Memorable Wakefield Run Won't Be Forgotten
October 2, 2019
By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half
When it comes to football, Russ Maki wears his heart on his sleeve. A 1971 graduate of Wakefield High School, he’s on a mission.
As a 7-year-old, he fell in love with the sport and, in particular, with a team.
“My Dad brought me to every (Wakefield) game,” he recalled. “We lived four blocks from the football field, and I watched every morning and afternoon practice.”
Maki’s memories are of the 1960 Cardinals, and he’s on a quest to honor the team.
Football began in 1920 at Wakefield. Interrupted briefly for a national crisis, it returned to the gridiron stronger than ever – but then, until recently, disappeared from the landscape of this Upper Peninsula town. Like in other cities across the nation, shrinking enrollments have impacted the sport.
“(That 1960) team just kicked everybody's butt,” added Maki. “The players on this team were my heroes then and still are to this day. Hardly anybody in town knows they were State Champs.”
Football state championships in Michigan are decided on the playing field via a tournament these days. But that wasn’t the case when Maki was a kid.
Hence, his challenge. He would like the school district to honor the team with recognition such as a pennant to hang in the gym. So he needs proof.
Big Iron
The City of Wakefield proudly notes that it is located in the heart of Big Snow country. Indeed, nearby are three of the finest ski hills in the Midwest. Located in the center of town is Sunday Lake. Porcupine Mountains State Park and Lake Superior are a little north. It is beautiful country.
But it wasn’t snow, scenic waterways or quality of life that initially attracted folks to the Gogebic Range area of Michigan. Rather, it was the discovery of iron ore in 1881. The find inspired a mad rush to capitalize, and that led to the founding of the village of Wakefield in 1887. The city was incorporated in 1919.
Hop on highway US-2, head west, and around 10 minutes later, you’ll be in Wisconsin. Stay on US-2, jog a bit to the north, and in two hours you’ll find yourself in Duluth, Minnesota. A trip from Wakefield to Fargo, ND, is six and a half hours. For comparison, a visit to Detroit, with traffic cooperating, would require a commitment of at least nine hours.
So it’s completely understandable that, from the beginning, Hurley High School – located a mere 13 miles away in the Badger State – became a rival.
“The Wakefield high school football team will meet Hurley on the local grounds Saturday afternoon,” announced the Ironwood Daily Globe on October 20, 1920. According to Coach (Fred) Hackett, who has charge of the team, the boys are light and newly organized and have only a fair chance of winning the game with Hurley.”
Indeed, it was a mismatch, with Hurley trouncing the “green but willing youngsters” from Wakefield, 46-6.
“In the two weeks that the Wakefield team has been out in uniform, Coach Hackett had little time to even drill some of the youngsters in ordinary tactics of the game, much less develop a strong team.”
The schools met again in 1921 with similar result, but continued to play each other sporadically in the coming years. A field goal by Pat O’Brien with eight seconds left to play in the 1929 contest gave Wakefield a 23-20 victory over its natural rival, sealing the school’s first ever unbeaten (but once tied) season.
“A local grocery store offered a free ham to each player on the team if they beat Hurley in that season-ending game,” said Maki, laughing. “Can you imagine that?”
They became league rivals when both teams, along with Bessemer and Ironwood from Michigan and Ashland from Wisconsin, became charter members of the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference in 1937.
Hopes for a different moniker, “for brevity’s sake,” were tossed around by the press at the time. The ‘Big Five’ was pitched by the Iron Mountain News. The Ironwood Daily Globe suggested ‘Michwico’, a juxtaposition of the words Michigan, Wisconsin and Conference. Another thought was the ‘WHABI’, a combination or first letters from each member town.
Instead, as time wore on, the league simply became known as the “M-W.”
Alumnus comes home
Wakefield discontinued football for two years – some say three – due to World War II. The team returned in the fall of 1945. Ansel Anderson, a graduate of league rival Ashland and Stout Institute in Menomonie, Wis. – where he took part in basketball, track and captained the football team – guided the athletic squads at Wakefield for two seasons.
In 1947, the school hired one of its own.
Roman Charles Yatchak had starred in both football and basketball at Wakefield, earning all-U.P. honors in the early 1930s, then lettered in football, basketball and baseball at Iowa State Teachers College. He coached prep ball in Iowa, then at Highland Park in metro Detroit before returning to Wakefield. A year earlier, the Cardinals became members of the newly formed Western Upper Peninsula Football Conference, comprised of Class ‘C’ schools from Houghton, Hancock, L’Anse, Ontonagon, Lake Linden and Crystal Falls. The 1947 season would be the first during which each member played one game against all the other members.
“The squad has responded magnificently to his tutoring,” wrote the News near the end of Yatchak’s first gridiron season at the helm. Wakefield had posted a 5-2 mark heading into the season-ending contest with Bessemer, now a nonleague game. The Cardinals had faced the Speedboys on 17 occasions with minimal luck, winning only four contests since 1924 when the teams first met.
Bessemer again came out on top, 13-0. Still, the season featured a third-place finish in conference play and was deemed a success. Ten juniors were expected back for the 1948 season.
The Cardinals, under Yatchak and assistant Vern Carr, won the Western Upper Peninsula Conference title in the fall of 1948 and posted a 7-1 mark overall. The loss was 6-0 to Ironwood, an old M-W conference rival, in the season opener and was played on the road. At season’s end, eight Cardinals earned all-conference honors, with center Ed Kuivinen receiving first-team all-U.P. accolades and Bob Novack appearing on the second team honor roll.
