Highlight Reel: Saturday Football Finals
November 28, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
The final day of the MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field in Detroit – powered by the Michigan Army National Guard – produced a first-time gridiron champion and a game-winning play that will be talked about for a long time.
Division 7
Pewamo-Westphalia 28, Detroit Loyola 14
Logan & Lehman Go Long - The Pewamo-Westphalia combo of quarterback Jimmy Lehman and receiver Logan Hengesbach connected for two touchdowns in the Division 7 title game against Detroit Loyola. Here's the second TD in the third quarter, with Hengesbach winning the jump ball to complete a 37-yard scoring play.
Johnson Powers Into the End Zone - Detroit Loyola gets on the board midway through the fourth quarter, when TE Keith Johnson makes a great play to catch a pass from Price Watkins and then power into the end zone to complete the 18-yard score.
Division 1
Detroit Cass Tech 49, Detroit Catholic Central 20
CC Takes the Early Lead - Detroit Catholic Central led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter, taking the lead on this 35-yard pass interception return by Jack Morris.
The Peoples' Choice for Cass Tech - Detroit Cass Tech QB Rodney Hall tied a Finals record with five touchdown passes against Detroit Catholic Central - two going to Donovan Peoples-Jones, including this 49-yarder in the third quarter.
Division 5
Grand Rapids West Catholic 43, Menominee 7
Meyers Off to the Races - Grand Rapids West Catholic scored its first TD against Menominee on a pitch and catch from Gaetano Vallone to Brett Meyers covering 91 yards.
Hass Records a Finals First - Menominee uses special teams to get on the board in the third quarter. Sam Larson blocks the West Catholic field goal attempt, and Hunter Hass returns it 76 yards for a TD – the first time in Finals history a blocked field goal has been returned for a score.
Division 3
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 29, Muskegon 28
Pimpleton's Second Score - Lined up in the slot, Muskegon's Kalil Pimpleton gets his second 18-yard rushing touchdown of the Division 3 Final against Orchard Lake St. Mary's on the end-around to give his team a 21-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.
A Catch for the Ages - In the closing seconds of the Division 3 Final, Orchard Lake St. Mary's QB Caden Prieskorn hits Ky’ren Cunningham in the end zone with an 18-yard touchdown strike to give the Eaglets the win.
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTO: Orchard Lake St. Mary's Chris Bean celebrates during Saturday's Division 3 Final.
O-K Blue Battle Comes to MHSAA TV
September 26, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
As we hit the home stretch of the regular season in football, MHSAA.tv will play host to key games produced by MHSAA member schools participating in the School Broadcast Program.
Topping this week’s list of nearly 50 events is an Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue matchup with Grand Rapids West Catholic playing at Comstock Park on Friday (Sept. 29) at 7 p.m. The two teams are tied with Grand Rapids Catholic Central atop the Blue at 2-0 and have overall records of 4-1. Comstock Park was ranked ninth last week in The Associated Press Division 4 poll, while West Catholic was No. 1 in Division 5.
In its ninth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by SBP members:
Tuesday, Sept. 26
- JV Girls Volleyball - Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 5 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Ontonagon at Dollar Bay, 5 p.m.
- Freshman Girls Volleyball - Gabriel Richard at Macomb Lutheran North, 5:30 p.m.
- JV Girls Volleyball – Stanton Central Montcalm at Fremont, 5:30 p.m.
- JV Girls Volleyball - Gabriel Richard at Macomb Lutheran North, 5:30 p.m.
- Boys Soccer - Belding at Wyoming Lee, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Chassell at Lake Linden-Hubbell, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Ashley at Vestaburg, 7 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Clarkston at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Gabriel Richard at Macomb Lutheran North, 7 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Stanton Central Montcalm at Fremont, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
- JV Boys Soccer - Dowagiac at Plainwell, 5 p.m.
- Freshman Girls Volleyball - Alma at Freeland, 5 p.m.
- JV Girls Volleyball - Alma at Freeland, 6 p.m.
