Reading Reaches Next Level with Repeat
November 29, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – An arduous playoff road over the last five weeks pushed Reading up against some of the most established football programs in Michigan high school history.
Pre-District opponent Mendon is tied for 10th with 12 MHSAA Finals football titles. Semifinal foe Fowler has won seven championships. Those two, Cassopolis and Adrian Lenawee Christian all were state-ranked during the regular season. Friday’s championship game opponent Beal City was not, but is tied for the most playoff appearances in MHSAA history with 35 over the 45-year history of the tournament.
Reading made its 25th playoff appearance this fall, an impressive feat on its own. But by winning a second straight Division 8 championship – after last year’s first in school history – the Rangers launched their program into that group of the most revered.
They concluded this chapter with a 33-6 win over the Aggies on Friday at Ford Field, extending an incredible run while allowing a star-studded senior class to leave its personal imprint on what Reading has accomplished.
“I really think we left a mark in the playoff book,” Rangers senior Hunter Midtgard said. “Just because we came through last year, we had a really good team, and then we came through this year and we wanted to prove a point that this was our team and we wanted to leave a legacy. We just wanted to finish the job.”
Reading finished this fall 13-1, winning 13 straight after a 14-0 opening loss to Pewamo-Westphalia, which will play Saturday for a third Division 7 title in four years. The Rangers are 27-1 over the last two seasons.
Not that the senior class needed motivation after making a major contribution to last season’s title run. But coach Rick Bailey emphasized that those seniors shouldn’t feel like reigning champions, and instead pursue making their own impact – and the P-W loss threw kindling on that message.
“We worked hard over the summer, but that first loss … kinda lit a fire in us and told us what it took to make it back here, so we really wanted it,” Reading senior lineman Nick Affholter said.
“Also, I thought it was great, because it was our team this year,” said senior linebacker/tight end – and Nick’s twin – Ben Affholter. “We got to be seniors and we got to be leaders, and that drove us to win it as our team.”
Friday’s matchup with the Aggies (12-2) was set up to be strength on strength – especially considering the two starting quarterbacks together combined for only about 1,500 yards passing this fall.
The game stayed within a score until midway through the third quarter, when Reading began to show it was stronger in the long run.
The Rangers scored the final 19 points, all on runs, and outgained Beal City on the ground 260-42. Reading also had 10.5 tackles for loss, with Ben Affholter leading with 4.5.
Beal City senior quarterback Jack Schafer was able to counter with 115 yards and a touchdown passing, completing five of nine attempts. But Rangers junior Porter Mauk also made the most of his six attempts, connecting on scoring passes for his team’s first two touchdowns.
“I think their up front gave us fits,” Beal City coach Brad Gross said. “Number 44 in the middle (Ben Affholter) obviously was stunting, and we didn’t do a very good job of picking him up. But I’m sure that kid is an all-state football player. … They’re big, bigger than we are, and also a lot faster than you think they are.”
Reading finished the season having given up 103 points, or 7.4 per game. Lenawee Christian (21) was the only team to score more than 18. Ben Affholter finished with 10 tackles total Friday, and brother Nick had eight. The Rangers recovered two fumbles and snagged an interception.
Senior Elijah Strine ran for 73 yards and a touchdown and Midtgard added 68 yards and a score on the ground and a 40-yard touchdown reception. Senior Jayson Scoville caught an 18-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring with 3:21 left in the first quarter. Sophomore Matthew Stewart added a 12-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds to play.
Schafer connected with junior T.J. Maxon on a 56-yard touchdown pass two minutes into the second quarter for Beal City’s lone points. Senior linebacker Seth Schafer had 14 tackles and junior linebacker Ethan Locke had 10.
The Aggies made their eighth appearance in an MHSAA Final, and first since 2013. They had finished below .500 the last two seasons, including 2-7 a year ago, before mounting arguably the strongest comeback in the state this fall.
“I think they fit right in there with the best (in school history),” said Gross, who quarterbacked the 1994 team to the Class D title. “I can’t ask for anything more from these guys, starting from last year at the end of the year. It didn’t start in June; it started last year, in November. These kids made a commitment to be there and get things done, and that’s what they did.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Reading’s Roger Hill rushes into Beal City’s defense Saturday at Ford Field. (Middle) The Rangers’ Elijah Strine (30) stretches into the end zone just ahead of Beal City’s Logan Chilman.
St. Mary's Finishes Repeat Run with Defensive Stand Against Record-Setting Dexter
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 29, 2025
DETROIT – Camari Patterson and his defensive teammates at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s knew what they were up against in Dexter’s record-setting pass offense Friday night in the Division 2 Football Final.
But they weren’t worried, as they knew what Dexter was up against, too.
“I feel like we’ve got the best defense in the state, and all the points that you put on everybody else really doesn’t matter to us; you gotta show us,” Patterson said. “Last year we had the best defense in the state, and we’re standing on that. All those points that you scored on the big teams, that doesn’t matter, you gotta come show us.”
