High School Football: Clinton wins Division 7 district title, Hudson falls to Whiteford

CLINTON — The first 12 minutes of Friday's Division 7 district championship game between No. 5 Clinton and Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central looked like a track race.

Both teams scored on their first two drives to make it a 16-14 Redwolves lead after the first, and the score held until there was 9:05 left in the fourth when Clinton brought the game to its' 22-14 final and claimed its fourth-straight district title.

"We had to make a couple of adjustments," said Redwolves' coach Casey Randolph. "That's football. We did it, I'm proud of our coaching staff and our kids to be able to play those adjustments."

Clinton (10-1) went backwards to start the game when an intentional grounding call pushed the Redwolves back to their own 23-yard line on the first play of the game.

The second play, Nik Shadley broke a few tackles and was off to the races for a 77-yard score and Bryce Randolph added the 2-point conversion.

The Falcons (6-5) answered right back, driving down the field and scored on an Evan Marcon 2-yard burst to make it 8-7. Clinton had a response of its own with Randolph scoring on a 26-yard touchdown, with Jacob Felts adding the 2-point conversion to make it 16-7.

Again, SMCC marched right back with an Ian Foster 7-yard touchdown to make it 16-14.

From there, the defenses stood tall, making stop after stop until Cole Breitenwischer scored from 10-yards out on the Redwolves final drive.

"They came downhill hard on our kids," Falcons' coach Tim Kipf said. "For the second, third and fourth quarter, we were doing the same for the most part. It was a physical football game between two football teams."

SMCC got some momentum following its second touchdown when it recovered an onside kick. The Falcons got down inside the Clinton 25, but the drive stalled and turned it over on downs.

SMCC didn't get any offense going again until its final drive when it got down to the 10-yard line when the Falcons had one overthrown ball in the endzone and then took a sack to seal the deal.

The Redwolves' defense was led by Wyatt Hicks, Bryce Rosacrans, Felts, Randolph and Wyatt Federer, who was a late substitution into the starting lineup.

"Wyatt Federer came to freaking play today," coach Randolph said. "I cannot thank him enough for playing for his team. That was a senior who has waited all year for his opportunity, and man did that kid flourish. I can't say enough about that kid and him being ready."

Hicks and Rosacrans were in Foster's face whenever he rolled out looking to pass.

The duo teamed up for a number of big sacks, but the biggest came on fourth and 13 from the 15-yard line with 1:17 to go.

"We knew it was going to be a battle in the trenches this week," Hicks said. "We came out and played our tails off and did what we could do."

The Redwolves will take on top-ranked and defending state champions Jackson Lumen Christi, who beat Napoleon 26-0 on the road next week.

It's the first meeting between the two since 2015, when Clinton won 49-20 in a Division 6 regional final.

"We're going to come to play," coach Randolph said. "I'm excited for the opportunity to play them; at their place, even better. They have a lot of talent over there, another Catholic school, that's what you expect. It's up to us, the little public school, to out-scheme, out-work and out-heart."

Whiteford 24, Hudson 14

OTTAWA LAKE — Hudson couldn’t ask for a better start to its Division 8 district title fight with Whiteford Friday.

On the third play of the game, Barron Mansfield stepped in front of a Whiteford pass and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown and an early 6-0 lead. The No. 1 Bobcats eventually grabbed the lead, then pulled away in the second half for a 24-14 victory.

“That was great momentum,” Hudson coach Dan Rogers said. “That’s all you can ask for, right? You get a defensive score. I’m proud of our kids. The scoreboard didn’t go in our favor, but I thought we battled them.”

The Tigers (8-3) led 6-0 early in the first quarter and carried a 14-9 lead into halftime. In the second half, however, Whiteford (11-0) put together two long scoring drives, taking the lead with 2:17 left in the third quarter. The final touchdown came with 8:51 left in the game.

The Bobcat defense held Hudson scoreless in the second half, allowing the Tigers 44 yards of offense over the final 24 minutes.

Hudson outgained the Bobcats on offense but couldn’t convert two fourth down conversions in the second half, which was a huge momentum gain for Whiteford.

One of the biggest defensive plays of the game came in the fourth quarter when Hudson faced a third-and-8 from its own 42. After KJ Walker completed a screen pass to Beckett McCaskey, Whiteford linebacker Drew Knaggs fought through a Hudson blocker to tackle McCaskey in the backfield. Hudson punted on fourth-and-10 and never got the ball back as the Bobcats marched 12 plays and ran out the clock.

Hudson scored in the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run by Beckett McCaskey to take a 14-9 lead.

The second half started with Hudson driving to the Whiteford 38 but turning the ball over on downs when they failed to convert a fourth-and-3.

Rogers said the game was won up front.

“That was the difference," he said. "They were able to run the ball a little more, and we weren’t able to stop them. Our kids battled. I’m proud of our kids.”

A four-year starter, Knaggs finished with 68 yards rushing on 21 tough carries, and all three touchdowns to lead the Bobcats.

McCaskey had 130 yards on 16 carries for Hudson, who outgained Whiteford 221-198 on the ground. Brennan Marshall had 77 yards rushing and was in on eight tackles. Jacob Pickford was credited with 14 tackles for Hudson.

The Bobcats won for the 25th straight game. Their last loss was in the 2021 semifinals to Hudson.

The Bobcats will face 11-0 White Pigeon next week at home in the regional final.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Clinton football wins MHSAA Division 7 district title