- Boys Soccer - Dowagiac at Plainwell, 6:45 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Alma at Freeland, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 28
- Freshman Football - Edwardsburg at Plainwell, 4:30 p.m.
- Freshman Football - Alma at Freeland, 4:30 p.m.
- JV Girls Volleyball - Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park, 5 p.m.
- Freshman Girls Volleyball - Durand at Otisville Lakeville, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
- JV Football - Alma at Freeland, 6 p.m.
- JV Girls Volleyball - Durand at Otisville Lakeville, 6 p.m.
- JV Football - Edwardsburg at Plainwell, 6:15 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - L'Anse at Calumet, 6:30 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Durand at Otisville Lakeville, 6:30 p.m.
- JV Football - Munising at Norway, 6:30 p.m.
- Boys Soccer – Lowell at Cedar Springs, 6:45 p.m.
- Boys Soccer - Kingsford at Marquette, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 29
- Football - Grand Rapids West Catholic at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
- Football - Mio at Rogers City, 7 p.m.
- Football - Merrill at Vestaburg, 7 p.m.
- Football - Benton Harbor at Traverse City West, 7 p.m.
- Football - Kingsford at Marquette, 7 p.m.
- Football – Lowell at Cedar Springs, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 30
- JV Boys Soccer - Marshall at Plainwell, 9 a.m.
- Boys Soccer - Marshall at Plainwell, 10:30 a.m.
Monday, Oct. 2
- Girls Volleyball - Birch Run at Freeland, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 3
- JV Girls Volleyball - Newaygo at Fremont, 5:30 p.m.
- JV Girls Volleyball - Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Macomb Lutheran North, 5:30 p.m.
- Freshman Girls Volleyball - Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Macomb Lutheran North, 5:30 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Houghton at Calumet, 6:30 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball – Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood at Macomb Lutheran North, 7 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Newaygo at Fremont, 7 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Gwinn at Marquette, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 4
- Freshman Girls Volleyball - TBA at Fremont, 4:30 p.m.
- Freshman Girls Volleyball – Saginaw Swan Valley at Freeland, 5 p.m.
- JV Girls Volleyball - Saginaw Swan Valley at Freeland, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball - Saginaw Swan Valley at Freeland, 7 p.m.?
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 per month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on- demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. School Broadcast Program participants will also be selling Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.
Highlights of games produced in the past week by MHSAA School Broadcast Program members are in their fourth week. Featured events are in football with Hudsonville Unity Christian at Comstock Park, girls volleyball with Lake Fenton at Otisville Lakeville and in girls swimming & diving with Holt at East Lansing. Highlights can be found each week on the MHSAA.tv website, the home page of the MHSAA Website, and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube.
More than 15 football games are featured each week on the State Champs! Sports Network Extra Point – powered by the Michigan High School Athletic Association – Saturday at 10 a.m. on FOX Sports Detroit.
The half-hour program features highlights from more than a dozen games each week, including clips from games produced by MHSAA School Broadcast Program members. The program airs multiple times each weekend on FOX Sports Detroit and on Comcast Channel 900, and will be archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.
Here are some of the games to be featured this week on State Champs! Extra Point:
- White Lake Lakeland at Walled Lake Western
- Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Mattawan
- Belleville at Dearborn Fordson
- Canton at Livonia Stevenson
- Detroit Cody at Detroit Cass Tech
- Melvindale at Woodhaven
- PLUS - Additional coverage from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, Upper Peninsula and School Broadcast Program games.
The MHSAA also has a presence on other State Champs! Network programs throughout each weekend. The MHSAA Minute is a weekly part of the State Champs! High School Sports Show on FOX Sports Detroit at 9 a.m. every Sunday – with multiple replays on FOX Sports Detroit and Comcast Channel 900 throughout the week. That program also is archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.
This week’s MHSAA Minute on State Champs talks about the MHSAA Student Advisory Council.
The MHSAA also has content on the State Champs Scoreboard! High School Football Radio Show on Friday nights during the football and basketball seasons, originating on WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit and carried on more than 10 radio stations across the state. This Week In High School Sports and Be the Referee are weekly features on the program.