'Special' Traverse Moore's record finish leads DeWitt football to state title

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DETROIT — After spending last season as a backup quarterback, Traverse Moore figured he may end up transitioning from running back to running the show on offense for the DeWitt football team.

And he knew he had big shoes to fill in following the footsteps of players like Elliott Larner and Ty Holtz and the others that came before him.

But Moore more than showed he was capable during his lone season under center as he led the Panthers to their second state title in program history. And he did it primarily with his legs.

Moore, who is headed to Central Michigan as a running back, finished his career in record-setting fashion as DeWitt completed its perfect season with a 54-20 victory over Mount Pleasant in the Division 3 state title game Sunday, Nov. 30, at Ford Field.

Moore set a state title game record with 397 yards rushing on 32 carries and added four touchdowns. He tied a state championship record with his three touchdown runs in the opening quarter and helped DeWitt (14-0) set a title game team rushing record with 575 yards.

"Obviously it's cool, but the state championship is what's more important to me," Moore said. "These guys are more important to me. I've been playing with this group of seniors since fourth grade. It's an emotional time, for sure, because these are my brothers. These are guys that I've been with since first grade so I'm just super happy."

Moore's monster championship game performance helped DeWitt set the team season state rushing record with 5,638 yards. They surpassed the old record of 5.490 yards set by Edwardsburg in 2017 in the early stages of the second half Sunday. DeWitt also finished second in MHSAA history for total yards in a season (6,697) and total touchdowns in a season (102).

"That's a testament to coach (Rob Zimmerman) and his coaching staff always putting us in the best position possible to go out and make plays," Moore said. "The work that they put in — it doesn't get noticed and I think it should because those guys spend hours away from their families doing what they like to do and supporting us."

Moore ends his senior season with 2,486 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns. That included back-to-back 300-yard rushing performances over the past two weeks. Moore combined for 717 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 61 carries in the state semifinals and finals in wins over Warren DeLaSalle and Mount Pleasant.

"Central Michigan is getting one of the very top couple of football players in the state of Michigan," Zimmerman said. "He doesn't get the attention that some guys do in this state, but he is unbelievable. His numbers last week and this week, I think between the two games he rushed for over 600 yards. He's certainly had a lot of help. We've got some great pieces with him and a great line in front of him, but he's a special, special player."

Besides his record-setting rushing total, Moore also threw for 64 yards and a touchdown in the state final. He finished second for total offense in a state title game with 461 yards. 

"Since day one that's been my guy and him being able to lead the offense is so special," DeWitt senior Miller Wing said. "He's such a special player. Super, super humble. (He's) a great guy off the field and his work ethic is unmatched. The way he grinds in the summer and the winter — he's a great athlete. I'm just so grateful to be able to win this with him."

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Traverse Moore runs wild in strong finish for DeWitt football

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