close
close

Association-anemone

Bite-sized brilliance in every update

    • Belleville buries Saline 42-7 in MHSAA Division 1 district final
    asane

    Belleville buries Saline 42-7 in MHSAA Division 1 district final

    Online Niel Posted on

    Bryce Underwood and the Belleville offense brought the fireworks in the MHSAA Division 1 District Final against Saline in front of a packed house at Belleville High School.

    The Tigers stomped Saline, 42-7, to advance to next week’s regional final in front of a crowd that filled both sets of bleachers and lined the fence around the entire field. The Tigers jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first half and kept rolling in the second half to pull away with the 35-point victory.

    Belleville wasted no time in taking a commanding lead. The Tigers scored on three of their four possessions in the first half and returned an interception for a touchdown. Saline came out desperate but failed on fourth down on its first two possessions of the second half, leading to a pair of Belleville touchdown passes to make it 42-7.

    CHOOSING THE WINNERS: I’m predicting every second-round Michigan high school football playoff game since 2024

    Underwood completed 11 of 19 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns, including an 87-yard TD late in the first half, and two interceptions. He also rushed six times for 63 yards and a touchdown.

    Belleville, which improved to 10-1, is looking to finish with three state championships in four seasons after losing to Southfield A&T in the Division 1 championship last year. Saline finishes the year at 7-4 after suffering its first home loss; The Hornets had to forfeit their first three games because they used an ineligible player, but won seven in a row before being eliminated.

    Belleville will play Novi Detroit Catholic Central, which defeated West Bloomfield, in the regional final next weekend.

    Belleville’s forced turnovers lead to a dominant first half

    Belleville received the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards in four minutes to take a 7-0 lead. Senior running back Ray-mond Smith Jr. started things off with a first-down run, followed by an Underwood scramble for 19 yards. Smith had a 30-yard touchdown run off the board because of an illegal move, but two defensive interference penalties put Belleville in the red zone and Smith came in for an 11-yard run.

    The Hornets put together a 13-play drive from their own 6 to the red zone, but couldn’t put points on the board. Saline tried a wide receiver screen inside the 15, the receiver fumbled and Belleville recovered, leading to a touchdown.

    Belleville pushed it to the 21 with a pick-6 by senior linebacker Andre Thomas Jr., who dropped off the line of scrimmage and jumped to intercept Tommy Carr and return it 65 yards for a touchdown. Saline scored a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half when Carr hit tight end Cole Kreuzer for a 12-yard touchdown.

    Underwood returns from the early interception

    Saline went three-and-out on its opening drive with a short snap, and Belleville went back into the red zone after Underwood escaped pressure and hit Trey Graham up the middle for 31 yards while hitting a coup. But, Underwood tried to force a throw into a tight window on the next pass and was intercepted by Saline sophomore Princeton Jones.

    But LSU’s offense didn’t make many big mistakes after that, outside of a missed deep ball. On the next drive, Belleville drove 90 yards and Underwood completed three of five passes for 62 yards while rushing for 24 yards, including a bruising touchdown in which he eluded a free rusher, topped from the sideline and went through four Saline defenders for an 11-yard touchdown run.

    On the first play after Saline’s touchdown, Underwood stepped up to the pocket and launched an 87-yard touchdown strike to Antwon Thomas to make it 28-7 before halftime. Underwood threw it from his own 10-yard line and landed it perfectly in the hands of Thomas at Saline’s 40-yard line.

    He completed his first two passes of the second half for 28 yards, including a 17-yard touchdown to Graham in the back corner. After another stop on fourth down, Underwood completed two passes, including a 12-yard slant to Charles Britton III for a touchdown. With less than two minutes left, Underwood forced a deep shot that was intercepted by James Rush.

    Watch: 2024 Michigan High School Football Playoffs: MHSAA Second Round Live Scores

    Michigan Connections in box and stands

    Belleville athletic director Joe Brodie confirmed to the Free Press that former Michigan football assistant Connor Stallions is “around” but has not officially hired him as a member of the coaching staff. The stallion was in the Belleville trainer box with his helmet on. The Stallions were vocal in their helmets when Belleville had the ball. Earlier this week, co-head coach Calvin Norman told the Free Press not part of the staff.

    Stallions, who resigned from Michigan after becoming the subject of the NCAA investigation of the Wolverines for sign theft, was the defensive coordinator for Detroit Mumford (who finished 1-8) and also served as head coach for one game.

    A large contingent of Michigan fans was on hand to watch Underwood as the Wolverines ramp up their recruitment of the top player in the Class of 2025. There were Michigan flags in the stands and T-shirts that read “Bryce and E Dot” referring to Underwood and to four-star defensive back Elijah Dotson, who is committed to Pittsburgh.

    The special promotion lets you stream high school football playoff games at a discount

    The Free Press doesn’t want you to miss your favorite team during the MHSAA football playoffs, so to make it easier to watch games on the NFHS Network, use promo code FREEP20 to get $20 off an annual subscription to the high school sports streaming service. The regular price is $79.99, but with the code you get it for $59.99.

    Membership isn’t just for football, sign up now and you’ll get all the sports that NFHS covers during the winter and spring seasons, including basketball, football, baseball and softball just to name a few. And being a one-year subscription, it’s also good for the 2025 fall season, so you’ll be able to watch 2025 high school football games as well as volleyball.

    Go to nfhsnetwork.com and apply promo code FREEP20 at checkout to receive your discount and start streaming Michigan high school sports today.

    Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22and email them at [email protected].

    Online Niel
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like