Hackley Stadium Celebrating Century as Monument to Community Dedication, Football Glory
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
September 4, 2026
Mounted on the brick wall of Hackley Stadium, facing Sanford Street in Muskegon, is a bronze plaque. In raised type, it details a successful “GoFundMe” effort – 1920s style.
The approach was a bit different then, but the fundraising efforts were successful and created an iconic landmark that still stands – now ready to celebrate its 100th year.
Seated, rectangularly, in the middle of a residential neighborhood, directly behind the high school, the site itself has served as home to Muskegon High School’s football team for 120 years. The sport dates to 1895 at MHS.
The wooded lot was gifted in 1902 by Muskegon’s greatest benefactor – lumber baron Charles H. Hackley – to the Board of Education. Hackley desired the space to be developed into an athletic field and playground for use by the school and area youth.
Quickly dubbed Hackley Field, it took four years before administration cleared trees from the lot. Initial plans for the parcel, laid out by a former coach and director of athletics, envisioned a site that would accommodate multiple sports, including a gridiron at the center of the property, surrounded by a track, with tennis courts placed at the site’s four corners.
Bob Zuppke – hired in August 1906 as the school’s newest coach and director – learned that the school board was ready to act on the design. He immediately spotted the planned layout showed a football field of just 50 yards. Recognizing the site could accommodate a full-sized gridiron, his redesign reduced the number of tennis courts to three and pushed them to one end of the site. He expanded the gridiron to regulation size and surrounded it with a 1/5-mile cinder track. His plan included space for a baseball diamond within the gridiron. An extensive wooden grandstand along the northeast side of the site would stretch the length of the football field to handle growing crowds at sporting events.
Zuppke’s modifications were promptly accepted, and Hackley Field was ready in mid-May 1907 for an initial track meet with Muskegon’s biggest rival, Grand Rapids Central. That fall, Muskegon played seven consecutive football home games at the new location. Recognizing the financial value of the annual clash with Central, that contest was moved to the last game of the year and staged on Thanksgiving Day. Crowds soared in size.
Dropping just a single game each season during his four years in town, Zuppke built Muskegon into a football powerhouse before moving on to even greater gridiron success over three years at Oak Park High School in Illinois. In 1913, he was named head football coach at the University of Illinois, earning national titles in 1914, 1919, 1923 – with a team that featured three-time All-American Harold ‘Red’ Grange – and 1927. Zuppke retired following the 1941 season. During his 35-year prep and college career, he introduced numerous innovations that remain hallmarks of the game today.
Plans for a Cement Stadium
From a comfortable chair, stationed in his room at a retirement home in Kalamazoo, 85-year-old C. Leo Redmond, former coach at Muskegon, recalled the story behind the construction of Muskegon High School’s historic Hackley Stadium. The concrete structure, built in 1927, replaced greatly expanded wooden stands (tennis courts were never added) originally placed on the site by Zuppke’s design.
Born in 1900 in Kalamazoo, Redmond arrived at MHS in 1925. A recent graduate of Western State Normal School – today’s Western Michigan University – he wasn’t Muskegon’s first choice to replace his predecessor, the highly-successful J. Francis Jacks.
A 1912 graduate of Muskegon, Jacks had turned the team’s football games into a huge draw between 1920 and 1924. During the span, his teams earned three mythical state titles over five years and produced an array of talented athletes, including University of Michigan great Bennie Oosterbaan.
But in the spring of 1925, Jacks passed away unexpectedly. Gus Cohrs, another Muskegon alum, was experiencing success in basketball and football at Grand Haven High School. He’d accepted the Muskegon job to succeed Jacks, but an outcry by Grand Haven fans and an immediate pay raise kept him from moving.
Fortunately for all, Redmond’s teams went 7-1-2 in 1925, then repeated as Michigan’s mythical champion in 1926. Immediately after the completion of that season, however, the school faced its next challenge.
“We walked out to the bleachers at the football field and Joe Bicknell (the Hackley Manual Training School director and facility manager for athletics) pulled out his pocketknife,” said Redmond. “He then pushed the blade completely into one of the wooden beams supporting the bleachers and said, ‘They will fall down if they have to support another season.’ So, we started a fund drive for Hackley Field’s reconstruction by selling stadium bonds.”
Muskegon contacted The Osborn Engineering Company of Cleveland, Ohio, to discuss the task. Peter P. Evans, vice president of the firm, visited Muskegon to inspect possible sites. “Mr. Evans’ company planned and built Navin Field, Detroit, the Polo Grounds, New York, and is now building the new stadium for the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor,” noted the Muskegon Chronicle.
Visiting in December, Evans advised “it would be best if it could replace the present seating arrangements at Hackley Field,” noting “it would not be architecturally objectionable to anyone in the neighborhood nor spoil the landscape effects of the campus.”
