Whiteford falls to Ubly in Division 8 state football championship game

DETROIT — Whiteford's football team got a stop on the opening drive of the game — with the help of a video review.

From there, the Bobcats could not find a way to slow down Ubly.

Whiteford suffered its first loss in two seasons, falling 21-6 in the Division 8 state finals at Ford Field in Detroit.

"No matter what we threw at them, they were able to handle us up front," said Whiteford coach Todd Thieken, who suffered his first loss in two seasons as the head coach of the Bobcats.

Ubly gave a preview of what was to come as it drove smartly on it's opening drive to the Whiteford 5.

More: Whiteford gets offense going, rolls back into Division 8 state final

On fourth down, senior quarterback Evan Peruski seemed to dive into the end zone for a touchdown.

But a video review — something the Michigan High School Athletic Association starting using for state championship games a few years ago — determined the Peruski's knee touched down before he extended the ball over the goal line.

Whiteford had a great response, dirivng 99 yards for a 4-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Tre Eitniear to Hunter DeBarr. The big play was a 48-yard pass from Eitniear to Ryin Ruddy.

The two-point try failed, but that didn't matter in the long run.

Ubly's offense was simply unstoppable.

Only two other Bearcat drives ended up without points — at the end of the first half when they took over with less than a minute remaining and at the end of the game when they knelt down to run out the clock inside the Whiteford 10-yard line.

The biggest problem for Whiteford was first down.

Ubly averaged more than 6 yards on 23 first-down plays.

"They must have averaged 7 yards per play on first down," Thieken said. "That's big for an offense that is predicated on 4 yards, 4 yards, 4 yards. We were never about to get any second down and longs. When that happens, their whole playbook is open to them.

"That wasn't something we've been used to all season."

The first half consisted primarily of three long drives: two by Ubly and one by Whiteford.

Ubley responded to Whiteford's 99-yard scoring drive with an 80-yarder of its own. A 3-yard run by Seth Maurer capped that one off.

The Bearcats led 7-6 at halftime, then turned aside Whiteford's first drive of the second half, then pushed its lead to 14-6 on an 11-yard pass brom Peruski to Ryan Learman.

Whiteford had to punt for the second time of the game early in the fourth quarter, and Ubly moved 60 yards for a 4-yard TD run by Luke Volmering with 6:13 remaining.

Facing a 15-point deficit, Whiteford was forced to abandon its running game.

"They were shutting down our running game," Thieken said. "We were having trouble moving the ball or doing anything sustainable."

It was a disappointing finish for the Bobcats, but they have been on an incredible run over the few seasons. They went 14-0 and beat Ubly in the state finals last year and were undefeated in 2023 until Saturday.

"We had really great coaching all the through," senior Drew Knaggs said. "We have a lot of great memories. We won a lot of games."

Added DeBarr, "I've had a great opportunity as a starter for the last four years. I've glad I had coaches and teammates who made me better."

The underclassmen will try to maintain Whiteford's rich tradition.

"This will motivate us," Eitniear said. "Walking out on that field was amazing."

Jake Iott closed his outstanding career at Whiteford with a game-high 18 tackles and also was the leading rusher for the Bobcats with 37 yards on 12 carries.

Eitniear completed 6-of-11 passes for 78 yards and Ryin Ruddy had 2 catches for 53 yards.

Thieken teared up as he talked about several of the seniors coming up to him after the game to apologize for the loss.

"I said, 'I'm just sorry I don't get to coach you again,'" he said.

The coach had a lot more to say about the Class of 2024.

"I've been coaching football for a long time, and I don't think I've ever experienced a senior group like these guys. ... It goes past football. What's more impressive is what an amazing group of young men they are.

"I couldn't be blessed with a finer group of guys to be around for the last four years."

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Ubly upends Whiteford in Division 8 state football finals