Schoolcraft Soccer Record Setter Brings Scoring Touch to Football Field
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
September 21, 2021
SCHOOLCRAFT — Soccer phenom Hannah Thompson has a flare for finding the net.
This fall, the Schoolcraft High School senior is aiming even higher – in the most literal sense.
Thompson is the place kicker on the Eagles’ football team, and in the team’s three games so far, she has connected on 4 of 5 point-after attempts.
The first female varsity football player in school history, Thompson is no stranger to breaking records.
Her 87 goals in soccer last spring not only set an MHSAA girls record for most goals in a season, but also eclipsed the boys mark.
Kristi Vandeberghe, a standout at Mount Clemens, had set the previous girls record with 66 goals in 2001. The boys record of 76 goals was set in 2009 by Dearborn’s Soony Saad.
While both sports involve kicking, the vivacious senior said there are differences.
“In soccer, you’re supposed to keep your body over the ball,” she said. “In football, you’re supposed to lean back so the ball goes higher. That’s probably the biggest difference.
“In football, if you try to kick as hard as you can, like for power, the ball can go off to the side. In soccer, you want to kick it hard.”
Head football coach Nathan Ferency, who teaches health and physical education at the high school, had tried to convince Thompson to join the team since she expressed an interest as a freshman.
“I took my health class outside one spring morning and worked her out a little bit to see if she could kick — and she can actually kick,” he added with a grin.
Ferency immediately offered her a spot on the junior varsity team, but since she plays travel hockey in the fall, she opted to concentrate on that until this year.
Her high school soccer coach, Scott Thompson, also her dad, has no problem with her playing football, “and my (soccer) teammates think it’s cool and amazing,” the senior said.
“They’re very supportive of me. My (travel) coaches do not like it whatsoever. They’re not a fan.”
Her dad sees some positives coming from football.
“As her coach, I have no issues with her playing football,” he said. “She’s working on driving through the ball and working on her leg muscles.
“Being in high school, I didn’t see any issues. As a place kicker, she has minimal opportunities for getting hurt.”
Ferency is aware that soccer is her main interest.
“We’re never going to put her into a kickoff situation where she has to hit somebody,” he said. “We feel comfortable in a PAT or field goal situation where she’s protected and unlikely to have contact.
“We want to preserve her senior year of soccer. That’s her love, and we want to make sure her goals are met.”
Thompson, who has committed to play soccer at Eastern Michigan University, said the hardest part of football is putting on the equipment, especially clipping down the shoulder pads.
“I wear youth large pads so they’re like the middle school pads, and it’s hard to get them clipped down,” she said, laughing while she demonstrated with her hands.
Pads also posed a bit of a problem for her debut.
“The first game, the girdle has the hip pads and the butt pads,” she said. “The pants have pads on the front and on the knees.
“I didn’t know you only had to wear one set. The first game I wore both and I had two pads everywhere. I didn’t know until the next game.”
Thompson said she is also developing her neck muscles.
“The helmet’s really heavy,” she said. “My neck’s getting strong.
“I have a big head, so I have to wear size large. But I got a new helmet that no one’s ever worn, so that’s good.”
Unlike the constant action in soccer, Thompson waits on the sidelines for the nod to play.
When she got the call during that first game, “I wasn’t really nervous because it happened super fast, so I didn’t really think about it,” she said.
“It was exciting. I’m supposed to keep my head down when I kick it so I don’t see it, but I looked up and saw it going (over).”
She almost had a chance for a field goal that would have clinched a win for the Eagles.
“Week 1, we were down two points late in the game and getting close to field goal range,” Ferency said.
“Unfortunately we threw an interception before she had an opportunity, but I was prepared to let her kick the game-winner at that point.”
Thompson practices with the football team twice a week and with her travel team twice a week.
“She puts the work in,” Ferency said. “We go through her kicking game, and she conditions and runs with the team afterwards.
“She makes it a point to do everything she can to be a part of the team, and we accept her just like anybody else.”