Building a stadium made with cement had been pondered by Bicknell and administration as early as 1913, but cost – then estimated at $25,000 – was viewed as insurmountable.
It took until April 1927 for final approval of a plan, and Osborn Engineering was authorized to prepare specifications. Time was of the essence, as the existing bleachers were now condemned and needed to be removed and replaced by fall.
The design would include “two team rooms” and restrooms under the stands, with the project financed by sale of bonds. A total of 1,500 were issued, priced at $50, earning 4 percent interest. The structure would feature seating for 6,000, with a block of 1,100 seats located between the 35-yard lines reserved for bondholders. The $75,000 campaign launched the first week of May.
The district tapped into a young sales force to help execute the plan – the student body. The classes of '27, '28, '29 and '30 – over 2,000 strong – were asked to distribute pamphlets and sell bonds to the public.
Years later, Gont Miller remembered walking home with Bub Meier – both would serve as future captains of Big Reds football teams.
"Principal John Craig talked to us Thursday night after practice,” recalled Miller. “He said, 'We're going to ask you to get out and sell some bonds.'
The pair talked about their frustration at being assigned the unwanted task.
“Together, we decided we weren't going to do it. After I got home, I told my mother about the bonds.”
She reframed it for her son, highlighting the community that surrounded them.
"Boy, that will be easy,” she said. “After dinner, go on over and see Mr. Runzel across the street, and the Nelsons on the side of us. I'm sure they will be interested.
"Well, I guess she got me inspired. I went over and saw Mr. Runzel, and he bought four. And Lester Nelson bought three, and Otto Meeske bought six. Mr. Runzel said, 'Go down and see my son,' and I did, and he bought two. People really supported Big Red football. We sold all the bonds, and they built the stadium. It was quite an experience for a kid."
Construction contracts were awarded by June 1, and actual work on the site started on Wednesday, June 15. According to the files of Osborn Engineering, the concrete and brick structure itself was completed over just 24 days – July 20 to August 12. Final plumbing and electrical preparations were completed in time for the first game against Muskegon Heights on Saturday, September 17.
Dedication and the Birth of a Rivalry
"Impressive and colorful flag-raising ceremonies marked the dedication of the new stands," wrote Jimmy Henderson in the Muskegon Chronicle. "A massed assemblage of over 2,000 students who paraded on the field following the Heights and Muskegon high school bands, and close to 3,000 spectators in the stands stood at attention while the massed bands under the leadership of Ronald Hinchman played the national anthem, as the new flag was slowly raised to its position over the stadium."
The Big Reds posted a crushing 89-0 victory over the Heights and their new coach, Oscar E. "Okie" Johnson – a former teammate of Redmond’s at Western – in the season opener. It was the first of nine shutouts posted by Muskegon en route to a 10-0 campaign and another mythical state title. Outscoring opponents 445-6, the team remains among the greatest in school history.
Muskegon claimed a second-consecutive shutout over Johnson’s Tigers in 1928, this time 19-0, and finished the season with another state crown. In ’29, they again blanked the Tigers, but by just seven points. In 1930, Johnson’s squad tied Redmond’s Big Reds, 6-6, and established themselves as Muskegon’s chief rival. Come 1936, the game was moved to the season finale, replacing the matchup with Grand Rapids Central. Lights were added to Hackley in 1940, with most games shifted to Friday nights. Annual classic battles between the Big Reds and Tigers were all played at Hackley (until 1948) and still staged on Saturday afternoons (until 1953) to accommodate the massive crowds.
The 1945 season-ending contest between the schools – both undefeated – was a battle for the state title. A record crowd of 13,500 packed every square inch of the grounds. Heights opened a 7-0 lead early, but Muskegon responded with a touchdown midway through the second quarter. A missed extra point pinned the score at 7-6. It remained stuck there until an intense goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter would determine the game’s outcome. The Big Reds had advanced the ball to the Tigers’ 1 on second down. A charge at the center of the line on third down was stopped.
“The ball, three inches from the goal line when play started, still was an inch from the line when it was set down,” wrote Henderson, still covering the rivalry. “When (the defense) stopped the forward motion of (Muskegon’s quarterback), the air went dark with the applause of the Heights fans, and the groans of Muskegon’s.” The win capped the first of three consecutive state crowns won by the Tigers, and the loss was the first in 16 starts for the Big Reds, the defending state champion.
In 1946, Muskegon installed its first electronic scoreboard, retiring the one manually operated by the Boy Scouts. Redmond retired as coach following the season with a 156-29-13 record and seven state titles over 22 seasons. (His victory total remained tops in school history until recently surpassed by current head coach Shane Fairfield.) Most fittingly, the remarkable gridiron rivalry between coaches Redmond and Johnson ended dead even at 9-9-2.
Reduced revenue during the depression years forced default on bond payments. After a restructuring of obligations, a final payout distributed in 1950 to bondholders meant the stadium was now out of debt. That fall, $8,000 in repairs and waterproofing helped stabilize a structure starting to show wear and tear.
