golf.”
There haven’t been too many lows for Tabron during what already has been an accomplished high school football career – and he still has two years left.
As a freshman two years ago, Tabron was the starter for Cass Tech’s team that won the Division 1 championship, and he helped lead the Technicians to an unbeaten record last year before a loss to Detroit Catholic Central in the title game.
This year as a junior, particularly with Mr. Football Award winner C.J. Sadler graduated, it is fully Tabron’s offense and his team.
“I’m going to be like the offensive coordinator on the field, but you can only work as good as the surrounding cast,” Tabron said. “That’s how it’s going to be for us. I’ll be like the coach and leader on the field, but I can’t do it without them.”
Tabron got his start in football much earlier in life than golf, as a toddler, mainly because his father, Donald Tabron Jr., played collegiately at Northwood.
A right-handed thrower, Tabron made an immediate impact once he got to high school, earning the starting quarterback job, and after initial lumps, guided Cass Tech to that Division 1 championship. Tabron finished 15 of 20 passing with three touchdowns that day at Ford Field, and from there college scouts started drooling.
The 6-foot-3 Tabron committed to Texas A&M on Saturday, and this spring was quite a whirlwind with recruiting trips across the country including to Oregon, USC, Texas A&M, LSU, Ohio State and many others.
Tabron didn’t measure how many miles he traveled, but he did become quite an expert on the quality of airports in various cities.
“My mom was like, ‘Not many kids can say how good or bad airports are at 17 years old,” Tabron said. “I’m definitely blessed and grateful for the opportunity to go to all these places.”
He likely won’t go on more recruiting visits now that he is committed. But if he does, one big request from Tabron will be to check out the university’s golf course.
“I actually talked about it with a few coaches because a lot of college coaches play golf,” he said. “(They say) ‘Next time you come down, get on the range here or get on the course where the golf team practices at.’ It’s definitely been a conversation.”
Keith 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.
PHOTO (Top) Cass Tech quarterback Donald Tabron (8) drops back to pass during last season’s Division 1 Final, moments before throwing for a big gain that set up the team’s first touchdown.
Deckerville Completes Title-Clinching Comeback with Unforgettable 'Drive'
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2024
MARQUETTE — Deckerville was used to being in a tough spot.
The Eagles were behind for the duration of the 8-player Division 1 championship game against Pickford on Saturday until finally taking a 30-28 lead eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
When they got the ball back after a brief Panthers possession, they still had that lead. They were just pinned at their own 1-yard line.
Coach Bill Brown had three thoughts.
The first was, “Oh, no.”
The second centered on getting out of there without surrendering a safety or turning the ball over near the end zone.
The third was “The Drive” from back in 1987 when quarterback John Elway took the Denver Broncos 98 yards in the late stages of the fourth quarter to tie the AFC Championship game, which they eventually won.
“I was like, ‘Hmm, I wonder if we can have the drive and we can call that The Drive,’” Brown said.
Saturday’s drive will certainly be remembered in Deckerville for a long time. The Eagles didn’t score, but they did run out the clock – all nine minutes, 14 seconds of it.
That cemented their 30-28 championship victory at the Superior Dome. After falling behind by two touchdowns early, the Eagles rallied back by holding onto the football and keeping Pickford’s electric quarterback, Tommy Storey, on the sideline.
“It’s a dream come true,” Deckerville senior linebacker Corbin Sharbowski said. “I’ve been dreaming since I was a little kid. I think in seventh grade, we were all on the same team, we had a pretty good season and we were like, ‘Yeah, we might be able to do this.’”
Saturday’s game started out as a nightmare, in part thanks to an epic performance by Storey.
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior ran for touchdowns of 44, 70, 57 and 34 yards in the first half to give the Panthers 16-0 and 28-16 leads. He ended the half with 282 rushing yards, just 70 off the record for a full 8-player championship game.
He only recorded 22 yards during the second half. To be fair, he was rarely on the field after halftime.
Deckerville got the ball first in the second half. The Eagles used 15 plays to go 71 yards while taking more than 7½ minutes off of the clock.
They converted two fourth downs, including a 4th-and-9 when standout quarterback, Hunter Garza, ran 17 yards for a first down at the 1. Parker Merriman ran the last yard to pull Deckerville within five of Pickford’s lead, 28-23.
The Panthers followed with a four-and-out, as the Eagles stopped their 4th-and-3 play for no gain.
Deckerville took its first lead on the ensuing possession, with Brandon Salowitz grabbing a 36-yard touchdown pass from Garza. Mark Donker’s extra point kick made it 30-28 Eagles with 11:52 left in the game.
Brown said that was the first time they ran that play all season, and it was likely the only one Pickford hadn’t seen from them during pregame prep.
“I (had) seen Brandon, I knew he was 1-on-1, so I just threw it up and he did the rest,” Garza said.
Storey ran for 12 yards on the first play of Pickford’s next possession. A false start doomed that drive, though, and Pickford took two timeouts before deciding to punt from its own 49 with 9:25 left.
The Panthers executed the punt well, downing the ball at the 1-yard line.
They just never saw the ball again. Seventeen rushing plays by Garza and Merriman – only one of which went for more than 10 yards, an 11-yard gain by Garza – ate up all of that clock. Deckerville converted on three third downs. Garza rushed five yards on 4th-and-5 at the Pickford 30 to seal it.
“There wasn’t, ‘Hey, let’s keep the ball,’” Brown said. “No, it’s let’s go score because we’re going to have to outscore them sooner or later.”
Pickford ran just nine offensive plays during the final two quarters. Deckerville went 5-for-5 on fourth downs and had the ball for 19 minutes, 3 seconds of the 24-minute second half.
“That’s the game we like to play,” Pickford coach Josh Rader said. “We like to keep their offense off the field. They did that to us. They ground and pounded it. They got first downs when they needed to.”
Eagles also defended the physical runner Storey well the few times he touched the ball in the second half. “I thought we could run at him a little more, maybe wear him down a little bit more running at him,” Brown said.
Storey finished with the second-most rushing yards 8-Player Finals history, 304 on 21 carries with the four first-half touchdowns. Pickford ended the season at 12-1.
“Proud of our guys,” Rader said. “Like I mentioned after the game, it hurts right now. As we get time to get away, they’re going to realize how fun it actually was to be in this game.”
Deckerville, meanwhile, finished a perfect 13-0.
“It’s so surreal I can’t even grasp what’s happening right now,” Brown said.
The title was Deckerville’s second in 8-player and first since 2012.
“It’s a crazy experience to even go to the state finals,” said Garza, who finished with 225 yards on 37 carries with two touchdowns, “but to win it is just awesome.”
PHOTOS (Top) Deckerville's Brandon Salowitz celebrates his second-half touchdown reception Saturday at the Superior Dome. (Middle) Pickford quarterback Tommy Storey (8) breaks away for his second touchdown run of the first half. (Below) Deckerville quarterback Hunter Garza (7) begins to cut back during his first-half touchdown sprint. (Photos by Cara Kamps. Click for more.)