Ubly Offense, Kicker Pile Up Record Book Listings During Championship Run

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 12, 2024

Ubly finished a combined 27-1 over the last two seasons, following up a Division 8 runner-up run in 2022 with its first MHSAA Finals championship this past November. And the Bearcats stacked plenty of record book performances along the way.

Individually, senior Brett Mueller made the single-season extra point list again this past season with 76 in 81 tries, and he set the MHSAA career record with 220 extra points over 232 attempts, 40 games and three seasons. He has signed with Saginaw Valley State.

As a team, Ubly was added to the record book 13 times for achievements over the last two years, most notably in the rushing game. The Bearcats topped 5,200 total yards both seasons, and also made the rush yardage list twice including with a sixth-best 5,148 in 2022. Their 90 touchdowns in 2022 rank seventh all-time, and their 85 this past fall tied for 13th, and they tied the record with 10 rushing touchdowns in a 2022 win over Reese and set another record with 84 rushing touchdowns total that season.

See below for more recent record book additions in 11-player football, and click the heading to see the record book in full:

11-Player Football

Dundee’s Ben Miller has a pair of basketball record book entries, and he’s also been added in football for scoring seven touchdowns in his team’s 72-36 win over Erie Mason on Oct. 20, 2017. A senior that season, he ran for five scores and caught two touchdowns passes.

Nearly four decades later, Howard City Tri County’s Mike Wagoner has reached the record book for his work on defense in 1985. A junior that season, Wagoner returned three interceptions for touchdowns – 65, 55 and 35 yards – which would have been second on the list at the time and remains tied for third-most for one season.

Jaxon Lippert tops the list of 21 who have returned kickoffs 99 yards. Lippert, now a senior at Walled Lake Western, joined the list against Davison during his junior season.

A handful of records from Warren De La Salle Collegiate’s recent run of Ford Field teams and also one from decades ago were added. Jake Badalamenti was added three times for kickoff returns between 96-99 yards, one as a junior in 2016 and two as a senior the following fall, and Marty Wyzlic was added for his 95-yarder in 1976. Mason Muragin is the new leader for tackles for loss in a career with 71 over three seasons, and he also was added to the single-season list with 31 as a junior in 2021, as was Will Beasley for 38 as a junior in 2020. Wayne Wright was added for his 16 sacks over nine games as a senior in 1984, and Josh Cox was added for his 100-yard interception return as a senior in 2012. Muragin plays at Illinois, Beesley plays at Princeton, Cox played at Central Michigan, and Badalamenti played baseball at Wayne State.

Pinckney junior Nolan Carruthers caught 16 passes during a 13-7 loss to Jackson on Sept. 15, good to tie for ninth-most in one game and breaking the Livingston County record of 14 by Hartland’s Greg Matthyssen in 2007 – a listing that also was added.

Ethan Wissner did some major lifting, or rather carrying, during Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker’s 28-14 District Final win over Montrose in 2022. The then-senior ran 42 times to make the record book, for 289 yards and three touchdowns. He’s continuing at Siena Heights.

Senior quarterback Andrew Schuster and junior receiver DeShaun Lanier formed a game-changing pass-catch combo this past season for Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, with Schuster finishing his career with nine record book listings and Lanier totaling six with a season to play. Schuster most notably was added for 212 completions on 301 attempts for 2,766 yards and 28 touchdowns this season, and 321 completions and 4,199 career yards over two years and 22 games. Lanier was added in part for 73 receptions for 1,132 yards and 15 TDs this fall. Junior kicker Juliano Haddad also earned impressive mentions with 10 field goals and 50 extra points – and he’ll carry a streak of 35 straight extra points into next fall. Schuster has committed to Grand Valley State.

Fulton’s Evan Barton has been added to the single-game touchdowns list after catching four scoring passes Sept. 8, 2017, against Potterville. He was a senior that season.

Saginaw Heritage’s Braylon Isom completed his career this past fall as arguably the most accomplished receiver in MHSAA history. His name is listed in the record book eight times, with career records of 3,837 receiving yards and 52 touchdowns over 34 games and four seasons, and with a single-season record 26 touchdowns this past fall over 12 games. His 91 career receptions rank fifth, and he’s also listed for 82 catches and 1,617 yards (seventh-most) as a senior and 1,428 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior. He will continue at Miami (Ohio).