Coach Harry Potter – another Western teammate of Redmond’s, and his longtime assistant – took the reins in 1947 and guided the 1951 Big Reds to another gridiron state championship. That team featured future NFL quarterback Earl Morrall.
Over the years, Hackley Stadium has served the community with World War II events to sell war bonds, practice drill formations, events to honor local industries’ wartime outputs, and VFW Memorial Day gatherings. There have been countless halftime shows, marching band competitions, high school assemblies, and commencement exercises. It has hosted opera, concert performances, and music reviews. In 1951, evangelist Rev. Billy Graham and his music director Cliff Barrows visited. In 1957, a massive Water Follies show with a dive tank, stage, and swim tank – spanning 150 feet – filled Hackley Stadium, raising money for the local ‘Police and Fireman Benevolent Association’.
More than 10,000 fans packed the stands in the fall of 1971 to watch another pair of unbeatens as the Big Reds topped Traverse City on their way to another state championship. Members of the Lake Michigan Athletic Conference, the Trojans became firmly established as new primary rivals on Muskegon’s annual slate.
After four uncharacteristic down years on the gridiron during the early 1980s, huge crowds returned to pack Hackley’s stands beginning in 1985, especially during Muskegon’s march to MHSAA playoff titles in 1986 and 1989.
Continued maintenance over the years ensured the stadium’s survival. In 1996, extensive renovations and rejuvenation of the concrete stadium ensured the safekeeping of the ‘Home of the Big Reds’. Concession stands were moved from beneath the seating to structures at the north and south ends of the stadium. Modern requirements meant removal of the track that once surrounded Hackley to expand the concourse that leads to seating. But proximity and sight lines to the playing surface – always a feature of Hackley for fans – were not sacrificed.
The Tunnel
Terry Foster, writing for the Detroit News, visited the stadium as part of his “Terry’s Tour” in 2006. Kicking off a series of articles where he visited high school football games across the state, Foster’s opening paragraphs focused on another unique feature of the stadium.
Postgame, the Big Red Band ends home game festivities by marching – shoulder-to-shoulder, students aligned three-or-four-or-five across, with instruments swinging up-and-down and side-to-side, beneath the stands.
“Fans lined both sides of the cramped corridor as the band paraded through the narrow human tunnel …
“‘Ok. You got to hang tight against the wall,’ Muskegon head coach Tony Annese told Foster. … You will get hit if you are not careful.’ … Like Annese, they wanted to feel the booming drums vibrate off the concrete walls as the band marched underneath the stadium. …
“The march that eventually took the musicians (down Sanford Street) to their music room has been going on for decades. So has winning football.”
A new video scoreboard was installed in 2015. Field turf replaced Hackley Field’s natural grass in 2020. Also added was a brick fence similar in placement to one that surrounded the site back in 1914 and was removed in phases between 1927 and 1946.
Muskegon continues to lead the state in all-time football victories, earning additional MHSAA titles in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2017 and 2023. Many feel that rich tradition, combined with the classic backdrop of Hackley Stadium packed with alumni and passionate football fans, has played a huge role in those wins.
For the Big Reds, Hackley has always been more than brick, concrete, and rebar.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon takes on Grandville in 2015 at Hackley Stadium in what would end as the program’s 800th victory. (2) The proposed stadium plan from 1906 shows the football field, baseball diamond, track and tennis courts among other proposed features to the new athletic field. (3) Muskegon takes on Grand Rapids Central in 1922. (4) Osborn Engineering works on the renovated stadium during the summer of 1927. (5) The stands are filled for a game in 1942. (6) This display includes a photo of the 1928 state championship team and brochure for stadium bonds. (Top photo by Tim Reilly. Other photos collected by Ron Pesch.)
1st & Goal: 2024 11-Player Finals Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 27, 2024
The 50th MHSAA 11-Player Football Playoffs will conclude this weekend with eight new champions and several first-time opportunities for teams making the trip to Ford Field.
Of the 16 playing in Friday and Saturday’s championship games, only Jackson Lumen Christi is back from last year’s field – and contending in Division 6 after winning Division 7 titles the last two seasons.
Half the field this weekend – eight teams total, including both in Divisions 4 and 5 – are seeking their first Finals titles. Five of those eight are playing in championship games for the first time.
Here's the full schedule for Friday and Saturday's games:
Friday, Nov. 29
Division 8 – Riverview Gabriel Richard (11-1) vs. Beal City (11-2) – 9:30 a.m.
Division 4 – Goodrich (12-1) vs. Niles (12-1) – 12:30 p.m.
Division 6 – Jackson Lumen Christi (12-1) vs. Lansing Catholic (10-3) – 4 p.m.
Division 2 – Byron Center (12-1) vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (10-3) – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30
Division 7 – Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (13-0) vs. Millington (12-0) – 9:30 a.m.
