No. 24 Dearborn Divine Child had an emphatic rebound in Week 9 at Ford Field to regain some momentum entering the Division 4 MHSAA football playoffs.
The defending Division 4 champion Falcons beat defending Division 6 champion Jackson Lumen Christi, 28-21, in the Catholic High School League Prep Bowl at Ford Field on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Divine Child (8-1) jumped out to a 21-0 first-half lead, then withstood a Lumen Christi (7-2) second-half comeback with a last-minute interception to repeat as AA Division champs. Divine Child won the division outright after splitting with Lumen Christi in 2025.
"That was certainly one of our goals this year," Divine Child coach
Chris Laney said. "To go undefeated in our league was the goal so I am really proud of these kids."
Junior quarterback Drew Sheridan and junior receiver Rayshawn Thomas got the scoring started with a 22-yard touchdown on a fade to the corner of the end zone. Thomas made an acrobatic adjustment mid-jump to get a foot inbounds.
"We are together 12 months out of the year just doing football," Sheridan said of his relationship with Thomas. "That's the chemistry I have with him. He's the No. 1 2028 receiver in the state."
Lumen Christi responded with a 20-play drive to reach Divine Child's red zone, but was stuffed on fourth-and-1. Finn Cameron doubled the lead with a rushing touchdown.
Then, Adam Garcia returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-0.
Divine Child had a consistent running game all night, consistently winning up front to create space for running backs Julian Johnson and Andre Davis.
"This game had a lot of pressure, but the pressure is definitely a privilege for us," senior offensive lineman Jack Bobin said. "Coming off the loss to De La Salle and into this championship game, I felt like all of the pressure was on me and I had to handle it like I did on the field."
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Divine Child suffered its first loss of the season just last week, to Warren De La Salle. The Falcons had a quality week of practice coming off the loss, and it showed on the field.
"Sometimes when you lose a game, it can refocus the group a little bit and I felt that this week," Laney said. "Our practices had some more energy to them, a little more focus. Let's stop reading the papers and lets get back to Divine Child football."
Belding and Dowagiac set MHSAA scoring record
By the end, the scoreboard looked like the result of a basketball game – albeit a lopsided one – rather than a high school football game.
Belding and Dowagiac traded long touchdowns all night on Friday in one of the highest-scoring games in MHSAA football history. Belding (7-2) beat Dowagiac (3-6), 92-56, in the highest-scoring MHSAA game in in which both teams topped 40 points, according to the state record books. The only three games in the record book with more than the 148 points Belding and Dowagiac combined for were played in 1929 or earlier and all of the points came from one team.
"To be honest, I was wondering if anybody was going to play any defense," veteran Belding coach Monty Price said on Saturday, Oct. 24. "It was unreal. I have never been a part of a game like that."
Despite the fireworks and seemingly nonstop stoppages, the game took about 2½ hours to complete because Belding was able to reach a running-clock margin multiple times in the second half after a first half that lasted "forever."
Belding only needed to complete two passes, for 40 yards, to reach 92 points. The Black Knights' three-back, T-formation offense imposed their will on the ground and broke long run after long run, finishing with 715 rushing yards. Belding did not sustain many long, churning drives and frequently broke off home runs.
Belding only faced one third down the entire game, which they converted. The Black Knights also intercepted two Dowagiac passes.
"It was offensive football at its best," Price said. "We were hitting on all cylinders and they were as well. [Dowagiac] has a very potent offense that presents some difficult challenges to a defense. It was just hard to get a stop and it was a back-and-forth game. I started to wonder who is going to have the ball last. We had to keep scoring and we did."
Belding senior Ethan King, a Division 6 All-State running back last season, rushed for 256 yards and four touchdowns. Fellow senior Nick Wright rushed for 223 yards and scored four touchdowns. Junior fullback Cam Larsen rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns.
"Most of our drives ended with a long run," Price said. "We had very few sustained drives. We had a couple, don't get me wrong. And it was the same thing for them. When they scored, they would break a big run. We had a few more stops than them, but man it was crazy."
The regular-season finale performance is a double-edged sword for Belding. While it was great to see the offense humming that well, the defensive issues are worrisome for the Black Knights.
Belding had issues tackling in space and turned the ball over twice immediately after gaining possession, a fumble on a punt return and a fumble on an interception return.
"It was a lack of tackling," Price said. "And the funny thing is even when we would get a stop on them, they weren't really stops. We turned it back over to them twice and they scored."
Belding was already comfortably in the Division 6 playoff field entering Week 9. But now the Black Knights are entering the single-elimination portion of the season with offensive momentum and plenty to clean up defensively.
"We've got the second season coming up with the playoffs and we've got to get better," Price said.
Belleville tops Brighton with last-second Hail Mary
In the final week in Kensington Lakes Activities Association conference history, Belleville (6-3) went out with a bang.
In a high-scoring crossover game against Brighton, the Tigers finished their time in the KLAA with a game-winning Hail Mary on the final play of regulation.
From the plus-43-yard line, Belleville senior quarterback Kendall Franklin stood tall with a defender closing in on him and chucked a high pass toward the end zone – and a crowd of bodies at the goal line.
Defenders jumped and missed the ball, allowing Belleville senior wide receiver Charles Britton III (a Missouri commit) to run under the ball and pull in the catch for a 41-35 victory over Brighton (5-4) on the road.
Belleville 2027 WR Charles (Tre) Britton III (Missouri commit) and 2027 QB Kendall Franklin connect on the walk-on off winner!
— The D Zone (@TheD_Zone) October 24, 2026
#32 Belleville (6-3) beat #48 Brighton (5-4) 41-35@BellevilleFB @TreBrittoniii @KendallF_QB1 pic.twitter.com/YWNI6uNwaV
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Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for theDetroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MHSAA football: Divine Child rebounds for 2nd straight Catholic title
