At Hudson, Winning Starts with the 'Ride'
November 2, 2017
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
HUDSON – It was a couple hours before kickoff for the Hudson Tigers, and head coach Tom Saylor didn’t think his team was focused enough.
“It was early on in our winning streak,” said Saylor. “Everybody was kind of laughing and just not thinking about the game. I told them to get on the bus and we drove right out of town, past the cemetery and I think we drove clear to Clayton (a town about six miles away). The players were thinking, ‘What is this guy doing?’”
The home game for Hudson turned into a road game – complete with a bus ride. A tradition was born.
“I thought we played better on road games,” said Saylor, who coached the Tigers through their record-setting 72-game win streak during the 1970s. “There weren’t so many distractions.”
Friday night, Hudson’s players will board the bus once more this season and take the trip from the high school locker room into downtown Hudson to Thompson Field, where the Tigers play their home games. Hudson will take on Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in a Division 7 District championship game.
The head coach now is Chris Luma, who was a quarterback for Hudson during part of that win streak. He said the bus ride is a little shorter these days, but remains a surreal moment for all Tigers players and coaches.
“Coach Saylor liked to only make right turns,” Luma said. “That was his thing. We’d go out of the school and only make right turns to get to the field. Now, we just come out of the school, go down Maple, go right past my house and turn and go to the stadium. It’s about a five-minute ride.”
And it takes place in total silence.
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” said Tigers running back Malik Ray, who has more than 1,500 yards rushing. “It’s a really different experience. It’s legit. We get on the bus and some kids pray and others just think about the game. We don’t have time to mess around. Once we hit the seats, it’s go time. There’s no joking around. No way.”
Luma said every so often a young player will board the bus and talk or say something and a captain will quickly let him know the bus ride is done in silence.
“I’ll get on the bus, count them up and make sure we have everybody and give them the look,” he said. “It’s all quiet. We drive to the stadium, pull up and the players get out and go to the shed. Everyone has their own routine.”
Hudson has been home to a lot of big games on Friday nights over the years. The Tigers’ tradition is well known. Hudson held the national high school football winning streak record of 72 games for 22 years. Thompson Field has been the site of a lot of those Hudson wins and impactful games.
“The place has held more huge games than any other venue in Lenawee County over the past 60 plus years,” said Hudson sports historian Bill Mullaly. “Thompson Field has been around since 1955, and there have been many exciting, thrilling and very meaningful games played there with upwards of 5,000-plus people watching, especially back in the winning streak days.”
Before 1955, Hudson’s field was located in a low area right next to the current stadium, which sits on a hill in town and was moved because the old field was prone to flooding. The stadium is not on campus, somewhat atypical at the high school level.
Saylor used to live right next to the stadium, on the hill.
“I would wake up and see the stadium every morning,” he said.
Luma said the bus ride is different to the ‘home’ game than it is for an actual road game.
“When I was a player, I’d sit right next to Coach Saylor,” he said. “For road games, we’d go over my assignments, what he expected out of me. We’d talk about situations and what I should say or do in the huddle. I think those times sitting on the bus with him is one of the reasons I went into coaching.
“Riding to a home game, though, there was no talking. It’s still that way.”
Luma has had a remarkable coaching career at Hudson, winning 175 games, including a Division 7 championship in 2010. Friday will be Hudson’s second game ever against St. Mary, a traditional power from Monroe County with a couple of MHSAA championships to boast about – including its most recent in 2014, a Division 6 championship. The Falcons are competing for the first time in the Division 7 playoffs.
Ironically, both teams run the ‘T’ offense and both teams have strong rushing attacks. Hudson (9-1) was the Lenawee County Athletic Association champion while SMCC (6-4) got into the playoffs at 5-4 after navigating a difficult Huron League schedule.
No matter the weather, Thompson Field figures to be a packed house.
