Harris Soars, Eagles Fly to D3 Championship
November 24, 2012
By Bill Khan
Special to Second Half
DETROIT — A funny thing happened on Drake Harris’ way to hoops stardom.
He discovered he’s even greater on the gridiron.
The junior wide receiver didn’t intend to play high school football at Grand Rapids Christian, but now figures that’s his meal ticket in college — and perhaps beyond — after a record-breaking season that culminated with an epic performance in the MHSAA Division 3 championship game against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.
Harris made three clutch catches in the final eight minutes to keep scoring drives alive and finished with a MHSAA Finals record of 243 yards on eight catches in the Eagles’ 40-37 overtime victory Saturday night at Ford Field.
Twice on the game-tying drive, Harris made leaping catches on fourth down. His 7-yarder on fourth-and-three and 15-yarder on fourth-and-eight set up a 28-yard field goal by Joel Schipper with four seconds left in the fourth quarter.
After the Eagles stopped St. Mary’s on fourth-and-three on the first series of overtime, Schipper came out on first down and kicked the championship-clinching 27-yard field goal.
In the process, Harris became only the 12th player nationally and first from Michigan to rack up 2,000 receiving yards for one season. He finished the season with 2,016.
“It’s a great achievement for me,” Harris said. “I have to thank the quarterback, the line and my coaching staff for putting me in the right position to make plays. All I care about is that state championship.”
It's the first for Grand Rapids Christian, which also made its first MHSAA Final appearance and finished this fall 13-1. St. Mary's, last season's Division 3 champion, ended 11-3.
Harris had hoop dreams coming into high school, figuring he would specialize in basketball to enhance his college opportunities. After getting talked into playing football by Eagles coach Don Fellows, Harris discovered a hidden talent. He wound up making a verbal commitment last summer to Michigan State to play both sports, but football may eventually win out.
“I never realized the talent I had for football,” the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Harris said. “I’m putting it all together. I’m going to keep working hard to achieve my goals.
“(MSU basketball coach Tom Izzo) loves players that play football. He told me that. He encouraged me. He’s with me with the whole situation and loves that I play football. I’m kind of starting to lean more towards football. I just feel like I’m probably better in football and that I can go further in football.”
Grand Rapids Christian quarterback Alex VanDeVusse was 16 for 26 for 307 yards and a touchdown, but deflected any credit for his performance to his outstanding wide receiver. VanDeVusse noted that a couple of Harris’ catches late in the game came on passes that would’ve eluded the grasp of most high school receivers.
“He makes me look really, really good,” VanDeVusse said. “Balls that are behind him, he slows down and catches it with one hand if he has to. Balls that are too high, he jumps and gets flipped. People don’t necessarily think he’s tough or something, but to have a guy go three or four feet in the air to get flipped, catch the ball and land on his back and his head, he’s pretty tough in my book. I’ll take him on my team every single day. He’s amazing.”
VanDeVusse looked to Harris in every clutch situation, of which there were several in a wild fourth quarter.
“We joke around that he’s our toy,” VanDeVusse said. “If you have a toy, you’re going to want to play with it all the time. We use him a lot and he does every bit that we ask of him.”
The Eaglets knew that Harris would be targeted when Grand Rapids Christian needed a big play, but even double coverage couldn’t stop him.
“He makes you shift,” St. Mary’s coach George Porritt said. “You have to bring more people to him. You can’t guard him with one. It might leave somebody else open. He forces you to bring two, maybe three.”
A 42-yard run by VanDeVusse gave Grand Rapids Christian a 20-7 lead with 4:42 left in the first half, but St. Mary’s rallied behind a ground game that rolled up 459 yards to take its first lead at 30-27 with 9:37 left in the fourth quarter.
Harris made a 38-yard catch on third-and-27 with 8:00 remaining, one play before a 32-yard touchdown run by Seth McIntosh put the Eagles ahead 34-30 with 7:45 to go.
St. Mary’s then marched 80 yards in 12 plays to grab a 37-34 lead with 2:06 left on a 3-yard run by Grant Niemiec.
Harris made four catches for 47 yards on the ensuing drive, which culminated in Schipper’s game-tying field goal.
St. Mary’s got the ball first in overtime. A pass by Matt Linehan intended for running back Parker McInnis in the end zone fell incomplete on fourth-and-three.
Grand Rapids Christian didn’t hesitate to bring in Schipper to end the game with his right foot on first down.
“I knew it was a big kick starting off, but I just tried to block it all out,” Schipper said. “It felt just like at practice. Coach puts a lot of pressure on us during the week so these situations don’t come as big in the games. That really helped me. I’m just glad I could get the win for the team tonight.
“He’s got the whole team screaming in my ear in practice when I’m trying to make field goals. That really helps in this environment.”
