Moment: Johnson Follows Purple Wall
October 15, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
Brad Johnson saw the wall and was off to the races.
The star do-everything player for Schoolcraft had already scored one touchdown on the day in the 1988 Class D Football Final against Frankfort at the Pontiac Silverdome, and back in a punt return mode in the second quarter, he faked a reverse, saw the wall and he was gone.
An 87-yard punt return, the longest in state finals history by a good 25 yards.
“After making my fake, I looked up and there was a wall,” Johnson told the Detroit Free Press. “All I had to do was outrun everybody.”
The play gave the Eagles a 21-7 lead at the time and broke the game wide open. Schoolcraft cruised to a 42-7 victory to finish the season at 13-0.
PHOTO by Gary Shook.
Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship
August 30, 2024
In celebration of the MHSAA’s 100th anniversary, we’ll be posting a photo each week on our social media accounts, accompanied by a prompt for high school sports fans.
Following each post, we will feature the photo on our website, along with additional details.
This week, we’re sharing a photo from the 1995 Class CC Football Final at the Pontiac Silverdome, where the Eagles of Detroit St. Martin dePorres defeated Whittemore-Prescott 14-6. Detroit St. Martin dePorres went on to secure three more football titles under coach Greg Carter, and though the school closed in 2005, remains tied for seventh in MHSAA 11-player history with 13 championship game appearances and tied for third with 12 Finals titles.
The MHSAA Football Finals were played at the Silverdome from 1976 until 2004. Since 2005, the 11-Player Football Finals have been played at Ford Field in Detroit.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram, X, Facebook and TikTok for more weekly photo features and other content celebrating our 100th anniversary.