Cass Tech prepares to host a special TOC 2016-17 ceremony where the football team will be nationally recognized by MaxPreps.
MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Cass Tech (Detroit, Mich.) Technicians have officially been named to the 12th Annual MaxPreps Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 12th year honoring football.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for the top 100 teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the
MaxPreps National Rankings. For football, only 50 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 17,000 competing varsity teams. This puts the Technicians ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
Cass Tech came into this season with only one goal, and that was to bring home the
MHSAA Division I State Championship. They knew that their team was the most complete team in the state and one of the best in the entire country. Quarterback Rodney Hall was unable to play in last year's state title game after breaking his fibula in the regional final and was not going to waste this opportunity in his senior year.
It took a couple of gritty performances against
Saline (43-42) and
Utica Eisenhower (32-28) to get themselves back to Ford Field for an opportunity at the state championship. On Nov. 26 all eyes would be on Cass Tech as they matched up against the Catholic Central Shamrocks.
Early on the game looked like it might turn into a shootout. Hall drove the offense down on their first possession to take an early 7-0 lead. Catholic Central responded with an eight minute drive to tie the game up at 7-7. On the very first play following the Shamrock touchdown, Jack Morris picked off Hall's screen pass and took it all the way back for a 25-yard touchdown.
This mistake would light a fire under the Technicians and they would go on a furious rally to completely take over the game. They would come back with 14 unanswered points to take a 21-14 lead going into the locker room. The momentum never left Tech and they continued their run by scoring another 21 points without the Shamrocks being able to put anything on the board. Hall would end the game 10 for 18 for 220 yards and five
touchdown passes. Six of those completions went to wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones for 118 yards and a score. Hall and his teammates finished the dream season with a 49-20 win and a perfect send off for all the seniors in their final high school football game.
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Catholic Central 49-20 on Nov. 26 marked the completion of an incredible 14-0 season — and earned Cass Tech an invitation to the Tour of Champions.They would finish
No.1 in the state and
No. 14 in MaxPreps National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Cass Tech Technicians an invitation to the 12th Annual Tour of Champions.
Please join us as we celebrate with the football team, coaching staff, students and fans on Feb. 24 at 11:15 in the Auditorium.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
