A Game for Every Fan: Week 9
October 18, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Most of this weekend is about numbers for hopeful MHSAA football teams.
There are still a few league titles to award. Some are listed below. But much of the focus is on the 256-team playoff field that will be determined Sunday. As of this morning, 178 teams have achieved automatic berths.
Some other numbers of note:
- Only five games this weekend feature 5-3 teams facing each other. That means at least five more teams will be added to the automatic qualifier list.
- Six 5-3 teams face undefeated opponents, and 16 5-3 teams face opponents that have only one loss.
- A total of 31 teams face opponents with six or more losses, including eight that face teams that haven't won this fall.
See below for some of the most significant games being played in every corner of the state. Visit the MHSAA Score Center all weekend for updated scores and standings, and tune in to Fox Sports Detroit at 6 p.m. Sunday for the Selection Sunday Show.
(All games below are tonight unless noted. Go to Score Center for additional dates and kickoff times.)
Greater Detroit
Detroit Catholic Central (5-3) vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary (6-2), Saturday at Ford Field
The Detroit Catholic League Central title had seemed all but sown up by the Eaglets before DCC’s stunning 35-13 win last week that pushed Brother Rice out of this Prep Bowl game and set up this rematch instead. But two of DCC’s losses were to Ohio powers and it’s fast becoming the expectation for three Catholic League Central teams to make runs at MHSAA Finals.
Others that caught my eye: Detroit Martin Luther King (5-3) vs. Detroit East English (7-1) at Ford Field, Clarkston (8-0) at Oak Park (7-1), Allen Park Cabrini (6-2) vs. Detroit Loyola (8-0), Saturday at Ford Field; Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard (7-1) vs. Pontiac Notre Dame (8-0), Saturday at Ford Field.
Upper Peninsula
Kingsford (7-1) at Escanaba (4-4)
The Flivvers have secured a share of the Great Northern Upper Peninsula Conference title, but can win it outright with one more victory tonight. That would appear likely as Kingsford has beaten Escanaba in 12 straight. But the Eskymos are holding onto a faint hope of making the playoffs at 5-4, and winning this one would go a long way beyond the obvious toward making that happen.
Others that caught my eye: Lake Linden-Hubbell (4-4) at Crystal Falls Forest Park (6-2), Bellaire (5-3) at Rapid River (7-1), Cheboygan (6-2) at St. Ignace La Salle (8-0), Powers North Central (5-3) at Stephenson (6-2).
Mid-Michigan
Holt (5-3) at Grand Ledge (6-2)
This may be the best rivalry in the Lansing area. These are the only regular Division 1 teams, and they’ve split their last 10 meetings. With it unlikely that Lansing Everett will lose to winless Jackson tonight, Grand Ledge probably won’t gain a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue title. But the Comets can continue to improve their playoff point average – and possibly keep Holt from qualifying at all.
Others that caught my eye: Portland (7-1) at Charlotte (6-2), Fruitport (8-0) at DeWitt (6-2), Grass Lake (7-1) at Leslie (8-0), Mendon (8-0) at Pewamo-Westphalia (6-2).
Thumb and Bay
Midland Dow (5-3) at Midland (8-0)
The Chemics secured a share of the Saginaw Valley Association North title by defeating Bay City Western last week, but easily could end up sharing the championship. Western plays Bay City Central, a tough foe, but perhaps not as tough as the Chemics run against in Dow – which must win to secure a playoff berth. Midland has won nine of the last 10 against the Chargers.
Others that caught my eye: Vassar (7-1) at Frankenmuth (8-0), Montrose (7-1) at Lake Fenton (7-1), Linden (7-1) at Swartz Creek (7-1), Lapeer West (6-2) at Fenton (7-1).
West Michigan
Muskegon (8-0) at Zeeland East (8-0)
Muskegon might’ve left a more competitive conference top to bottom when it moved from the O-K Red to Black after last season. But it still has to face a similarly tough foe for the title in the Chix. Zeeland East is seeking its second league title in three seasons; Muskegon its first since 2008, plus the possibility of home playoff games through Regionals.
Others that caught my eye: Lowell (7-1) at Grand Rapids Christian (7-1), Hastings (6-2) at Grand Rapids South Christian (5-3), Grand Rapids Northview (7-1) at Grand Rapids West Catholic (5-3), Hamilton (5-3) at Hudsonville Unity Christian (4-4).
Lower Up North
Boyne City (8-0) at Grayling (8-0)
These teams have succeeded in avoiding all obstacles on the way to this deciding game in the Lake Michigan Conference, which was dominated lately by Traverse City St. Francis before the Gladiators left the league after this spring. Grayling has won their last three meetings by at least 27 points and is going for its first perfect season since at least 1950 (the 1970 team didn’t lose, but had a tie). Boyne City is hoping for its first perfect regular season since 2001.