It was Wakefield’s best mark since 1929. Yatchak’s squad finished the 1949 season with another league title and a 7-1 mark. Again, the loss was to Ironwood.
Good times
After a nine-year absence, in 1951 Wakefield and Hurley renewed their cross-border rivalry. It would continue uninterrupted until 1993.
The game was played beneath the lights at the new home of the Hurley Midgets before a crowd of 2,000.
“The Cards opened the season with a thriller but a heart-breaker,” wrote the sports editor of the school’s yearbook, The Echo.
Both teams opened scoring in the first quarter. Trailing 7-6, Wakefield grabbed a single point advantage with a safety secured late in the third by downing a Hurley back behind his own goal line. The 8-7 lead held until late in the fourth, when Hurley halfback Louis Grandelis “tossed a perfect pass to end Tony Cornolo,” who rumbled to the Wakefield 6-yard line. The play covered 51 yards. Fullback Bob Johnson plowed over his left tackle on the ensuing play for the touchdown with just over a minute to play. Johnson then “drove through center to tally the extra point” and a 14-8 victory.
The Cardinals romped over the Midgets 27-0 in 1952 on their way to their first 8-0 season. There were only three undefeated U.P. teams that year, and the Floyd Barber Trophy – symbolic of gridiron supremacy above the straits – was awarded by the U.P. Sportswriters Association to Menominee, which finished 7-0 and had won its last 15 games.
Wakefield fell to Hurley, 14-0, in 1953 and 38-14 in 1954. A 32-13 victory by the Cards in 1955 cemented the annual battle as a highlight of the schedule.
Attendance issues and stellar success
“Wakefield football teams seem to be a drawing card in every football stadium except their own,” wrote the Wakefield News in mid-September 1954. “The local populace has never really supported football as other range towns have. … This fact is surprising, especially since local teams have been extremely successful.”
In an attempt to improve local support, in 1957, Hurley and Wakefield again became conference rivals when the Cards returned to the Michigan-Wisconsin league from the Western Upper Peninsula Football Conference.
“The recommendation of the change of conferences was made by Coach Roman Yatchak to draw a larger attendance at football games,” stated the Globe. Contests with foes from the Western U.P. Conference, all 50 to 110 miles in distance from Wakefield, simply didn’t capture the attention of local fans. With the change, league contests would be no more than 50 miles away – the longest when they needed to travel to Ashland.
The Cardinals finished 3-1 in the M-W Conference in 1957 and 6-2 overall that first year. In the fall of 1958, Wakefield ran the table, ending the year with the M-W crown and a flawless 8-0 record on the season, the best in school history. Wakefield outscored its opponents 234-26.
Yatchak’s team had included 13 returning lettermen including four regulars. Dick Koski, winner of 12 varsity letters at Wakefield, was much of the reason for the success. At season’s end, he was named to the Detroit Free Press’ Class C all-state team backfield. He netted 943 yards from scrimmage and finished as the third-highest scorer in the U.P. with 106 points. Teammate Jerry Bugni earned honorable mention recognition.
(Koski would go on to star at Northern Michigan College, then coach high school ball, guiding Ontonagon for three seasons and then Negaunee for 31 more. He retired following the 1999 season with a 211-113-1 record).
Despite the perfect mark, Wakefield finished the season ranked No. 7 in Class C-D by United Press International in its 1958 season-ending prep ratings. Charlevoix was the leading vote getter in the classification according to UPI’s panel of 21 top high school coaches. The Barber Trophy again went to Menominee. Wakefield, which finished second in the voting, was one of five undefeated U.P. teams that year.
A loss in the final 60 seconds of play, again to Ironwood, was the single flaw on the Cardinals’ 1959 slate. The team ended the year ranked 10th in the final UPI Class C-D rankings.
State Champs
Maki’s favorite, the 1960 squad, included 12 seniors. Ontonagon, winner of one game in 1959, dropped from the schedule, leaving Wakefield with only seven games as the season opened. About a dozen schools in Michigan and Wisconsin had been contacted in an effort to secure an opponent for the early October date. Despite Yatchak’s best efforts, he couldn’t find a replacement.
A Friday night blockbuster kicked off the season. At Longyear Field in Ironwood, a crowd of 3,000 lined the grounds on a warm, humid night for the rematch between the ’59 Michigan-Wisconsin Conference co-champs. Tied at 7-7 at the end of the first quarter, Wakefield opened a 21-7 lead as the teams headed to the locker room for halftime. Ironwood took the opening kick of the second half 11 yards to its 28, and then mounted a 10-play, 72-yard drive for a touchdown. A low kick kept the margin at eight. 21-13.
“Shortly after that the Red Devils were unable to capitalize on two golden opportunities to score following the recovery of Wakefield fumbles,” stated the Globe in its coverage the following day.
Ironwood snagged the first bobble on the Cardinals’ 32-yard line, but Wakefield held firm, allowing only seven yards on four plays: “Ironwood lost a certain touchdown when an end dropped a pass just a few steps from the goal line.”
The Red Devils grabbed the second fumble at the Wakefield 13, but the Cardinals’ unrelenting defense drove Ironwood back to the 17-yard line. An attempted field goal on fourth down sailed beneath the crossbar. From there, “neither team made a serious threat.”
