Just like his Pro Football Hall of Fame father Barry Sanders,
Noah Sanders of
Groves (Beverly Hills, Mich.) plays running back. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior has helped the Falcons go 12-0 this season and secure a spot in Saturday's MHSAA Division II state semifinals.
Sanders has 924 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the year, including 338 yards and three scores so far in the playoffs. Committed to Toledo and regarded as a three-star prospect by
247Sports, he went over 100 yards in each of the first two postseason wins.
In a 21-19 win Friday that sent Groves to the semifinals, Sanders rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries. On the final scoring drive, he carried 10 times and picked up 53 yards. The Falcons burned nearly eight minutes and scored a touchdown before closing out the victory.
Ranked No. 8 in the state by
MaxPreps, Groves meets No. 16 St. Mary's Prep
(Orchard Lake) on Saturday with a trip to the state title game at Ford Field in Detroit at stake.
Sanders excelled as a backup during his junior year when he rushed for 401 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 5.6 yards per carry as the Falcons went 6-4 and reached the playoffs.
Barry Sanders famously didn't start in high school until the third game of his senior year after the starting tailback was suspended at
North (Wichita, Kan.). He never relinquished the job and had 1,417 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in seven games with an average of 10.2 yards per carry.