Division 3 – Zeeland West (12-1) vs. Detroit Martin Luther King (10-3) – 12:30 p.m.
Division 5 – Frankenmuth (13-0) vs. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (11-1) – 4 p.m.
Division 1 – Hudsonville (12-1) vs. Detroit Cass Tech (11-2) – 7 p.m.
The Division 8, 7 and 3 games will be broadcast on the FDSN primary channel, with the remaining five Finals broadcast on FDSN Extra, and all eight also will be available via the FDSN website. Additionally, all eight championship games will be available for listening from the MHSAA Network. Links to purchase tickets and more are available on the Football page.
Below is a glance at all eight matchups. Statistics are through Semifinals unless noted.
Division 1
HUDSONVILLE
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 4
Coach: Brent Sandee, seventh season (44-28)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2005 and 2000, Class A runner-up 1998.
Best wins: 27-7 over No. 6 Rochester Adams in Semifinal, 35-6 over No. 1 Howell in Regional Final, 28-21 over Rockford, 14-12 over East Lansing.
Players to watch: QB Griffin Baker, 6-2/195 sr. (1,132 yards/11 TDs passing, 650 yards/16 TDs rushing); RB/LB Bryce Fox, 5-9/175 sr. (987 yards/14 TDs rushing); WR/DB/P Braden VanLaecke, 5-11/175 jr. (5 TDs receiving); RB/LB Ethan Carter 6-1/215 sr.
Outlook: After starting this playoffs with some close rematches (25-23 over East Kentwood and 19-16 over Grandville), Hudsonville has powered through a pair of impressive performances to get back to the Finals for the first time in two decades. While Baker is a dangerous two-way threat at quarterback, Hudsonville has made its way by running the ball and not allowing the other team to do so. Junior Owen Haarsma has rushed for another 771 yards and eight touchdowns, and the Eagles are holding opponents to just 254 total yards per game – and just about 100 per game on the ground. That’s turned into just 13 points per game by opponents this season, with Hudsonville giving up more than 20 only three times and no more than East Kentwood’s 23 after the Falcons scored six the first time the teams met.
DETROIT CASS TECH
Record/Rank: 11-2, unranked
Coach: Marvin Rushing, third season (25-9)
League finish: Second in Detroit Public School League Blue
Championship history: Division 1 champion 2016, 2012 and 2011. Division 1 runner-up 2015.
Best wins: 17-14 over No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central in Semifinal, 21-14 over No. 5 Macomb Dakota in Regional Final, 30-14 over Division 3 No. 7 Detroit Martin Luther King, 20-3 over Canton McKinley (Ohio).
Players to watch: SE/DB Corey Sadler Jr., 5-10/175 jr. (780 yards/7 TDs receiving); CB/WR Alex Graham, 6-3/184 sr. (550 yards/6 TDs receiving); QB Donald Tabron II, 6-3/172 fr. (1,475 yards/14 TDs passing); OT Kalief Canty Jr., 6-5/308 jr.
Outlook: The win over DCC in last week’s Semifinal further proved what Cass Tech has shown throughout a nine-game winning streak. The Technicians lost their season opener to Rockford by seven and then by six in overtime to Detroit King in Week 4. But they avenged the King loss four weeks later in the PSL City championship game, and handed DCC its only loss a week after the Shamrocks had eliminated reigning champion Belleville. Canty made the all-state first team last season, and Sadler earned an honorable mention, and the latter has been joined by another electric playmaker in Graham who will continue next season at Colorado and also has returned two kickoffs and one punt for scores. Canty and Sadler are both major Division I prospects, and the defense includes three more players who have committed to Division I programs in linemen Logan Howell (Miami Ohio) and John Baker IV (Toledo) and defensive back Derrick Jackson III (Kent State).
Division 2
BYRON CENTER
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 5
Coach: Marc Cisco, 16th season (115-50)
League finish: Second in O-K Green
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 30-23 over No. 4 Muskegon Mona Shores in District Final, 38-17 over No. 9 Grand Rapids Northview in District Semifinal, 41-14 over East Lansing in Semifinal, 52-14 over Portage Central in Regional Final, 43-20 over East Kentwood.
Players to watch: QB/DB Landon Tungate, 5-10/185 sr. (1,784 yards/23 TDs passing, 1,407 yards/25 TDs rushing); SE/DB Isaac Lee, 6-1/175 sr. (789 yards/11 TDs receiving); SE/DB Landen Conrad, 6-0/188 sr. (80 tackles); RB/LB Kellen Payne, 5-11/212 sr. (100 tackles).
