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.
Bills Steps Into Key Role in Hudson Backfield, Steps Up to Make All-State
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
December 11, 2024
HUDSON – Hudson has a storied football history, with tales filled with state championships, a winning streak that gained national fame and lists of all-state players.
The most unlikely all-stater of all is probably from this fall. Grayson Bills, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound junior, wasn’t even in the Tigers’ starting lineup when the season began. In fact, in Week 1, he didn’t touch the ball on offense.
“I figured I would just be playing on defense, and it was going to be a defensive kind of year,” said Bills.
The featured back in coach Dan Rogers’ T backfield was set to be Brennan Marshall. He was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2023 and was primed for a big senior season. However, at some point during the summer Marshall began experiencing headaches and blackouts. Although he was in the starting lineup in Week 1, he left the game early. It was later discovered he had a brain tumor.
With him out, Rogers turned to Bills, a player who had previously benefitted from the MHSAA rule that allows players to play in five quarters a week.
“Last year I was a five-quarter guy,” Bills said. “I would play the JV game and then usually go up and get into the varsity game. I carried the ball some of my sophomore year. I would get in toward the end of the game.”
In Week 2, Bills was in the starting lineup and responded with 130 yards on 20 carries. By Week 5, he was the top rusher in Lenawee County after rushing for 172 yards on just six carries against Blissfield – including touchdown runs of 50, 30 and 55 yards. He wore down the Adrian Madison defense in Week 6 with 230 yards and three touchdowns. He followed that up with a 211-yard effort against Clinton that clinched the Lenawee County Athletic Association championship and was still going strong when Hudson beat Union City for the District championship, as he rushed for 226 yards.
“After about Week 3, I knew that I could have a great year. It was nice to see all of the hard work pay off,” Bills said. “I just needed the opportunity to show what I could do.”
Rogers was ecstatic about the running back Bills became.
“He had a very good sophomore year for us on JV,” Rogers said. “This year, we expected him to add depth at running back. When he got his opportunity, he made the best of it.”
He finished the season with 1,784 yards rushing, averaging 9.5 per carry, and also was Hudson’s top receiver. He earned all-state honors from the Michigan Sports Writers.
“I was definitely satisfied,” Bills said. “I think I had a really good first year of starting. I know I’m going to come back next year and be better.”
Bills learned football in the backyard with his dad. He fell in love with the sport at a young age and has developed into a two-way player. He plays cornerback on defense.
While he still has a season left on the field, Rogers said Bills will forever be an example to future Hudson players to be ready when called upon.
“He waited his turn, he was patient, then when it came, he was ready for it,” Rogers said. “He was ready for the moment. We didn’t know for sure, but he was. He showed it.”
Bills already has started running and weightlifting for next season, when he will go into the season not only as the featured back, but with a target on his back from running over so many opponents this season.
If he’s being honest, Bills said, he was a little nervous at first.
“I was a little nervous,” he said. “This was my first time playing in front of the big crowds.”
Next year, Bills will be the one drawing them.
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson running back Grayson Bills looks upfield while carrying the ball against Schoolcraft in their Regional Final this season. (Middle) Bills races Napoleon defenders during a District Semifinal win. (Photos by Deloris Clark-Cheaney.)