DETROIT (DTV) – (11/26/22) – Today High School football division one is holding its state finals with the returning champs Belleville tigers taking on Caledonia fighting scots at Ford Field, Detroit! Both teams go into this game with impressive records with the tigers currently with an undefeated season of 13-0. Not to say Caledonia isn’t a scary opponent with a 12-1 record! Caledonia’s one loss was against Rockford with a 15-38 end score but the fighting scots quickly came back later beating Rockford in a close 14-13 district game! The Scot’s come into the game with something to prove as this is their first time being this close to a state championship. As for the Belleville tigers mostly dominated their opponents except for their most recent game against Cass Tech in a 29-28 where the tigers barely took the win.
In the first quarter, both teams traded blow for blow with Caledonia’s own Brock Townsend scoring the first touchdown, rushing for one yard, and securing that first touchdown in the game with the clock at 5:27, after that Luke Volger goes for a kick attempt and it’s good securing an extra point for Caledonia! The warrior’s reign didn’t last for long though with the Tiger’s Colby Reed rushing the ball 38 yards down the field and scoring the tiger’s first touchdown of the game with 1:30 left in the quarter.
The second quarter started strong for the tigers with number 22 Dj Walker intercepting a Caledonia ball and running it down for a tigers touchdown, but that didn’t last long because the play was wiped out due to Bellville’s fifth false start of the half. Caledonia takes the ball and runs with it slowly inching their way to the endzone and then the Warrior’s Mason McKenzie ran the ball 33 yards allowing Brock Townsend to push the last yard and get a Caledonia touchdown, Luke Volger follows the play up with a good kick, giving Caledonia that extra point making the score 14 Warriors to 7 Tiger’s. Belleville’s ball at 1:12 on the clock Belleville runs the ball 29 yards until they call a timeout at 23 seconds left. After that timeout, Belleville came out strong with a 27-yard play, and then a pass from Bryce Underwood to Adrian Walker for 7 yards securing Belleville’s second touchdown of the game, that’s not the end of the 2nd quarter though with Bryce Lane going for a kick and successfully grabbing another point for Belleville. Caledonia gets the ball but with only 7 seconds on the clock they couldn’t do much, ending the 3rd quarter with an even 14-14.
The third quarter started with a kickoff from Belleville’s Brayden Lane, Caledonia attempts to rush the ball but was unsuccessful, it was Belleville’s ball, but the same thing for the Tigers, attempting a few rushes but get no points for the Tigers. Caledonia gets the ball again and pushes the ball slowly down the field but they settle with a field goal attempt from Luke Volger and it’s good, giving Caledonia 3 extra points. Once Belleville gets the ball they push hard with Jeremiah Beasle rushing 36 yards for a Tiger’s touchdown. With 39 seconds left the Caledonians to go into the 4th quarter ready to fight!
The final quarter starts with a score of 21 Belleville and 17 Caledonia. Belleville gets the ball early in the 4th starting their drive at 10:48 and getting a huge rush from Bryce Underwood for 48 yards getting Belleville another touchdown! Caledonia gets the ball but is not able to get any points from their plays. Belleville starts their drive at 5:22, Bryce Underwood passes the ball to M. Yharbourgh for 25 yards scoring another touchdown for Belleville. Now with a comfortable lead of 35-17, Belleville keeps up the great defense against the Scots not letting any offense get through them. This trend continues, with Caledonia’s Mason McKenzie’s pass getting intercepted by Belleville’s Dennis Crawford. With Belleville’s interception, both teams let the clock run, resulting in a Tiger’s state finals win for the second year in a row, the Belleville Tigers win 39-17!
If you’d like to see some of the game-making moments, check out our highlights on our Youtube channel DTV News!