Football

Yes, Grand Rapids West Catholic was well aware of Saturday’s history-making opportunity at Ford Field. And yes, becoming only the third program to win five straight MHSAA football championships has been an honor, but also a heavy expectation to uphold.

The final score of the Clarkston-West Bloomfield Division 1 Final might cause many football purists to cringe and scoff in disbelief.  But Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson offered no apologies.

The Pewamo-Westphalia football program finished a second straight season hoisting a championship trophy at Ford Field on Saturday, thanks to the “next man up” … and the next man … and the next man after that.  This time, the Pirates prove...

As classmates and fans screamed his name from the Ford Field stands Friday night, Nolan Fugate put the focus on his teammates. “I cannot thank my offensive line and my outside receivers enough,” the Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior running back said. &l...

The challenge came one more time over text Thursday night, from a pair of assistant coaches who had something their players desperately wanted.  Tony Panici and Tyler Aldridge were part of Jackson Lumen Christi’s repeat Division 5 champions in 2003 and 2004,...

Brendan Madigan kept his promise. He was on the field as a freshman in 2014 when Warren DeLaSalle won its first MHSAA Division 2 football championship. And he enjoyed it so much, he told himself he would come back and do it again.

Next time, no one will leave Ottawa Lake Whiteford out of the conversation. It wasn’t like the Bobcats felt overlooked. But coming into this season’s Division 8 playoffs, it was pretty easy to pencil in four-time reigning champion Muskegon Catholic Central ...

This weekend’s MHSAA 11-Player Football Finals are teeming with stories just waiting to be told by all 16 teams as Friday and Saturday’s games play out. For starters, Edwardsburg, Saginaw Swan Valley and West Bloomfield will be making the championship game ...

The countdown is on for our annual voyage to Detroit’s Ford Field.  West Bloomfield, Saginaw Swan Valley and Edwardsburg earned first-time MHSAA Finals berths Saturday, while a handful of surprises also helped shape an intriguing championship field.

To provide for the convenience and safety of spectators attending the Michigan High School Athletic Association 11-Player Football Finals – presented by the Michigan National Guard – at Ford Field in Detroit, Nov. 24 and 25, attendees are being advised of a ...

Fans wearing black and red chanted “U.P. Power” while their favorite team ran for nearly 500 yards without throwing a pass Saturday at the Superior Dome. This was Crystal Falls Forest Park football. And it didn’t matter how many players were on the fi...

Central Lake may not have been totally sure what it got itself into switching to 8-player football heading into this fall. Clearly it didn’t take the Trojans long to figure things out.

It has been nearly 38 years since Herb Brogan became head football coach at Jackson Lumen Christi.  It is hard to imagine anyone facing tougher circumstances in a promotion than he did early in 1980.

The MHSAA 8-Player Finals return to where they got their start Saturday, with two champions to be awarded for the first time. Central Lake, Crystal Falls Forest Park and Portland St. Patrick all are seeking their first 8-player championships – while Central Lake ...

A week from today, Michigan’s best 11-player football teams will be playing, or preparing to play, in MHSAA Finals at Ford Field.  That’s how close we are to dreams coming true for athletes, coaches and communities all over Michigan, many in this way f...

West Bloomfield senior quarterback Bryce Veasley led his team 80 yards over the final two minutes of Friday’s Regional Final against previously-undefeated Utica Eisenhower, completing 6 of 7 passes during the drive before running in the go-ahead score with 51 seco...

I don’t campaign for this task (scheduling games for schools) because, frankly, it will produce complaints and controversy.

A longtime observer of Michigan high school football had a hard time remembering a playoff weekend with as many close finishes as fans enjoyed Friday and Saturday. Start with the games in 11-player Division 1, where all four were decided by fourth-quarter scores or sto...

Constructed in 2003 in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon, the 130-unit Stephen E. Epler Residence Hall is a belated tribute to “the founder of the Vanport Extension Center — the beginning of today's Portland State University.” The recognition f...

We’ve reached the third week of the 2017 Football Playoffs, and we’re going to switch up our “Drive for Detroit” format just a bit to kick off this week’s preview with a closer look at the “March to Marquette."  Eight teams will...