Anyone up for a shootout?
That was the mode of the Michigan high school football Division 1 final , which boasted two teams capable of big plays. Belleville made more of them Saturday in finally winning its first state championship, 55-33, over Rochester Adams.
The Highlanders’ Parker Picot threw three long touchdown passes; that would usually be enough, but he took a backseat to Belleville freshman Bryce Underwood, who had five. He completed 12 of 21 attempts for 284 yards and was the team’s leading rusher with 62 yards.
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“I would say I wasn’t that nervous,” Underwoodsaid. “I just knew I had to come out and execute the game plan.”
It took just two minutes to crank up the Underwood aerial show, when he hit Jeremiah Caldwell on fourth-and-3. Caldwell, with a step on his defender, caught the ball on his fingertips, hauled it in at the 30, and outran the defender for a 56-yard touchdown .
But it only took Adams three minutes to answer with a 56-yard score of its own. Picot spotted Brady Prieskorn on an out pattern a step ahead of Caldwell; he caught the ball at the 15, then made it tothe goal line, which he lunged over for a score.
Another long touchdown pass gave Adams a 14-7 advantage when Picot connected with Christian Schomer on a 31-yard throw with 49 seconds left in the first quarter.
Belleville’s next drive stalled out near midfield, and a fake punt only gained two yards when the Tigers needed nine, so Adams went to work at its own 49. The possession led to Colin Timko’s 27-yard field goal, which made it 17-7.
But the Underwood-to-Caldwell connection made a quick comeback. The duo hooked up on a 72-yard play along the right sideline to get Belleville within three, then did it again two minutes later. Caldwell was wide open in the flat, caught the ball at the tail of the Lions’ midfield logo, juked one defender into missing a tackle, and cut up the sideline the rest of the way, making it 21-17.
On four targets, Caldwell had three touchdown catches and 204 yards receiving.
“Most of them were one-on-one,” Caldwell said. “Our quarterback, Bryce, feels like nobody can stop us one-on-one. He made the throw; I made the catch. I expected it for somebody on our team to have a day like me.”
With 1:24 remaining before halftime, Adams had enough time for one more drive; Schomer’s 49-yard kick return gave the Highlanders a great starting point at the Belleville 46. Timko nailed a 35-yard field goal with seven seconds before half to make it 21-20 going into the locker room.
Takeaways opened things up for the Tigers in the third quarter. On the Highlanders' initial possession, Belleville forced Adams into punting on fourth-and-21 from its own 37. Aaron Alexander broke through the line over center and blocked the kick, and Jeremiah Beasley returned it to the Highlander 6.
On the second snap of the ensuing possession, Underwood tossed ball to Kevin Simes, running through the backfield from the slot position, and Simes carried it 5 yards into the end zone to make it 28-20.
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Belleville (13-1) grabbed the ball back on Adams’ next series. The Highlanders had the ball in Tiger territory, but it was stripped from Picot and Dennis Crawford returned the recovered fumble 50 yards to the Adams 25. Two plays later, Beasley burst through the left side for a 25-yard touchdown, giving Belleville a 35-20 cushion.
“One of the things I was trying to do was to keep the pressure on them, to keep those guys on the field as much as possible,” coach Jermain Crowell said. “Special teams came through for us and we were pretty disciplined. We spent the whole week on not jumping offsides, and doing things that showed order, discipline and structure.”
The Tigers went up by three scores on their next drive, as Deshaun Lee got outside his defender and Underwood had his fifth touchdown pass, a 19-yarder, making it 42-20 with 10:59 to play.
Picot’s third touchdown pass was his most dramatic. With seven minutes to play, and facing fourth-and-28 at the Belleville 33, he faced a heavy rush and fired a desperation heave which was tipped and collected by Prieskorn.
Colbey Reed added another touchdown for Belleville on a 1-yard run with 5:20 to play, and Underwood put an exclamation point on things by running for a 30-yard score with 3:28 left.
It was the first loss in 14 games for Adams, who last won a state title in 2003 in coach Tony Patritto’s first year with the school.
“Obviously, this is difficult, but … It’s important for my staff and me to model it’s not devastation,” he said. “Clearly we wanted to win — we were emotional, we’ve got a lot invested, but the love we have for each other and the journey is pretty special, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
