Division 3 - The Longest Game In Finals History
Division 3
East Grand Rapids 46 Orchard Lake St. Mary's 39 (5OT)
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s kicked off to East Grand Rapids who started their drive from their 22 yard line. They weren’t able to get much going (surprise surprise) and had to punt to OLSM. The third and five play netted them a first down in Pioneer territory. A strong running game drove them down to the ten yard line. Dominique White scored a nine yard touchdown for the Eaglets on a run to the right. Grand Rapids took the kickoff and returned it to the 24 yard line. On third and goal from the one, White’s run was stuffed; setting up fourth and goal. The run was stuffed at the one once again and EGR took over on downs. Christopher Blair caught a pass from Calvin Blair for a 25 yard gain to move out of the shadows of the goalpost. The two yards needed on third down was picked up by Joe Glendening to keep the drive alive and edge closer to midfield. He caught a pass to pick up a first down in Eaglet territory and keep the ball away from OLSM. On fourth and four, Blair scrambled and avoided a tackler throwing a great pass, but it was negated by a holding call, forcing the punt with under six minutes in the half. Suave LaVallis almost muffed the ball away for OLSM, but was able to recover it on their 11 yard line. East Grand Rapids defense stuffed a third and one play to force a punt with less than four minutes but the punt didn’t make it past midfield and the Pioneers took over at the Eaglet 44 with 3:32 left in the half. On fourth and ten from the 20, EGR attempted a field goal but it was no good. OLSM took over on the 20 with 1:57 left. The gain was negated by two offside penalties. With ten yards to go on third down and 1:11 left, a rare pass was thrown but it was knocked down before the receiver could put a second hand on it, forcing a punt. A huge run 68 yard run by Glendening tied up the game with 0:39 left in the half. The kickoff went out of the end zone and with three time outs and 39 seconds, the Eaglets went to work. After a run netted one yard, they decided to let the clock run out on the first half.
East Grand Rapids kicked to start the third and the ball went just inside the pylon for the touchback. No plays were made for the Eaglets and the Pioneers took over on their 45. The running game was really clicking and they made three first downs. Feeling left out, Blair ran a keeper for a first down. On first and goal form the nine, Glendening ran it in for his second touchdown of the game. A pass from Bolden to Dion Sims was completed for a 35 yard gain. White then ran for nearly 20 yards into the red zone. Sam Fioroni pushed the pile into the end zone after he got hit at the four yard line. On third and eight for EGR from the 36, Blair scrambled for a 19 yard gain. On second down, he was sacked for a 10 yard loss, setting up third and 18. The third down play came up short and EGR punted to end the third quarter. LaVallis picked up the punted ball and was tackled immediately at the five yard line. A pass and a run moved the ball out to the 28 with the momentum shifting towards OLSM. East Grand Rapids took over at the 19 after a punt. The clock had run past 7:10 when the third and three play when Glendening rushed for a fresh set of downs. Faced with a third and 13, EGR passed but it was broken up by Kris Morris. The fourth down punt was fair caught at the 25. White pushed and pulled his way for a first down on the first play. On third and five at the 42, the pass fell incomplete but there was an illegal touching penalty forcing the punt (White ran out of bounds and was the first one to touch the ball after he came back in. On first down for East Grand Rapids, Glendening ran for another first down just past the 40. The clock became a factor with it reading 2:34 and a third and nine to go. Blair passed to Brown, but it bounced off him and fell incomplete, forcing a punt. OLSM got the ball on the 14 with slightly over two minutes to go. Third and seven was the count and the pass was completed but the Pioneers stopped them short of the first down marker. On fourth and one, St. Mary’s punted the ball away and it was fair caught on the other 40. With one minute, EGR came out passing. They had 60 yards to score and at least 40 for a reasonable field goal attempt. White had a chance to intercept the ball, but dropped it. Punts were exchanged and the ball was downed at the 28 for the Eaglets. Mr. White for OLSM almost broke a long one but was pushed out of bounds at the last second. 24 seconds. White again was run out of bounds. 19 seconds. Justin Semmes carried the ball for a few yards. Bolden spiked the ball with five seconds left and facing a fourth down. The play ended without a score, moving into the first overtime.
This is where the post becomes long. I’ve typed out every play.
OVERTIME BABY! On first down, they handed off to Glendening for a one yard gain. Second and goal resulted in another one yard gain for Glendening. Third and goal from the eight was another run for Glendening down to the four yard line. On fourth down a field goal was attempted and made. Then it was Orchard Lake St. Mary’s turn. On first down the run to Semmes gained one yard. Then on second down, they ran the ball with white for another yard. Third and eight was a pass that fell incomplete. A field goal attempt was made to send it to a second overtime.
On first and goal for Orchard Lake, they ran the ball and scored a touchdown. There was a flag and the touchdown negated. Again it was first down. This time, the play gained five yards. Second and goal was the down and a run was stopped at the three yard line. On third and goal, a quarterback keeper was attempted but stopped at the two. This forced fourth down. With two yards to go, OLSM pitched to White who scored a touchdown. The extra point was good. Now it was East Grand Rapid’s last chance. On first down, the ball was fumbled but recovered by EGR. Then on second down, a pass to Christopher Blair went for a touchdown. The extra point sent the game to the THIRD overtime…something that had never happened in finals history.
East Grand Rapids ran a pass and scored with Zach Flood. The extra point was good. The pressure was on OLSM. On first and goal, a run netted three yards. On second and goal, a flip to White was stopped at the six. Then on third and goal, Bolden was sacked for a 12 yard loss but a holding penalty on East Grand Rapids moved the ball to the three and gave the Eaglets another third down. (High school football is the only level that doesn’t give a first down for defensive holding) This time on third down, White ran in a touchdown. The extra point was good sending the game to a fourth overtime.
OLSM ran the ball on first down and gained five yards with White’s legs. On second and goal from the five, the Eaglets again went to White and gained another three yards. Third and two went down inside the one, but failed to cross the goal line. Then on fourth and an inch from the inch line, the Eaglets ran a sneak for the touchdown. The extra point was faked and the two point conversion was good. Now the pressure was really on the Pioneers. On first down, Evan Ankney gained three yards. The Pioneers second down attempt went down to the one yard line. Third and goal from the one was a running play that gained half a yard. On fourth down, EGR scored. Needing the two point conversion, East Grand Rapids converted to send the game to an unprecedented fifth overtime.
Christopher Blair scored the two point conversion. On first down, EGR passed to Blair who went down to at the two. On second and goal they lost a yard. Then on third and goal, Glendening scored a three yard touchdown. The extra point was good. This put the pressure back on Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. On first down, one yard was gained by Dominique White. The second down play resulted one yard gain on a pass to Sims. Third down was an incomplete pass. This fourth down was for all the marbles. Orchard Lake passed to Tayler Peruski but he dropped the ball. GAME OVER!
Interesting Game Notes: East Grand Rapids has won 102 state titles in various sports since the 1930’s. Both teams run the ball effectively. I found it interesting that St. Mary’s crowd was so small, considering it was a game in town and it was for a state championship…I think that Menominee had about the same amount of fans in the game just before this one. 30,341 fans came to see the game today and 61,101 came over the two days of championship games. Sounds to me like many people saw the great value in these games. This was the ninth overtime game in MHSAA history and the second for East Grand Rapids (28-25 victory over Oxford). This is the fifth game in playoff history to go to at least four overtimes and the first playoff game to ever go to a fifth. For the first time in finals history, four teams won back to back championships. The score at the end of regulation was 14-14, the finals score was 46-39.
Add us as a preferred source on Google