St. Mary’s lost, despite setting a finals record with 579 yards of total offense. The teams combined for a record 1,033 yards.
McInnis ran 25 times for 269 yards, while Niemiec carried 28 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns for St. Mary’s.
Click for full statistics and to watch a replay of the game.
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Christian receiver Drake Harris runs away from two Orchard Lake St. Mary's defenders for some of his record-breaking yardage Saturday. (Middle) The Eagles celebrate their first MHSAA championship. (Click for more from Terry McNamara Photography.)
Drive Complete: 2018 Finals in Review
November 26, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
There was much anticipation entering the 2018 MHSAA Football Finals, beginning two weeks ago at the Superior Dome at Northern Michigan University and finishing Saturday at Detroit’s Ford Field.
They didn’t disappoint.
This season’s crowning weekends saw five first-time champions, two repeat title winners, two rise to the top for the first time in a while, and to end it all another re-emerging champion topple a 2017 winner in arguably the most awaited game of the entire series.
Second Half covered all 10 championship games last weekend at Ford Field and two weekends ago at the Superior Dome, with quick recaps and links (click on the game scores) to those stories below followed by notations of performances entered into the MHSAA Finals record book and a report on some of the biggest and best stories to emerge from the 2018 Finals.
Finals in Review
11-Player Division 1: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 31, Clarkston 30
A year after Clarkston edged West Bloomfield by a point to win Division 1, Chippewa Valley claimed its first MHSAA title since 2001 by the same margin over the Wolves. The Big Reds stopped a go-ahead 2-point conversion try by Clarkston with 23 seconds to play to seal the win after previously leading by 14 points three times over the final three quarters.
11-Player Division 2: Warren DeLaSalle 29, Muskegon Mona Shores 16
The Pilots’ lockdown defense proved to have the upper hand against an explosive Mona Shores offense, as DeLaSalle broke away for its second straight Division 2 title after the teams were tied at halftime. Pilots coach Mike Giannone not only is the only coach to win football championships at two schools, but also became the first to win back-to-back at two (after also leading Macomb Dakota to Division 1 titles in 2006 and 2007).
11-Player Division 3: Detroit Martin Luther King 41, Muskegon 25
King finished this season’s Finals by avenging a three-point Week 2 loss to the 2017 champion. The Crusaders didn’t slow Muskegon’s record-setting rushing attack, but outgained the Big Reds in total yardage 400-315 as quarterbacks Dequan Finn and Cameron Martinez showed why they were two of the state’s best this fall.
11-Player Division 4: Edwardsburg 28, Chelsea 7
After falling short against Grand Rapids Catholic Central in 2017, Edwardsburg returned to its second Finals and won its first championship. The Eddies succeeded as they had all season; the offense ran for 382 yards and all four scores, while the defense got its season points allowed average to 9.9 per game after holding Chelsea to its fewest since 2014.
11-Player Division 5: Hudsonville Unity Christian 42, Portland 7
These Crusaders also won their first championship, in their first Finals appearance, finishing a playoff run that saw them defeat three teams ranked among the top six at the end of the regular season. Unity Christian got out to a 28-0 lead and finished with 279 yards rushing while holding the Raiders’ vaunted run attack to only 95.
11-Player Division 6: Jackson Lumen Christi 42, Montague 28
Lumen Christi added a first-time accomplishment to its long history of successes, clinching a three-peat for the first time by holding Montague to 14 points over the game’s first 45 minutes. The Titans ran for 348 yards and senior Nick Thomas gained 249 and scored twice on the ground to go with his team-high 10 tackles and two sacks.
11-Player Division 7: New Lothrop 50, Madison Heights Madison 44
This was not only the highest-scoring Final of the weekend, but of all-time. Neither team had been to a Finals since 2006, and Madison was seeking its first championship. But New Lothrop held on for its second title as quarterbacks Avery Moore and Austin Brown matched scores through much of the second half.
11-Player Division 8: Reading 39, Breckenridge 20
One of these teams was going to end up a first-time and undefeated champion, and Reading led off the 2018 Finals on Friday with the historic accomplishment in large part because of its dominance in the run game. The Rangers gained 296 yards on the ground and held the Huskies to a mere 24 and 198 yards of total offense.
8-Player Division 1: Morrice 44, Pickford 16
This also was going to produce a first-time and undefeated champion regardless of victor. After Pickford scored first, Morrice locked up its first title with 30 unanswered points over the next two quarters. Orioles quarterback Hunter Nowak capped his career with three rushing and one passing touchdown to go with 199 yards on the ground.
8-Player Division 2: Rapid River 30, Onekama 18
In its third 8-Player Finals try, Rapid River came away with its first MHSAA football title. The Rockets held on to the ball for an incredible 33½ minutes by extending drives with 10 third-down and four fourth-down conversions. Onekama was playing in its first Football Final, capping its second season of 8-player after a successful recent run with 11 on the field.