For Wakefield, there were really no other major threats for the remainder of the season.
The Cards topped a strong Houghton 11 on a beautiful sunny Saturday by a score of 20-7 before a home crowd of 1,000. Again, an inopportune fumble by the hosts at their own 21 was snuffed out in four downs by the staunch Wakefield defense.
Next came conference victories over Bessemer, 40-0, Ashland, 20-6, and Hurley, 46-6. The win at Hurley was highlighted by a 50-yard interception return by Bob Orlich and an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Dewey Maki that opened the second half. Dave O’Leary, Hurley’s signal caller, picked up a Wakefield fumble and streaked 90 yards for the Midgets’ only points in the contest.
With the wins, the Cardinals secured the M-W championship and jumped from third place to first place in UPI’s weekly ratings, replacing Imlay City as the state’s top team in the Class C-D listings.
Despite continued efforts, no opponent could be found for the open date. When the team returned to action in mid-October, it squared off against Iron River. A 61-yard touchdown run by Tom Miheve on the second play of the game opened the scoring. Bob Erickson’s 31-yard TD dash followed. Then Dewey Maki “streaked 58 yards up the middle” in tallying the Redbirds’ third score. Miheve capped the scoring in the fourth quarter, whizzing 57-yards for his second TD as Wakefield grabbed a 27-0 road win before 2,500 at Nelson Field.
“Roman had the same personality traits as Coach Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. They were clones of one another,” said Russ Maki, describing the coach based on observation and conversations with former players in the years to come. “Yatchak was such a perfectionist. He’d have the players run a play, say an end sweep, over and over, six, seven times, maybe more, until it was perfect.”
The coach yelled and instructed and blew his whistle at afternoon practices audible to residents of the surrounding neighborhood.
“Mothers quickly learned to recognize signs to when practice was wrapping up, and the players were headed for the showers. It was time to cook the roast beef,” added Maki. “Their sons would be home in an hour.”
The season-ending contest with Calumet was a track meet, with the Cardinals steamrolling the Copper Kings 61-7 at Agassiz Field in Calumet on Friday, October 21.
According to the Globe:
“Shifty Tom Miheve registered three markers, Bob Erickson, power-driving fullback added three more, followed by Dewey Maki, Bob Koski and Tom Neznanski each with a TD apiece. Bob Orlich added three extra points and Miheve, Erickson, Bob Smith and Pete Petramek each posted one.”
Still topping the UPI rankings after the game, now all Wakefield could do was wait for the rest of the state to finish the schedule.
On Saturday, November 5, the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters Association gathered in Iron Mountain and awarded the Barber Trophy to Wakefield. The trophy was presented to Coach Yatchak and captain Bob Erickson at a special assembly at the high school on Monday.
The Cardinals had ranked No. 35 in Hal Schram’s Top 50 teams in the state, regardless of size, published in November in the Detroit Free Press. It was an impressive accomplishment for the little U.P. squad, especially when one considered 675 schools in Michigan sported prep football teams.
It would take until after Thanksgiving weekend – more than a month – before the UPI coaches panel would announce its final poll.
Word finally appeared in print in the SHORTS IN SPORTS column in the December 1 edition of the Wakefield News, which was published weekly.
“Congratulations this week go to: Wakefield Cardinal football team for being named top Class ‘C’ team in Michigan by United Press International.”
The city with a population of 3,231 celebrated its first (and only) mythical state football championship.
The annual Fourth of July parade included a red flatbed truck, adorned with an ornamental goal post and a large banner that read “State Class C Champs.” Four players, dressed in their uniforms, stood on the bed, carrying footballs.
Yatchak’s 1961 team extended the win streak to 14 games (and 25 wins in 26 dating back to 1957) with victories in its first two games before falling to Bessemer in a heartbreaker, 13-7. It would be the only loss of Wakefield’s seven-game season.
Following the 1961-62 school year, Yatchak departed Wakefield to help develop the athletic program at newly-opened Lansing Waverly High School. His Cardinals teams had posted 90 wins and two ties over his 15 years in charge, against only 25 losses.
Changing landscape
The coming years saw plenty of regular-season success, but no team would match the accomplishment of the 1960 squad. Mythical state titles, where state championships were determined by press polls and media input, were replaced in 1975 by MHSAA championships decided by postseason play.
“The Sunday Lake mine closed in 1961. They employed 225 guys. It was a big deal,” recalled Maki. Between the mine’s first shipment in 1885 and closing, Sunday Lake had raised an estimated 17 million tons of ore. Between 1960 and 1970, Wakefield’s population plunged by nearly 15 percent to 2,757. “A lot of people left for mining work elsewhere in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Arizona.”
Maki himself made honorable mention all-state in 1970 as a senior when the Cards went 6-2 with losses to Hancock and Hurley.
“Dick Koski had a brother who was the same age as me. He was as good as Dick, maybe better. The Koski family left. There’s no doubt in my mind that we would have won some basketball state titles, maybe another Barber Trophy if they stayed. You just don’t know.”
The Gogebic area did see its fortunes improve, but the reprieve wouldn’t last.
“White Pine, a little town about 35 miles northeast of Wakefield, had a small copper mine. Digging deeper they found new veins of copper. All of sudden, they (needed workers). I remember five charter busses would line up near the football field each morning to take people to work there. That was happening all around the area.”
