By John Raffel
MaxPreps.com
Individual accomplishments are fine. But quarterback A.J. Westendorp was especially proud on Friday to hold a state championship trophy.
Westendorp set state finals completion, passing yards and total yards records in pacing Holland Christian (14-0) over Detroit Country Day in the Division 4 title game 35-20 at Detroit's Ford Field. Westendrop was 26 of 33 for 318 yards in the air for four touchdown passes and added another 106 yards on the ground for 424 total.
It's only Holland Christian's sixth year with a football program.
“(Breaking the records) is an honor. But it's more about getting a state title. That's what we were after. That's what I was after,” Westendorp said. “The records come along with having a successful program and a successful season. Those records will be broken in time. But no one can take away a state championship.”
He also plays defense and stopped a fake punt attempt by Country Day in the third quarter, leading to HC's go-ahead touchdown.
“At halftime, we knew if we got back to playing our game we were going to win it,” Westendorp said. “In the second half, the defense shut them down. We hung onto the ball a little better.”
For the season, Westendorp had more than 3,500 yards passing and around 1,200 rushing.
Division 8
Muskegon Catholic Central may not even be the best team in Muskegon.
But the Crusaders, in a school of 230 students, reign as one of the best small-school teams in the state thanks to the efforts of quarterback Jared Johnson, who rushed for 148 yards and had an 71-yard touchdown jaunt to lead Catholic Central past defending state champion Crystal Falls Forest Park 40-0 on Friday in the Division 8 title game at Detroit's Ford Field.
Johnson had a 71-yard touchdown run and threw a 38-yard scoring pass to his cousin Ben Johnson to get the Crusaders off to a 14-0 lead and gain control which they would never relinquish. Johnson completed three passes for 51 yards.
“It was one of our most explosive games,” Catholic Central Coach Mike Holmes said. “We had a lot of big plays, a lot of chunk yards. We distributed the ball well. We had six different kids score touchdowns. Our quarterback had a real long run on our second possession of the game.”
That quarterback, Jared Johnson, has completed over 62 percent of his passes this season and helps run a variation of the no-huddle offense.
MCC and Crystal Falls were both 13-0 entering the game.
“We always have high expectations,” Johnson said. “It was definitely one of our goals to win a state championship.”
Division 7
Ben Swan gained 138 yards and Ryan Farley added 110 to lead a potent Traverse City St. Francis attack in a 41-13 victory over Ubly in the Division 7 title game. Swan had touchdown runs of 79 and 47 yards.
Farley had two TD runs and caught a 58-yard pass from Corey Williams.
Division 6
Anthony Root caught two touchdown passes from Cody Kater including a state finals record of 98 yards to spearhead Montague, a Muskegon-area school, over Leslie 41-20 in the Division 6 championship game.
Kater completed four passes for 175 yards.
“Each year, we've worked hard to set a standard at achieving the goal of winning a state championship,” Montague coach Pat Collins said. “The kids we've had each year have put us in a position to win it.”
The record-setting pass play was called from the sidelines. “I told the guys that if the defense packed the box and the coverage was man, we'd throw it deep,” Collins said.
Division 5
Michael Shoop rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown and Matt Eacker picked up 104 yards as Muskegon Oakridge ended its season at 14-0 with a 26-14 victory over Ovid-Elsie for the Division 5 state championship.
Chris Robinson gained 117 yards and had one touchdown for Ovid-Elsie.
Division 3
Chris Robinson gained 175 yards and scored three touchdowns in leading East Grand Rapids to a 43-24 Division 3 victory over Inkster for the Pioneers' third straight state championship.
East GR ended the season at 13-1 and also won the eighth of eight state title games over the weekend. All eight state kings are located on the extreme west side of Michigan.
Division 2
Jason Hannett had 155 yards rushing and three touchdowns to lead Muskegon past Warren De La Salle 34-14 in the Division 4 title game. Both teams entered the game at 13-0.
Hannett also had eight solo tackles on defense. Josh Singoga was 7-of-17 for 208 yards for DeLaSalle.
Division 1
Quarterback Tim McGee passed for 72 yards and a touchdown to lead Rockford past Lake Orion 26-14 in the Division I championship clash. Both teams were 12-1 entering the title game. Rockford has won three of the last five state titles.
Ryan Cochran, Ryan Darby and Jordan Morren had rushing touchdowns for Rockford. Branden Oakes had 109 rushing yards for Lake Orion.
