Jefferson reaches state semifinals after 1-8 finish last season
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The Bears stand alone.
Jefferson’s football team, which finished with a 1-8 record last season, is the lone Monroe County Region football team still alive in the state playoffs.
The Bears scored 40 points in the first half and held off Michigan Center for a wild 71-45 victory in a Division 5 Regional championship game.
“People say there is no way to do what we did, but the kids put in the offseason work and started believing,” Jefferson coach Rob Beaudrie said. “It’s a testament to my coaches and players.”
Jefferson moves on to play defending champion Pontiac Notre Dame in the state semifinals. The date, time and location will be announced by the Michigan High School Athletic Association next week.
The season came to an end for Gibraltar Carlson and Ida.
DIVISION 5
Jefferson 71, Michigan Center 45
NEWPORT – Drake Jones ran for five Jefferson touchdowns and Luke Beaudrie scored three times on the ground and threw a long scoring pass to Hunter Barton.
“This was nuts,” Beaudrie said. “We broke a lot of records tonight.”
Jefferson posted its most points in a game since a 75-56 win over Grosse Ile in 2010.
The Bears’ previous best in a playoff game was 42 points against Fenton in 1993. The 45 points allowed tied the school record for most ever surrendered in a playoff game.
Most of Michigan Center’s offense came through the air.
“We definitely knew their quarterback was good and we’re starting a couple of freshmen in the secondary,” Beaudrie said. “We’ve got who we’ve got. It wasn’t horrible coverage, but we couldn’t get any pressure on the quarterback.”
DIVISION 2
Dexter 56, Gibraltar Carlson 42
GIBRALTAR – Carlson lost despite scoring 42 points and racking up 506 yards of total offense, including 396 on the ground.
Dexter had 659 yards of total offense with 593 of that coming through the air.
“There was a lot of offense in this one,” Carlson coach Jason Gendron said. “A lot of scoring and not a lot of defense. Two turnovers in the second half cost us a shot at moving on.”
Carlson took a 28-21 lead into halftime and scored on its first possession of the second half, but Dexter countered with four unanswered touchdowns.
Purdue recruit Izaiah Wright carried the ball 33 times for 294 yards and four touchdowns. He broke Chad Schoen’s school record of 2,135 rushing yards in a season.
The Marauders suffered their first loss of the season, finishing with an 11-1 record.
“I’m disappointed with the outcome, but I thought our kids left it on the field tonight,” Gendron said.
DIVISION 6
Jackson Lumen Christi 21, Ida 7
JACKSON – Ida struck first on a 3-yard touchdown run by Braden Bydlowski and Jaxon Bolster’s PAT, but those were the only points the Blue Streaks could muster.
Lumen Christi tied the game on a 28-yard run with 38 seconds left in the opening period. It would score again on a 33-yard pass in the second quarter and capped the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run in the final period.
Lumen Christi (9-3) continues its quest for its 15th state championship next week in the semifinals while Ida finishes at 9-3.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: One Monroe County Region football team advances to state semifinals
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