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Second Half Starts Your Football Drive

August 31, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Just like that, the first weekend of MHSAA football season 2014 is in the books.

But we've got three more months of exciting stories to follow as September kicks off Monday.

Here's a brief breakdown of regular features to come this season on Second Half:

  • A Game for Every Fan: Weekly looks each Friday at the best games to be played in every corner of the state.


  • Drive for Detroit: Weekly reviews each Tuesday at the most significant results from the weekend across both peninsulas.


  • Be the Referee: Weekly series from our director of officiating, Mark Uyl, that will include a number of football topics during the fall.

  • This Week on MHSAA.TV: We'll fill you in on all the games available on-demand on MHSAA.TV from the week before and let you know which coming up can be watched live on a subscription basis.

  • Inside Selection Sunday: Our annual explanation of how playoff pairings are chosen and some of our toughest decisions when building brackets in October.


  • Live from the Finals: We'll cover all nine MHSAA Finals, beginning with the 8-Player championship game and through two days of 11-player title contests during Thanksgiving weekend.


  • Records Report: Each week we'll fill you in on our latest additions to the MHSAA record books, including for football, which has our largest set of listings.


  • All the scores, schedules and standings: Keep an eye on "Scores & Schedules" on MHSAA.com for scores every weekend as we receive them, and visit your favorite team's page for all results from this fall plus league standings, the rest of the schedule to come and playoff point averages.

Moment: Marcotte's Return Sets Record

November 12, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

Lake Linden-Hubbell took advantage of a Mendon miscue in the 1991 MHSAA Class DD Football Final to prevent a potential score and extend its lead at the time with one the longest defensive scoring plays in a championship game.

After falling behind 8-0 midway through the first quarter, Mendon marched down the field to the Lakes' 8-yard line. On a 3rd-and-8, quarterback Mike Smith rolled left and under pressure lofted an errant pitch which was picked up by Lake Linden linebacker Rick Marcotte, who ran 79 yards the other way on the final play of the first quarter for the longest fumble return in a title match.

It was the second time that weekend the fumble return record had been broken. In the Class C finale the day before, Nate Cierlak of Muskegon Catholic Central returned a fumble 56 yards for a score against Harbor Beach.

Marcotte's score gave the Lakes a 14-0 lead at the time. Smith, however, would engineer a scoring drive off the ensuing kickoff, negotiating the last 10 yards himself to start the comeback for the Hornets, who would score the next 22 points en route to a 30-14 victory and second championship in three years for coach John Schwartz’s squad.