MHSAA Football - Regional Championship Recap

It’s another week, another trophy for some schools while others are finishing tryouts for the basketball team. Many of the games last Friday and Saturday were top notch events. The dreams are still alive and well for some young men. There are still chances to make a big play to help your team and town win a state title. Some may be winning their first; others may win one of many. Either way, the stage is getting bigger and the lights are getting brighter. Let’s examine the Regional Championship games profiled last week.

Upper Peninsula vs. Mid-Michigan (Division 6)

Ithaca 62 Negaunee 34

This was a supposed to be a football game, but it turned into a track meet. With 42 first quarter points, it was looking to be all about the offense. That’s when Ithaca’s defense woke up. After allowing 22 first quarter points, they only allowed two more touchdowns. Ithaca keeps rolling though with their 54th straight win. The Yellowjackets had the total offensive yard advantage, with 700-298 yards. Quarterback Travis Smith had a fantastic day; he completed 24 of his 38 passes for 411 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions. He also gained 79 yards and a touchdown on 14 runs. Byran Shaw rushed 21 times for 207 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Logan Hessbrook grabbed seven receptions for 217 yards and four touchdowns. Josh Hafner had eight catches for 79 yards. On the Negaunee side, Tyler LaJoie completed nine of his 22 passes for 156 yards and three interceptions. LaJoie caught six passes for 119 yards and rushed 24 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns. He returned an interception 42 yards for a score and returned a kickoff 81 yards for another score. Tyler Windahl had six runs for 10 yards and a score. Ithaca will face Montrose this week.

West Coast (Division Eight)

Muskegon Catholic Central 28 Mendon 12

Interestingly enough, the winner of this game tends to win a state title (happened four of the last five times.) Muskegon Catholic Central never trailed and was able to win a hard fought game against Mendon. No one scored in the first quarter. In the second quarter, both put points on the board. MCC scored twice in the fourth quarter to put the game away. MCC quarterback Nick Holt completed zero of his seven passes and had an interception. He did run 17 times for 192 yards and two scores though. Alex Lewandowski rushed 18 times for 46 yards and a score. Tommy Scott had eight runs for 38 yards and a score. For Mendon, quarterback Robert Riley completed 17 of his 35 passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Kyle Wiswell caught 11 of them for 150 yards and two scores. Kaleb McCarroll rushed 14 times for 43 yards while Elijah Klepper ran 13 times for 46 yards. Muskegon Catholic Central plays New Lothrop in the semifinals.

Capital Area (Division 3)

DeWitt 49 Eaton Rapids 0

DeWitt just blasted the Greyhounds out of the water. They were much bigger and made very few mistakes. DeWitt quarterback Jacob Johnson completed 11 of his 16 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Christopher Ruby caught all three of those scoring passes. Ben Heinritz scored three rushing touchdowns. He finished with 183 yards on 15 carries. Even though Eaton Rapids lost pretty badly, they can still hold their heads up high after playing the school’s first postseason game and winning their first football trophy since my mom was a little girl. DeWitt will face off against St. Clair on Saturday.

Detroit (Division 1)

Detroit Cass Tech 32 Macomb Dakota 17

This win for Cass Tech was all about quarterback Jayru Campbell. He knew that Dakota was going to be focusing on the running backs, so he made plays with his legs and helped his team win. He completed 13 of his 18 passes for 202 yards, a score, and an interception. He also ran the ball six times for 148 yards and three touchdowns. The other three running backs combined for 77 yards, with Mike Weber leading with 47 yards and a score. Damon Webb had a 49 yard reception that set up Weber’s touchdown run. For Macomb Dakota, quarterback Tyler Crowell completed 15 of his 29 passes for 147 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also ran 10 times for 27 yards. Zachury Flack rushed five times for 49 yards. Brendan Mangan caught five passes for 49 yards. Cass Tech gets another rematch with Detroit Catholic Central, the team they beat the past two seasons in the state title game.