Lenawee Christian repeats as Division 1 8-man football champions
MARQUETTE — A total team effort was needed Saturday as the Lenawee Christian football team claimed its second-straight MHSAA Division 1 8-man state title against Suttons Bay, 31-20, at the Superior Dome.
The Cougars defended their championship, improving to 13-0 on the season and 24-0 all-time in 8-man football.
"What a tremendous game," said head coach Bill Wilharms.
LCS got off to a strong start thanks to the defense as Ashur Bryja returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game.
A pair of big plays put the Norsemen ahead in the second quarter with a Hugh Periard 90 yard touchdown run, followed by a 99-yard interception return by August Schaub to make it a 12-7 game with 4:58 left in the second quarter.
The Cougars' offense began to find a rhythm before the pick-6 as Bryja bounced back and drove the team down the field and capped the drive with an 11-yard run to go up 14-12. The score remained until the half.
"We left so many plays on the field," Wilharms said. "Then we got clicking on both sides of the ball."
In the second half, Jacob McKelvey connected on a 28-yard field goal to make it a 17-12 game with 2:02 left in the third.
LCS held its 17-12 lead until the fourth quarter when Clay Ayers, who did not play much offense in the game as he was limited to defensive back duties for most of the game, ran it 15 yards around the edge for a touchdown to make it 24-12 with 6:21 to go.
The Norsemen responded with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Periard from Dylan Barnowski, but the Cougars had an answer of its own in the form of a 33-yard touchdown run by Bryja with 1:27 left to ice the game.
"I was impressed by everybody on defense," Kegerreis said. "I was impressed how all of the guys have 110%."
Bryja finished the game 15-of-24 passing for 229 yards and one interception while rushing for 143 yards on 22 attempts and two touchdowns. He also had nine tackles, one interception and a pass breakup.
Elliott Addleman had four receptions for 71 yards and added an interception and 6.5 tackles while Nick Stuart caught five passes for 50 yards and Sam Kauranen caught two passes for 50 yards.
Jacobus Kegerreis had 11.5 tackles, two for loss, to lead the defense.
Tristan Beagle had three punts for 122 yards including a 70-yard punt and one to pin the Norseman inside the 5-yard line.
"These seniors are going to leave as the winnigest class in school history," Wilharms said. "I'm not sure how these guys will end up individually, but as a collective group, they'll go down as one of the best."
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee Christian wins back-to-back MHSAA Division 1 8-man football title
