Reading 'Nightmare' 2-Way Gamechanger
November 8, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
READING – Nick Affholter didn’t score a point for the Reading Rangers this season. No touchdowns, no extra points, no 2-point conversions.
But, when it came time to vote for the Most Valuable Player in the Big 8, the conference coaches left no doubt that Affholter – an offensive and defensive lineman – was the best player in the conference.
“As a coach, he has been my nightmare,” Concord coach Max Clark said.
“When game-planning for the last three years, we’ve had to begin our planning based on how we can avoid him,” said Matt Schwartzkopf, head coach at Springport.
Frank Keller of Jonesville recalled a specific play that painted the picture of Affholter’s impact.
“I remember one time we ran a sweep on the other side of the field, and he tackled our running back for a two-yard loss – on a sweep,” Keller said. “He was just dominant on both sides of the ball. He’s the best kid on the field.”
Those coaches are happy they won’t have to worry about Affholter anymore. Tonight, he’ll lead his 9-1 Rangers in a District Final against the undefeated Cassopolis Rangers. For Reading, it’s a chance to continue a journey that could the program back-to-back Division 8 championships. Both coaches will tell you the game starts up front, and that’s where Affholter excels.
“He’s been dominant the last couple of years,” Reading head coach Rick Bailey said. “I think last year our running back (Ethan LoPresto) stole a lot of the spotlight, but people knew how good Nick was. He’s the most dominant one-on-one football player that I’ve ever seen at the high school level. This is the first time I can remember in my 35 years that an offensive lineman was selected the league MVP.”
Affholter is a multi-sport, four-year varsity football player, a class officer at Reading – where he carries a 4.0 grade point average – and a member of the National Honor Society and leader of the school’s chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
“He’s humble and kind,” Bailey said. “He’s a total team player.”
Clark also saw something else in Affholter.
“He has never been anything but an amazing sport and leader,” the Concord coach said. “He stayed after, cleaning up the bench after a basketball game at our court when most of his team was all out chatting with family and friends.”
Reading is in the midst of a dominant run in football. When Affholter was a freshman, the Rangers had their second consecutive 3-6 season. As a sophomore they improved to 8-3, before bowing out of the Division 7 playoffs with a loss to Cassopolis. Last season, Reading ran the table, going 14-0 while scoring 678 points and giving up just 114 in finishing the season at Ford Field.
This year, Reading had to replace last year’s league MVP in LoPresto and started the season with a 14-0 loss to 2018 Division 7 champion Pewamo-Westphalia. Since then, however, the Rangers have been incredible, winning nine straight games while shutting out four opponents and outscoring all of them by a combined 449-38. Reading averages 420 yards rushing a game.
Affholter is a two-way starting lineman. On offense, he plays tackle and gives Bailey the closest thing to a sure thing.
“We’ve been able to dominate teams on his side. We just count on Nick’s block as a win,” Bailey said. “His technique is good, but I think people would be surprised of how athletic he is. If they watch him, they’ll see he can run. People are always surprised with his quickness and foot speed. It’s hard to simulate what he’s going to do.”
Affholter is also a difference-maker on defense.
“Two of our opponents simply chose not to run the football, and only a few tried to run it on his side,” Bailey said. “One team just lined up and threw the ball on every single play, except the last play of the game when they ran the ball when he was out.”
Clark said Concord tried something completely different against Reading.
“I showed up to Reading with a completely different offense because of him and his brother,” Clark said.
Reading still pulled out a 44-12 win.
Affholter has taken the postseason accolades in stride.
“I worked really hard for it,” he said. “It’s nice to see offensive lineman get some love. Just because we don’t touch the ball doesn’t mean we aren’t impacting the game.
“I don’t know how many offensive linemen get recognized like that. I figured I’d get all-conference, and that would be that. Seeing other people notice me and not just a running back or quarterback is pretty awesome.”
Affholter said he is 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, which makes him a half-inch taller and 20 pounds heavier than his twin brother Ben.
“I love playing football with my brother,” Nick said. “We do everything together. My little brother is up on the team now. He’s 6-foot, 230. He’s still growing.”
Their dad was an All-American offensive lineman at Hillsdale College, and their mom played volleyball there. Nick started playing football in grade school, where his grandfather began teaching him footwork.
“I love finishing my blocks,” he said. “I get excited when I get a pancake block. That was always special to me.”
He’s a student of the game, too, spending hours each week studying film of his opponent.
“I watch a lot of film of the defensive linemen or the offensive linemen,” Affholter said. “You can figure out what they are going to do in certain situations, see what their favorite move is. You know what to look for when the play starts. It definitely gives you an edge.”
Reading is sure to lean on Affholter tonight. The visiting Rangers have been just as stout as the home Rangers, outscoring opponents 403-17 this season.
“It’s going to be a great game,” Bailey said. “They are a big play waiting to happen.”
Affholter says the Reading home crowd will be rocking at Barre Field.
“Being out there on the football field is home,” he said. “It’s amazing. Every Friday night the stands are always full. I think it rivals any small-town football community anywhere.”
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.
FOOTBALL: (Top) Reading’s Nick Affholter lines up against Mendon during last week’s 38-0 playoff win. (Middle) Affholter, who also has a twin and younger brother on the varsity. (Photos courtesy of the Reading athletic department.)
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.