Which prep football teams capped season with championships?

Roundup of Saturday's state championship games at Ford Field

Clarkston players warm up before their Division 1 final against Clinton Township Chippewa Valley on Saturday. Keith Dunlap/GMG

DETROIT – The high school football season officially ended on Saturday with the final four state championships being decided at Ford Field. 

Here is a look at the teams that prevailed and the standout individuals from the day's action.

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Division 7
New Lothrop 50, Madison Heights Madison 44

This ended up being the highest scoring state championship game in the history of the MHSAA finals.

The 94 points scored broke the old record of 91 from the 1994 Class B final between Belding and Country Day.

Back and forth the teams went the entire game, with New Lothrop (13-1) finally gaining an edge in the fourth quarter.

New Lothrop went ahead 44-36 with 3:27 left on a 6-yard touchdown and 2-point conversion by junior quarterback Avery Moore, and then following an interception, Moore scored on a 13-yard touchdown run to give New Lothrop a 50-36 lead with 1:20 left.

Madison (13-1) scored a late touchdown and 2-point conversion, but couldn’t get the ball back on an onside kick and New Lothrop ran out the clock.

Moore ran for 132 yards and four touchdowns, while Madison senior quarterback Austin Brown rushed 24 times for 108 yards and four touchdowns. Brown also went 17 of 30 passing for 298 yards and two touchdowns.

Division 1
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 31, Clarkston 30

A classic that came right down to the final seconds when Clarkston decided to go for what would have been a game-winning 2-point conversion after scoring a touchdown with 23 seconds remaining.

But Clarkston (11-3) couldn’t convert the attempt, and Chippewa Valley went on to win its first state title since it won the Division 2 title in 2001.

Chippewa Valley completed a perfect 14-0 season.

Chippewa Valley held a 24-10 lead at halftime, but Clarkston scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to close within 31-24.

Chippewa Valley senior quarterback Tommy Schuster went a perfect 13 of 13 for 205 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Big Reds.

Clarkston quarterback Jake Jensen went 10 of 15 passing for 110 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. 

Division 5
Hudsonville Unity Christian 42, Portland 7

This was a surprising result, given Portland came in unbeaten and had won a state championship before.

But none that mattered to Unity Christian, which scored the first 35 points of the game and never looked back. 

Unity Christian outrushed Portland, 279-95, and had 389 yards of total offense to Portland’s 184.

Quarterback Isaac TeSlaa ran for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries to lead Unity Christian. 

Division 3
Detroit Martin Luther King 41, Muskegon 25

Arguably the most anticipated matchup of the weekend going in, Martin Luther King got the payback it coveted all season after Muskegon beat the Crusaders in Week 2, 24-21. 

King fell behind 7-0, but that would be the only time it would trail. 

The Crusaders scored the next 14 points to take a 14-7 lead, and then took a 21-10 lead with 9:16 left in the third quarter. 

King went ahead by as many as 18 points at 35-17 with 6:29 remaining, but Muskegon answered back with a touchdown and 2-point conversion with 5:21 left to cut King’s lead to 35-25.

However, King put the game way on a touchdown with 2:35 remaining. 

Senior quarterback Dequan Finn passed for 173 yards and four touchdowns, and running back Perry

Boone rand for 111 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries to lead King (12-2), which won its third state title in four years after winning Division 2 titles in 2015 and 2016. 

Senior quarterback Cameron Martinez ran for 211 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries for Muskegon (13-1). 


About the Author

Keith is a member of Graham Media Group's Digital Content Team, which produces content for all the company's news websites.

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