Others that caught my eye: Elk Rapids (4-4) at Kalkaska (6-2), Menominee (7-1) at Petoskey (5-3), Muskegon Catholic Central (5-3) at Traverse City St. Francis (4-4), Mayville (5-3) at Big Rapids Crossroads (0-8).
Southwest and Border
Lawton (7-1) at Watervliet (8-0)
Watervliet can claim the Southwestern Athletic Conference South championship for the second straight season and is averaging 50 points per game in league play. Lawton would love to get the title back after winning in 2010 but falling to Watervliet in the deciding game last season.
Others that caught my eye: Otsego (6-2) at Dowagiac (8-0), Paw Paw (8-0) at Edwardsburg (6-2), Portage Northern (7-1) at Mattawan (7-1), Portland St. Patrick (8-0) at Waldron (6-2).
PHOTO: Pontiac Notre Dame, here against Dearborn Divine Child, will face Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard in a Prep Bowl game Saturday at Ford Field. (Click to see more at Terry McNamara Photography.)
Many-Sport Standout Gash Closing High School Career with Repeat Title Pursuit
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
September 3, 2026
Gideon Gash said this fall is marking the end of an era for him athletically.
Throughout his life, it didn’t seem to matter what the sport was, because Gash was playing it.
Whether it was soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football, or track & field, Gash sampled them all, and it didn’t stop when his high school career began.
Last year as a junior at Detroit Catholic Central, Gash continued to play several sports after being named all-state for football in the fall.
During the winter, he played on Catholic Central’s basketball team. In the spring, he decided to go out for track and thrived, finishing second in the 100-meter dash and winning the long jump at the Catholic High School League meet, and then taking third in the long jump at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals.
Following that championship meet, Gash returned to the lacrosse team and suited up for the Shamrocks during the final week of the season, which culminated in a DCC Division 1 title. Gash had played lacrosse the previous spring as a sophomore, but decided to focus more on track as a junior.
“I worked out different muscles and different skills and just having that versatility helped me a lot throughout life,” Gash said. “Being able to do different things and learn faster and having to keep up with everyone in terms of basketball, lacrosse, in terms of just raw skills. That helped me a lot in terms of just being able to add to my bag and be the best I can.”
But now, Gash said his multi-sport playing days are all but over.
One of the premier college football recruits in the nation, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Gash has committed to play at Texas Tech for now, although he recently said his recruitment is “not closed down,” according to an article on Rivals.com.
Regardless of where he ends up, Gash said he plans on enrolling early and starting college in January, adding he made sure to accumulate enough class credits to be able to do so.
That means it’s football from here on out, and odds are he’s going to have a monster senior year for reigning Division 1 champion Catholic Central.
Last year, Gash was all-state in Division 1-2 as a lockdown defensive back, collecting 74 tackles and nine pass breakups. He also was a big-play threat as a wideout, catching three long touchdown passes for Catholic Central in a championship game win over Detroit Cass Tech at Ford Field.
There are times this season where Gash may never leave the field, given he will see lots of time as a dangerous punt returner. In a season-opening win over Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, Gash returned a punt 48 yards for a touchdown.
Playing so many sports throughout his life has shaped him into an all-around force on the football field and helped turn him into a dominating physical specimen.
Gash gained 10 pounds of muscle since last fall and going into his senior year is more chiseled and faster than he has ever been.
“He just loves competing,” Catholic Central football head coach Justin Cessante said. “When we compete and he works the way he does when nobody is watching, and he’s got his agility, his strength and his size, he’s a 10 times better player and athlete than he was last year. I think that attributes to doing all those different things.”
This is the first year Gash is not playing alongside his older brother, Samson, the 2025 Finals champion in the 100-meter dash and all-state wide receiver last fall who is a freshman at Michigan State.
Gideon Gash will certainly be counted on for veteran leadership since Catholic Central entered this season with only two returning starters, although there are several talented underclassmen already with Division I college scholarship offers who are expected to soon make names for themselves on the high school level.
While the next wave of great players is already coming for Catholic Central, it certainly will be hard to replace Gash and how he was able to excel at more than just football.
“I’m going to miss it,” Gash said. “I’ve been playing three sports my whole life, so I’m going to miss it a lot.”
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.
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Catholic Central’s Gideon Gash (11) is congratulated by brother Samson Gash after scoring during last season’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Gash breaks up a pass during the win over Detroit Cass Tech.