Evart’s 24-8 run over the last three seasons has been its most successful of the MHSAA playoff era, and senior quarterback Preston Wallace has played an enormous part. He finished his 33-game career in the fall – he came up for one game as a freshman – on record book lists twice for single-season passing yards and touchdowns and on career lists for 662 attempts, 421 completions, 6,955 yards and 88 passing touchdowns over those 32 games and three seasons. The yardage ranks 15th all-time, and the touchdowns are tied for sixth-most for one career.  

The 2005 Midland Bullock Creek team was added for scoring 547 points over 12 games. The Lancers finished 11-1, their only loss in a Division 5 Regional Final.

PHOTO Ubly's Seth Maurer (30) carries the ball during the Division 8 championship win over Ottawa Lake Whiteford in November.

Stevenson's Travels Following Lake Orion Success Include Space Force, Penn, NYC

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

July 17, 2025

It certainly isn’t hard for Marques Stevenson to pause and turn back the clock, even if sometimes it’s in the middle of the night. 

These are logos for the Made In Michigan series and the Michigan Army National GuardOnce a star running back at Lake Orion High School, Stevenson was arguably the MVP of what still stands as the only Dragons team to win an MHSAA Finals football championship.

Even though it will be 15 years this fall since that magical run in 2010, the memories remain as fresh as if they happened yesterday.

“I get the nostalgia, and I’ll cut on some highlights of that year,” he said. “I’ll tell my girlfriend at 3 in the morning, ‘Hey watch this, we were so good in high school.’ At least twice a year I’ll find myself cutting on the old game film or watching ‘MHSAA Rewind’ and watch the championship game over again.”

Nobody could blame Stevenson, given he capped off a sensational senior year by rushing for 186 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in Lake Orion’s 21-13 win over Plymouth in the Division 1 championship game. 

Stevenson also rushed for 288 yards and four touchdowns in a District Final that year against Grand Blanc, and for 190 yards in a Semifinal win over Detroit Cass Tech. 

Even more impressive is that late in that playoff run, opponents knew Lake Orion was going to ride its offensive line and Stevenson – and still couldn’t stop them.

Starting quarterback Sean Charette suffered a season-ending injury in their Regional Final, and while backup Cole Schaenzer definitely wasn’t a liability and did a good job filling in, it was no secret Lake Orion’s best route to scoring points was handing the ball to Stevenson.

“When (Charette) went down, it was a tough loss,” Stevenson said. “But we all felt like it was next man up and that we truly trusted each other.”

Stevenson finished the season with 1,966 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns, the former still a Lake Orion record.

"The season was special because going into that year, I don’t think any of us thought that was going to be the outcome,” said Stevenson, adding he vividly remembers the strong support given to the team by the Lake Orion community. “We all, day after day and week after week, started to believe in ourselves more. By the end, it came into fruition. It was a special run.”

Stevenson takes on a Troy defender in 2008. After graduating from Lake Orion, Stevenson went on to the Air Force Academy, studying and also playing football there until deciding not to play his senior year.

Following graduation, he served six years in the Air Force, conducting satellite command and control for the U.S. Space Force while stationed in Denver and Los Angeles. 

Once he finished his service, Stevenson obtained a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and he now works as a strategy consultant in New York City. 

“I don’t think any of that would have been possible without Lake Orion and that football experience,” Stevenson said. “That got the ball rolling for the journey I’ve been on now. I’ve been able to see the world, moved around a lot and had different experiences. Most of those experiences are attributed to the opportunity I got at Lake Orion.”

Stevenson is listed a few more times in the Lake Orion football record book, ranking third all-time in career yards (3,122) and touchdowns in a season (25).

“His senior year, with his work, his speed, his vision and his knowledge of our offense, it almost looked easy for him,” said current Lake Orion head coach and athletic director Chris Bell, who also was the head coach of the 2010 championship team. “His work and preparation made him one of the best we ever had. He was a 4.0 student, a high-character young man and just a lot of fun to coach and be around.” 

Stevenson said he’ll come back into town a couple times every year, but there might be a special reason to do so this fall – a 15-year celebration of the championship season. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there wasn’t a 10-year reunion in 2020.

“I would love to do a proper reunion of that team,” Stevenson said. “I should probably reach out to Coach Bell and Coach (John) Blackstock and those guys.”

If a reunion does happen, no doubt it will be more reason to get out the clips from that 2010 season again.

“That whole run and experience resonates with me,” Stevenson said. “And I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”

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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Marques Stevenson carries the ball for Lake Orion during his senior season in 2010. At right, Stevenson today. (Middle) Stevenson takes on a Troy defender in 2008. (Action photos courtesy of the Oakland Press; headshot provided by Marques Stevenson.)