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.
Performance of the Week: DeWitt's Traverse Moore
December 5, 2025
Traverse Moore ♦ DeWitt
Senior ♦ Football
Moore ran 32 times for an MHSAA Finals-record 397 yards and four touchdowns as DeWitt defeated Mount Pleasant 54-20 in the Division 3 championship game Sunday at Ford Field to finish this season 14-0. He put his name in the record book that day seven times total, with his three first-quarter touchdowns tying the all-time high for one quarter and his 461 total yards ranking second on that list.
The Finals performance gave Moore – the team’s quarterback and main ball carrier in its single wing-heavy running attack – a total of 2,512 yards and 33 touchdowns rushing and 734 yards and 13 TDs passing this fall. The rushing yards and touchdowns will be added to single-season record book lists. Moore played on the DeWitt varsity all four years and signed this week to continue at Central Michigan University. He also plays baseball for the Panthers.
@mhsaasports 🏈POW: Traverse Moore #football #Dewitt #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
@mhsaasports 🏈POW: Traverse Moore #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA
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Previous 2025-26 honorees
Nov. 28: Elizabeth Eichbrecht, West Bloomfield swimming - Report
Nov. 20: Brady Kieff, Blanchard Montabella football - Report
Nov. 13: Ella Laupp, Battle Creek Harper Creek swimming - Report
Nov. 7: Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Stephen Gollapalli, Lansing Christian tennis - Report
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
(Headshot courtesy of TCP-Photography.)