When it’s game time, Ray will board the bus, make the silent ride, get to the stadium and play catch for a few minutes with Hudson quarterback Andrew Valdez. When the team is ready to take the field, they’ll leave the shed and take turns with the rest of the team touching a sign above the door that says “The Team, The Team, The Team.”
Then – and only then – will it be game time.
“On the bus ride to the game, you’ll see people on the streets and they are waving at you and they are excited,” Ray said. “You can see joy in their eyes.
“Anytime you play in a playoff game, it’s a truly great experience. Playing one more game with these guys … its more than I can say.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudson’s players enter Thompson Field at the start of a game this season. (Middle) Malik Ray works to elude a Morenci defender during a Week 2 win. (Photos by Mike Dickie.)
1st & Goal: 2026 Week 5 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 24, 2026
It’s halftime, but no one is taking a break. In fact, the pace is picking up even more as we start looking toward the final month of the football regular season.
We’ve reached the midpoint, with four games down, another set to be played over the next 48 hours, and four to go after that. Every week several more eyes are turning toward our Playoff Point Summary page, which lists how every team ranks in its respective playoff division as scores are entered on MHSAA.com.
Teams are moving into and out of the potential fields of 32 for 11-player 16 for 8-player every week – and surely several of the games mentioned below will affect how those rankings stack up moving forward.
Games below are Friday unless noted. Tune in to the NFHS Network to watch the majority and follow the MHSAA Scores page for results as they’re submitted.
Bay & Thumb
Millington (4-0) at Cass City (4-0)
This Big Thumb Conference White showdown pits two of the three teams that shared the championship a year ago, when Cass City defeated Millington 17-14 in overtime. The Cardinals opened league play last week with a 43-16 win over Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker, the third returning co-champion from a year ago. The Redhawks have put themselves among the undefeated in part with a pair of three-point nonleague wins in Weeks 2 and 3.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Marine City (4-0) at St. Clair (4-0), Holly (3-1) at Fenton (3-1), Almont (4-0) at Imlay City (4-0), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood (4-0) at Sanford Meridian (4-0).
Greater Detroit
Detroit Martin Luther King (4-0) at Detroit Cass Tech (4-0)
Cass Tech has won the last three of what’s almost sure to be a twice-annual series again, as these two also have met in a city championship game the last six seasons. The Technicians’ wins last year came by five and then 16 points, and they enter this matchup with three shutouts over four games and averaging 52 points per contest. King has played the toughest opponent of the two, impressively emerging with a 44-42 victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in Week 2.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Grosse Pointe South (4-0) at Romeo (4-0), Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (3-1) at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (4-0), Oxford (4-0) at Clarkston (4-0). SATURDAY Ecorse (4-0) at Romulus Summit Academy (3-1).
Mid-Michigan
Portland (4-0) at Lake Odessa Lakewood (4-0)
Lakewood is 4-0 for the first time since 2017 and after winning four games total a year ago, already having avenged a 2025 loss to Charlotte as it points to a potential first playoff berth this decade and title contention in the Capital Area Activities Conference White. The Raiders have owned the division, winning 30 straight league games going back to 2021 with that run including three shutouts of the Vikings since they rejoined the CAAC in 2023.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Lansing Sexton (2-2) at Charlotte (3-1), Kent City (2-2) at Lakeview (3-1), Fowler (4-0) at Saranac (4-0), Mason (4-0) at St. Johns (3-1).
Northern Lower Peninsula
Kingsley (4-0) at Elk Rapids (3-1)
Coming off a notable Week 3 victory over 2025 playoff team Mancelona, and after having last week off thanks to a forfeit win from Cheboygan, Elk Rapids is staring down a big-time opportunity to impress as it continues to pursue a first playoff berth since 2022. A low-scoring loss to Traverse City St. Francis in Week 1 also was notable as the Elks take on the Stags, who opened this season with a pair of shutouts and have already conquered one major obstacle in the Northern Shores Conference race with a 39-13 win over Charlevoix.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Petoskey (3-1) at Cadillac (2-2), McBain (2-2) at Charlevoix (3-1), Boyne City (2-2) at Grayling (2-2), Midland Dow (2-2) at Traverse City Central (2-2).
