Highlight Reel: Friday Football Finals
November 26, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
A pair of repeat champions took center stage Friday at the first day of the MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals, powered by the Michigan Army National Guard, at Ford Field in Detroit.
Division 8
Muskegon Catholic Central 35, Ottawa Lake Whiteford 6
Due to technical difficulties, highlights of this game will be posted at a later date.
Division 2
Detroit Martin Luther King 18, Walled Lake Western 0
Finn Hits Thomas for King TD - Late in the first half, Dequan Finn hit Ambry Thomas with a 9-yard touchdown pass for Detroit Martin Luther King.
Tip Drill Turns Into King TD - A tipped ball turned into a pick-six for Detroit Martin Luther King, as Jesse Scarber came up with this second interception of the game returned this one 56 yards for a score.
More Pick-Six Action By Morton - Detroit Martin Luther King returned a second interception for a score in the fourth quarter when Jay-Veyon Morton took this pick back for a TD.
Division 6
Jackson Lumen Christi 26, Maple City Glen Lake 14
Lakers Back In The Game - Trailing in the second quarter, Maple City Glen Lake gets back into the Division 6 Final when QB Cade Peterson finds a streaking Nick Rice going down the sideline for 57 yards and a score.
Ring The Bell - Jackson Lumen Christi's Bo Bell came up big with 238 yards rushing. Here's his longest run of the day, a 46-yard jaunt in the third quarter which set up a 3-yard scoring run – his lone TD of the game.
Division 4
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 10, Detroit Country Day 7
Yellowjackets Score On The Interception - Trailing in the second quarter, Detroit Country Day seized the lead when Roy McCree intercepted a pass and returned it 82 yards for a score.
Finding Its Offense At The Right Time - Early in the fourth quarter, Grand Rapids Catholic Central gets its lone first down of the Division 4 title game on this 44-yard pitch-and-catch from Jack Bowen to Michael Brown.
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTO: Detroit Martin Luther King players hoist the Division 2 championship trophy Friday at Ford Field.
Moment: Johnson Follows Purple Wall
October 15, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
Brad Johnson saw the wall and was off to the races.
The star do-everything player for Schoolcraft had already scored one touchdown on the day in the 1988 Class D Football Final against Frankfort at the Pontiac Silverdome, and back in a punt return mode in the second quarter, he faked a reverse, saw the wall and he was gone.
An 87-yard punt return, the longest in state finals history by a good 25 yards.
“After making my fake, I looked up and there was a wall,” Johnson told the Detroit Free Press. “All I had to do was outrun everybody.”
The play gave the Eagles a 21-7 lead at the time and broke the game wide open. Schoolcraft cruised to a 42-7 victory to finish the season at 13-0.
PHOTO by Gary Shook.