Pressure in football and soccer is nothing compared to pressure she felt twice before in her young life.
When she was 5 years old, she was home with her newborn sister, Makenna, when their mother suffered a brain aneurysm.
“I called my dad, who was going out of town, and said mom’s not OK,” she said.
Her father came home and her mom, Alyssa, was rushed to the hospital where she was in ICU for 17 days.
“It was remarkable for a 5-year-old,” her dad said. “We had just taught her how to use the phone. She was very heroic.”
Ten years later, it happened again, but this time her father was away on business and could not make it home.
Although she had just a driver’s permit, she loaded her mother and sister into the car and headed to the hospital.
“She remembered that I said earlier that it would be quicker for me to drive her mom to the hospital than wait for an ambulance to find us,” her dad said.
“When she talked with me, I could hear the confidence in her voice. She handled that better than most adults would and she took care of her sister.”
He said that confidence carries over to everything his daughter does, and he is savoring this time with her, especially during her senior year.
“It’s more fun to watch (her play) as a parent, but it’s also very satisfying to help your daughter (as a coach),” he said. “No one can ever take that time back.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Schoolcraft’s Hannah Thompson, left, lines up for an extra point this season. (Middle) Thompson and Schoolcraft football coach Nathan Ferency. (Below) Thompson set the MHSAA single-season record for goals scored as a junior. (Football photo by Jamie Zinsmaster, head shots by Pam Shebest, and soccer photo by Walt Tokarchick.)
1st & Goal: 2025 Football Finals Review
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 3, 2025
This season’s MHSAA Football Finals saw only two of 20 teams reach championship games for the first time – the lowest number of first-timers since the start of the 2020s – but several more play for Finals titles for the first time in a decade, or two, or even three or four.
Dearborn Divine Child won its first championship since 1985, Portland St. Patrick its first since 1992, and Harbor Beach, Menominee and Detroit Catholic Central all claimed their first titles in more than a decade as this fall came to a close over the last two weekends.
We also had repeat winners – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Jackson Lumen Christi and Martin – and although their runs ended in defeat, Blanchard Montabella and Dexter did advance to championship weekends for the first time.
MHSAA.com once again covered all 10 championship games, with quick recaps and links to those stories below followed by notations of performances entered into the MHSAA Finals record books and a report on some of the main storylines to emerge as those championships were being decided.
Finals in Review
11-Player Division 1: Detroit Catholic Central 42, Detroit Cass Tech 19 – Read
DCC claimed its first Finals championship since 2009 by emerging from this matchup of undefeated teams and avenging a 2024 Semifinal loss to eventual champion Cass Tech. While Shamrocks senior Samson Gash has received some of the highest statewide praise for his offensive talents this season, junior brother Gideon Gash starred this time with three touchdown catches all 37 yards or longer.
11-Player Division 2: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 51, Dexter 14 – Read
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s repeated as Division 2 champion following quarterback Jabin Gonzales (304 yards/4 TDs passing, 102 yards rushing) but also thanks to a stellar defensive effort against the Dreadnaughts’ record-setting offensive attack. The Eaglets held Dexter to just 266 total yards, and only 69 during the second half after taking a 24-14 lead into the break.
11-Player Division 3: DeWitt 54, Mount Pleasant 20 – Read
This was another matchup of undefeated contenders, and DeWitt again lit up the scoreboard in winning its second championship. The Panthers set a team Finals record for most rushing yards (575) with senior Traverse Moore claiming the individual Finals rushing record with 397 – 83 more than the previous all-time best.
11-Player Division 4: Dearborn Divine Child 23, Hudsonville Unity Christian 22 – Read
Divine Child’s first Finals championship since 1985 was a product of steady play on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Marcello Vitti ran 19 times for 120 yards and a score and Drew Sheridan completed 19 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Divine Child stopped a two-point conversion try midway through the fourth quarter to keep a one-point lead, then held Unity to two yards on its final possession.
