We have officially reached the last week of the High School Football season and the road to Ford Field ends this weekend. All games will take place at Ford Field home of the Detroit Lions. Games will happen on Saturday November 24 and Sunday November 25 with Divisions 2,4,6, and 8 on Saturday and 1,3,5,7 will take place Sunday. Our staff, Josh Abeare, Jason Kirby, and Natalia Terlikyj, will make our picks along with our special guest picker Tom Hoover.
Tom Hoover is a Hall of Fame coach who has 33 years of experience. Hoover just wrapped up his second year as the Head Coach at New Boston Huron.
Last week, Josh finished with a 11-1 Record, Jason had a 9-3 week, Nat finished with a 9-3 record, and Coach Marten had a 8-4 week. That brings the season totals to Josh at 71-23, Jason at 58-36, Nat at 61-33, and our guest pickers at 66-28.
Division 2
Muskegon (11-2) vs De La Salle Collegiate (11-2) Saturday 7:30 PM
Muskegon and De La Salle will meet for a seventh time. This will be the second time they’ve met this season and the third time they’ve met to decide the State Championship. When the two teams met back in week two of the season, it was De La Salle getting only their second win over Muskegon 40-28. Last week, Muskegon beat East Lansing 42-7 and De La Salle beat Waterford Mott 45-19.
Shane Fairfield will lead Muskegon into their second straight finals matchup against another powerhouse team. This will be Muskegon’s ninth trip to the finals under Fairfield. Muskegon will look to Quarterback Mkhi Guy and Running back Jakob Price to lead the way. Guy has completed 35 of his 60 passing attempts for 535 yards and eight touchdowns. However, it’s his feet where he makes his name, as he has 1636 yards and 23 touchdowns on 142 carries. Price had 101 carries for 842 yards and 17 touchdowns. If you want a do-it-all player for Muskegon, look no further than Destin Piggee, who played a role in all phases of the game for Muskegon. Piggee had 1387 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns.
De La Salle is looking for a third straight state title in their fourth straight appearance. Head Coach Dan Rohn has his team in a groove, even without Brady Drogosh’s and Rhett Roeser’s leadership. Drogosh is, of course, a freshman at Cincinnati, and they lost Roeser to injury earlier in the season. Taking the reins at Quarterback is Junior Sante Gasperoni. Gasperoni has completed 135 of his 214 passes for 1876 yards and 20 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 14 touchdowns and 903 yards. It’s been their trio of Wide Receivers in Phoenix Glassnor, Damion King IV, and Joey Montilla. Glassnor leads the way in yards with 616, and King has seven receiving touchdowns but ten total touchdowns on the year.
Josh: De La Salle
Jason: De La Salle
Nat: De La Salle
Coach Hoover: Muskegon
Division 4
Grand Rapids South Christian (10-3) vs Harper Woods (10-3) Saturday 1:00 PM
Last week, Harper Woods beat Goodrich 35-24, and South Christian beat Portland 21-6. South Christian and Harper Woods have never met before.
South Christian is back looking to defend their State Title from a year ago. Jake Vermaas is back for South Christian and has done a little bit of everything for his team. Vermaas has carried the ball 15 times for 54 yards, completed a pass for 33 yards, and has 79 receptions for 1485 yards and 19 touchdowns. That’s not even mentioning his 221 return yards and one punt return for a touchdown. Vermaas has also come up big on defense with five interceptions, one of which was a pick-six. Under center for South Christian is Carson Vis. Vis has passed for 2429 yards and 31 touchdowns on 139 of 218 passing. He’s also rushed for 807 yards and 13 touchdowns on the season.
Harper Woods is looking to win their first title in school history. Looking to help them, there is defensive standout Jacob Oden. Oden, a University of Michigan commit, has looked like such this year with four interceptions, 54 tackles, breaking up nine passes, causing a fumble, and having six tackles for loss. Nate Rocheleau has been leading the offense under center for Harper Woods, completing 71% of his passes for 1836 yards and 23 touchdowns. Rocheleau’s favorite target this year has been Dakota Guerrant. Guerrant has pulled in 38 passes for 1086 yards on the season.
Josh: Harper Woods
Jason: Harper Woods
Nat: Harper Woods
Coach Hoover: South Christian
Division 6
Kingsley (11-2) vs Almont (12-1) Saturday 4:30 PM
Last week, Kingsley beat Reed City 37-7, while Almont beat Ovid-Elsie 45-21. This will be the first time the two schools have met.
Kingsley is back in the state final game for the first time since 2005, when they won it all. Leading them into battle will be Quarterback Gavyn Merchant. Merchant has completed 65 of his 97 passing attempts for 1205 yards and 17 touchdowns. While Merchant is leading things for Kingsley under center, it’s Eli Graves as the do-it-all player for Kingsley. Graves has 1654 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns on 186 carries. Graves also has 448 receiving yards and five touchdowns and returned two kickoffs for scores.
Almont is back in the finals for the first time since 2019 when they were the runners-up to Lansing Catholic Central. Almont has been a running team as opposed to a passing team. Their primary weapon has been Chase Battani. Battani has run for 1047 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year. He has also pulled in 137 yards and two touchdowns receiving. Passing the ball for them is Chase Davedowski. Davedowski has passed for 431 yards and eight touchdowns on the year.
Josh: Kingsley
Jason: Almont
Nat: Kingsley
Coach Hoover: Almont
Division 8
Ubly (13-0) vs Ottawa Lake Whiteford (13-0) Saturday 10:00 AM
Last week, Ubly beat Beal City 24-6, and Whiteford beat Gabriel Richard 35-6. This is the second meeting for the two schools, with the only other meeting coming last year in the State Finals as Whiteford edged out Ubly 26-20.
Ubly will once again turn to Quarterback Evan Peruski, who has done a little bit of everything for his team as he has passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns; he’s also rushed for 442 yards and four scores and has returned a punt for a touchdown. However, Canden Peruski is the one to watch as he has rushed for 1485 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season.
Whiteford is looking to defend their title from a year ago. However, they will have to do it without their Quarterback from that game. Leading them into battle this year will be Tre Eitniear. Eitniear has passed for 949 yards and 14 touchdowns on 41 of 79 passing. Hunter DeBarr, who shined in the game last year, is back after rushing for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns. DeBarr has also played a role in the game, as he has pulled in 14 receptions for 277 yards and four touchdowns during the year. Jake Iott is also back for Whitford, as he has run for 803 yards and seven touchdowns. Kolby Masserant has been the leading receiver for Whiteford, as he has pulled in 39 receptions for 889 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year.
Josh: Whiteford
Jason: Whiteford
Nat: Whiteford
Coach Hoover: Whiteford