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.
Broadcast Schedules Set for MHSAA Football Finals Exclusively on NFHS Network
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
November 18, 2025
Over the next two weekends, and for the first time, all 10 MHSAA Football Finals will broadcast exclusively on the NFHS Network.
The two 8-Player Finals will be contested Saturday at the Superior Dome on the campus of Northern Michigan University, while the eight 11-Player Finals will be played Nov. 28 and Nov. 30 at Ford Field in Detroit. The Detroit Lions also host the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 27, and on Nov. 29, Michigan State will host Maryland in a Big Ten matchup also at Ford Field.
A subscription to the NFHS Network is $13.99 per month – subscribe at NFHSNetwork.com. The broadcast teams for each game is below:
|
Division |
Day |
Time |
Play by Play |
Analyst |
Sideline |
|
8P-Div. 1 |
Nov. 22 |
11 am |
Sean Baligian |
Grant Perry |
Patti Cesarini |
|
8P-Div. 2 |
Nov. 22 |
2 pm |
Sean Baligian |
Grant Perry |
Patti Cesarini |
|
Div. 1 |
Nov. 30 |
7 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Alexis Ayala |
|
Div. 2 |
Nov. 28 |
7 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Cristiana Rosa |
|
Div. 3 |
Nov. 30 |
12:30 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Dave Ellis |
|
Div. 4 |
Nov. 28 |
12:30 pm |
Evan Stockton |
Grant Perry |
Cristiana Rosa |
|
Div. 5 |
Nov. 30 |
4 pm |
Joe Jason |
Chris Fritzsching |
Alexis Ayala |
|
Div. 6 |
Nov. 28 |
4 pm |
Joe Jason |
Chris Fritzsching |
Dave Ellis |
|
Div. 7 |
Nov. 30 |
9:30 am |
Ben Holden |
Chris Fritzsching |
Dave Ellis |
|
Div. 8 |
Nov. 28 |
9:30 am |
Ben Holden |
Chris Fritzsching |
Dave Ellis |
You can also listen to all 10 finals via MHSAANetwork.com. The audio call of each game is carried there for both live and on-demand listening.
|
Division |
Day |
Time |
Play by Play |
Analyst |
|
8P-Div. 1 |
Nov. 22 |
11am |
Matt Tjapkes |
none |
|
8P-Div. 2 |
Nov. 22 |
2pm |
Matt Tjapkes |
none |
|
Div. 1 |
Nov. 30 |
7pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 2 |
Nov. 28 |
7pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 3 |
Nov. 30 |
12:30pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 4 |
Nov. 28 |
12:30pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 5 |
Nov. 30 |
4pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 6 |
Nov. 28 |
4pm |
Eric Vandefifer |
Adam Schihl |
|
Div. 7 |
Nov. 30 |
9:30am |
Joe Jason |
Eric Vandefifer |
|
Div. 8 |
Nov. 28 |
9:30am |
Joe Jason |
Eric Vandefifer |
PHOTO From left: Ben Holden, Madison McCarter, Ryan Riopelle and Evan Stockton crew the first "Sunday Selection Show" exclusively on the NFHS Network, Oct. 26 from the Michigan State University School of Journalism Newsroom.