Port Huron Proud to Wear Perfection After First 9-0 Regular Season Since 1952
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 28, 2026
The T-shirts celebrating Port Huron High’s Macomb Area Conference Blue football title came in a little later this year, but for good reason.
They were in need of a design tweak to add another, even bigger accomplishment: the school’s first 9-0 season since 1952.
“It was getting to be six and seven (wins), so I looked it up and I didn’t let anybody know except for the athletic director,” Port Huron coach Dan Perkins said. “We won our league and she shared with me the shirt design. and I said, ‘Well, hold off on those, we might want to add something to it.’ So it’s pretty neat.”
Port Huron defeated rival Port Huron Northern 13-10 this past Friday to finish off its perfect regular season. While the players may not have been aware of exactly how long it had been, they did know they were part of something special.
“It means the most to me, definitely, to do it with these guys and this type of team,” senior linebacker and tight end Aiden Forstner said. “Coming through, I haven’t seen a team do it (go undefeated), and I wanted to be the first to do it. All summer long, that’s what we thrived for. Every day in the weight room, all the conditioning, all the days that sucked, we thrived to be 9-0. Getting that accomplishment means a lot to me. (Beating Northern) definitely made it special, because everyone was expecting a blowout in that game, but it being as close as it was, and it being a nail-biter, it will stay with me forever. It being the school from the north, it made it 10 times better.”
It’s not as though the Port Huron program has lacked success. This year’s playoff berth extends the Red Hawks’ current streak to eight years. The 2019 team won a District title, as did the 2011 group, which came the closest to similar perfection, falling in its final regular-season game to finish 8-1.
“It’s crazy, and Northern’s last one was 1986, so for the whole town that’s quite an accomplishment,” Perkins said. “Doing that is very, very hard. We had a team in 2011 that’s getting inducted into the (Port Huron Sports Hall of Fame) that was a juggernaut, and we just slipped up the one game. It’s quite an accomplishment.”
Led by a suffocating defense, the Red Hawks have been overpowering throughout the season, winning every game outside of Weeks 1 and 9 by at least two scores. For the season, they’ve held opponents to 12.3 points on average while scoring 37.2. The offense is quarterbacked by junior Jaxon Johnston, a 6-foot-2 junior with a big arm who is in his first year in the program.
He’s been able to grow into the system as Port Huron’s defense has been dominant from start to finish. Only Anchor Bay (in overtime) and Madison Heights Lamphere scored more than 14 against Port Huron this season.
“We can hang our hat on our defensive crew, and that’s very nice,” Perkins said. “As long as our field position is right, going 80 yards against us is hard, real hard to do. And running the football has been real difficult for teams; we’re real stout up front. But every one of our defensive backs has multiple interceptions, and as a team we’ve got 19. The whole group has done a fantastic job, and coach (Brandon) Wardlow has done an awesome job with them, and the kids have really just responded. They take on the challenges. That’s been our calling card, and then the offense has been kind of a work in progress and has gotten better throughout the year.”
The defensive line is leading the charge on that side of the ball, paced by tackles Dylan Volpe and Ja’Michael Thomas, who create havoc up the middle. Both are juniors who stand over 6 feet tall and weigh in at 280-plus. Volpe has drawn interest from Division I college programs across the country, reporting offers from Florida State and Eastern Michigan.
And they’re surrounded by even more playmakers up front.
“Our D line is crazy. I think all of us have over three sacks,” Volpe said. “Me, Ja’Michael Thomas, Parrison Rome on the other end, Jayvon Bolar, Hunter Rock and Bryant (Braley), our D line is crazy.”
It’s also making things easier for the rest of the defense.
“It makes it so much easier,” senior linebacker Jaxon Winchester said. “Sometimes the linemen can’t even get to us because they’re putting in so much work. It’s just great to have, especially like Volpe and JT up there, they’re just so fast off the ball. It’s so nice to be part of, and I get some plays out of it.”
The next test for the Red Hawks is a matchup with New Boston Huron on Friday at Memorial Stadium in the opening round of the Division 3 playoffs. A win would give them a school record-tying 10th win and make them the first team in school history to reach 10-0.
