#TBT: Mill Thrills Again at Silverdome
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 26, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Pontiac Silverdome 25 years ago served as the stage for one of the most exciting moments in MHSAA Football Finals history, appropriately performed by an athlete known as "Mill the Thrill."
Mill Coleman, who later would star as a receiver at Michigan State University, scored on a 9-yard quarterback scramble with 1:34 to play to push Harrison even with DeWitt, 27-27. Steve Hill's extra point put the Hawks ahead to stay as they repeated as MHSAA champions.
Below is a "Finals Flashback" to that go-ahead scoring run, part of a collection of flashbacks that formerly ran during breaks at MHSAA football championship games. Click for the full box score from that game and playoff results from the entire 1989 Class B bracket.
The championship was the second of Harrison's now MHSAA-best 13. Coleman currently serves as an assistant coach for the Hawks.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Harrison quarterback Mill Coleman looks for an opening as DeWitt's Travis Gribble works to get away from a blocker while in pursuit. (Photo courtesy of Gary Shook.)
Moment: Menominee Achieves Finals 1st
December 4, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
Menominee’s march from the southern tip of the Upper Peninsula to Ford Field had some storybook feel about it – a team which overcame injuries – and mixed in a grinder of a Semifinal victory to bring the chants of “U.P. Power” to the Motor City and the MHSAA Football Playoff Finals in 2016.
The Maroons’ good fortune ran out that Thanksgiving weekend against a superior Grand Rapids West Catholic squad in the Division 5 championship game, but Menominee’s trip will long be remembered for a state championship game record set during the second half.
Liam Putz, who had earlier in the game set a Finals record with a 47-yard field goal for the Falcons, was lined up to attempt a 42-yard placement midway through the third quarter. Sam Larson broke through and blocked the kick. Hunter Hass picked up the ball with nothing but green turf and yard stripes in front of him and returned it for a touchdown, the first time that had ever happened in the Finals. The return went for 76 yards, which became the record for the special teams play.
“All week we were practicing to block their punt, and it just so happened that we blocked their field goal,” Hass said after the game. “I saw the ball. I just picked it up and ran into the end zone, just trying to get some points to get some momentum going for our team.”
West Catholic won the game, 43-7.