“Of the more than 3,000 workers at White Pine Copper Mine, less than 1,000 live here,” noted the Ironwood Daily Globe in September 1971. “Many workers commute great distances – some up to 90 miles each day.”
However, uncertainty and layoffs began in 1975 and 1976. Employment dropped in half or more. In 1995, the mine shut down completely.
Wakefield’s 1991 football team was the first to qualify for the MHSAA postseason and won its opening-round contest with Central Lake before falling to Lake Linden-Hubbell in Class DD. The 1998 and 2000 teams also qualified.
Dropping student enrollment was impacting athletic programs at schools across upper and lower Michigan, including at Wakefield. Between 1985 and 2003, enrollment had fallen from 225 to 100. Following the 2003-04 school year, Wakefield consolidated with Marenisco, a district located 15 miles southeast. Still, for a variety of reasons, enrollment continued to drop. In 2009, Wakefield-Marenisco entered a co-op with Bessemer for football, and that fall, the Gogebic Miners were formed. Past rivals became teammates.
The rivalry with Hurley had been resurrected in 2000 and continued through the 2017 season. That school year, Ironwood joined the co-op, supplied the football schedule and its home field for the games.
In 2018, games were played at Bessemer. With enrollment now determined by combined school totals, the Wisconsin schools on the Gogebic schedule were replaced with games against Negaunee, Ishpeming Westwood and Iron Mountain, each with similar-sized enrollments.
The Dick Koski Trophy, a new entry in the state’s collection of rivalry hardware, also was created in 2018. Awarded annually to the winner of the Negaunee-Gogebic game, it celebrates Koski’s connection to Wakefield and Negaunee.
This season, home contests are staged at Ironwood. In 2020, the games are scheduled to move to Wakefield.
Celebration
Maki hopes a lesson in history may help inspire future kids, so he’s been doing his homework.
“They have banners honoring conference champions,” he said.
If all goes as hoped, a new banner could be unfurled in time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1960 championship.
“I am scheduled to speak at the next Wakefield school board meeting in late October to try to get this team some recognition such as a pennant to hang in the gym,” added Maki, also noting a desire for a public dedication, perhaps during Wakefield’s annual Independence Day celebration. “A lot of people come back to watch the fireworks.”
Now, wouldn’t that be a blast!
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top & 5) The 1960 Wakefield team is celebrated in the school’s yearbook for the 1960-61 school year. (2) An Ironwood Daily Globe advertisement announced a local store would guarantee a ham to every Wakefield player for a win over Hurley in 1929. (3) Roman Yatchak and Vernon Carr led Wakefield to its greatest football glories. (4) Dick Koski starred on the field for Wakefield before becoming a legendary coach. (6) Wakefield earned the Barber Trophy as the Upper Peninsula’s best team of 1960. (7) The Dick Koski Trophy is awarded annually to the winner of the Negaunee/Gogebic football game. (Photos gathered by Ron Pesch.)
1st & Goal: 2025 11-Player Finals Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 26, 2025
Matchups of undefeated contenders will kick off and conclude this weekend’s 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field, with one more unbeaten-vs.-unbeaten matchup in the middle of Sunday among headliners this championship weekend.
With Michigan State playing Maryland on Saturday at Ford Field, the eight MHSAA championship games will be split between Friday and Sunday:
Friday, Nov. 28
Division 8 – Harbor Beach (13-0) vs. Hudson (13-0) – 9:30 a.m.
Division 4 – Dearborn Divine Child (12-1) vs. Hudsonville Unity Christian (12-1) – 12:30 p.m.
Division 6 – Kingsley (11-2) vs. Jackson Lumen Christi (10-3) – 4 p.m.
Division 2 – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (10-2) vs. Dexter (12-1) – 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 30
Division 7 – Schoolcraft (11-2) vs. Menominee (13-0) – 9:30 a.m.
Division 3 – Mount Pleasant (13-0) vs. DeWitt (13-0) – 12:30 p.m.
Division 5 – Grand Rapids West Catholic (12-1) vs. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (11-2) – 4 p.m.
Division 1 – Detroit Cass Tech (13-0) vs. Detroit Catholic Central (13-0) – 7 p.m.
All eight championship games will be streamed live on the NFHS Network and available for listening from the MHSAA Network. Links to purchase tickets and more are available on the Football page.
Below is a glance at all eight matchups. Statistics are through Semifinals unless noted.
Division 1
DETROIT CATHOLIC CENTRAL
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 1
Coach: Justin Cessante, third season (32-4)
League finish: First in Catholic High School League Central
Championship history: 10 MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2009), seven runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 46-6 over No. 8 East Kentwood in Semifinal, 42-13 over No. 5 Clarkston in Regional Final, 29-14 over Division 2 No. 1 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 26-14 over Division 3 No. 5 Detroit Martin Luther King, 27-14 over Toledo Central Catholic.
Players to watch: WR/DB Samson Gash, 6-1/185, sr. (971 yards/14 TDs receiving); QB Duke Banta, 6-4/210, jr. (2,222 yards/27 TDs passing); TE/DL Jack Janda, 6-6/250, sr. (42 tackles/15 tackles for loss/10 sacks); OL/DL Benny Eziuka, 6-3/300, sr.
