MHSAA Football Playoffs - Regional Championship Round
We are sitting at the doorstep of the football playoff quarterfinals. A win this week will get you within a game of Ford Field. The Regional Championship trophy is larger as well. There are many reasons why teams are still playing. Many of them point to talent. Some of it points to coaching. Either way, the teams still in it are tough and most games will be battles. Let’s move into the slate of action for the Regional Championship Round.
Portland (10-1) at Flint Powers Catholic (11-0) (Friday November 9, 7pm) (Division 5)
This is going to be a great game. Portland has been rolling past most everyone they played this year. In their two playoff games, they have won by a combined score of 84-6. They started slow against Olivet, but then busted it wide open with a 29 point second quarter. Quarterback Tanner Allison completed four of his nine passes for 163 yards and a score while running five times for another score and 57 additional yards. Running back Jacob Kimmell ran six times for 52 yards and two scores. Auston Brandt caught the touchdown pass and raced 80 yards to the end zone. This is the furthest that any Portland team has ever gone in the playoffs. They had never won a district title until last week. The Red Raiders had qualified for the MHSAA playoffs 14 times and that includes each of the last 10 seasons.
Flint Powers is on a roll. They haven’t lost a game since September 30, 2011. The team is well coached and don’t make many mistakes. Coach Buckle does a great job with any team he is in charge of. Last week, they dispatched previously unbeaten Frankenmuth 34-0. Quarterback Garrett Pougnet completed 11 of his 18 passes for 207 yards and two scores. He also ran eight times for another score and 41 more yards. Nick Sullivan ran nine times for 107 yards and a score while also hauling in two passes for 49 yards and a receiving touchdown. Prescott Myers led the receivers with 116 yards on five receptions. Jonathon Dzido and Brooks Morgan each caught touchdown passes. Powers is widely believed to have a fantastic chance to win another state title.
Saline (10-1) at Detroit Cass Tech (9-2) (Friday November 9, 7pm) (Division 1)
Saline comes into the game with a nice record. They only lost one game this season, and avenged that loss to Ann Arbor Pioneer by beating them 31-17 last week. Those two teams tied for the Southeastern Conference Red Division title. It was Saline’s first conference championship since tying Chelsea in 2006. That year, they also won a district title by beating Ann Arbor Pioneer. In the win, they jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Quarterback Tyler Palka completed nine of his 12 passes for 134 yards and also ran 10 times for another 58. Kevin Gross toted the rock 15 times for 60 yards and three scores. Griffin Wooley ran 19 times for 78 yards. Gage Hammond busted a 51 yard scoring run the only time he ran with the rock and pulled in five balls for 63 yards. On defense, Caleb Ashby made 11 tackles and two sacks. Brandon Gordon made five tackles and grabbed two interceptions. This is a chance for the school’s first ever regional title to go along with their first ever 10 win season.
The Technicians of Detroit Cass Tech are coming off a state championship season. Their roster has many players who are getting looks from colleges. They have a tradition of sending players to big time schools. It wasn’t easy win last week, though. Cass Tech was losing 17-14 at halftime. It was mostly the ground game in the second half that let them pound their way to victory. Gary Hosey ran 13 times for 200 yards and three scores while Mike Weber ran 16 times for 218 yards and three scores. Quarterback Jayru Campbell hit Jourdan Lewis for a 43 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter. The win gave Cass Tech their third consecutive Division 1 District Championship. They have been very good in the past three seasons, reaching the semifinals in 2010 and winning the title in 2011. They have a chance to get back to Ford Field, but they need two more wins.
Muskegon Catholic Central (8-3) at Mendon (11-0) (Saturday November 10, 1pm) (Division 8)
Both of these teams are powerhouses of the small schools. Both have won state titles within the past four years. It was a close game last week when they beat Fowler by the score of 14-0. After the game, junior Alex Lewandoski said that his team wants the rematch with Mendon. “I was on the field for the game last year and that didn’t feel very good. We want another shot at them.â€Â Lewandoski had a nice game after returning from an ankle injury sustained early in the contest which kept him on the bench most of the first half. He rushed for 154 yards and both touchdowns on 19 runs and caught one pass for nine more yards. Tommy Scott chipped in 74 yards in 15 runs and pulled in two receptions for 38 yards. Quarterback Zach Campbell completed four of his nine passes for 58 yards and ran 13 times for 31 more. This will be a great game between two great programs run by two great coaches.
Mendon is on a roll. They haven’t lost in their last 25 games (November 12, 2010 was the last time.) Last week, they beat a previously unbeaten team in Climax-Scotts by the score of 28-6. The Hornets scored on three of their first four possessions. Mendon also had an injured running back. Tyler Harris had sprained his ankle earlier in the week. When it was all over though, he had rushed 29 times for 249 yards and two scores. Nobody from Mendon completed a pass, but quarterback Nick Eberstein ran 10 times for 72 yards and a score. Elijah Klepper ran once for one yard and a score. One of the problems for Mendon last week was penalties. A 91 yard scoring run was wiped out and they ended up with eight penalties for 104 yards. That is something they will need to clean up if they are going to continue their streak and make another run at Ford Field. Mendon knocked out Muskegon Catholic Central a year ago today in the regional final before going on to win the D-8 state title.
Grand Rapids Christian (10-1) at Stevensville-Lakeshore (11-0) (Saturday November 10, 1pm) (Division 3)
Grand Rapids Christian won a shootout last week. They beat Zeeland West 68-44. Little did we know that what we thought would be a football game would turn into a track meet. The win put them into their first ever Regional Final and gave them their first ever District Title. For the game, they racked up 664 yards of total offense. Quarterback Alex Van De Vusse completed 16 of his 30 passes for 413 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite receiver was future Spartan Drake Harris. Harris caught seven footballs for 208 yards and two scores. Davaris Collier caught five for 117 yards and the other two receiving touchdowns. Van De Vusse also scored four rushing touchdowns and finished with 110 yards on 24 carries. Seth McIntosh ran 16 times for 128 yards. The defense gave up 44 points though. They will need to step it up on that side of the ball if they want to win another Michigan shaped trophy. The Lancers are not about to roll over.
Stevensville-Lakeshore played a good game. They stared quickly out of the gate with a field goal and never looked back. After that field goal, they exploded for seven touchdowns. Quarterback Johnny Nate completed four of his seven passes for 197 yards and a score. He also ran five times for 42 yards and a score. Zak Drake was on fire, running seven times for 164 yards and two scores. Mike Adams chipped in 89 yards and two scores on eight rushes. Harold Wiggins was the leading receiver with three receptions for 157 yards and a score. The Lancers have been a good program for quite some time. They last had a losing season back in 1996 and that’s their only losing season dating back to 1988. They won the Southwestern Michigan Conference West Division title this season as well. A win this week will put them back into the semifinal game for the third time in 10 years.
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