Moment: Eaglets Clinch on Late TD Catch

September 24, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

More than three months had passed since the last time Ky’ren Cunningham had lined up as a receiver for Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. 

But with one last desperate chance to win the Division 3 championship on the line during the 2016 Final, the Eaglets’ running back moved back into unfamiliar territory. 

Cunningham even switched spots in the alignment with teammate Clay Antishin, moving outside as St. Mary’s lined up from the Muskegon 18-yard line trailing 28-23 with 10 seconds to play. 

But Cunningham was in the right spot all along. 

Six seconds later he split a pair of defenders in the Ford Field end zone and hauled in Caden Prieskorn’s pass to give the Eaglets a 29-28 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“I play running back,” said Cunningham, a junior at the time. “It was one-on-one and the safety didn’t come over the top. Caden just threw it. He just made the read.

“My body felt so weak (when I caught it). I don’t remember much.”

Longtime Detroit sportswriter Tom Markowski described the play’s setup this way in his report for Second Half:

Make no mistake. This was desperation, and it was a makeshift play. Cunningham is a starting running back. The last time he lined up as a receiver was in the first game this season against Macomb Dakota. Coach George Porritt ditched that plan afterward. Cunningham would stay in the backfield.

“It was a pistol right,” Prieskorn said after the game. “All we knew was we were going to have man-on-man coverage.”

 St. Mary’s had entered the playoffs 5-4, running its record to 10-4 with the victory. The championship finished a string of three straight Division 3 titles for the Eaglets.



PHOTO:
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Ky’ren Cunningham rolls up with the ball tucked after scoring the game-winning touchdown in his team’s 2016 Division 3 championship victory over Muskegon. 

Flashback 100: Multi-Sport Star Look Becomes Super Bowl Officiating Legend

February 6, 2025

In 1960, Dean Look was drafted by both the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball and the Denver Broncos of the American Football League. For those familiar with Look’s athletic career at Lansing Everett and Michigan State University, his professional prospects in multiple sports came as no surprise.

A standout in football, baseball, and track, Look instead would make his most memorable pro sports mark as one of the NFL’s top officials.

At Everett during the mid-1950s, Look played a key role in leading his school to two state track & field championships (1954 and 1956) under legendary coach Archie Ross. Look also captured three individual state titles two as part of 880-meter relay teams (1954 and 1956) and one in the pole vault (1956). In addition to his track achievements, Look was a star performer for Everett’s football and baseball teams.

After high school, Look continued his multi-sport career at Michigan State, excelling in both football and baseball. He finished sixth in the 1959 Heisman Trophy voting and was a key contributor to MSU’s shared football national championship in 1957.

Following college, Look signed with the White Sox, turning down an opportunity with the Broncos. After a brief stint in professional baseball, he returned to football, playing for the AFL’s New York Titans in 1962.

However, it was as an NFL official that Look truly left his legacy. Over a 29-year officiating career (1972–2001), he was assigned to three Super Bowls – Super Bowl XIII (1979), Super Bowl XV (1981) and Super Bowl XXVII (1993). One of his most iconic moments came during the 1981 NFC Championship Game, where he signaled "touchdown" after Joe Montana's legendary pass to Dwight Clark – forever known as “The Catch.”

Listen to Look discuss that historic play here: Watch on YouTube.

Athletic talent ran in the family, as Dean’s brother Bruce Look also played professional baseball, spending time with the Minnesota Twins.

Michigan has produced several notable Super Bowl officials, including brothers Carl, Dino, and Perry Paganelli from Wyoming Rogers High School. Carl officiated in Super Bowls XXXIX, XLI, XLVI, and XLVIII. In Super Bowl XLI, he and Perry made history as the first brothers to work on the same Super Bowl officiating crew. Perry also officiated Super Bowl LII, while Dino has been part of three Super Bowls – XLVII, LV, and LVII. Remarkably, at least one Paganelli has officiated in eight of the 59 Super Bowls.

This year’s Super Bowl referee is Ron Torbert, a fellow Michigan State graduate who has been an NFL official since 2010. Like Look and the Paganellis, Torbert also got his start officiating Michigan high school football.

For more information on becoming an MHSAA official, visit the MHSAA Officials page.

Previous "Flashback 100" Features

Jan. 31: Johnson Family Put Magical Stamp on Michigan High School Hoops - Read
Jan. 24: Future Hall of Famers Face Off First in MHSAA Class A Final - Read
Jan. 17: First-Ever WNBA Draft Pick Rocked at Salem, Won Titles at Tennessee - Read
Jan. 10: Despite Launching Before 3-Point Line, Smith Still Tops Scoring List - Read
Jan. 3: Edison's Jackson Earns Place Among State's All-Time Elite - Read
Dec. 20: Future Olympian Piper Leads Grosse Pointe North to Historic Heights - Read
Dec. 13: 
The Other Mr. Forsythe in Michigan School Sports - Read
Dec. 6: 
Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat - Read
Nov. 29: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: 
Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: 
Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: 
James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: 
Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read 

(Photos courtesy of Referee Magazine.)