Western, Napoleon, Lumen Christi Moving on in Football Playoffs
By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports
And then there were three.
Western, Napoleon, and Lumen Christi high schools advanced in the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs in their respective divisions with wins Friday night.
The Panthers were dominant on defense and on the ground with a 38-0 home win against Harper Creek.
Mason Roth scored two touchdowns leading Napoleon to a 28-0 over Manchester. The defense stepped up holding the Flying Dutchmen’s passing attack to less than 50 yards.
Lumen Christi had a tussle with Grass Lake for the first 16 minutes of the contest but outscored the Warriors 36-0 in the final two-and-a-half quarters at home.
Napoleon will travel to Lumen Christi for the Division 7 district final while Western will be the home team in the Division 3 district final next week.
Times and dates are yet to be determined.
Here are highlights from district semifinal games on Friday night.
Division 3
Western 38, Battle Creek Harper Creek 0: The Panthers improve to 9-1 on the season with the home win. Alex Trudell ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns for Western in the win. Noah Berdiner finished 5-for-5 on extra points and kicked a 23-yard field goal for WHS. Defensively, Owen St. Andre scored on an 86-yard pick-six in the third quarter for Western. WHS will host Stevensville Lakeshore in the district final. The time and date has yet to be determined.
Division 6
Lansing Catholic 35, Michigan Center 34: The Cardinals finish the season with a 7-3 record after a one-point district loss at home. Lansing Catholic will face Ovid Elsie in the district final next week.
Division 7
Lumen Christi 50, Grass Lake 14: The Warriors tied the game at 14-all, but it was all Lumen Christi after that. The Titans are 9-1 overall while Grass Lake finishes the season at 6-4. Lumen Christi will host Napoleon next week in the district final in a yet-to-be-determined time and date. Kadale Williams ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns and Isaac Rehberg finished with 65 rushing yards and two scores. Xavier Galland averaged more than 10 yard-per-carry with 148 rushing yards on 14 carries and one touchdown and Lundon Hampton also scored for the Titans. Brayden Lape threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns to Robert Anderson. Lape set a new Grass Lake single-season record with 2,492 passing yards. Bryant Cook finished with 10 tackles and Jack Reid added eight stops for the Warriors.
Napoleon 28, Manchester 0: The Pirates improved to 9-1 on the season with the home district win. Manchester finishes the season at 7-3. Kayden Fowler stepped in for Grant Bradley at quarterback for Napoleon and finished with 23 rushing yards and one passing touchdown. Mason Roth ran for 140 yards and two scores and Sam Jennings scored one receiving touchdown for Napoleon. Cooper Wyers started the scoring with a pick-six on defense for the Pirates. Zack Bamm recorded 10 tackles and two sacks and Fowler finished with eight tackles for Napoleon. Blake Sloan ran for 166 rushing yards for Manchester going over the 2,000 yard mark for the season in the process. Landon LaVigne finished with 6.5 tackles for the Flying Dutchmen.
Division 8
Hudson 40, Addison 0: Hudson won a rivalry game on the road Friday in the Division 8 district. Addison finishes the season with a 9-1 record. Hudson advances in the Division 8 playoffs at the district final next week against Ottawa Lake Whiteford.