Performance: Schoolcraft's Kobe Clark
October 5, 2018
Kobe Clark
Schoolcraft junior - Football
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound running back enjoyed in one game what for many is a season’s worth of scoring. Clark racked up an MHSAA-record nine rushing touchdowns in leading his team to a 63-27 win over Constantine to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Clark ended the night with 26 carries for 380 yards, and after six games this season has run 110 times for 1,022 yards and 24 touchdowns – he also has four receiving scores. Clark joined the varsity for the eighth game of his freshman year in 2016, when Schoolcraft finished 10-1, and took on a fulltime role as a sophomore as the Eagles finished 5-5 and made the playoffs for the ninth straight season. Schoolcraft currently is 5-1 and tied for first in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley under first-year coach Nathan Ferency, as Clark helps shoulder the offensive load with 53 percent of the team’s yardage and 62 percent of its points.
He’s also carrying on quite a family tradition; his older brothers Benny Clark III and Ricky both were stars for the Eagles, Benny as a running back and Ricky as a quarterback, and their father Benny Clark Jr. is the fifth-leading rusher in MHSAA history after gaining 7,212 from 1993-96 at Ravenna. Kobe Clark also plays point guard for the basketball team – he made first-team all-league last winter – and runs the 100 and 400 meters and on the 400 relay during track season. He advanced to the MHSAA Finals as part of that relay this spring.
Coach Nathan Ferency said: “Kobe has been so impressive because of his elusiveness. He is a tremendous athlete that can do things with his feet that most cannot. Kobe needs about six inches of space, and he is gone. His football intelligence and vision while carrying the football have to be noted too. He is hands-down capable of playing at the next level. I am thankful that isn't for another season!”
Performance Point: “All of this attention, it’s weird, but it’s nice. It’s crazy that I have the state record now, out of everyone in Michigan. … We were trapping a lot; that worked really good … when our guard pulls and leads through the whole for me. My guards and tackles were the guys who would make a block, and I would get to the next level.”
Unsung up front: I love those guys (on the line). My favorite guys on the team right there. They think (the record) is awesome, but it’s not just me, it’s them – a whole team effort. They should be getting just as much attention. They’ve been talking me up and saying it’s awesome for me, which I appreciate, but they’re the guys who helped me get it.”
Next Clark in line: “(My dad) is glad for me. He just told me to thank the line, which I do. … I always looked up to (my brothers), and I always wanted to be better than everyone in my family, because that’s what you work for. They just said, ‘Keep working. You’re doing great things right now. Keep it going.’”
New year, new game: “I’ve gotten a lot faster, and I’ve just been working toward getting better every year – conditioning, and I’ve been in the weight room a lot. I’ve gotten a lot bigger, especially the last year. It seems a lot different, because we’re in a new offense this year too. We got a new coach and we have just bonded, and we have a good connection.”
Coaching us up: “This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time playing football. Everyone’s bonding on our team and getting along great. Coach just knows every player on our team and gets along with everyone, and he’s just a great coach. He makes everything so much more energetic and fun, and he just has a great competitive side to him, and he loves to win.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Schoolcraft's Kobe Clark gets past a Berrien Springs defender. (Middle) Clark, during pregame. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)
DeWitt Rewrites Finals Rushing Record Book in Completing Perfect Run
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
November 30, 2025
DETROIT – Traverse Moore had no idea about his record-setting day until the final moments of Sunday’s Division 3 Football Final.
“Honestly, I wasn’t worried about that. I was worried about getting the state championship win,” the shifty and speedy DeWitt senior quarterback said.
Moore and the Panthers left no doubt whatsoever. They ran into the history books.
On the strength of Moore’s Finals-record 397 rushing yards and four touchdowns, DeWitt rolled past Mount Pleasant, 54-20, in a battle of unbeatens at Ford Field. Moore’s effort shattered the record set in last year’s Division 6 Final by Jackson Lumen Christi’s Kadale Williams (314).
“We’ve been dreaming about it since fourth grade when we first started playing together. For this group of seniors to do that today, I couldn’t be happier,” said Moore, whose squad is the second from DeWitt to capture a Finals football title. The 2020 team won the first championship.
In DeWitt’s eighth championship game appearance, Moore scored three TDs in the opening quarter to tie a Finals record and help stake the Panthers to a 26-7 lead. The 6-foot, 195-pound Central Michigan University commit scored from 30 yards out barely two minutes into the contest, from 33 yards a little more than a minute later, and sprung free for a 74-yarder just past the midway point of the first quarter.
Moore’s fourth TD came on a 13-yard run barely three minutes into the second quarter. He had the Finals record for rushing yards early in the third quarter. He carried the ball 32 times in the game, good for 12.4 yards per attempt. Moore also completed 4 of 8 passes for 64 yards and a TD.