Outlook: Byron Center’s run to Ford Field has included its first Regional title, handing Northview its only defeat, and the avenging of the Bulldogs’ lone loss, which came against Mona Shores 14-12 in Week 4. Tungate has been unstoppable – six of his touchdown runs came in the Semifinal win over East Lansing – and he’s joined in the backfield in part by sophomore Cam Payne (580 yards/5 TDs rushing). Lee and senior running back/linebacker Luke Laska (335 yards/3 TDs rushing, 72 tackles) are the team’s two-way starters. Cisco is the son of Marc Cisco Sr., who won 242 games over nearly 50 seasons at Monroe Jefferson, with a run to the Class BB championship in 1994.
ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY’S
Record/Rank: 10-3, unranked
Coach: Jermaine Gonzales, third season (18-15)
League finish: Fourth in Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: Eight MHSAA titles (most recent 2016), six runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 28-27 (OT) over No. 1 Birmingham Groves in Semifinal, 27-3 over No. 8 Gibraltar Carlson in Regional Final, 50-19 over Portage Northern.
Players to watch: WR/S Bryson Williams, 6-2/217 sr. (575 yards/9 TDs receiving); RB/LB Darrin Jones, 5-11/195 sr. (1,100 yards/11 TDs rushing); QB Axel Newell, 6-4/200 sr. (1,271 yards/11 TDs passing); LB/WR Charles White, 6-2/193 sr. (110 tackles).
Outlook: St. Mary’s has made a tremendous improvement under late 1990s star quarterback Jermaine Gonzales, returning to the Finals for the first time since 2016 and after posting sub-.500 records three of the last four seasons including 3-6 just a year ago. Williams, White and senior tight end Jayden Savoury (275 yards/3 TDs receiving) all have committed to Michigan State and are among several playmakers, including also senior running back Richard Goike III (10 TDs rushing); sophomore quarterback Jabin Gonzales (517 yards/10 TDs passing), junior defensive tackle Ryan Harrington (10 sacks) and senior defensive back Kareem Pruitt (6 interceptions). The Eaglets’ losses came to Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central (27-22), Division 2 No. 10 Warren De La Salle Collegiate (38-28) and Toledo Central Catholic (7-6), which will play in an Ohio semifinal this weekend.
Division 3
ZEELAND WEST
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 4
Coach: John Shillito, 20th season (184-44)
League finish: Second in O-K Gold
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2015).
Best wins: 33-20 over No. 1 DeWitt in Semifinal, 36-20 (Regional Final) and 28-7 over No. 6 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 42-0 over No. 3 St. Joseph in District Final, 60-43 over Whitehall.
Players to watch: FB/DB Keaton Hendricks, 6-0/165 sr. (1,477 yards/19 TDs rushing, 4 interceptions); QB/DB Trey Sloothaak, 6-0/181 sr. (651 yards/10 TDs passing, 484 yards/4 TDs rushing); RB/LB Isaac VanderZwaag, 6-1/195 sr. (675 yards/9 TDs rushing, 6 TDs receiving, 77 tackles); OT/DL Noah VanderVelde, 6-0/230 sr.
Outlook: Zeeland West defeated the reigning Division 3 champion (for the second time) and then the top-ranked team at the end of the regular season to earn this return to Ford Field. Shutting down DeWitt’s offense reinforced that West’s defense is tough to break, and the Dux have allowed only 269 yards and 16 points per game this fall. Sloothaak made the all-state first team last season at defensive back and is one of seven two-way starters. As a team, Zeeland has 14 interceptions and will work to get pressure up front with senior Brody Maas (six sacks) leading the charge. The traditionally-powerful T offense is up to 3,666 yards and 50 touchdowns rushing this fall, with junior Jonah Leslie adding 12 scores.
DETROIT MARTIN LUTHER KING
Record/Rank: 10-3, No. 7
Coach: Terel Patrick, first season (10-3)
League finish: First in Detroit PSL Blue
Championship history: Six MHSAA titles (most recent 2022), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 35-14 over Mason in Semifinal, 34-0 over River Rouge in Regional Final, 18-12 (OT) over Detroit Cass Tech, 25-21 over Cleveland Heights (Ohio).
Players to watch: LB Willie Fletcher Jr., 6-2/230 sr.; RB Michael Dukes, 6-0/185 jr.; QB Darryl Flemister, 5-11/170 soph.; DL/TE Xavier Newsome, 6-6/230 sr. (Statistics not submitted).
Outlook: Although Patrick is closing his first season as head coach, he’s been on staff as offensive coordinator and assistant coach over 14 seasons, with King this weekend playing in its seventh championship game over the last decade. Flemister earned an all-state honorable mention as a freshman and directs a skill position group that includes Dukes but also four seniors. Fletcher and Newsome are joined up front on defense by junior tackles Richard Stewart (5-11/280) and Gregory Keller (6-1/285), and that unit might be the key for a defense that’s given up 13.6 points per game this fall and posted five shutouts include two during the playoffs.
Division 4
GOODRICH
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 4
Coach: Tom Alward, 32nd season (209-117)
League finish: First in Flint Metro League Stars
Championship history: Division 4 runner-up 2022.