Port Huron is the No. 1 seed in its region, meaning any game through the Regional Final would be played on the Red Hawks’ home field. But with Warren De La Salle Collegiate and Detroit Martin Luther King lurking as potential District and Regional opponents, the Red Hawks still feel as though they are doubted.
“I believe we’re very underlooked,” Forstner said. “Even if it’s like, ‘Where’s the competition that these guys have played?’ I feel like we’ve played at the level competition is, and where we need to be, and it will show when those weeks come.”
If they’re able to defend home field over the next three weeks, the Red Hawks would become the first team in program history to advance to a Semifinal, which would probably warrant one more shirt design.
“It would mean so much,” Winchester said. “Senior year, so it’s the last year, and I really think we can do it. We have the team, we have to come in and work every day like we have been all season. Port Huron Red Hawks coming, man. That’s all I have to say.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Port Huron’s Dylan Volpe (64) works against a blocker during his team’s Week 2 win over Marysville. (Middle) Quarterback Jaxon Johnston surveys the field. (Below) Carter Bankston (11) contends for the ball with a Marysville player. (Photos by Ryan Dowd/Blue Leprechaun Photography.)
Gorham Rewriting Record Book as Mendon Pursues Superior Dome Return
By
Scott Hassinger
Special for MHSAA.com
November 4, 2025
MENDON – Mendon football star Owen Gorham finds enjoyment in being a mentor for younger kids in his community – so much so that he one day aspires to have his own classroom and pursue a career as an elementary teacher.
If his success on the football field the last four years is any indication, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior tailback should be a smashing hit in the education field as well.
Gorham has made a significant impact in 8-Player Division 2 football as top-ranked Mendon (10-0) prepares to travel and face No. 3 Portland St. Patrick this weekend in a Regional championship matchup.
The three-sport athlete already owns MHSAA 8-player career records for scoring with 696 points and touchdowns with 97. Both records were previously held by Bridgman's Reid Haskins (2019-22).
Gorham broke Haskins' career scoring mark in Mendon's 62-0 win over Battle Creek St. Philip in Week 7 before adding the TD record to his resume in a 76-43 victory over Adrian Lenawee Christian to end the regular season.
"I was able to put up pretty good numbers last year as a junior thanks to a good offensive line and a really good team,” said Gorham, who also has lettered in basketball and track & field. “I feel my speed is one of my biggest strengths. Reaching some of these records was among my goals when this season started. I couldn't have done it though without the support of my family, my twin brother Ryder at quarterback, JT Lux my fullback and the guys on my offensive line.”
Owen Gorham has run 471 times for 4,905 career yards and needs just 122 more yards to surpass Haskins as the state's all-time leading rusher. As a senior, Gorham has churned out 1,569 yards – 13.53 per carry – with 27 rushing TDs and two more on receptions.
"Owen works his tail off. We never question his work ethic. I always tell him he's his own worst critic. The time that he puts into the game, like watching film and lifting weights, makes him the player he is," said Mendon head coach Bobby Kretschman, an all-state linebacker during his playing days at Mendon and currently the high school’s principal as well.
"What you see out of Owen on Friday nights is just a small part of what he does. He's got good speed, power, makes good cuts and choices on the field. He's carried the ball close to 500 times for us in his career. That's a testament to his durability to be able to run for that much yardage. Defensively, he has a good nose for the football and his speed allows him to post up on tight ends and cover well out in space. That's huge in 8-man football because of the multiple offenses you see out of opposing teams.”
Mendon has scored 502 points this fall, an average of 55.8 per game. A great deal of that production has come on the ground, where the Hornets have rolled up 3,439 yards – 11.2 yards per carry and 382.1 per contest.
Directing Mendon's offense is Owen's twin brother Ryder, the Hornets' three-year starting quarterback, with Owen at halfback and Lux at fullback. Halfback Xavior Zinsmaster has 32 carries for 512 yards and seven TDs.
"Ryder is my biggest influence. We're twins so we do everything together, and he pushes me in everything I do and I try to do the same for him," Owen Gorham said.
Lux has run for 444 yards on 60 carries, with eight TDs.