Record Report
Lumen Christi moved up to tied for fifth with its 13th Finals appearance. Muskegon (11th) and King (sixth) also moved up the list, and Warren DeLaSalle joined it by playing in its fifth championship game. Lumen Christi is tied for fourth all-time with 11 championships and became the 10th program to win three or more consecutively.
Three players made the list for longest kickoff return in a Final. New Lothrop’s Aidan Harrison ranks fourth after his 96-yard scoring sprint against Madison, while David Ellis raced 94 yards to the end zone for Chippewa Valley against Clarkston and Jacob Veale scored Portland’s only points against Unity Christian on a 91-yard return.
Tommy Schuster made the records with a perfect 13 of 13 passing for Chippewa Valley against Clarkston, becoming the first player with at least 12 attempts to complete all of his passes in an MHSAA Final.
As noted above, New Lothrop and Madison Heights Madison combined to score 94 points – breaking the previous record for highest-scoring Final of 91 by Belding and Detroit Country Day in the 1994 Class B championship game (a 50-41 Belding win). New Lothrop’s 50 points also tied for fourth most in an MHSAA Final.
That 94-point effort was a result in large part of work done by Madison quarterback Austin Brown and New Lothrop quarterback Avery Moore. Both made the records list with four rushing touchdowns in a Final and also for scoring 26 points (each had a 2-point conversion). Brown also was added for 298 passing yards, and his 403 of total offense tied for fifth. New Lothrop as a team was added for six rushing touchdowns, and Madison Heights Madison was added for total team passing yardage.
Reading’s Elijah Strine was added for becoming the first in Finals history to recover a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.
Edwardsburg became the latest to not punt in a championship game, and Chelsea punted only once in their Division 4 Final – their one combined punt tied for second-fewest in a Final.
Lumen Christi kicker Kevin Salazar connected on all six of his extra point attempts, and King’s Jerry Tucker made five of six (with the sixth attempt blocked). Both made the list for most extra points, Salazar tying for fourth most.
Lumen Christi running back Nick Thomas ran for 249 yards, the eighth most in a championship game. Muskegon quarterback Cameron Martinez also made the rushing list with 211 yards.
King quarterback Dequan Finn tied for fifth for touchdown passes with four against the Big Reds. Chelsea receiver Hunter Neff tied for fifth for receptions with 10 against the Eddies.
Morrice made the list for rushing yards as a team in the 8-Player Division 1 Final. The Orioles totaled 317 on 54 carries.
Rapid River made the 8-Player first downs list, moving the sticks 20 times in its Division 2 win.
Stories Behind the Scores
First-time champions: Five of this season’s 10 MHSAA football champions were first-time winners: Edwardsburg, Hudsonville Unity Christian, Reading, Morrice and Rapid River. That’s compared to only two first-time champs a year ago and one in 2016.
First time in a long time champions: Chippewa Valley’s title was its first since 2001, and New Lothrop won for the first time since 2006. Both had been building toward this moment, however. The Big Reds had made the playoffs all but three seasons since claiming the Division 2 title 17 years ago. New Lothrop has made the playoffs 19 straight seasons, and since winning Division 8 in 2006 had reached the Semifinals three times before this fall.
Closer Calls: In six games, teams were within 10 points of each other in the fourth quarter. Mona Shores pulled within five of DeLaSalle with 7:26 to play in Division 2 before the Pilots added a late touchdown. Muskegon pulled within 10 of King with 5:21 to play in Division 3 before the Crusaders scored again, and Onekama pulled within 10 of Rapid River in 8-Player Division 2 less than a minute into the fourth quarter before ultimately losing by 12. New Lothrop didn’t take the lead for good until 3:27 was left in Division 7, and as noted, Chippewa Valley escaped Clarkston by stopping a 2-point conversion try during the final minute in Division 1.
QB power: Elite quarterback play was on display all over the Finals. We talked a lot above about the heroics of Avery Moore and Austin Brown in Division 7 and Morrice's Hunter Nowak in 8-Player Division 1. In Division 3, Muskegon’s Cameron Martinez ran for 211 yards and two scores and threw a touchdown pass, while King’s Dequan Finn threw for 173 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 73 and a score. Tommy Schuster’s numbers for Chippewa Valley included the perfect passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns, and his Clarkston counterpart Jake Jensen ran for 121 yards and a score and completed 10-of-15 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. Isaac TeSlaa led Unity Christian with 97 yards and two touchdowns on the round and completed 3 of 4 passes for 70 yards and a third score. Carter Staley kept his team in the Division 8 game with 14-of-19 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Nolan Schultz ran for three touchdowns and a team-high 55 yards and completed 8-of-13 passes for 189 and a score for DeLaSalle.
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