Outlook: The Shamrocks will return to the Finals for the first time since 2016 and after reaching the Semifinals last season. They’ve won 25 of their last 26 games – that Semifinal loss to Cass Tech the only defeat during that time – and this season have not allowed an opponent to get closer than 12 points. Gash is committed to Michigan State and made the Division 1-2 all-state first team last season, and senior Cedric Williams (1,146 yards/12 TDs rushing) helps provide balance on offense. Janda and Eziuka are part of a dominating defensive front for a group allowing only nine points per game. Eziuka is committed to Penn State and Janda has several high-major Division I scholarship offers.
DETROIT CASS TECH
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 2
Coach: Marvin Rushing, fourth season (37-9)
League finish: First in Detroit Public School League Blue
Championship history: Four MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2024), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 42-28 over No. 6 Saline in Regional Final, 35-19 and 27-22 over Division 3 No. 5 Detroit Martin Luther King, 28-27 over Toledo Central Catholic.
Players to watch: SE/DB Corey Sadler Jr., 5-11/186 sr. (1,406 yards/19 TDs receiving); LB Marcus Jennings, 6-3/209, sr.; QB Donald Tabron II, 6-4/192, soph. (2,394 yards/30 TDs passing); OL Khalief Canty Jr., 6-5/298, sr. (Statistics through Regional Finals.)
Outlook: Cass Tech is seeking its first repeat Finals championship since winning back-to-back Division 1 titles in 2011 and 2012. The Technicians also have won 23 straight games – including 17-14 over DCC in their Semifinal a year ago. Sadler, committed to North Carolina, and Tabron are the best-known playmakers, but sophomore Julian Taylor showed what he could do in the 48-22 Semifinal win over Rochester Adams, running for 178 yards and five touchdowns to bring his season rushing totals to 845 and 19, respectively. Sadler also has five punt return, two kick return and an interception return for touchdowns this fall. He and Canty both made the Division 1-2 all-state first team last season. Canty has committed to Missouri, and Jennings has committed to Pittsburgh.
Division 2
DEXTER
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 5
Coach: Phil Jacobs, ninth season (65-30)
League finish: Second in Southeastern Conference Red
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 56-42 over No. 6 Gibraltar Carlson in Regional Final, 41-27 over No. 4 South Lyon in District Final, 42-28 over Division 4 No. 6 Chelsea, 50-27 over Brighton.
Players to watch: QB Cooper Arnedt, 5-11/170, sr. (4,308 yards/52 TDs passing); WR Cole Novara, 5-8/155, sr. (2,098 yards/28 TDs receiving); LB Nathan Gersh, 6-2/225, sr.; OL/DL Mateo Kipke, 6-6/240, sr.
Outlook: Arnedt to Novara has become the most successful passing duo in MHSAA history, with Arnedt needing 125 yards and four touchdowns to tie single-season records in those categories and Novara setting state records for yardage, receptions (118) and touchdowns catches. That’s come against a schedule that also included Division 1 No. 6 Saline, the only team to defeat the Dreadnaughts. Jacobs took over a program in 2016 that had lost 32 straight games, and after going 0-9 his first season turned it into a state power that made the playoffs for the first time in 2018. Junior running back Brady Arbaugh has run for 949 yards and 13 touchdowns to give the offense another dimension, and Iowa State commit Owen Winder (6-7/290) at left tackle is among those leading the way. Gersh made the all-state first team last season, and Novara made the second.
ORCHARD LAKE ST. MARY’S
Record/Rank: 10-2, No. 1
Coach: Jermaine Gonzales, fourth season (29-17)
League finish: Tied for second in CHSL Central
Championship history: Nine MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2024), six runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 42-7 over No. 3 Portage Central in Semifinal, 42-7 over No. 10 Midland Dow in Regional Final, 35-14 over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in District Final, 49-10 over Division 3 No. 7 Warren De La Salle Collegiate, 36-21 over Toledo Central Catholic.
Players to watch: QB Jabin Gonzales, 6-2/202, jr. (1,881 yards/24 TDs passing, 7 TDs rushing); WR/DB Lorenzo Barber, 5-9/176, jr. (643 yards/11 TDs receiving, 6 TDs rushing); DL Ryan Harrington, 6-5/215, sr.; RB/DB Camari Patterson, 5-10/186, sr.
Outlook: St. Mary’s also is seeking to repeat, after most recently doing so with three straight Division 3 titles from 2014-16. The Eaglets’ first loss this season was to DCC, and in the District Final they avenged their second defeat, to Brother Rice. Harrington made the Division 1-2 all-state first team last season and has committed to Wake Forest, and he and Patterson (Western Michigan) are among standouts on a defense that has allowed just 35 points over four playoff wins. Sophomore running back Jamari Givhan (866 yards/6 TDs rushing) adds additional balance to the offense, and 6-foot-3 junior Chad Willis (649 yards/6 TDs receiving) is another valuable target in the passing game.
Division 3
DEWITT
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 1
Coach: Rob Zimmerman, 27th season (275-55)
League finish: First in Capital Area Activities Conference Blue
Championship history: Division 3 champion 2020, six runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 41-20 over No. 7 Warren De La Salle Collegiate in Semifinal, 59-7 over Grand Ledge, 21-3 over Haslett.
Players to watch: QB/DB Traverse Moore, 6-0/195, sr. (2,115 yards/29 TDs rushing, 870 yards/12 TDs passing); WR/DB Jadon Bender, 6-0/182, sr. (307 yards/5 TDs receiving, 24 tackles/7 interceptions); RB Channing Ridley, 6-0/192, soph. (1,098 yards/15 TDs rushing); OL/DL Drew Rumsey, 6-2/285, sr.
