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.
Five Finals Weekends, 1 Low Price
February 21, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
High school sports fans can stream MHSAA Championships over the next five weekends on MHSAA.tv for just $9.95, starting with this week’s Team Dual Wrestling Finals in Mt. Pleasant.
A $9.95 subscription on the NFHS Network is good for 30 days of viewing live coverage of MHSAA.tv and a variety of high school championships across the country. All events are available for free, on-demand viewing three days after they have been played.
The Team Dual Wrestling Finals take place Friday and Saturday (Feb. 24-25) at McGuirk Arena in Mt. Pleasant on the campus of Central Michigan University. Here’s the complete schedule:
Friday – Feb. 24 – Team Wrestling Quarterfinals
Division 4 @ Noon
- Hudson v. Munising
- Bronson v. Springport
- Carson City-Crystal v. New Lothrop
- Leroy Pine River v. Clinton
Division 1 @ 2:15 p.m.
- Detroit Catholic Central v. Brighton
- Oxford v. Hartland
- Macomb Dakota v. Westland John Glenn
- Davison v. Grandville
Division 3 @ 4:30 p.m.
Division 2 @ 6:45 p.m.
Saturday – Feb. 25 – Team Wrestling Semifinals & Finals
Division 4 Semifinals @ 9 a.m.
- Hudson/Munising winner v. Bronson/Springport winner
- Carson City-Crystal/New Lothrop winner v. Leroy Pine River/Clinton winner
Division 1 Semifinals @ 9 a.m.
- Detroit Catholic Central/Brighton winner v. Oxford/Hartland winner
- Macomb Dakota/Westland John Glenn winner v. Davison/Grandville winner
Division 3 Semifinals @ 11:30 a.m.
- Richmond v. Lake Fenton/Whitehall winner
- Remus Chippewa Hills/Lake Odessa Lakewood winner v. Dundee/Caro winner
Division 2 Semifinals @ 11:30 a.m.
- Lowell/Tecumseh winner v. Marysville/Allendale winner
- St. Johns/Niles winner v. Warren Woods-Tower/DeWitt winner
Saturday Finals – Session 1 - 3:30 p.m.
Saturday Finals – Session 2 - 6 p.m.
Here’s the week-by-week NFHS Network coverage schedule of MHSAA winter Championships:
- Feb. 24-25 – Team Dual Wrestling Quarterfinals-Semifinals-Finals
- March 2-4 – Individual Wrestling Finals
- March 3-4 – Girls Competitive Cheer Finals
- March 9-11 – Ice Hockey Semifinals-Finals
- March 11 – Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals
- March 14 – Girls Basketball Quarterfinals
- March 16-17 – Girls Basketball Semifinals
- March 21 – Boys Basketball Quarterfinals
- March 23-24 – Boys Basketball Semifinals
In addition to all of the tournament action, regular-season coverage of contests by participants in the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program will bring more than 30 contests into homes over the coming week.
Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of live video streams available and being produced by SBP members (all times Eastern Standard):
Tuesday, Feb. 21
- Freshman Boys Basketball – Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 4 p.m.
- JV Boys Basketball – Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 5:30 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Lansing Eastern at East Lansing, 7 p.m. (On-Demand Only)
- Boys Basketball – Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – West Bloomfield at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Flint Kearsley at Montrose, 7 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Negaunee at Marquette, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Marquette at Negaunee, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23
- Freshman Boys Basketball – Allendale at Comstock Park, 4 p.m.
- JV Boys Basketball – Allendale at Comstock Park, 4 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Marquette at Calumet, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 24
- Freshman Boys Basketball – Caro at Otisville-LakeVille, 3:55 p.m.
- JV Boys Basketball – Caro at Otisville-LakeVille, 5:15 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Okemos at East Lansing, 6 p.m. (On Demand)
- Boys Basketball – Caro at Otisville-LakeVille, 6:45 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – South Haven at Plainwell, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Birmingham Groves at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Traverse City West at Alpena, 7 p.m.
- Ice Hockey – Trenton at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 7:15 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Manton at Beal City, 7:30 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Okemos at East Lansing, 7:45 p.m. (On Demand)
Monday, Feb. 27
- Ice Hockey – Birmingham Unified at Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
- Freshman Boys Basketball – Wyoming Kelloggsville at Comstock Park, 4 p.m.
- JV Boys Basketball – Wyoming Kelloggsville at Comstock Park, 5:30 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Big Rapids at Cedar Springs, 6 p.m.
- JV Boys Basketball – Pickford at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Pickford at Rogers City, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Wyoming Kelloggsville at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Essexville Garber at Mt. Pleasant, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Houghton at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
Be sure to check the Upcoming Events page at MHSAA.tv for schedule additions every day.
In its eighth 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.
All sporting events – Live or On-Demand – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion. 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.
Fans also can access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.
A weekly staple on the MHSAA.tv website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube is back for another year with highlights of selected games last week produced by members of the Association’s School Broadcast Program.
This week’s highlights package includes action from the Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals, an ice hockey game with Hartland at Detroit Catholic Central and an overtime boys basketball game pitting Marquette at Negaunee.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.