Eli Cobb started his 2026 season off on the right foot – even if it took some in-game work to do so smoothly.
The North Farmington quarterback – and plenty of his teammates – was slowed by cramping, bringing the Raiders' offense to a halt over and over again in the third and fourth quarters against Birmingham Groves during the Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State in Week 1 of the 2026 Michigan high school football season on Friday, Aug. 28.
But when it mattered most, Cobb's regular gait led the Raiders to a hard-fought win over Groves. Midway through the fourth quarter, Cobb kept the ball on a zone read, finding a crease on the right side and accelerating downfield for a 65-yard gain for first-and-goal from the 8.
"We do a lot of conditioning but
that was on us," Cobb said. "We didn't drink a lot of water at school or last night."
Two plays later, sophomore running back Ryan Jones punched in a touchdown, giving North Farmington a 14-13 lead.
Groves marched down the field, burning the remaining time on the clock. The Falcons drove down to the North Farmington goal line with 30 seconds left and lined up for a 20-yard field goal. But the kick clanged off the left upright, securing the Raiders' one-point win.
"It was a full team effort at that point," North Farmington coach Jon Herstein said. "Getting guys out there that did not know they were going to play that much and they stepped up when they got in there. They did the job."
Groves struck first with a 75-yard touchdown run from star running back Jeremiah Whitley on its first drive. Cobb answered with a 72-yard TD bomb over the top to senior Carter Asbell, who caught the ball with his fingertips and held on through contact. Cobb and Asbell had connected on a 60-yard pass the play prior, but that was wiped off by a holding penalty.
The duo could not be denied twice.
"We saw the safety flat on his feet," Cobb said.
Still, Groves blocked the ensuing extra point to maintain a 7-6 edge.
But, outside of the two first-quarter big plays, the defenses reigned. Groves' front seven, led by defensive end Malik Cipullo, swarmed Cobb and North Farmington's running backs.
Whitley led Groves with 154 rushing yards on 25 carries. But North Farmington contained him in the second half, allowing him just 17 yards after the break. In the final 24 minutes, North Farmington gave up just one run longer than 10 yards – a 17-yard scramble by Falcons quarterback Ayrton Zeile.
Linebackers Jaden Rodgers and Riley Carruthers led the charge from the middle.
"Our defense, as a unit, really did a great job of buying into the scheme we had," Herstein said. "They were really paying attention all week during fim, during install, listening to our coaches and then going out there and believing in it."
The Raiders hung in while things were going against them and then created late magic, largely thanks to Cobb and the defense, to pull off a win over the Falcons, who have reached the Division 2 semifinals in three of the past four years.
"They are well-coached and tough," Herstein said. "They are coming off of the big season last year and I know they will probably be tough again this year. So [I'm] really happy with the way our guys grinded it out. We were down most of the game, had some opportunities where we could have done stuff differently in the first half, but our guys found a way to come through."
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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: North Farmington's Eli Cobb shakes cramps to run past Birmingham Groves late