Best wins: 28-14 over No. 5 Harper Woods in Semifinal, 42-13 over Haslett in Regional Final, 27-21 over No. 8 Freeland in District Final, 42-3 over Division 3 No. 9 Fenton.
Players to watch: WR/DB Max Macklem, 6-0/190 sr. (583 yards/6 TDs receiving through Regional); QB/DB Tanner Mazich, 5-10/165 jr. (931 yards/11 TDs passing through Regional); RB/LB Chase Burnett, 6-0/200 sr. (1,463 yards/25 TDs rushing); OL/DL Benjamin Sennabaum, 5-10/200 sr.
Outlook: Goodrich is returning to Ford Field for the second time in three seasons, and has only three losses over the last two seasons – the Martians have avenged last year’s against Corunna and Harper Woods, and their only defeat this fall was to Division 5 finalist Frankenmuth. Burnett and Macklem were among contributors on the 2022 team as well, and the Goodrich offense as a whole benefits from a powerful line that averages 6-foot-1, 250 pounds. Sennabaum earned an all-state honorable mention on the defensive line last season and is part of a unit that has given up only 10.5 points per game and no more than 22 all season. Macklem will continue next year at Central Michigan.
NILES
Record/Rank: 12-1, unranked
Coach: Scot Shaw, fourth season (33-12)
League finish: First in Wolverine Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 62-30 over Grand Rapids South Christian in Semifinal, 37-34 over No. 10 Portland in Regional Final, 21-0 (District Final) and 21-14 over Edwardsburg, 42-14 (District Semifinal) and 21-0 over No. 9 Paw Paw.
Players to watch: RB/DB Peyton Gordon, 5-6/165 sr. (834 yards/15 TDs rushing); RB/LB Paul Hess, 5-9/210 sr. (1,202 yards/14 TDs rushing); RB/LB Sam Rucker, 5-9/175 sr. (1,100 yards/20 TDs rushing); OL/DL Jordan Cunningham, 6-0/230 sr.
Outlook: Niles also is enjoying its longest playoff run, including a first Regional championship, but Shaw has been to this stage before having led Three Rivers to the Division 4 championship in 2003. He enters this weekend with an overall 243-119 record over 35 seasons that also included stops at Grandville and two Indiana schools. Hess at running back and Rucker at linebacker both earned all-state honorable mentions last season as Niles finished 10-2 to build toward this campaign. The Vikings are giving up 10.4 points per game with six shutouts and their only opponents to score more than 14 coming the last two weeks and in a season-opening loss to Division 3 St. Joseph.
Division 5
FRANKENMUTH
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 2
Coach: Phil Martin, 12th season (128-19)
League finish: First in Tri-Valley Conference Red
Championship history: Division 5 runner-up 2022 and 2020.
Best wins: 42-35 over No. 7 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in Semifinal, 37-7 over No. 8 Belding in District Final, 21-20 over Division 4 No. 8 Freeland, 22-0 over Division 4 No. 4 Goodrich.
Players to watch: OL/DL Derrick Simmons, 6-4/275 sr. (44 tackles, 20 tackles for loss); QB/DB Lleyton Hoard, 6-3/180 sr. (600 yards/11 TDs rushing, 433 yards/4 TDs passing); RB/DB Kobbi Ke, 5-9/190 sr. (888 yards/5 TDs rushing); QB/DB Aidan Labissoniere, 5-9/160, sr. (500 yards/9 TDs rushing, 364 yards/4 TDs passing).
Outlook: Frankenmuth has reached the Semifinals five straight seasons and now Ford Field three of those five after turning back a challenge from reigning champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central last week. Simmons is committed to Michigan State and a powerful presence on a defensive line that also includes senior leading tackler Logan Diener (90 tackles, 22 tackles for loss); additionally, Simmons made the all-state first team on the offensive line in 2023. With 65 total touchdowns, including 56 rushing, the Eagles are approaching MHSAA record book lists for both and with 12 players contributing to one or both of those totals. Senior running back Hagan Wascher is the team’s leading receiver averaging 18.9 yards per catch and has 11 touchdowns total averaging nine yards per carry as well.
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Record/Rank: 11-1, No. 1
Coach: Pat Fox, 11th season (77-34)
League finish: Does not compete in a league.
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 49-7 over Flat Rock in Semifinal, 45-19 over No. 4 Armada in Regional Final, 56-7 over No. 5 Corunna in District Final, 42-0 over No. 7 Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 57-26 over Division 6 No. 6 Reed City, 28-24 over Division 6 No. 1 Jackson Lumen Christi.
Players to watch: RB/DB Billy Collins, 5-9/165 sr. (1,156 yards/8 TDs rushing, 573 yards/8 TDs receiving); RB/DE Drew Heimbuch, 6-0/195 sr. (433 yards/18 TDs rushing, 85 tackles/28 tackles for loss); QB/LB Sam Stowe, 6-5/200 jr. (2,458 yards/33 TDs passing, 7 TDs rushing); WR/DB Joseph Decasas, 6-2/165 sr. (1,126 yards/18 TDs receiving, 7 interceptions).
