DETROIT – High school football players will get a chance to experience what it’s like to play like the pros as the Michigan High School Athletic Association is hosting finals at Ford Field in Detroit. Teams from Metro Detroit and across the state are going head to head.
Just imagine the rush the players get from being on the same field as the pros.
Local 4 spoke to some of the players’ biggest fans, including their parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings, and they all said the experience doesn’t compare.
“Everything is louder,” said Tyler Smart.
“It’s beyond exciting because it’s just so real,” said Karen Black.
This Thanksgiving weekend, high school football teams from across the state will go head to head for the title of district champs. Warren De La Salle won the finals last year, but that doesn’t make Friday (Nov. 25) any less special, especially for young fans like Smart.
“It means a lot because my brother goes there and plays there, and I’m going to go there,” Smart said.
To witness it at Ford Field is goosebumps-worthy for any fan in the stands.
“It feels good to think about how there’s NFL players that play there and how high school players get to play there too,” Smart said.
The event was so huge that one aunt drove several hours to be there.
“I come from Indiana,” said Black. “I live in Indiana, so I come to Michigan to watch him (nephew) play, so that tells you how exciting this is for me.”
You don’t have to know a player for the MHSAA finals to touch your heart. For instance, Joseph and Doreen Bush’s son Brandon is a defensive coordinator for De La Salle’s football team.
“It is very special,” said Doreen Bush. “We’re so proud of him and all the boys that he mentors. It’s wonderful.”
The Bush family can’t help but get a little passionate.
“It’s amazing these kids work their butts off every year, and to see them get to the big game and all the pomp and circumstance and everything that goes with that, it’s incredible,” said Joseph Bush.
Congrats to De La Salle for winning their second championship in a row; There are three more games Saturday (Nov. 26), with one featuring the defending Division 3 champions, Detroit King High School.
King’s kick-off is at 7:30 p.m.