11-Player Division 5: Grand Rapids West Catholic 42, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – Read
West Catholic jumped out to a 28-0 lead and didn’t allow reigning champion Notre Dame Prep to get on the scoreboard until the final minute of the first half. The 1-2 punch of running back Collin Abram and quarterback Grady Augustyn accounted for a combined 347 yards for the Falcons, and the Fighting Irish also lost all-state quarterback Sam Stowe for the majority of the second half with an injury.
11-Player Division 6: Jackson Lumen Christi 28, Kingsley 15 – Read
The Titans claimed a fourth-straight Finals championship and repeat in Division 6 by scoring the game’s only second-half points – 14 to go ahead and stay there during the fourth quarter. Lumen Christi’s Sean Walicki starred on both sides of the ball, running for 142 yards and two touchdowns and making 17 tackles.
11-Player Division 7: Menominee 34, Schoolcraft 6 – Read
Two years after finishing Division 7 runner-up and only four points shy of Lumen Christi in that title decider, Menominee returned to Ford Field and won its first championship since 2007. Clayton Miller ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns for the Maroons, who finished a perfect 14-0. Schoolcraft’s only points came with 6:09 to play.
11-Player Division 8: Harbor Beach 31, Hudson 20 – Read
The 11-Player Finals opened with a matchup of undefeated contenders. Harbor Beach withstood Hudson’s powerful running attack and followed quarterback Caden Bucholtz (146 yards/1 TD rushing, 82 yards/2 TDs passing) to its first Finals title since 2012. The Pirates took a 21-0 lead into the final four minutes of the first half and got a scoring run, touchdown reception and 20-yard field goal from Skiler Kruse.
8-Player Division 1: Martin 52, Blanchard Montabella 8 - Read
Hudson claimed its third Division 1 title in four seasons with a dominating performance, as Montabella scored the game’s first points but were held off the board the rest of the way. Quarterback Haylen Buell ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, and completed all seven of his passes – including one for another score – for the undefeated Clippers.
8-Player Division 2: Portland St. Patrick 53, Felch North Dickinson 0 – Read
The Shamrocks seemed to set the tone on the opening kickoff – returning it to North Dickinson’s 3-yard line – on the way to winning their first 8-player championship and first in either football format since 1992. St. Patrick led 20-0 after just seven minutes and 33-0 at halftime, with seven players reaching the end zone at least once by the end of the contest.
Record Report
Detroit Catholic Central and Jackson Lumen Christi moved into a first-place tie with Farmington Hills Harrison for 11-Player Finals appearances as all three have played in 18. (Harrison closed in June 2019).
DeWitt senior Traverse Moore earned seven 11-Player Finals record book listings, his most notable for an all-time best 397 yards rushing – which broke Kadale Williams of Lumen Christi’s record of 314 set just last season. Moore also set records with three touchdown runs during the first quarter, and his 461 total yards (including 64 passing) are the second-most in Finals history. He made four more lists as well, including for 24 points scored.
Mount Pleasant quarterback Xavier Creguer also set a record during the Division 3 game, his 91-yard scoring run the longest rush in 11-player championship game history.
Three kickers made the 11-player single-game extra points list with six apiece – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Beckett Keifer in Division 2, DeWitt’s Vincent Rose in Division 3 and Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Landon Smith in Division 5
A trio of quarterbacks also made 11-player record lists. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Jabin Gonzales did so with 304 yards passing, his four touchdown tosses, and 406 total yards (including 102 rushing); the total yards rank eighth all-time. Detroit Cass Tech’s Donald Tabron II made passing lists with 25 completions, 37 attempts and 285 yards, and Dearborn Divine Child quarterback Drew Sheridan also made the completions list with 19. Tabron’s attempts rank eighth, and his completions tied for fourth on that list.
On the receiving end of some fine quarterback play, Cass Tech’s Corey Sadler Jr. made the 11-player single-game receptions list with 11, tying for third-most catches, while Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Thomas Puksta made the single-game receiving yardage list with 161 and Detroit Catholic Central’s Gideon Gash tied for the second-most touchdown receptions with three.