Outlook: The Panthers are making their third trip to Ford Field over the last six seasons, having also finished Division 3 runner-up in 2021. With Central Michigan commit Moore leading the way, they’ve piled up points all season at least 50 eight times. DeWitt is defeating its opponents by an average of 40 points per game with only one single-digit margin, and averaging 9.7 yards per play. The defense doesn’t get as much attention but also has held opponents to single digits eight times. Rumsey made the all-state second team last season, and Moore and Bender earned honorable mentions. Sophomore Vincent Rose is another important offensive threat; he’s made 86 of 88 extra-point attempts and five field goals with a long of 40 yards.
MOUNT PLEASANT
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 2
Coach: Jason McIntyre, 20th season (168-52)
League finish: First in Saginaw Valley League North
Championship history: Division 3 runner-up 2011.
Best wins: 28-14 over No. 8 East Grand Rapids in Regional Final, 42-0 over No. 9 Gaylord in District Final, 63-39 over Division 2 No. 10 Midland Dow, 28-13 over Traverse City Central.
Players to watch: QB/DB Xavier Creguer, 6-0 jr. (1,548 yards/20 TDs passing, 927 yards/8 TDs rushing); FB/LB Grahm Phillips, 5-10 sr. (452 yards/9 TDs rushing); WR/LB Jack Mozurkewich, 6-2 sr. (272 yards/7 TDs receiving); OL/DL Kaed Wheeler, 6-3 jr. (Statistics through Regional Finals.)
Outlook: Mount Pleasant has cleared all of its opponents by at least 10 points this fall and made a nice jump after falling in District Finals the last four seasons. The Oilers handed Dow its only loss of the regular season and Gaylord its lone defeat all fall. Mozurkewich caught two more touchdown passes in the Semifinal win, and senior receivers Riley Olson (445 yards/4 TDs receiving) and Isaiah Rodriguez (395/5) have been two more reliable targets for top playmaker Creguer. Lowell in the Oilers’ 41-21 Semifinal win was the first opponent since Dow in Week 3 to score more than 17 points on the Mount Pleasant defense. Total, the team has 23 seniors, with seven starting on offense and five on defense.
Division 4
HUDSONVILLE UNITY CHRISTIAN
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 4
Coach: Craig Tibbe, 23rd season (144-95)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Gold
Championship history: Division 5 champion 2018, Division 4 runner-up 2021.
Best wins: 52-14 over No. 10 Big Rapids in Regional Final, 14-6 over Zeeland West, 40-19 over Division 7 No. 7 Schoolcraft.
Players to watch: QB/DB Justin Febus, 5-9/155, sr. (979 yards/16 TDs rushing, 1,014 yards/18 TDs passing); RB/LB Lucas Elliott, 6-3/190, sr. (698 yards/6 TDs); RB/LB Jared DeVries, 5-11/200, sr. (622 yards/7 TDs); OL/DL Levi Offringa, 6-0/246, sr. (Statistics through Regional Finals.)
Outlook: Unity Christian is a combined 22-2 over the last two seasons, its only loss a year ago in a District Final and the only defeat this fall in Week 9 to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, which will play this weekend seeking to repeat as the Division 5 champ. The Crusaders have won all of their playoff games by double digits relying again on a crushing T-offense rushing attack that is averaging 331 yards on the ground per game. Unity Christian also has capitalized on nearly two turnovers per game and has more interceptions this season than passing touchdowns allowed (12 to 11).
DEARBORN DIVINE CHILD
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 7
Coach: Chris Laney, fourth season (34-13)
League finish: Tied for first in CHSL AA
Championship history: Two MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 1985), one runner-up finish.
Best wins: 10-7 over No. 2 Goodrich in Semifinal, 10-6 over No. 1 Harper Woods in Regional Final, 17-13 over Division 6 No. 2 Jackson Lumen Christi.
Players to watch: RB/S Marcello Vitti, 6-0/190 sr.; WR/S Giancarlo Vitti, 5-10/165, jr.; QB Drew Sheridan, 6-1/170, soph.; WR/CB Antonio Solares-Vitti, 6-3/185, sr. (No statistics submitted.)
Outlook: Divine Child will play for a Finals championship for the first time since 1985 after defeating a pair of undefeated contenders (Harper Woods and Goodrich) the last two weeks and losing only to Toledo St. Francis de Sales, by seven points in Week 7. The defense has been tough to beat all season – giving up 6.9 points per game – but really moved to the forefront with those most recent playoff wins. Offensively, Divine Child is dangerous on the ground and through the air, with nearly identical yardage and touchdowns attacking both ways. Marcello Vitti will play next for Iowa, and Solares-Vitti is committed to Eastern Michigan.
Division 5
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME PREP
Record/Rank: 11-2, No. 4
Coach: Pat Fox, 12th season (89-36)
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Championship history: Division 5 champion 2024.
Best wins: 51-21 over No. 9 Monroe Jefferson in Semifinal, 42-28 over No. 3 Frankenmuth in Regional Final, 34-25 over Division 4 No. 4 Hudsonville Unity Christian, 21-12 over Division 6 No. 6 Marine City, 63-38 over Division 6 No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis.