Patterson and his teammates did the showing as the Eaglets defeated Dexter 51-14 at Ford Field to claim their second-straight Division 2 title and 10th overall.
“Coming to St. Mary’s is like a brotherhood,” Patterson said. “I couldn’t imagine as a senior going back to back, so doing it with these guys, it’s a dream come true.”
St. Mary’s (11-2) held an explosive Dexter offense to 266 total yards and 4.8 yards per play, dominating the third quarter to pull away. Of those 266 yards, just 69 were gained during the second half by the Dreadnaughts.
“
We get to take all the credit, but coach (Jeff Phillips), coach (Bobby) Clouse, coach (Emil Miclea) behind the scenes, they give us the best gameplan, they’re the best defensive coaches in the state,” OLSM senior linebacker Luke Jackson said. “They help us out big time.”
Dexter quarterback Cooper Arnedt did manage to throw for 215 yards on 24-of-37 passing. With that effort, he finished the season with 4,523 yards, an MHSAA record. His No. 1 receiver, Cole Novara, had 10 catches for 64 yards, putting him at 2,162 yards on the season, adding to the record total he had reached a week ago. He also set the state records for receiving touchdowns (28) and receptions (128) in a season.
“I’ve been throwing with these guys since last year,” Arnedt said. “I knew we had a special group, and they make my job easy. I just have to get the ball to them. They make moves and (Novara) broke the record last week, so that shows you just how talented this group is. We had a couple guys injured and a couple other talented receivers – Oliver Hutchinson, Will Simpson, Pearson Taylor, Holden Niemi who’s obviously injured. They make my job easy. It’s really special to do that and be able to share that with them. It’s not just my record.”
The first half was full of fireworks, with the Eaglets building a lead despite taking some time to get their offense into gear.
They had a 10-0 lead despite having gained just four yards over two possessions. A long punt return by Daniel Taylor Jr. led to a 33-yard Becket Kiefer field goal, as St. Mary’s went backward one yard during the drive.
Taylor then did it all himself on Dexter’s next drive, picking up a fumble and returning it 59 yards for a touchdown.
When Dexter managed to get on the board early in the second quarter with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Arnedt to Simpson, it had a 144-33 edge in yards, but trailed 10-7.
And that didn’t include a long catch and run from Novara that was called back on a hold.
St. Mary’s settled in offensively in the second quarter, getting a five-yard touchdown pass from Jabin Gonzalez to Lorenzo Barber and a one-yard run by Taylor to take a 24-7 lead.
Taylor’s touchdown run finished off a 27-yard drive, as a Reese Hurst interception set the Eaglets up deep in Dexter territory.
With 1:01 left in the second quarter, it appeared St. Mary’s would be taking its 17-point lead into the half, but Novara had other plans, returning the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a score to bring his team to within 10 at 24-14.
That somehow left time for one more wild play, as Gonzalez hit a streaking Barber down the sidelines. His 43-yard reception looked to have set the Eaglets up inside the 10, but Dexter’s Gabe Dobry forced a fumble and it was recovered by Jake Stepaniak, keeping the score at 24-14.
Things showed zero sign of slowing down in the second half, at least for St. Mary’s, as it scored on its second play when Brandon Adams Jr. turned a slant pass from Gonzalez into a 65-yard touchdown.
Barber would add another catch-and-run touchdown on the Eaglets’ next possession, taking a quick hitter from Gonzalez 40 yards for a score and a 38-14 St. Mary’s lead.
“We had to make a couple adjustments because they went hurry-up and they went spread, and we didn’t have an answer for it,” Dexter coach Phil Jacobs said. “We had a couple adjustments, but had a couple of breakdowns. They’re just a better team. They were better athletes, and I can’t complain. Our kids played their hearts out, the ball just didn’t bounce our way tonight.”
Jamari Givhan would add a two-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, while Brannon Hardy caught a 27-yard TD pass from Gonzales in the fourth.
Gonzales finished with more than 400 total yards of offense, throwing for 304 and four TDs on 17-of-22 passing, and rushing for 102 on 13 carries.
“It was just playing my game, playing me,” Gonzales said. “Like my dad (OLSM coach Jermaine Gonzales) always says, don’t be Superman, do you and everything is going to fall into place.”
Barber led St. Mary’s receivers with 149 yards on eight catches. Taylor led the defense with 10 tackles. Gage Nessen had two sacks for the Eaglets, and Ryan Harrington had 1.5.
Simpson had eight catches for 91 yards for Dexter, while Mateo Kipke, Nathan Gersh and Charlie Pomo each had seven tackles.
PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Daniel Taylor Jr. (15) sprints down the sideline as Dexter’s Grant Davis (77) and others chase him Friday. (Middle) The Eaglets’ Jabin Gonzales (1) bursts into the open. (Below) St. Mary’s Gage Nessen (23) pursues Dexter quarterback Cooper Arnedt.