Week 12 Results - Where There's A Will, There's A Way

We’ve seen the Regional Finals come and go. There were a few surprises in the games, but none of these teams would have made it this far without being a

We’ve seen the Regional Finals come and go. There were a few surprises in the games, but none of these teams would have made it this far without being a quality football team. Luckily, the weather has been fantastic for November. Some years, we get snow, but it’s been unseasonably warm. Of the 32 teams left in the playoffs, 12 are still undefeated. There are also four teams remaining that were state champions last season. Many of the other teams have a lot of playoff experience. It will take more than experience and last year’s games to win this weekend. Let’s take a look at last week’s Regional Final games and get ready for the semifinals this weekend.

Detroit – Division 1

Sterling Heights Stevenson 38 Detroit Southeastern 32

It was a pretty close game, but a gamble by quarterback Jason Fracassa paid off. With time running out and not wanting to give the ball back to Southeastern, Fracassa called a fade to DJ Mershman and completed the pass which enabled them to run out the clock. Fracassa passed for 488 yards and tossed four touchdowns. He completed 31 of his 53 attempts. Jason also ran in another touchdown from five yards out. Mershman caught 12 footballs for 266 yards. Southeastern didn’t go down easily though; they took leads in the first and second quarters. Edward Thomas completed 12 of his 26 passes for 243 yards. Late in the game, they had come back from 18 down to get close, but their onside kick wasn’t recovered and the Fracassa/Mershman combination was able to run out the clock.

North – Division 4

Saginaw Swan Valley 35 Kingsford 21

It took a comeback in the second half, but the Vikings of Swan Valley have returned to the semifinals. Kingsford scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 79 yard touchdown pass from Kyle Sexton to Dylan Tengesdahl. At the half, Kingsford led 21-14. Swan Valley running back Jared Briguglio ran 22 times for 174 yards and scored three times. One of those scores came on a 53 yard screen pass from quarterback Cody Call and put the Vikings ahead 27-21. Call passed five times, completed three of them for 79 yards and a score, and also ran in two touchdowns. He ran for 39 yards on seven carries. Fullback Matt Wenzel toted the rock 12 times for 108 yards but didn’t find the end zone.  Viking coach Rich Bell credited his defense for being able to keep the Flivvers from finding a lot of rhythm.

West – Division 8

Muskegon Catholic Central 35 Colon 21

Crusader head coach Mike Holmes knows one thing; his team can pass and they ran run. He credits that as the reason that they have reached the semifinals again this season. Most of those ground yards come from Major Metcalf. Metcalf ran for 182 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. He also ran a 94 yard kickoff return in for a score to open the second half. Quarterback Tom Pallas completed three of his four passes for 33 yards and ran in two touchdowns. Two of those completions went to JaMicah Cooper who gained 21 yards. On the Colon side, quarterback Brendon Shallack completed nine of his 18 passes for 187 yards and had a scoring toss to Brandon Farrand. Farrand ended the game with six receptions for 110 yards. Shallack also ran 20 times for 76 yards.

Mid Michigan – Division 2

Birmingham Brother Rice 49 Midland 27

The Warriors beat the Chemics handily. Quarterback Frankie Popp threw for 269 yards because completed 10 of his 18 passes and also connected on three touchdowns. Kevonte Martin-Manley caught three touchdown passes and set a school record with 177 receiving yards and scored on two of his receptions. One of those touchdown passes went 93 yards which was also a school record. Running back Tyler Lendzion ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. On the Midland side, Charlie Leffingwell ran for 157 yards and scored two touchdowns on his 17 carries. Leffingwell ended his senior season with over 2,000 rushing yards. Quarterback Alex Rapanos completed 11 of his 18 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns while also running for 42 on his 13 carries.

Capital – Division 3

DeWitt 31 Adrian 14

Adrian kept up with DeWitt for the first half, just like Sexton did last week. Unfortunately for the Maples, the Panthers used the second half to dismantle Adrian like they did to Sexton. Quarterback Jimmy Williams completed 17 of his 26 passes for 167 yards but was intercepted for only the second time this season. He also ran for 45 yards on 10 carries. Nathan Deak rushed for 183 yards and four touchdowns on his 19 totes. DeWitt kicker Cody Ballard booted a 44 yard field goal just before halftime to put his team up 10-7. Jordan Johnson caught seven footballs for 110 yards. Adrian quarterback Drew Collins started the scoring, running for a 94 yard touchdown in the first quarter. He finished the night with 173 yards on 17 rushes. He also completed 10 of his 24 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. Camron Moorhead caught three passes for 38 yards and was the only other Maple to score.