Dexter’s Cole Novara rewrote the season receiving records this fall, and added an 11-player championship game listing with a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown. St. Mary’s Daniel Taylor Jr. also made a return list, bringing back a fumble 59 yards for a score.
DeWitt with 54 points made the 11-player team single-game scoring list, but that was just the start. The Panthers’ 575 rushing yards and 639 total yards were records, their seven rushing touchdowns tied another one, their 24 first downs made a record list and their combined 959 total yards with Mount Pleasant made the total offense list for both teams in one game.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s also made the 11-player scoring list with 51 points, and earned another entry with 314 passing yards. Dexter made the single-game completions list in that game with 24, and Detroit Cass Tech made that same list with 25 completions. Hudsonville Unity Christian made the single-game rushing carries list with 66.
Grand Rapids West Catholic tied the Finals record with two other teams by returning two interceptions for touchdowns.
Hudson made the list of teams that did not punt in a Final, and also joined Harbor Beach – which punted once – on the list for fewest punts by both teams combined in one game.
Martin quarterback Haylen Buell made the 8-player total yardage list with 313 in the Division 1 game, leading a Clippers attack that also made the single-quarter points list with 30, single-Final rushing list with 364 yards and rushing touchdown list with six.
Portland St. Patrick quarterback Jerryd Scheurer made the list for fastest touchdowns to begin an 8-Player Final, scoring on a run just 20 seconds into his team’s Division 2 win against Felch North Dickinson. St. Patrick also made the single-game touchdowns list with seven.
Stories Behind the Scores
Single Wing, Several Records: We detailed above most of how DeWitt ran its way into the Finals record book, but the Panthers’ strategy this season deserves more credit for its brilliance. Recognizing his team’s strength on the offensive line and depth of dynamic ball carriers, DeWitt coach Rob Zimmerman leaned heavily on single wing concepts that saw direct snaps to Traverse Moore – technically his quarterback – who then ran behind multiple blockers or worked through counters and other slights of hand that opened up multiple running lanes on just about every play. The Panthers have added several record book entries over the last 25 years thanks to a high-scoring spread passing attack, but they followed last season’s 702 points (ranking eighth all-time before this fall) with 727 this season that will ran fifth on the single-season scoring list. Moore finished with 2,512 yards and 33 touchdowns rushing, and it will be interesting to see if other programs follow suit by incorporating single-wing looks.
Memorable Menominee: The Maroons were once known as one of the last teams to run the single wing, and although they’ve added different looks and more balance under fourth-year coach Chad Brandt, that tough-running, physical culture lives on – and played a big part in Menominee’s perfect season and first Finals championship since 2007. The Maroons just missed winning the Division 7 title in 2023, losing to Jackson Lumen Christi 34-30, but came through this time to claim the Upper Peninsula’s first 11-player championship since 2015. This season, only 16 UP teams played 11-player, while 19 played 8-player.
Watch List: A total of 44,733 fans attended the 11 or 8-Player Finals this season, the highest combined total for the three days since 2019 and despite a snowstorm that blanketed much of the Lower Peninsula over the 11-player weekend. A notable crowd of fans also watched online; although this was the first year the 11-Player Finals were streamed only, on the NFHS Network, we know that the Division 1 championship game drew the fourth-most viewers all-time of any event from any state broadcast on the Network, and that they watched the game for the most minutes ever for a Network broadcast.
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PHOTOS (Top) This collage shows action photos from all 10 MHSAA Finals played this season. (2) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Kareem Pruit (7) brings down Dexter quarterback Cooper Arnedt in 11-player Division 2. (3) Kingsley’s Nolan Hodges (28) wraps up Lumen Christi’s Ayden Gatewood in Division 6. (4) Martin’s Seth Toris (24) charges through a hole with Montabella’s Noah Carlson lining up to attempt a tackle in 8-player Division 1.