Outlook: Notre Dame Prep also won its first Regional title on the way to this Finals debut, and during the regular season defeated the reigning Division 5 (GRCC) and Division 7 (JLC) champions. The Fighting Irish’s only loss came Week 9, 43-28 to Hudsonville Unity Christian, which was top-ranked in Division 4 at the end of the regular season. Heimbuch made the all-state first team last season as a defensive lineman, and his 20 touchdowns total include one apiece on interception and fumble returns. Junior linebacker Brody Sink (127 tackles/22 tackles for loss) and senior linebacker Luca Gasperoni (90 tackles) are two more of several standouts on a defense. Fox is 201-115 total with head coaching stops as well at Ortonville Brandon, Berkley, Ann Arbor Pioneer and Milford.
Division 6
JACKSON LUMEN CHRISTI
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 1
Coach: Herb Brogan, 45th season (420-96)
League finish: First in CHSL AA
Championship history: 13 MHSAA titles (most recent 2023), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 35-6 over No. 4 Marine City in Semifinal, 42-6 over Constantine in Regional Final, 49-28 over Ida in District Final, 39-21 over Kalamazoo United, 35-7 over Division 7 No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis.
Players to watch: RB Kadale Williams, 6-1/180 sr. (1,941 yards/34 TDs rushing); QB Timmy Crowley, 6-3/180, sr. (1,149 yards/8 TDs passing, 5 TDs rushing) FB/LB Isaac Rehberg, 5-9/195 sr. (92 tackles, 437 yards/6 TDs rushing); TE/DE Charlie Saunders, 5-9/190 sr.
Outlook: Lumen Christi has won the last two Division 7 championships and opted up to Division 6 this fall. The lone loss came in Week 2 to Notre Dame Prep, by only four points, and no other opponent got within 17 points of catching the Titans. Williams made the all-state first team last season and was committed at one point to Central Michigan but has reopened his recruitment. Senior receiver Kash Kalahar gives Crowley a nice option to complement the running game; he’s caught a team-leading 32 passes for 712 yards and five touchdowns. Brogan is third on the all-time coaching wins list, 10 from second place and 23 from tying the record.
LANSING CATHOLIC
Record/Rank: 10-3, unranked
Coach: Jim Baker, fourth season (33-17)
League finish: Tied for third in Capital Area Activities Conference White
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2021), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 36-29 over No. 8 Chesaning in District Semifinal, 49-36 over No. 5 Newaygo in Regional Final, 34-22 over Boyne City in Semifinal, 31-28 over Ovid-Elsie in District Final, 35-34 over Pewamo-Westphalia.
Players to watch: QB/OLB Alex Fernandez, 6-3/230 sr. (2,898 yards/31 TDs passing, 1,000 yards/18 TDs rushing, 82 tackles); WR/S Benjamin Rabideau, 5-8/170 sr. (957 yards/10 TDs receiving, 387 yards/4 TDs rushing, 98 tackles/6 interceptions); WR/OLB Xavier Luea, 6-3/195 sr. (1,048 yards/10 TDs receiving); OL/DL Josh Pritzlaff, 6-4/295 sr.
Outlook: Lansing Catholic emerged from a league that included top-10 teams in Divisions 4 and 6 and then defeating two top-10 teams, including an undefeated opponent to open the playoffs. Rabideau made the all-state second team as a receiver last season and is one of three this fall with at least 30 catches as Fernandez has joined him in putting up monster numbers on both sides of the ball. Senior Chris Sims is another two-way standout, starting on the offensive line and making 97 tackles at linebacker. Lansing Catholic’s losses were to No. 7 Olivet, Division 4 No. 10 Portland and another solid Division 4 team in Lansing Sexton.
Division 7
MONROE ST. MARY CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 1
Coach: Adam Kipf, 10th season (80-32)
League finish: First in Huron League
Championship history: Four MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), four runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 38-7 over Schoolcraft in Semifinal, 55-18 over Leslie in Regional Final, 51-30 (District Final) and 22-14 over No. 10 Clinton, 37-14 over Flat Rock, 34-15 over Riverview.
Players to watch: QB/DB Ian Foster, 6-0/165 sr. (640 yards/15 TDs passing, 424 yards/7 TDs rushing); RB/DB Drew Harris, 5-6/165 sr. (1,348 yards/21 TDs rushing); QB/RB/DB Brady Hines, 6-2/205 jr. (443 yards/7 TDs rushing); OL/DL Jimmy Rostash, 6-3/260 jr. (Statistics through Regional Final.)
