Week 12 - Regional Final Results

Well, we have another week down which brings us one week closer to Ford Field, the site of our state championship games. Very few of the teams playing still

Well, we have another week down which brings us one week closer to Ford Field, the site of our state championship games. Very few of the teams playing still won championships last season. Division 3’s East Grand Rapids, Division 6’s Saginaw Nouvel, and Division 8’s Crystal Falls Forest Park are the only ones left. Division 4’s Detroit Country Day and Division 7’s Traverse City St. Francis made it, but lost in the championship game. There is plenty of experience in these teams and they all hope to take the next step to repeat or win in the big game.

I plan on covering all the semifinal games this week. Instead of my regular Tuesday results post, I will post on the semifinals for Divisions 1-4 and will complete the games for 5-8 on Thursday.

Detroit

Dearborn Fordson 29 Detroit Southeastern 18

Thanks to two interceptions by Hassan Amen that led to touchdowns, Fordson took control in the second half and won the game. He also ran the ball 14 times for 89 yards and a score. After the interceptions, the Southeastern defense pushed them to 4th down, but Fordson was able to push the ball into the end zone. Ali Alaboody ran 21 times for 72 yards and two touchdowns. For Southeastern, Will Sturges had a fantastic game. He had five receptions for 158 yards, including a 75 yard pass from Thomas Edwards to close the gap to 15-12 in the third quarter. He also threw a touchdown pass. Darryl Pitts had five receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Their next game against Lake Orion will be played at Troy Athens and be televised on the MHSAA’s TV network.

West

Muskegon 49 Lowell 14

The Big Red Machine rolled over the Red Arrows. Muskegon scored on their first six possessions. They didn’t punt the ball at all. Quarterback Elan Banks completed all six of his passes for 111 yards and ran for 71. Jason Hannett ran the ball 15 times for 183 yards to lead the Big Red rushing attack, which tallied 429 rushing yards. Anthony Davis Jr. had 99 rushing yards and Will Gardner rushed for 75. For Lowell, Kyle Nichol had 277 total yards; 170 passing and 107 yards rushing. Torston Boss caught both touchdowns for Lowell. The artificial field helped Muskegon show their team speed. They will play Davison at Spartan Stadium on Saturday.

Mid Michigan

Ovid-Elsie 34 Freeland 27

I went to this game and was impressed. Ovid played very well and shut down Freeland’s running attack. They were able to stretch their running plays out and force them to find lanes close to the sidelines. The defenders ran right down the line of scrimmage and didn’t allow them to run wild. In all actuality, I was there to watch Ovid’s Chris Robinson. This guy is the real deal. He ran for 277 yards on 21 carries while scoring three touchdowns. His shortest touchdown run was 42 yards. Robinson doesn’t go down after the first hit. He keeps his legs churning and spins out of tackles. I heard that he runs a 4.4 40 yard dash and is listed at six foot tall and 200 pounds. Robinson will be a much talked about back next season when he begins his senior campaign. Alix Fisher ran for 122 yards on 25 carries in the losing effort for the Falcons. It all came down to a forth and nine at the 10 yard line with 14 seconds left in the game. Quarterback Joe Ruhlman passed, but the ball was a little short and the receiver couldn’t grab it before it hit the ground at the one yard line.

North

Traverse City St. Francis 35 West Iron County 12

TCSF scored first on a 50 yard pass from Corey Williams hit Ryan Farley. After that, the Wykons fumbled for a Gladiator score, punted, and threw an interception on the goal line. Farley ran for 162 yards on 20 carries and scored again on an interception. MSU recruit Max Bullough ran it in from three yards out in addition to his kicking duties. The Wykons’ rushing attack was led by Jeff O’Claire who had 59 yards on 12 carries in the first half, but was injured and did not play the second half. Tanner Mayo caught two passes for 114 yards. Quarterback BJ Scalcucci went five of 13 for 162 yards and ran in a touchdown as well. TCSF will play Ravenna Saturday at Ferris State.

Capital Area

Jackson Lumen Christi 37 Almont 7

JLC took control from the start; they pooched the kick and recovered at the Almont 20. It led to the first score, a 25 yard field goal by Nick Kline. The Titans didn’t look back from there and never trailed in the game. Rafe Bellers and Nick Russler proved to be a potent rushing attack. Bellers had a 50 yard touchdown run and finished with 100 yards on 10 carries and two touchdowns. Russler had two touchdowns as well. Junior Maurice Jones had a 65 yard touchdown as the Titians dominated the Raiders. Quarterback Neal Zott had 85 all purpose yards to lead Almont. Jackson Lumen Christi will play Muskegon Oakridge this week at Lansing Everett, Saturday 1pm.

Extra Coverage

Muskegon Catholic Central 33 Mendon 0

It changed the whole philosophy on defense when Mendon’s CJ Nighingale was unable to go for the Mendon Hornets. MCC stacked the box and made it nearly impossible for the Hornets to get much of a running game going. The Crusaders pressured the young quarterback Nic Huff. The loss snapped their 25 game winning streak and ended their season. MCC’s quarterback Jared Johnson ran for 111 yards and a touchdown and passed for 54 yards and a touchdown.  The real story was how well Muskegon’s defense played. Linebacker Brian Johnson made nine tackles and also caught an 18 yard touchdown pass. Next week Muskegon Catholic Central will play Beal City at Cedar Springs High School.