P-W Triumphs in Clash of Unbeatens
November 30, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – This week was the right time for Carter Thelen to pull out the film from sixth grade, to remember the start of this year’s seniors playing football together a third of their lifetimes ago.
“It was kinda emotional, because this was our last game playing with each other,” Thelen said Saturday after that final game was complete. “Just thinking back to when we kept blowing everybody out in sixth grade and seventh grade and eighth grade. Coach was saying how it was the last game for us seniors … (it was) emotionally sad, but physically it pushed me to go out and be better in practice and stay locked in and push everybody else.”
Every ounce of that focus and every ounce of that push was necessary Saturday as the Pirates faced Jackson Lumen Christi and its 35-game winning streak in the Division 7 Final at Ford Field.
The teams entered with five MHSAA Finals championship over the last three seasons between them, and P-W emerged with the sixth over four, coming out just ahead in a physical matchup 14-0 to claim its third Division 7 title in four years to go with those won in 2016 and 2017. Lumen Christi had won the last three Division 6 championships before moving into Division 7 for this playoffs as one of seven undefeated teams in that 32-team field to start the postseason.
Their matchup indeed was 48 minutes of tug of war. P-W gained 119 yards, and Lumen Christi had 109 as both averaged 2.3 per play. The Pirates (14-0) were held under 35 points for just the second time this season, to go with a 14-0 Week 1 victory over Friday’s Division 8 champion Reading. Lumen Christi hadn’t been shut out since a 2010 playoff loss.
“They’re the three-time defending Division 6 state champs, and they are obviously one of the storied programs in the state of Michigan,” P-W coach Jeremy Miller said. “And when you’re going up against them, you have to execute. So to do it against a quality opponent like that is obviously just a tremendous credit to our kids.”
P-W scored its first touchdown when senior Aaron Bearss pulled in a pass from senior Ethan Thelen with three seconds left in the first half after a Bearss interception gave the Pirates an opportunity at the Titans’ 40-yard line with 27 seconds remaining in the half.
After nearly 22 more minutes of back-and-forth, the Pirates locked up the title on Carter Thelen’s 16-yard scoring run with 2:16 to play, as he burst through the middle of the line and shucked two Lumen Christi defenders at the 1 before gliding into the end zone.
The Titans (12-1) reached P-W territory on three of their 10 possessions, but only inside the 35 once – and that drive ended with a missed field-goal attempt 10 seconds into the second quarter. The three straight Lumen championships saw at least one runner gain at least 200 yards (and in 2017 two did so). Senior Walker Plate entered Saturday averaging almost exactly 200 yards per game rushing this season, but was held to just 49 on 22 carries as the team rushed for only 80 total. Lumen also completed just 6-of-16 passes for 29 yards.
“They were really physical up front, and they played eight men in the box – but we’ve seen that all year long,” Titans coach Herb Brogan said. “We’ve been able to take advantage of what that gives you, and we couldn’t do that today.”
P-W senior lineman John Martin and Lumen senior defensive end Matt Saunders led their respective defenses with 11 tackles apiece. Lumen Christi had 12 tackles for loss, including five by junior Brody Dalton. Senior linebacker Grant Stump added eight more tackles for the Pirates.
Sophomore Tanner Wirth led P-W 63 yards rushing on 23 carries, pushing past 1,600 yards on the year as he stepped in for his senior brother Hunter, who missed the entire season after tearing a knee ligament during the summer. Ethan Thelen completed 5-of-11 passes for 52 yards and a score, two years after tearing a knee ligament as well in his final game sophomore year.
Carter Thelen said this year’s P-W team was defined by how it pushed the pile in short-yardage situations and others when a full team effort was necessary. How the Pirates emerged from those two potentially success-stopping injuries on the way to a second-straight perfect regular season, defeating two unbeaten teams on the way to Ford Field – reigning champion New Lothrop and Iron Mountain – and then winning one of the most power-packed Finals this decade only seemed to back up Thelen’s analogy.
“It’s every time we get in the moment,” Thelen said. “Everybody goes behind and tries to push the pile.
“We’re stronger than them and we’ve got more heart, and that pile just keeps going our way.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Grant Stump (22) and Aaron Bearss celebrate during Saturday’s Division 7 Final. (Middle) Bearss locks in on what will be a second-quarter touchdown catch.
Harbor Beach Finds Stride Early, Holds Off Hudson in Matchup of Unbeatens
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 28, 2025
DETROIT – Caden Bucholtz walked out of Ford Field with more than a Division 8 Football Finals title on Friday.
