DIVISION 1
Kurt Richardson was in the spotlight as the coach of the Division 1 state champion and loved every minute of it.
Clarkston won its first football state championship ever with a 32-14 victory over Detroit Catholic Central Nov. 30 at Ford Field.
“This one was for every kid that’s worn a uniform for us, every fan that’s sat and frozen their butts for us, every parent that’s yelled and called me names, whatever. This one is for C-town,” Richardson said. “Our biggest goal we were striving for was balance, balance, balance. The offensive line doesn’t get enough credit. They really deserve it for this one.”
Ian Eriksen had touchdown runs of 37, 1, and 12 yards for Clarkston. The winners also got touchdown passes of 15 and 47 yards from D.J. Zezula to Shane Holler and Alexander Bock.
“A lot of these kids have been together since the fifth or sixth grade,” Richardson said. “They’ve come up through the junior ranks. We felt this could be a special season. We had some issues at the start. We talked to the kids all the time of turning the negative to the positive. We got slapped in the face in the first game. They learned from it. That was a huge coming together for us as a team.”
Clarkston lost to Rochester Adams 12-7 in the season opener but beat that school 56-28 in the regional final. The Wolves ended the year 13-1.
“The way they approach the game was a difference maker,” Richardson said.
In the state final, Clarkston was up 6-0 at halftime and 18-7 after the third quarter. It outscored Catholic Central 14-7 in the fourth quarter. Catholic Central has now lost three straight state title games.
Eriksen had a big game with 237 yards on 32 carries. “It feels good to be able to perform in this kind of game and make it count,” he said.
Zezula passed 15 times, with 10 completions for 154 yards.
“This has been our goal a long time,” Richardson said of the school’s first state title. “We wanted to bring our program to this point. Winning breeds winning.”
DIVISION 2
Brother Rice ended the Al Fracassa era with a perfect 14-0 record and the Division 2 state title with a 38-21 victory over Muskegon at Ford Field.
Fracassa ended his 45 years of coaching the Warriors with a 386-98-2 record and three straight state crowns.
Brother Rice led at halftime 21-14, with Alex Malzone throwing touchdown passes of 16 and 34 yards to Damarius Woods and Grant Perry, respectively, in the first quarter. Malzone had a 17-yard touchdown run in the fourth on a fake field goal and also passed 21 yards to Corey Lacandaria for a score. Jason Alessi added a 36-yard field goal.
Malzone was 20 of 24 for 263 yards and four touchdowns.
DIVISION 4
Michigan high school football history was made Nov. 29 at Ford Field when Marine City’s junior placekicker Olivia Viney kicked seven extra points and became the first female to score in the state football finals.
Marine City improved to 13-1 with a 49-35 victory over Grand Rapids South Christian for the title. South Christian ended the year at 12-2.
Viney also tied the state football finals record for most extra points in a title showdown.
Alex Merchant threw three touchdown passes to Peter Patsaslis in the first half to spark the Marine City effort and lead his team to a 21-21 tie at halftime. Marine City then outscored the Sailors 28-14 in the second half.
DIVISION 5
Grand Rapids West Catholic was 0-3 at one stage of the season and 1-4 at another. It then won its last four games, including a 21-20 squeaker over Forest Hills Eastern to end the regular season, and it sneaked into the playoffs with a 5-4 record.
Five weeks later, West Catholic was the Division 5 state champion.
The Falcons ended a stunning 5-0 run in the playoffs with a 27-14 victory over previously undefeated Menominee and took the crown with a 10-4 record.
The West Catholic defense was very impressive, led by Jason McDonough with seven solo tackles and two assists. The Falcons controlled the vaunted single-wing offense from the Upper Peninsula school.
Travis Russell threw touchdown passes of 24 and 45 yards to David Bancuk and Drake Wooten and also ran 25 yards for a score. Travis Hoving passed 30 yards to Bryce Witham for another touchdown.
DIVISION 7
Ishpeming built a 22-0 lead and hung on against Loyola for a 22-12 victory in the Division 7 state final at Ford Field.
Alex Briones threw touchdown passes of 17 and 2 yards to Marcus Antilla and Mitch Laurin in the first half and had a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Loyola had touchdown passes of 34 and 31 yards from Garrett Schaller to Keith Graves for its two touchdowns.
Ishpeming was one of two Upper Peninsula schools to qualify for the state finals but was the only one to win it.
Briones was 6 of 13 passing for 76 yards and rushed for 60 yards. Adam Prisk led Ishpeming in rushing with 77 yards.
8-MAN FOOTBALL
For the second straight season, Greenville hosted the 8-man state title game. Peck reigned supreme with a 67-32 win over Rapid River from the Upper Peninsula. Tristen Haener completed 12 of 16 passes for the winners for 379 yards and seven touchdowns. His favorite receivers were Kyle Abrego with six catches for 236 yards and four touchdowns and Tyler Beurmann with five catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns.