Weekday Warriors 2011: 11-29

This week, three future Wolverines take home state titles, Erik Magnuson's squad advances to the semifinals, and the season ends in disappointment for Matt Godin and Chris Wormley.

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MI DT Matt Godin

Godin contributed four tackles, but Catholic Central lost a shocker to Cass Tech in the Division 1 state finals, 49-13. The Shamrocks finished the season with a 12-2 record.

MI LB Royce Jenkins-Stone

Jenkins-Stone had a monster game for Cass Tech, rushing for 65 yards and a 32-yard TD run on nine carries, hauling in a three-yard TD pass, and leading the Technician defense with seven tackles while adding another TD on a 36-yard interception return. You can see highlights and Jenkins-Stone's post-game comments in the above video. He also had this to say to the Free Press:

"I told everybody on defense to keep it up because they're a second-half team," Jenkins-Stone said. "We had to keep the pressure on them and not let up. Everybody stepped up and kept the pressure on. I got my interception and I was happy about it. The hard work and determination will get you far."

Cass Tech finishes the season at 11-3 and took home the school's first-ever state football championship.

CA OL Erik Magnuson

Magnuson had two sacks on the defensive line as La Costa Canyon defeated Westview—featuring 2012 TE recruit Taylor McNamara, who had a 75-yard TD catch—13-6 in a Division 2 quarterfinal matchup.

This week: The Mavericks play Oceanside on Thursday night in the semifinals.

MI CB Terry Richardson

Richardson tallied two tackles and hauled in a 36-yard TD pass—one of five thrown by Cass Tech freshman QB Jayru Campbell, tying a state title game record—as the Technician defense held Catholic Central to just 226 yards of total offense.

MI LB James Ross

After finishing as runner-ups the past two seasons, Orchard Lake St. Mary's finally took home a state title of their own, crushing Mount Pleasant 45-7 in the Division 3 championship game. Ross was his usual productive self, making ten tackles and scoring on a 32-yard touchdown run, and he was suitably proud of finally reaching the ultimate goal in high school football:

Ross, one of the state's top players, is committed to Michigan and as happy as Ross was that U-M finally beat Ohio State on Saturday, the joy he felt a few hours after U-M's important victory had everything to do with his team winning a state title.

"It's a great feeling," Ross said about U-M's victory. "But honestly, I'm not a Wolverine yet. This (state championship) is a great accomplishment. It's a great feeling to have that state championship."

To the Free Press, he added:

"It's better than I thought it would feel," Ross said. "I never thought it would feel like this: something that's as amazing as this and something we've been working for four months now. It's a great accomplishment -- one of the best accomplishments of my life."

OH DE Chris Wormley:

Whitmer's dreams on an undefeated season were dashed in the state semifinals, as St. Ignatius eked out a 17-6 victory thanks to five Panther turnovers, which were just enough to overcome the Whitmer defense holding St. Ignatius to a mere 135 yards of total offense. Wormley had three tackles and a sack in the losing effort, and here's Mason's weekly report on the game:

Whitmer's defense played their best game of the season, giving up just 135 yards (!) in a Division 1 state semifinal against a program that has won 10 state championships since 1988. That's pretty damn good. The offense - outside of a 90-yard touchdown run - really struggled to get going and turned the ball over five times, which is, of course, a recipe for disaster.

Chris had, officially, three assisted tackles and a sack in his final HS football game. He was really impressive all year despite being the focal point of everyone else's offense. He's a great, intelligent kid who's going to be a real credit to the Michigan family. He does have some things to work on - he does tend to play a little high, I think, and he needs to work on "finishing" tackles - but I see absolutely no reason why he can't be a star at Michigan. He's been a real pleasure to watch these last couple of years, and I'm thrilled that he'll be making the transition from maize and blue to Maize and Blue next fall.

A huge thanks to Mason for contributing these all season—if you're looking to hear more of his work, he'll be calling Whitmer basketball games (Wormley plays center, and the team is a state title contender) for WRSCSports.com.

After the jump, see the season records of the players whose teams have been eliminated, as well as a link to their season stats, compiled by Touch the Banner.

Season Over

Touch the Banner has compiled a list of season stats. Instead of reposting them here—and stealing Thunder's, er, thunder—I encourage you to head over there and check out the post.

TN OL Blake Bars

Montgomery Bell finished the season with a 6-6 record.

OH LB Joe Bolden

Colerain finished the season at 10-2.

MI OL Ben Braden

This week: Rockford finished the season with an 11-2 record.

KY S Jeremy Clark

North Hopkins finished the season with a 9-3 record.

MI TE Devin Funchess

Harrison finished the season with a 10-1 record.

OH S Allen Gant

Southview finished the season with a 9-2 record.

UT FB Sione Houma

Highland finished the season with a 7-4 record.

MI RB Drake Johnson

Pioneer finished the season with a 9-3 record.

OH OL Kyle Kalis

St. Edward ended the season with an 8-4 record.

MI DE Mario Ojemudia

Harrison finished the season at 10-1.

MO DT Ondre Pipkins

Park Hill finished the season with a 5-5 record.

OH LB Kaleb Ringer

Ringer sat out the end of the season due to a strained MCL suffered early on in the year. Northmont finished 4-6 on the year.

OH OL Caleb Stacey

Oak Hills finished the season at 4-6.

IL CB Anthony Standifer

Crete-Monee finished the season with a 10-1 record.

OH DE Tom Strobel

This week: Mentor finished the season with an 11-2 record.

OH TE A.J. Williams

Sycamore finished the season with an 8-3 record.

OH S Jarrod Wilson

Buchtel finished their season with a 6-4 record.

2013 Commits

MI QB Shane Morris

De La Salle finished the season with a 9-3 record.

OH RB/S Dymonte Thomas

Marlington finished the season at 8-2.