He also took home family bragging rights.
Bucholtz and several of his Harbor Beach teammates had fathers who played on the school’s 1991 Class C runner-up squad.
“We got one up on them,” Bucholtz said with a smile.
Those fathers are likely OK with that after watching their sons defeat Hudson 31-20 to wrap up a perfect 14-0 season and claim the second Finals title in program history.
“Great game, the guys just played their hearts out just like they have all year,” said Harbor Beach coach Troy Schelke, who also coached the 2012 title team. “We knew we were going to play a tough game and we were going to play the best we could, and we did that. Hudson was a great opponent. They were here for a reason. We had to finish the play right until the end when we took the knee.”
Bucholtz led the way for the Pirates, with 146 yards and one touchdown on the ground, adding 82 yards and two TDs through the air on 5-of-8 passing.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound senior made play after play to keep Hudson at arm’s length throughout the game.
“We just couldn’t get off the field sometimes; their quarterback made some great plays,” Hudson coach Dan Rogers said. “Every time they needed a play and we needed to get off the field, their quarterback made great plays and he’s a great player. Credit goes to them.”
Harbor Beach looked to have put a stranglehold on the game early, building a 21-0 lead just inside 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
While Hudson’s offense had put up massive numbers all season, it didn’t seem built for comebacks, as it did nearly all of its damage on the ground leading up to Friday – rushing for more than 5,200 yards on the season, and attempting fewer than 50 passes.
The Pirates were similarly built, but it was Bucholtz’s arm that did a lot of the early damage.
He found Skiler Kruse for a 15-yard touchdown pass on Beach’s first drive, and tight end Matt Geiger on a 19-yard TD on its second.
Geiger’s TD was set up by a Harbor Beach fumble recovery at the Hudson 27.
“We knew they could throw,” Rogers said. “They haven’t had to much, but we knew the quarterback could run and throw, and they’ve got two really good tight ends. They have weapons, running backs out of the backfield. I wouldn’t say they threw more (than he thought), but they did a good job executing it.”
The Tigers did find some success on their next drive, but it ended on downs at the Harbor Beach 37.
Just four plays later, the Pirates had stretched their lead to three scores with a 25-yard touchdown run from Bucholtz.
While the Tigers (13-1) did get one stop and make enough big plays to keep things close, they never had the ball with a chance to tie, as Harbor Beach’s offense answered each time the lead was cut to a single score.
That included a 20-yard field goal by Kruse that made the score 31-20 with two minutes to play, all but sealing the victory.
It was fully sealed when Benson Harper intercepted a pass in the endzone with 26 seconds to play.
“(The early lead) was huge because (Hudson) never quit,” Schelke said. “They kept coming back and kept cutting it, and we kept answering back. A 21-point lead, we’ll take that any time. We had to make some stops defensively, and had to finish some scores. Had to bang in a big field goal at the end, and pick one off at the end, then take a knee. Great game, great year, great program here.”
Grayson Bills had a pair of touchdown runs to help keep Hudson in the game, of 15 and five yards. He finished the game with 148 yards rushing, which included a 41-yard run in the final minute of the first half that set the Tigers up in the redzone. They were unable to cash in, however, and trailed 21-6 as they entered the break.
Colt Perry had the other Hudson score, with a 53-yard run on the Tigers’ first possession of the second half. That, as well as Bills’ second TD, brought Hudson to within a score.
“I knew we could come back,” Bills said. “All season we’ve been working together. I had hope in our team and knew what we were capable of.”
Beckett Campbell, who rushed for more than 2,300 yards on the season, had 103 on Friday. Liam Timm and Devon Brigman led the Hudson defense with seven tackles apiece.
Kruse finished with 60 yards receiving on three catches for Harbor Beach, and added an 11-yard touchdown run to answer Perry’s score in the third quarter.
John Learman led the Pirates defense with 16 tackles. Harper, who was slowed for much of the season because of an injury, had 10 tackles to go along with his game-sealing interception.
That pick set off a full-on celebration from the Harbor Beach half of the stadium, which had been plenty loud throughout.
“It was everything to us,” Bucholz said. “It felt like the whole town was behind us no matter what. They were just there to support us. Whatever the outcome I think they would have still been there no matter what.”
PHOTOS (Top) Harbor Beach coach Troy Schelke hands off his team’s championship trophy to his players Friday at Ford Field. (2) Skiler Kiser (80) elevates to haul in a touchdown catch. (Below) The Pirates’ Benson Harper (10) works to break out of the grasp of Hudson’s Colt Perry.