Players to watch: RB/CB Ben Liparato, 5-9/160, sr. (924 yards/12 TDs rushing); WR/CB Drake Roa, 6-3/190, sr. (950 yards/17 TDs receiving); QB/LB Sam Stowe, 6-5/205, sr. (2,498 yards/38 TDs passing); WR/LB Brody Sink, 6-4/200, sr. (784 yards/13 TDs receiving). (Statistics through Regional Finals.)
Outlook: After winning its first championship a year ago, Notre Dame Prep will attempt to repeat with a pair of the same standouts leading the way. Stowe at quarterback and Sink at linebacker both made the all-state first team last season and are pacing units that have been outstanding again, with the offense topping 500 points for the second-straight season and the defense posting two shutouts to start the playoffs and slowing Frankenmuth and Jefferson the last two weeks. Among additional two-way standouts, senior running back Anthony Tartaglia had 710 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing through the Regional Final and also starts at linebacker. Sink will play next at Miami (Ohio).
GRAND RAPIDS WEST CATHOLIC
Record/Rank: 12-1, No. 2
Coach: Landon Grove, fourth season (43-7)
League finish: First in O-K White
Championship history: Seven MHSAA titles (most recent 2022), two runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 34-24 over No. 7 Ogemaw Heights in Semifinal, 21-20 (OT) over No. 1 Grand Rapids Catholic Central in District Final, 28-16 over Zeeland West.
Players to watch: QB Grady Augustyn, 6-1/190, sr. (2,154 yards/20 TDs passing); RB/DB Connor Olszewski, 5-11/195, sr. (1,129 yards/12 TDs rushing); TE/LB Jael Djouguem, 5-10/170, jr.; OL/DL Jacob Timmer, 6-7/275, sr.
Outlook: West Catholic is back in a Division 5 Final for the first time since claiming five straight from 2013-17 and after winning in Division 6 in 2022. A key was getting past rival Grand Rapids Catholic Central, which had ended West Catholic’s last two seasons with playoff losses. Timmer, who will play next at Central Michigan, made the Division 5-6 all-state first team last season and leads a blocking unit that’s also cleared the way for junior Collin Abram (1,182 yards/16 TDs rushing). Senior kicker Landon Smith also is a returning all-state first-teamer and has connected on 49 of 53 extra-point attempts and eight field goals.
Division 6
JACKSON LUMEN CHRISTI
Record/Rank: 10-3, No. 2
Coach: Herb Brogan, 46th season (431-96)
League finish: Tied for first in CHSL AA
Championship history: 14 MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2024), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 25-19 (3OT) over No. 1 Almont in Semifinal, 27-12 over No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis, 41-6 over Division 4 No. 7 Dearborn Divine Child, 54-34 over Division 5 No. 4 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Players to watch: QB Benny Gaston, 6-0/185, jr. (1,594 yards/12 TDs passing); RB/LB Paul Sattler, 6-1/190, sr. (1,250 yards/14 TDs rushing); FB/LB Sean Walicki, 6-0/205, sr. (629 yards/9 TDs rushing); TE/DE Isaac Maki, 6-3/185, sr.
Outlook: Lumen Christi is playing for a fourth-straight Finals championship and second-straight in Division 6 after winning in 2021 and 2022 in Division 7. Brogan is the second-winningest coach in MHSAA football history, tying and then moving past Brother Rice legend Al Fracassa (430 wins) over the last two weeks. Two of Lumen’s losses this season came to teams playing for championships this weekend – Notre Dame Prep and Lombard Montini Catholic from Illinois – and the third defeat came to Grand Rapids Catholic Central during a 2-3 start to the season. Lumen hasn’t given up more than 19 points in a game since that Week 3 loss to the Cougars.
KINGSLEY
Record/Rank: 11-2, No. 5
Co-Coaches: Tim Wooer, 17th season (145-44); Jason Morrow, second season (18-5)
League finish: Second in Northern Michigan Football Conference Legends
Championship history: Two MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2023)
Best wins: 14-0 over No. 4 Kent City in Semifinal, 18-14 (Regional Final) and 24-6 over No. 9 Reed City, 57-6 over No. 8 Traverse City St. Francis in District Final, 44-18 over Division 7 No. 4 Charlevoix.
Players to watch: TE/LB Colton Goethals, 6-1/195, sr. (420 yards/8 TDs receiving); QB/LB Tucker Dreves, 6-1/175, sr. (1,046 yards/13 TDs passing); FB/OL/DL Isaiah Cosgrove, 5-9/190, sr. (739 yards/6 TDs rushing); FB/DB Gavin Lewis, 5-9/160, sr. (1,023 yards/14 TDs). (Statistics through Regional Final.)
Outlook: Kingsley has navigated one of the toughest playoff roads in any division, and the Charlevoix win closed the regular season. The St. Francis victory in the District Final avenged a one-point loss to the Gladiators in Week 5, and the Stags’ only other loss came to Division 3 Gaylord, which finished 10-1 this fall. Goethals made the Division 5-6 all-state second team last season and keys a defense that hasn’t given up more than 21 points in a game and has allowed 34 total over four playoff wins. Cosgrove has been the team’s second-leading rusher, but is starting at right guard along with his spot at defensive end.
Division 7
MENOMINEE
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 1
Coach: Chad Brandt, fourth season (40-10)
League finish: First in Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper
Championship history: Three MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2007), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 32-28 over No. 3 Pewamo-Westphalia in Semifinal, 49-6 over No. 9 McBain in District Final, 49-14 over Kingsford.
