Friday Night Recaps Week 6: Michiganders finish the regular season on a high note

This was the last week of the regular season for Michigan high school football before the playoffs start this week. Of the five teams on which Michigan commits play, two finished with undefeated records and three earned one-seeds in their districts.

With every team making the playoffs, teams could play as many as six more games by making it to the finals.

JJ McCarthy and Greg Crippen (IMG Academy - FL)

IMG Academy had the week off. They play against Northwestern (FL), the No. 6 team in the country according to MaxPreps, next week.

Tavierre Dunlap (Del Valle - TX)

Del Valle won their first district game of the year with a big 42-8 blowout over Akins. In true Texas high school football fashion, this was the fewest amount of points given up by Del Valle since 2017.

There were no stats available for Dunlap, but his quarterback threw for five touchdowns so his chances to score on the ground were limited.

The schedule gets a lot tougher next week as Del Valle hosts Lake Travis, a perennial national powerhouse.

Andrel Anthony (East Lansing - MI)

Wrapping up their regular season, East Lansing continued their domination of the league by beating up on Okemos 41-0.

Anthony caught four catches for 92 yards on the night. While he didn’t find the end zone, he accounted for 100% of his team’s receiving yards so they clearly weren’t too focused on throwing the ball.

With their undefeated regular season record, East Lansing has earned a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Giovanni El-Hadi (Stevenson - MI)

Stevenson also finished their regular season with a win, albeit with a much closer score. They squeaked out a 28-25 win over Henry Ford to win the “Battle of the Turf” trophy.

That was good enough for Stevenson to get the one-seed in their district as well. With more teams in their region, Stevenson doesn’t get a bye but instead gets to play 0-6 Farmington.

Raheem Anderson (Cass Tech - MI)

Cass Tech is yet another Michigan program capping off a great regular season with a 35-0 shutout over De La Salle.

Anderson helped lead an offensive line that paved the way for Penn State commit Kobe King to rush for 113 yards on only six carries in the first half.

With their perfect record, Cass Tech also got the one-seed in their district and will face off against 1-5 Edsel Ford in the first round.

Quintin Somerville (Saguaro - AZ)

In a nationally televised game, Saguaro lost a close 13-7 game to Hamilton and 2022 quarterback target Nicco Marchiol.

Somerville chipped in with four tackles, including one for a loss on the night. Here he is bringing down Marchiol on third down short of the sticks:

Saguaro will regroup and face off against Horizon next week.

Dominick Giudice (Mater Dei Prep - NJ)

On Saturday afternoon, Mater Dei Prep knocked off Long Branch in a solid 34-20 win.

Per usual, no stats were available for Giudice. Mater Dei plays against Rumson-Fair Haven in a big game next week.

Branden Jennings (Sandalwood - FL)

After starting off the season 5-0, Sandalwood took a surprising loss to 1-4 Mandarin by the score of 29-14.

Sandalwood did not make any of their defensive stats available, so we can’t tell how Jennings fared. Next week, they’ll look to get back on track against Bartram Trail.

Junior Colson (Ravenwood Academy - TN)

Ravenwood was off this week before wrapping up their regular season against Independence this Friday.

Jaydon Hood and Ja’Den McBurrows (St. Thomas Aquinas - FL)

St. Thomas Aquinas was upset by Cardinal Gibbons in their second game of the season. A late pick six sealed the 17-10 loss for Hood and McBurrows.

Stats aren’t up yet for the game, but last week’s are so let’s cover those. Both McBurrows and Hood had six tackles, with the former adding two interceptions and returning two punts for 49 yards.

St. Thomas Aquinas will travel to face DeLand next.

Rod Moore (Northmont - OH)

In some heartbreaking news, Northmont’s first undefeated team in 40 years saw their season cut short in the semifinals due to a positive Covid test on the team.

Moore was one of Northmont’s leaders on both offense and defense. These stats are incomplete, but I have Moore with at least 53 tackles, four PBUs and an interception on defense. As a wide receiver, he caught 28 passes for 471 yards and eight touchdowns.

Tommy Doman (Orchard Lake-St. Mary’s - MI)

Orchard Lake-St. Mary’s had a bye this week before starting the playoffs next week. They’ll square off against Pinckney in the first round.

Marlin Klein (Rabun Gap-Nacoochee - GA)

Rabun Gap-Nacoochee crushed High Point Christian Academy 50-20 to get back to their winning ways.

Finally, we have a full stat line for Klein, and it’s a good one. He caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Metrolina Christian Academy will travel to Rabun Gap-Nacoochee after getting beat 40-8 during their last matchup a few weeks ago.

Alex VanSumeren (Garber - MI)

The final Michigan team to close out their regular season was Garber, who beat Carrollton easily, 42-12.

VanSumeren was a wrecking ball once again. He racked up nine tackles, including two sacks and two for a loss.

While they barely missed out on a one-seed in the playoff bracket, Garber still gets to play 0-6 Saginaw in the first round.

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Jonathon Simmons