Low-Scoring Rematch Goes to Clarkston
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
November 25, 2017
DETROIT – The final score of the Clarkston-West Bloomfield Division 1 Final might cause many football purists to cringe and scoff in disbelief.
But Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson offered no apologies.
Richardson and his staff should be applauded for the job they did this season. Clarkston may not have been loaded with star power this season, but won its third Michigan High School Athletic Association title by defeating West Bloomfield, 3-2, in the Division 1 final on Saturday at Ford Field.
Clarkston (12-2) also won titles in 2013 and 2014. This was West Bloomfield’s first Finals appearance; the Lakers opened this season 0-2 but rebounded to finish 11-3.
The teams combined for the second-lowest points total in Finals history. In 1987, Ann Arbor Pioneer defeated Detroit Catholic Central, 3-0, in the Class A Final.
The teams also tied a Finals record for the most punts (14), and Clarkston tied the record for most punts (8) by one team.
Clarkston (12-2) finished third in the Oakland Activities Association Red this fall behind West Bloomfield and Rochester Adams, which tied for the division title. West Bloomfield soundly defeated Clarkston, 37-16, in the fourth game of the season, and the Lakers were a sensible pick to win again.
“That’s what these kids have been about all season,” Richardson said. “(They) find a way to win.
“We always talk about turning a negative into a positive. When we got beat by Adams (21-14 on Oct. 6), we changed our run game. When we were (5-2, after Week 8), I reamed the coaches. I thought we were doing a shoddy job. We changed our run game. We became a more power running team.”
Clarkston was never a team that wowed with statistics this season. The Wolves relied on their running game, a strong defense and a good kicking game.
Against West Bloomfield – a team with no fewer than 10 players who have either committed to or received a scholarship offer from a Division I college program – Richardson wanted to shorten the game and win the turnover battle.
In its first game against West Bloomfield, Clarkston committed four turnovers. On Saturday, the Wolves had a 3-0 edge.
“We knew they were going to blitz more,” West Bloomfield coach Ron Bellamy said. “Defensively, they we’re going to grind it. We had too many penalties (11 for 105 yards). Clarkston was going to shorten the game. Our special teams weren’t special today.”
The first half, and much of the second, was filled with mishaps.
Clarkston, on its second possession, gave up a safety when a fourth-down snap flew over the punter’s head and over the end line.
The Lakers failed to convert a first down on the ensuing possession and their punt went 19 yards, giving Clarkston the ball on West Bloomfield’s 33.
The Wolves did nothing with that gift and lost 10 yards in three plays, and when they punted it went just three yards.
West Bloomfield pieced together the best drive of the half as the Lakers gained three first downs and had a 1st-and-goal at the 5-yard line. But on the next play, Zach Scott grabbed an interception in the end zone.
The longest play of the half was a 35-yard pass from West Bloomfield quarterback Bryce Veasley to A.J. Abbott that gave the Lakers a first down at its 47. On the next play, Cody Hughes recovered a fumble for Clarkston.
Finally, with time running out in the first half, Wolves quarterback Nathan Uballe completed a 15-yard pass to Conner Heaton, and 13 yards was tacked onto that gain as West Bloomfield was called for roughing the passer. With six seconds left, Clarkston opted for a field goal try and Roemer converted from 30 yards out to give the Wolves a 3-2 halftime lead.
That was it for the scoring. Clarkston did its best to work the clock in the second half with its run game, and not make the big mistake.
Clarkston gained 117 yards, 84 on the ground. Its main ball carrier was junior Jacob Billette, who was in the lineup because Clarkston’s best running back, senior Josh Cantu, suffered a knee injury in the Semifinal and was unavailable. Billette rushed for 69 yards on 14 carries.
“We needed someone to run up the middle,” Richardson said. “Billette is a wrestler. He’s a tough kid. He was the answer.”
West Bloomfield had none for Clarkston’s defense. Veasley came in with nearly 3,300 yards and 24 touchdowns passing. On Saturday, he was 15 of 32 for 214 yards and two interceptions, and he was sacked twice.
“We didn’t make enough plays that needed to be made,” Veasley said. “Every time we made a big play, we had a penalty.”
Clarkston blanketed West Bloomfield’s receivers; all are expected to play at a major university. Michael Fluegel, who doubles as a running back and defensive back for Clarkston, said it was a challenge to go against such a talented group.
“All their receivers are really good,” he said. “You just have to make plays. You have to stay with them.”
