Belleville football dominates Saline for sixth straight district title

Underwood and Beasley combine for six total touchdowns to lead the Tigers

BELLEVILLE, MICHIGAN -- The No. 1 Belleville Tigers (11-0) defeated the No. 6 Saline Hornets (9-2) 65-14 in the MHSAA Division 1 district final at Belleville High School.

The Tigers totaled five first-half touchdowns to enter halftime with a commanding 37-7 lead.

The second half wasn’t much different than the first as the Tigers continued to dominate. They would add four more touchdown to knock off Saline to capture their sixth-straight district championship.

Michigan high school football scores: Live playoff updates, live streams - Week 11 (11/3/2023)

Michigan high school football playoff brackets: 2023 state tournament district final matchups, game times

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Belleville's defense is dominating opponent after opponent

The back-to-back reigning Division 1 state champions took pride in shining on the defensive side of the ball as they held the Hornets to only one offensive score on the day and forced three interceptions from Saline quarterback and Notre Dame commit CJ Carr.

“This is the first time that we got tested with our secondary,” Belleville head coach Calvin Norman said. “We’ve been working on it that past three weeks to get better within our secondary, but we did a great job today.”

The Tigers also found the end zone on defense today as junior linebacker Andre Thomas Jr. picked up a fumble on the first offensive play of the game for Saline and returned it to the house.

Through 11 games so far this year, the Tigers have held their opponents to a total of 53 points while totaling five shutouts.

“That’s a credit to the defensive coaching staff; they do a great job week in and week out,” coach Norman said.

The duo of Bryce Underwood and Jeremiah Beasley triumphs

Top quarterback in the country for the class of 2025 Bryce Underwood, with senior linebacker/running back and Michigan commit Jeremiah Beasley is one of the best offensive duos in the state

Beasley found the end zone with 51 seconds left in the first quarter as he ran it in from one yard out to give the Tigers a 16-7 lead.

Not long after, Underwood found wide receiver Julian Johnson for six to extend Belleville’s lead, 22-7, with 9:32 left in the second quarter.

Then with 6:32 left in the second quarter, Beasley would fire back with another touchdown of his own as he bulldozed his way into the end zone, extending the Tigers’ lead 30-7.

Underwood then said checkmate with 1:06 left in the second quarter as he threw another touchdown to give Belleville a commanding 37-7 lead heading into halftime.

“Week in and week out they come together and they come to play,” Norman said. “We talk about being on the elite, they give us our A-game.”

Underwood would add two more passing touchdowns in the second half to bring his game total to four, as the duo would score six of Belleville’s nine touchdowns.

Skill and depth will carry this Belleville team to a potential three-peat

When you talk about the great football teams, you talk about teams who carry both skill and depth, and Belleville’s got both. The Tigers have a pack that can be the key factor in capturing a third-straight state championship.

“Just having players surround you that puts in the same work as you, it’s great to have,” Underwood said. “My guys, we are continuously doing that and we get better every week.”

Excluding Underwood and Beasley, the Tigers had four different players score touchdowns on the day to help dominate the Hornets.

After Thomas Jr’s scoop-and-score and Beasley’s rushing touchdown, senior wide receiver Julian Johnson would find the end zone on a Randy Moss-esque catch from Underwood to extend Belleville’s lead, 22-7.

Next, it was senior wide receiver Jalen Johnson as he caught a touchdown pass from Underwood in the second quarter, followed by another touchdown catch in the third quarter to put his total at two on the day.

Then it was senior wide receiver Kevin Simes who joined the party as he caught a touchdown pass from Underwood in the third quarter to extend Belleville’s lead, to 44-7.

Finally, junior Ray-Mond Smith would cap things off on the day for the Tigers as he rushed for a two-yard touchdown to put the nail in the coffin for Belleville.

“When you play Belleville, you have to play Belleville,” Norman said. “Everybody, not just one person.” 

---

Follow SBLive Michigan on Facebook @sblivemi