Predicting every Michigan high school football state semifinal game
SOS was thrilled to be able to send out happy birthday wishes to legendary Birmingham Brother Rice coach Al Fracassa.
Albert sounded terrific when SOS spoke to him Monday, which was his 91st birthday. Once a coach always a coach, Albert wanted to know how good Belleville is and wanted to know about the many talents of quarterback Bryce Underwood.
This was the best Al sounded in some time and it may be related to the recently released book: “Fracassa: The Man, the Times and the Teams.”
The book is written by the great Bud Krause and Tom Martin. SOS has known Krause since the 1970s when Krause was an outstanding sports writer for the Royal Oak Tribune.
Krause played quarterback for Fracassa at Shrine. SOS is just beginning to read the book and is searching for the passage describing how the coach reacted when Krause changed the play Fracassa called and instead threw a pass to Billy Simpson, who went on to play for Michigan State football, as well as with the Rams and Bills of the NFL.
It is an excellent book about Fracassa, the second winningest coach in state history. It mentions all of the player of consequence who played for him at Shrine and Brother Rice.
It details all of the great teams Fracassa had and also serves as a bit of a history of the Detroit Catholic League over the last 60 years or so.
The excellent foreword was written by Vince Lombardi Jr., whose two sons attended Rice and one of them played for Fracassa.
The back cover features shoutouts from Lloyd Carr, Steve Mariucci and Bill McCartney, who are also legends of the state, and all of the proceeds go to Al and Phyliss.
In other book news, SOS previously told you about the best-selling and sensational “Mountaintop: The Inside Story of Michigan’s 1997 National Climb” by former Free Press sports writers Nick Baumgardner and Mark Snyder.
Word is that Baumgardner, who was an all-stater at Millington, is trying to convince Snyder to help write a book about Millington if it wins the Division 7 state championship. It plays defending champ Jackson Lumen Christi this week.
SOS is skeptical.
Last week in the regional finals, SOS had a 24-8 record (75%), bringing his playoff total to 181-43 (81%).
To learn if SOS believes Baumgardner and Snyder should begin researching their Millington book, or if someone should write a book about Lumen Christi coach Herb Brogan, read on.
All games Saturday at 1 p.m. unless noted.
Division 1
Davison (12-0) vs. Belleville (12-0) at Novi. We all know Belleville scores a ton of points (48.7 per game), but so does Davison (45.4). While Davison is giving up 19.3 points per game, Belleville’s defense has yielded 74 points all season. Belle Tire 44, Davis’ Son 31.
Southfield A&T (11-1) vs. West Bloomfield (10-2) at Troy. In Week 8, the Lakers defeated Southfield, 31-20, which could mean a spot in the finals. But SOS has a feeling — it could be rigor mortis — QB Isaiah Marshall is going to play out of his mind this week. AT&T 32, Seidel High 26.
Division 2
East Lansing (10-2) vs. Muskegon (10-2) at Greenville. Can anyone slow down the Muskegon running attack led by Destin Piggee, Jakob Price and QB M’Khi Guy? Not really. But Jace Clarizio is an excellent runner for East Lansing and the Trojans passing game with Ben Fletcher is much better than the Big Reds'. Muskie’s Gone 41, East Izzo 38.
Waterford Mott (10-2) vs. Warren De La Salle (10-2) at Troy Athens. Make no mistake about it, Mott will have the best player on the field in QB Kalieb Osborne. After that, however, the Pilots have the advantage. Now all the Pilots have to do is slow down Osborne, which is easier said than done. De La Slappy 30, Apple Sauce 21.
Division 3
Zeeland West (9-3) vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Center (11-1) at Holland West Ottawa. The chore for the Central defense will be to find the guy who actually has the football. West’s defense will need to stop QB Mason McDonald, running back JT Hartman and receiver Ty Hudkins. Sherwood Forest 38, Zeeland’s Best 26.
Detroit King (7-5) vs. Mason (12-0) at Chelsea. History has a way of repeating itself, and for the past two years, King has beaten Mason in the semifinals. But sometimes the script gets flipped. Kristin Haynie High 34, King of Wishful Thinking 29.
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Division 4
Grand Rapids South Christian (9-3) vs. Portland (12-0) at Forest Hills Eastern. South Christian may have three losses, but the caliber of competition has been better than Portland has faced. Besides, South Christian has the Best Man. David Kool High 31, Oregon 20.
Goodrich (11-1) vs. Harper Woods (9-3) at Livonia Franklin. Goodrich lost in last year’s state final, but the Martians won’t be returning this time. Jacob Oden and Nate Rocheleau are about to lead Harper Woods to the state championship game. Harper Woods 31, Goodyear 28.
Division 5
Frankenmuth (11-1) vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central (11-1) at Ithaca. This is Frankenmuth’s fourth straight semifinal appearance, which is impressive. But even more impressive is CC QB Connor Wolf and two-way standout Kelly Russell-Dixon. Catholics in Grand Rapids? 28, Chicken Dinners 20.
Flat Rock (9-3) vs. Corunna (12-0) at Ypsilanti Lincoln. Flat Rock has a pair of excellent players in running back Brian Booms and quarterback Graham Junge. But Corunna has the Bower twins and Jaden Eddington and thus is headed to Ford Field. Corona 44, Flat Tire 31.
Division 6
Reed City (9-3) vs. Kingsley (10-2) at Cadillac. Reed City won’t be able to count on another four turnovers this week against Kingsley. In 2020, the Stags were matched up against Reed City in the district final but had to forfeit because of COVID-19. Not this time. Fred Schramski High 37, Kevin Reid City 21.
Ovid-Elsie (8-4) vs. Almont (11-1) at Grand Blanc. Clayton Fruchey was impressive when Ovid, not to mention Elsie, upset Constantine. It will be difficult to keep Almont’s Chase Battani out of the end zone. Almond Joy 21, Over Easy 19.
Division 7
Menominee (10-2) vs. North Muskegon (12-0) at Gaylord, 3 p.m. When QB James Young knocked off Pewamo-Westphalia last week, well, that was enough for SOS. That should get the Norsemen past the Yoopers and to Ford Field. Unless Ken Hofer shows up on the Maroons sidelines. North of Muskegon 25, Nominate Me 21.
Millington (12-0) vs. Jackson Lumen Christi (11-1) at Westland Glenn. Millington has never won 12 games in a season before and it is one game away from its first state championship game. The only thing in its way is Lumen Christi. You know, the team with 12 state championships. Aluminum Foil 21, Corky’s School 17.
Division 8
Beal City (11-1) vs. Ubly (12-0) at Mount Morris. SOS still can’t believe that Ubly ran for 456 yards against Ithaca, but Seth Maurer and Landon Peruski are capable of toting the ball all over the field. Bubbly 38, Bradley Beal 23.
Riverview Richard (8-4) vs. Ottawa Lake Whiteford (12-0) at Adrian College. SOS admires the way the Richard players, especially brothers Antonio and Nick Sobush, have battled their way through all sorts of adversity this season. But the Whiteford offense is a whole different level of adversity. A White Ford 44, Cardinal Dearden South 23.
Mick McCabe (err, Son of Swami) is a former longtime columnist for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at mick.mccabe11@gmail.com. Follow him @mickmccabe1. Order his book, “Mick McCabe’s Golden Yearbook: 50 Great Years of Michigan’s Best High School Players, Teams & Memories,” now at McCabe.PictorialBook.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Predicting every Michigan high school football state semifinal game