Outlook: St. Mary made a jump this fall after two straight 6-6 finishes, impressing on both sides of the ball as they’ve pursued their first undefeated season since 1991. The defense is giving up just 9.6 points per game and has allowed more than 18 only once – in the rematch with Clinton. The offense is averaging 39 points per game as no team has come closer than 19 to catching the Falcons since an eight-point season-opening win over Clinton. Harris brought a 10.3 yards-per-carry average into last week’s Semifinal. Through 12 games, sophomore Cole Reinhardt had scored eight touchdowns (four rushing, three receiving, one on kickoff return), and junior Lukas Linzell had run for six scores and scored on kickoff and interception returns.
MILLINGTON
Record/Rank: 12-0, No. 5
Coach: Jason Germain, third season (34-3)
League finish: First in Big Thumb Conference White
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 35-28 over North Muskegon in Semifinal, 28-0 over Pewamo-Westphalia in Regional Final, 34-7 (District Final) and 34-6 over Cass City.
Players to watch: RB/LB Dallas Walsh, 5-10/193 sr. (1,411 yards/17 TDs rushing); RB/LB Landon Russell, 5-9/183, sr. (735 yards/10 TDs rushing, 3 TDs receiving); QB/DB Truk Terbush, 5-11/152 sr. (1,420 yards/21 TDs passing, 520 yards/11 TDs rushing); TE/DL Brevin Hendricks, 6-3/220 sr. (7 TDs receiving).
Outlook: This was the seventh time since 1994 that Millington reached the Semifinals, and the Cardinals broke through for their first Finals trip thanks in part to a powerful running game that is balanced out nicely by Terbush’s work throwing the ball. He has only two interceptions to go with his 21 touchdowns through the air, with three receivers with at least 15 catches topped by senior Bryce Martin (25 receptions/511 yards/6 TDs receiving). The defense has given up just 8.4 points per game, keeping opponents to single digits nine times and allowing more than 14 only twice. Walsh, Russell and senior Landon Germain provide a sturdy linebacker group in the middle of that effort.
Division 8
RIVERVIEW GABRIEL RICHARD
Record/Rank: 11-1, unranked
Coach: Mark Shea, first season (11-1)
League finish: Second in CHSL Intersectional #1
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 36-30 over No. 5 Decatur in Semifinal, 44-26 over No. 10 Manchester in Regional Final, 40-18 over Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard, 15-10 over Division 7 No. 9 Montrose.
Players to watch: QB/S Nick Sobush, 5-11/165 sr. (1,597 yards/20 TDs passing); WR/CB Derek Lesko, 6-0/160 jr. (873 yards/7 TDs receiving); RB/S Antonio Sobush, 5-10/160 sr. (711 yards/9 TDs rushing, 451 yards/1 TD receiving); RB/LB Joey Calhoun, 6-3/207 sr. (1,140 yards/16 TDs rushing). (Statistics through Regional Final.)
Outlook: Gabriel Richard reached the Semifinals last season for the first time and has taken another sizable step this fall. The only loss came Week 7, 30-22 to Macomb Lutheran North, which won their league and went on to claim a Division 4 District title as well. The offense has jumped its average more than seven points to 40 per game during the playoffs, an indication of the strength of regular-season competition the Pioneers faced as they took on several larger opponents. Shea previously served as head coach at Allen Park Cabrini from 2010-13 and most recently was an assistant Hazel Park after also assisting at Detroit Loyola during its 2014 Division 7 championship run and 2013 and 2016 runner-up finishes.
BEAL CITY
Record/Rank: 11-2, No. 9
Coach: Brad Gross, 10th season (85-29)
League finish: Second in Highland Conference
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2009), seven runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 17-16 over No. 1 Fowler in Semifinal, 14-7 over No. 3 Iron Mountain in Regional Final, 21-14 over No. 7 Maple City Glen Lake in District Final, 51-6 over Evart.
Players to watch: RB/DB Drew Block, 5-9/170 sr. (800 yards/12 TDs rushing); RB/DB Owen Mckenny, 5-10/175 sr. (825 yards/10 TDs rushing/3 TDs receiving); QB/DB Cuyler Smith, 5-7/150 soph. (1,177 yards/13 TDs passing); OL/LB Wyatt Wilson, 5-7/185 soph. (Statistics through Regional Final.)
Outlook: It’s impossible to argue with the run Beal City has put together to return to Ford Field for the first time since 2021 and third time in six seasons. The Aggies’ only losses this fall were both by four points, to Division 6 No. 6 Reed City in Week 9 and Division 7 McBain in Week 3. They’ve given up only 37 points over four playoff wins, and just 9.4 per game for the season with a 47-0 win over Frankfort kicking off this run four weeks ago. Only McBain scored more than 18 against them. Senior Austin Small has been another major contributor in the backfield with 565 yards and nine touchdowns rushing through the Regional Final. Receiver/defensive end Aaron Locke and lineman Drew Gross join Wilson as sophomore two-way starters.
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