For Richardson, this was the unlikeliest of titles. His other title teams had some of the state’s top players, like quarterback D.J. Zezula (Wayne State), who threw two touchdown passes in the 2013 Final and passed for one touchdown and ran for another in the 2014 championship game.
“This is very special,” Richardson said. “This team doesn’t have 5-star kids. We don’t have 4-star kids. We’re unselfish. The kids played with a chip on their shoulder. Nobody picked us to win today.”
The MHSAA Playoffs are sponsored by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clarkston senior Michael Fluegel (30) wraps up West Bloomfield’s Collin Heard during the Division 1 Final. (Middle) Lakers receiver AJ Abbott stretches for a grab over a defender.
Decision Adds to Anticipation As Cass Tech's Thompson Begins Senior Year
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 18, 2022
DETROIT – Monday will mark both an end and the beginning for Detroit Cass Tech senior Jalen Thompson.
On one hand, it will mark an end to everyone in the recruiting world wondering which college football program he’ll initially give a commitment, as he had targeted Monday as the decision date to pledge his services to one of the more than 30 Division I college programs who have offered him a scholarship.
But it also will be the beginning, because make no mistake about it: College coaches who lose out on Monday aren’t going to give up trying to woo the ultra-talented Thompson until national signing day in December.
It’s no wonder, because Thompson is one of the premier defensive line recruits in the Midwest.
Last season, Thompson finished with 10 sacks, 42 tackles and 14 tackles for loss despite being the constant focus of attention for blocking schemes of opposing offenses.
He has narrowed his college contenders down to, in alphabetical order, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Pittsburgh, and chose Aug. 22 as the commitment date for two reasons.
One, it’s the first day of game week for Cass Tech’s season opener Aug. 26 at Southfield Arts & Technology.
Second, it’s the birthday of his late grandfather, and Thompson figured it was a good way to honor him.
“It was a day I felt comfortable with (committing,)” he said.
So Thompson will make one college program very happy Monday, then start preparing to make life miserable for opposing offenses during his senior season.
Of course, the big game that many have circled is Cass Tech’s annual tussle against Detroit Public School League rival Detroit Martin Luther King, which will take place on Sept. 16 at Cass Tech.
Many will turn out to see how much Thompson can pressure Martin Luther King quarterback and Oregon-pledge Dante Moore.
“Every time we go against them, my thing is to show them he’s not who they think he is and for him to get off the least amount of balls as possible,” Thompson said.
By no means is Thompson a late bloomer in football, given he has been playing in youth leagues since he was in elementary school.
However, he did not play for Cass Tech when he was a freshman because he decided to play youth football instead.
But after coming out for the varsity team his sophomore year, it certainly didn’t take long for Thompson to show he was special.
Cass Tech then-head coach Thomas Wilcher kept telling Thompson that his time was coming, and then proceeded to ask Thompson one question.
“Are you ready to blow up?” Thompson said Wilcher asked him.
Thompson sure did, and by the time his junior year was over, college coaches were salivating over his abilities.
This past offseason was spent touring some of the prominent programs in the country, including Ohio State, which offered him a scholarship in June after Thompson appeared at a camp there.
Going into his senior year, Thompson said polishing up mental aspects of the game is what he wants to focus on the most as he tries to lead Cass Tech to the Division 1 title.
“Really just fixing as many mental errors that I can and try and prepare for college as best of my ability,” he said. “Just fixing little things like techniques and definitely getting bigger. But mental things are most important right now.”
Cass Tech head coach Marvin Rushing, who is in his second year, said Thompson’s enhanced role as a leader will be vital this fall.
“He’s going to help lead our younger guys, which will be beneficial to us,” Rushing said. “We’re going to be a heavy mix of seniors and younger guys. That’s been pivotal. He’s been leading by example, working hard in the classroom and off of the field.”
It’s actually Thompson’s prowess in the classroom as a 3.8 student that has impressed Rushing more, especially while traveling the recruiting trail.
“It’s the way he carries himself off of the field,” Rushing said. “He is studying engineering here and plans on studying engineering in college. He’s a very accomplished student. The thing that stood out to me most in the offseason is that we had coaches come in here and he was really interested in what the Ivy League schools had to say.”
It should be a fun fall for everyone both and on and off the field to watch Thompson, who is ready to tell the world where he plans to play football and attend college Monday.
But he’s simply too talented for his recruiting to completely stop until December.
“Coaches now are texting me,” he said.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020.
PHOTO Detroit Cass Tech’s Jalen Thompson is expected to again rank among the state’s top defenders this season. (Photo courtesy of Jalen Thompson.)