Lumen Christi Catholic High School football player Jelani Harbor (78) attempts to block a pass during the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 7 state finals Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit. Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports.
By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports
The Lumen Christi Catholic High School finally found a team who could stop their successful running attack.
Pewamo-Westphalia High School held the Titans to 109 total yards – 80 on the ground – in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 7 final at Ford Field on Saturday.
The 14-0 loss stops the Titan’s 35-game winning streak and 19-game playoff winning streak.
The Titans finished the season with a 12-1 record, but failed to win the schools fourth consecutive state football title.
“We couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Lumen Christi head Coach Herb Brogan said. “They (Pewamo-Westphalia) played a great ball game and had a great plan.”
The Titans had a chance to score first, but missed a 23-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter.
Lumen Christi dodged a bullet in the second quarter following a 58-yard punt return by Nate Martin. The Titans stopped PW on four consecutive plays to take over.
The Titans had a second chance to score later in the quarter following an interception by Walker Plate. But two plays later, Aaron Bearss intercepted a Lumen Christi pass to end the threat.
Pewamo-Westphalia turned that into six points with a 27-yard pass from Ethan Thelen to Bearss.
The Pirates led 7-0 at halftime.
Neither team threatened to score in the third quarter. A good return on a punt by Lumen Christi set the Pirates up inside the Titans 15-yard line. Ralph Golden thwarted that drive with a sack-strip fumble for the Titans. The fumble was recovered by Keegan Smith.
Lumen Christi would not take advantage of that and had to punt to Pewamo-Westphalia. The Pirates finished the scoring with a 16-yard run by Carter Thelen for a touchdown with 2:16 remaining in the game.
Walker Plate finished with 49 rushing yards, but needed 22 carries. Brendan Wilson was 6-for-16 passing for 29 yards.
Defensively, Matt Saunders finished with 11 tackles. Brody Dalton, Jelani Harbor, and Smith all finished with six tackles apiece.
The loss is only the Titans third in a state final in 14 attempts.
The Titans’ roster listed 16 seniors on the team.
“It was a great run for this senior class,” Brogan said. “You can tell by the faces up here it is disappointing.”