MHSAA Football - District Title Game Recaps
Let’s take a look at the district finals! There were some very good and close games. The only one that wasn’t super close in my column this week was the Lansing Sexton win over Swan Valley. All the rest came down to closing minutes for the most part. Making one play here or there was the difference for the most part. Now, on to the recap!
Division 4 – Capital Area
Lansing Sexton 41 Saginaw Swan Valley 20
This one was Sexton all the way. They were able to push around Swan Valley’s offensive and defensive lines to dominate the game. The line was quick off the ball and strong at the point of attack. Sexton quarterback Malik Mack completed 10 of his 16 passes for 155 yards and a score. Five of those passes went to Rashawn Welborn for 93 yards and a score. Ja’von Wray rushed 24 times for 189 yards and five touchdowns. For Swan Valley, quarterback Nick Call completed three of his seven passes for 44 yards. Ben Hart was his go to receiver with two catches for 41 yards. Running back Alex Grace rushed 23 times for 188 yards and three scores.
Division 1 Northern Detroit
Clarkston 23 Lapeer 20
This was a pretty close game. Clarkston had a chance to hang more points on the board while already having a 10 point lead with the game winding down. Then they threw an interception in the red zone. Lapeer drove down the field and score. With 2:26 left, Lapeer decided not to onside kick and hope their defense would hold. Clarkston was able to get a first down and run out the clock. Quarterback DJ Zezula completed 10 of his 15 passes for 191 yards, a score, and two picks while also running for 52 yards on four runs. Merrick Canada was the leading receiver for Clarkston with four receptions for 89 yards and a score. Nolan Eriksen rushed 10 times for 61 yards and a score. On the Lapeer side, quarterback Elijah Hunt completed 17 of his 28 passes for 188 yards and two scores and also ran in a score. Tyler Wills was his favorite target with 11 catches for 134 yards and a score. Travis Mersino and Brian Bach each rushed 11 times for 76 and 49 yards, respectively.
Division 3 West Coast
Zeeland West 30 Stevensville-Lakeshore 28
On the second play of the game, Zeeland West running back Darius Perisee took an inside run to the house for a 75 yard score. That helped set the game up as the Lancers were able to bottle up the Dux rushing attack for the most part after that. It all came down to a fourth and one play with less than two minutes remaining. Stevensville Lakeshore was stuffed on fourth and one and Zeeland West was able to run out the clock for the win. Zeeland West quarterback Casey Brinks completed both of his passes for 17 yards and ran seven times for 77 yards and a score. Trevor Raby caught one pass for 12 yards. Perisee finished with 153 yards on seven runs and scored twice. Nick Jasch rushed 12 times for 57 yards. Dakota Geurink ran eight times for 23 yards and a score. On the S-L side, quarterback Andy Branch completed nine of his 13 passes for 86 yards and a two yard passing score to Adam Lamotta. Eric Schmidt caught six passes for 70 yards. Chayse Magrane rushed 18 times for 69 yards and a score. Sam Effa gained 15 yards and scored once on 13 attempts.
Division 7 Traverse City
Traverse City St. Francis 14 Suttons Bay 7
The defense of the Gladiators kept the Norsemen of Suttons Bay away from the end zone. There were two interceptions during the game and strip sack fumble recovery that ended Suttons Bay last possession. Leading the rushing attack of TCSF was Justin Klingelsmith with 18 carries and also caught two passes for 78 yards and a score. Jake Summers toted the rock 12 times for 72 yards. Quarterback Devin Capron caught the lone touchdown pass on a trick play. Trevor Petroskey tossed that 10 yard scoring pass.
