Titans Survive 3OT Thriller; Advance to D6 State Championship

Paul Sattler (5) pushes off a defender, Lumen Christi defeated Almont 25-19 to advance to the 2025 D6 Football Championship. Photo by Kelly Evans, JTV Sports

David Rice | JTV Sports

Saturday November 22nd

(11-22-2025, 5:30PM): The drive to Novi was certainly worth it, as the Titans survived the game of the year in triple overtime 25-19 over 12-0 Almont to advance to their 18th state final appearance in program history on Saturday.

No scoring to be had in the opening quarter, as it was a defensive battle early on. Miguel Luciano of the Raiders forced a fumble and their defense stopped the Titans on a 4th & 1 to cap off the first quarter.

Almont broke open the scoring in the second quarter, a 22-yard run from Matthew Bacholzky set up a 2-yard touchdown for Logan Schapman to make it a 6-0 Raiders lead. Lumen Christi took up nearly the entire rest of the first half, QB Benny Gaston scored on a 1-yard sneak to even the game up at 6-6 going into the locker room.

Johnny Walters opened the 2nd half with an interception for the Titans defense, but they were stopped again on a 4th & 1 play. Jacob Stewart gave Almont the lead again, running in for a touchdown from 15 yards out for a 13-6 lead after the 3rd quarter.

Lumen took up the first five minutes of the 4th quarter, Sean Walicki scored the tying touchdown from two yards out to even it all at 13 apiece with 7 minutes left. After a turnover on downs and a punt by both teams, we headed to overtime.

After what should have been a TD for Almont, they came up empty on the first overtime possession, the 4th & 1 pitch was called short by the official and gave LC the ball back. The game went to a second OT after QB Benny Gaston took a huge hit near the goal line, as Almont recovered the fumble to keep things even.

Johnny Walters scored on a 10-yard screen pass in 2OT to give the Titans a 19-13 lead. The Raiders answered but missed the game-winning extra point to send the game to triple overtime at 19-19. After a stop by the LC defense inside the 1-yard line, another QB sneak TD by Benny Gaston walked it off to win a thrilling 3OT semifinal for the Titans, 25-19 over Almont.

QB Benny Gaston scored 2 rushing touchdowns to lead the Titans, Johnny Walters scored a TD and caught an INT on defense, and Sean Walicki scored a rushing TD.

With the semifinal win on Saturday, Lumen Christi HC Herb Brogan has won his 100th playoff game all-time, and is now 2nd place all-time for most wins by a coach in MHSAA history. Brogan is just 12 wins away from the record. LCCHS also heads to Ford Field for their 18th appearance in the championship, tying Farmington Hills Harrison for 2nd-most all-time.

Lumen Christi (10-3) will face Kingsley (11-2) in the 2025 MHSAA Football Division 6 Championship, next Friday (11/28) at Ford Field in Detroit, kickoff is at 4pm.