Players to watch: QB/DB Tanner Theuerkauf, 6-3/185, sr. (1,379 yards/22 TDs passing); RB/DB Dawson Bardowski, 5-9/165, sr. (516 yards/6 TDs receiving); RB/DL Clayton Miller, 5-11/190, sr. (1,132 yards/22 TDs rushing); OL/DL Ryan Marzian, 6-0/240, sr. (Statistics through Regional Final.)
Outlook: Menominee is making its second trip to Ford Field over three seasons, most recently finishing Division 7 runner-up in 2023, and after an impressive comeback win over P-W in the Semifinal. The Pirates were the only team this season to score more than 17 points on the Maroons, and Menominee’s 32 points were the most P-W gave up this fall. Once known for its run-heavy single-wing offense, Menominee attacks with plenty of balance and spreads it around on the passing side with three receivers catching at least four touchdowns this fall. Senior nose guard Blake Paasch and Theuerkauf were among the team’s leading tacklers in its 34-30 loss to Lumen Christi in the 2023 Final.
SCHOOLCRAFT
Record/Rank: 11-2, No. 7
Coach: Dan DeVries, first season (11-2)
League finish: First in Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley
Championship history: Three MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2001), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 43-14 over No. 5 Clinton in Semifinal, 22-14 over Hanover-Horton in Regional Final, 26-0 (District Final) and 18-14 over Lawton.
Players to watch: RB/DB T.J. Luteyn, 5-11/180, sr. (681 yards/8 TDs rushing); WR/DB Drew Enright, 6-1/185, sr. (858 yards/13 TDs receiving); QB/P Jack DeVries, 6-2/180, jr. (2,290 yards/30 TDs passing); OL/DL Brody Epple, 6-3/200, sr.
Outlook: Schoolcraft is making its first Finals trip since that most recent championship season, and doing so under first-year coach Dan DeVries, who was promoted after four seasons coaching the junior varsity and played on the 1994 team that finished Class C runner-up. The Eagles’ only losses were early to Hudsonville Unity Christian – playing in the Division 4 Final – and in the regular-season finale to Division 5 Kalamazoo United. Schoolcraft has nearly identical yardage and touchdown totals rushing and passing, with several contributors to both parts of the attack.
Division 8
HUDSON
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 1
Coach: Dan Rogers, sixth season (58-11)
League finish: First in Lenawee County Athletic Association
Championship history: Two MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2021), three runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 67-14 over No. 5 Allen Park Cabrini in Semifinal, 68-22 over No. 6 Springport in Regional Final, 44-8 over No. 8 Fowler, 38-0 over Berrien Springs, 32-16 over Division 7 No. 5 Clinton.
Players to watch: RB/DB Beckett Campbell, 5-7/160, soph. (2,345 yards/37 TDs rushing); RB/DB Grayson Bills, 5-9/165, sr. (1,790 yards/25 TDs rushing, 4 TDs receiving); QB/DB Colt Perry, 5-7/155, sr. (637 yards/9 TDs passing, 4 TDs rushing); OT/DE Koen Hinzman, 6-7/285, jr.
Outlook: Save for an 8-3 win over Division 6 Ida in Week 2, Hudson has dominated this season from start to near-finish, defeating its opponents by an average of 41 points. Bills made the all-state first team as a running back last season and is joined by Campbell; they combined for most of the team’s 450-plus rushing yards in the Semifinal win. As a team, the Tigers have run for nearly 5,300 yards this fall, which would rank third all-time heading into this weekend. Seniors Malachi Marshall (6-4/245) and Colton Natale (6-0/255) also start on both the offensive and defensive lines, and senior flanker Devon Brigman has nearly 500 yards and eight touchdowns rushing to augment Campbell and Bills’ efforts.
HARBOR BEACH
Record/Rank: 13-0, No. 3
Coach: Troy Schelke, 29th season (220-90)
League finish: First in Big Thumb Conference Black
Championship history: Division 8 champion 2012, Class C runner-up 1991.
Best wins: 40-0 over Bark River-Harris in Semifinal, 26-15 over No. 2 Beal City in Regional Final, 41-7 over Division 7 No. 10 Millington, 43-14 over Division 7 No. 8 Ottawa Lake Whiteford.
Players to watch: QB/LB Caden Bucholtz, 6-1/225, sr. (960 yards/21 TDs rushing, 753 yards/10 TDs passing); RB/S Benson Harper, 6-0/180, sr. (308 yards/3 TDs rushing, 178 yards/3 TDs receiving); C/DE Peyton Roggenbuck, 6-3/220, sr.; OT/DT Noah Mellendorf, 6-3/245, sr.
Outlook: Harbor Beach has seemed on the verge of this moment with two straight perfect regular seasons and with its only 2023 losses during the regular season and playoffs to eventual Division 8 champion Ubly. The closest an opponent has gotten to the Pirates this season was 11 points, and they’ve won their playoff games by an average of nearly 38. Harper made the Division 7-8 all-state first team last season, and Bucholtz earned an honorable mention. While Bucholtz directs the offense, Harbor Beach has several contributors including as well senior fullback Rogan Messing (697 yads/10 TDs rushing), senior running back Keagun Potestivo (495 yards/11 TDs rushing) and 6-5 senior tight end Skiler Kruse (293 yards/5 TDs receiving).
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