"I think Owen and I bring two different types of running styles to the game and complement each other well. You have Owen's speed and my strength. I love blocking for him, and our offense has been very explosive this year," Lux said.
Senior tight end Brayden Crites (6-3, 200) is Mendon's top receiver with 10 catches for 249 yards and seven TDs.
Mendon's standouts on the offensive line, along with Crites, include seniors Adain McCall and Jayden Haigh, big sophomore center Jorden Palmer (5-10, 260) and junior guard Tristan Wood.
"Adain and Brayden do a lot of the dirty work for us. Our offensive line was a big question mark coming in this season. But the kids up there understand their roles well and do a good job staying on blocks for the most part.” Kretschman said. “Ryder runs the offense smoothly and is a good coverage kid, along with Xavior on defense."
Ryder Gorham is Mendon's third-leading rusher with 38 carries for 372 yards and seven TDs, while completing 21-of-43 passes worth 445 yards and eight TDs with just two interceptions. He's also a starter in the Hornets' secondary, where he has 23 tackles and one interception.
Defensively, Mendon is led in tackles by junior linebacker Zak Iobe (5-10, 165) with 77, followed by Zinsmaster and Wood with 57 stops apiece. Lux (5-10, 195) has 16 tackles, a sack and one fumble recovery at defensive tackle.
Mendon's seven seniors and their teammates are primed for the biggest game of their careers after receiving a 1-0 forfeit win over No. 7-ranked Grand Rapids Sacred Heart last week.
Mendon won 12 state championships during its era in 11-Player football, including 10 titles under legendary coach John Schwartz.
Mendon lost 66-26 to Powers North Central in the 2022 8-Player Division 1 championship game, which concluded the Hornets’ second season playing the new format. They look to return to the Finals this month at the Superior Dome in Marquette after losing 49-32 to eventual champion Deckerville in a Division 1 Semifinal last season.
Deckerville also is in Division 2 this season and a possible opponent if Mendon wins this week.
"That game didn't go as well as we wanted. Our goal is to get another shot at them and hopefully we do," Owen Gorham said.
He said he and his Mendon teammates spent the offseason working to achieve bigger things this fall.
"We were out here three days a week in the summer lifting weights, running and doing agility drills. During the season we lift on Wednesday and Saturdays and watch film,” Gorham said. “We never stop working hard to keep our season going. We all want it really bad. Losing to Deckerville last year just gave us more fire coming into this season.”
He also feels a great sense of pride whenever he steps onto the field.
Dan Kennedy, Owen's grandfather, was an all-state player at Mendon during the mid-1970s, and cousins Greg Bingaman and Clint Wagner both played on Hornets teams that claimed state titles.
"It's a tremendous honor to put on the Green and White jersey. I've had many family members who have played at Mendon on state title teams. I just feel honored to have a chance to repeat history with what they've done here in the past," Gorham said.
A starter at outside linebacker as well, he also plays a critical role on a Hornets' defensive unit that has allowed just 14.7 points per contest. He has 32 tackles, including four for loss of yardage, to go with 3.5 sacks, one interception and one caused fumble. Rarely does Gorham leave the field as he is also Mendon's punter, averaging 42 yards per attempt.
While Gorham's success has generated interest from college coaches, he has already made a decision to end his football career after Mendon's final game this season.
"I thought about playing college football but decided not to. I want to go to Western Michigan and study elementary education,” Gorham said. “Every Friday I go to our elementary school and help mentor kids. I love volunteering to help little kids get a good future just like where I'm at right now. That has really sparked my interest in having my own classroom some day and helping kids.”
Scott Hassinger is a contributing sportswriter for Leader Publications and previously served as the sports editor for the Three Rivers Commercial-News from 1994-2022. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mendon senior tailback Owen Gorham (20) nears the end zone during a 46-20 win over Climax-Scotts this fall. (Middle) Pictured at practice last week, from left: Gorham, Mendon head coach Bobby Kretschman and JT Lux. (Below) Lux (23) pursues a ballcarrier during a practice drill. (Top photo by Brandon Watson/Sturgis Journal. Practice photos by Scott Hassinger.)