Southeast & Border
Ida (4-0) at Adrian Madison (4-0)
Madison earned the spotlight last week with its first win over Hudson, and it’s time to give Ida deserved attention as well as the Bluestreaks join the Trojans and Clinton at 3-0 atop the Lenawee County Athletic Association standings. Ida entered this season coming off a District championship run last fall and has reached 42 points in all of its games during this first half, which should lead to an intriguing matchup as Madison allowed the high-scoring Tigers only 12.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Dearborn Divine Child (4-0) at Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (3-1), Dexter (2-2) at Chelsea (3-1), Toledo Central Catholic (4-0) at Jackson Lumen Christi (4-0), Jackson (2-2) at Tecumseh (3-1).
Southwest Corridor
Portage Central (3-1) at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix (3-1)
Loy Norrix is off to its best start since 1998 and facing Portage Central for the first time since 2019, adding a few layers of interest as the neighbors prepare for this get-together. After reaching the Division 2 Semifinals last year, Portage Central opened this fall with a 10-point loss to Toledo Central Catholic before stacking a few wins including over rival Portage Northern two weeks ago.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Hartford (2-2) at Cassopolis (3-1), Edwardsburg (4-0) at Otsego (2-2), Three Rivers (2-2) at Vicksburg (4-0), Plainwell (2-2) at Paw Paw (3-1).
Upper Peninsula
Bark River-Harris (4-0) vs. Pewamo-Westphalia (4-0) at Petoskey
While this won’t be played in the Upper Peninsula, it does feature one of the best from north of the Bridge facing a contender from downstate. For the second-straight season these two will meet on a neutral field after losing their previously-scheduled opponents. Pewamo-Westphalia won last year’s matchup 49-0 on the way to ending the fall in the Division 7 Semifinals, while Bark River-Harris finished its season in the Division 8 Semifinals.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Kingsford (4-0) at Calumet (3-1), Iron Mountain (2-2) at Manistique (2-2), Escanaba (1-3) at Marquette (2-2), Hancock (3-1) at Negaunee (2-2).
West Michigan
Coopersville (4-0) at Lowell (3-1)
Coopersville made some nice noise last season coming back from an 0-3 start to reach a District title game, and that’s carried over and then some as the Broncos have opened this fall by defeating four 2025 playoff teams that are a combined 10-6. Coopersville avenged last season’s loss to Cedar Springs last week and now has the opportunity to do the same against another River Cities Alliance foe in Lowell, which won last year’s matchup 33-20. The Red Arrows have been similarly impressive this season coming off last year’s run to the Division 3 Semifinals.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Wyoming Godwin Heights (3-1) at Hopkins (4-0), Hudsonville (3-1) at Caledonia (3-1), Grand Rapids Catholic Central (3-1) at East Grand Rapids (3-1), Zeeland West (4-0) at Grand Rapids South Christian (3-1).
8-Player
Mendon (4-0) at Colon (4-0)
Mendon has won this matchup the last three years big, but that shouldn’t have any bearing this time as Colon already avenged a 41-point loss to Climax-Scotts from a year ago with a 24-point victory last week. Mendon, meanwhile, handed Mio its first loss with a third-straight 50-point performance and rolls into this Southern Central Athletic Association Red opener as the reigning champion.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Mio (3-1) at Bay City All Saints (4-0), Blanchard Montabella (3-1) at Dansville (4-0), Deckerville (4-0) at Dryden (4-0), St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy (2-0) at Rogers City (3-1).
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PHOTO A Detroit Central receiver breaks toward the end zone during the team's 38-0 Week 2 win over Warren Lincoln. (Photo by Olivia B. Photography.)