As a team, DeWitt (14-0) rushed for a Finals-record 575 yards on 58 attempts (9.9 per carry). It surpassed the previous record of 549 rushing yards by Constantine in the 2004 Division 6 Final.
Moore tipped his cap to DeWitt’s offensive line and tight ends, an all-senior unit comprised of Jackson Hildebrant at center, Sam VanZee and Luke Nolen at guards, Drew Rumsey and Landon Fitzpatrick at tackles, and Jacob Schorfhaar and Caleb Haman at tight ends.
“The guys up front have been special all year,” Moore said. “That’s a group of seniors that have been together since fourth grade – all of us have been together since fourth grade. They’ve been playing O-line since fourth grade, so that’s a special connection and they’re just workhorses, man.”
Sophomore Channing Ridley also reached the 100-yard plateau for DeWitt, finishing with 101 yards on 10 carries, including a 13-yard TD. Senior Jadon Bender caught a 35-yard TD pass from Moore, and junior Tyler Bashore closed out the Panthers’ scoring with a four-yard run. Bashore ended with 77 yards on 16 carries.
DeWitt piled up 219 rushing yards in the first quarter, 153 in the second, 73 in the third, and 130 in the fourth.
“In the offseason, we looked at what we had coming back,” said veteran DeWitt coach Rob Zimmerman, who completed his 27th season at the helm. “DeWitt’s probably known for being a team that throws the football around quite a bit. Last year we were physical and we threw a lot more, but with what we had coming back up front and the speed that we have, you can’t take away everything that we have.
“It’s a great combination with all the single-wing stuff that we do, which nobody else does, and so that’s an issue. But then we have the ability to run right at you and our counter game has been phenomenal for the last two years,” Zimmerman continued. “It’s a tough matchup, and then you add in the tempo, too, that we show quite a bit. I think we’re faster (in that tempo) than anybody else is as far as running plays. Put all of those things together, it’s pretty tough to stop.”
Mount Pleasant (13-1) got on the board midway through the first quarter on a 31-yard TD pass from junior Xavier Creguer to senior Riley Olson. Creguer added a four-yard scoring run with 12 seconds remaining in the first half, but the Oilers were still facing a 40-14 deficit headed into the halftime break.
Creguer joined Moore in the record books with his 91-yard TD run in the third quarter – longest in Finals history, surpassing 90-yard scoring runs by Edwardsburg’s Nick Bradley (2017) and Farmington Hills Harrison’s Nick Williams (1994).
It was an uphill battle for Mount Pleasant, which made its second Finals appearance and still seeks its first championship.
“I wonder if a little bit of the bright lights got to us to start with. We made a few mistakes from the start … . Just a few, little things that we’d like to have back,” Mount Pleasant coach Jason McIntyre.
“That’s a tremendous DeWitt team. It would have been really difficult to hang up the middle, but I think you saw what we could have done maybe if we would have been able to start a little fresher, a little cleaner. … Their offense is super difficult to defend. I thought we were well-prepared in terms of alignment, but the speed in which they do it and obviously No. 2’s (Traverse Moore) a really good player.”
Creguer finished with 162 rushing yards on 12 carries. He also threw for 66 yards.
Senior William Garcia led all defenders with 11 tackles for Mount Pleasant, while Olson notched 10 stops. Senior Lucas Brandell recorded a team-high six tackles for DeWitt.
DeWitt lost in last year’s Semifinal to eventual champion Zeeland West, 32-20. That defeat lingered with the Panthers and fueled them for this season’s run to glory.
“I mean, that stung. Last year stung. It hurt,” DeWitt senior Miller Wing said. “But when winter lifts rolled around, 5:45 in the morning, that’s the reason for it. It’s just staying together as a team. We’re so close.”
DeWitt has been a perennial contender in Division 3. The Panthers have advanced to the Semifinals or further seven of the last eight seasons.
According to Zimmerman, it’s all about the culture, establishing expectations, and putting in the work.
“The older kids have always helped our younger guys to understand the expectations within the program, and I think that’s a big part of why we’re where we’re at as a program,” Zimmerman said. “These guys want to be the next dude, and they work to get there.
“Ton of similarities (between the two championship teams) from a toughness standpoint, leadership standpoint, work ethic. I mean, these guys put in an unbelievable amount of time in the offseason to get where they’re at. This class, from sophomore (season on up), they’re 35-1 as a class, so it’s a pretty good group.”
PHOTOS (Top) DeWitt’s Sam VanZee (54) hoists teammate Traverse Moore into the air in the end zone Sunday. (Middle) Landon Kurncz (13) attempts to surge ahead with Mount Pleasant’s Keagan Wernette-Beals (11) and another defender wrapping him up. (Below) The Oilers’ Xavier Creguer prepares to take on a DeWitt defender.