Michigan high school football finals: Gladwin tops Frankenmuth in Division 5 on late FG

In a matchup between two schools that have scored more than 1,100 points this fall, some fans might have been perplexed to see a scoreless tie well into the second half.

Since the Gladwin and Frankenmuth defenses also had 11 shutouts between them, it wasn’t completely out of character, though.

But Gladwin (14-0) put things together when it mattered most, and claimed its first state championship, 10-7, over Frankenmuth with a field goal by Treyton Siegert with two seconds remaining.

“I never doubted it once we got close enough,” Siegert said. “I’m speechless, but it was really awesome to make that kick. I was just trying to focus on making good contact with the ball —and I was hoping they’d just score a touchdown. I knew it would probably come down to me, but I know I wouldn’t have that opportunity without a team behind me.”

The Flying G’s marched 78 yards upfield in the final 3:26, aided by a 43-yard pass play from Nick Wheeler to Lucas Mead along the right sideline.

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“It was a play-action,” Wheeler said. “I dropped back, I was getting pressured, and I just saw that Lucas was wide open, and I had faith in him, he’s our best receiver, I just knew he could get it done."

And get it done, Mead did.

“When I turned to run, I was a little surprised that no one was on me,” Mead said. “Once you see that kind of space, it’s a football player’s dream in the state championship game. You kind of do what you see. I knew he was getting a lot of pressure so I was just trying to find myself open, and it was a perfect ball.”

From there, Earl Esiline carried the ball on five of the next six plays to get the ball in good position for Siegert’s 21-yard kick.

Until then, all either team needed to get a leg up was that one game-changing play. Frankenmuth (13-1) got it first, when Aidan Hoard spotted wingback Hunter Bernthal behind the Gladwin secondary, and the two hooked up for a 56-yard gain, bringing the ball to the 10-yard line.

Three plays later, Griffin Barker barged into the end zone, dragging three defenders along for a 2-yard ride to draw first blood with 2:56 remaining in the third quarter.

Frankenmuth started that drive back on its 11 with a 1-yard loss, but Gladwin was flagged for a face-mask penalty.

It took Gladwin less than two minutes to respond, however, with Nick Wheeler hitting Kaden McDonald for a 30-yard touchdown pass. McDonald curled in at the 22, and after his cover man went for the interception, McDonald weaved throughout the rest of the Eagle secondary into the end zone.

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Anna Seebeck’s extra point tied the game at 7. It was the second time a female player scored in a state championship football game. Marine City’s Olivia Viney made all seven of her extra-points attempts in 2013.

Gladwin had several opportunities to strike first, but could not cash in. Its best chance came late in the second quarter, set up by the game’s first takeaway.

On that play, Gladwin’s Braden Ritchie put pressure on Hoard, who pitched the ball to Sam Barger, who could not handle it cleanly. Logan Kokotovich hit Barker, popping the ball loose, and Dominic Coats recovered the fumble at the 16-yard line.

Three short gains by Wheeler set up a fourth-and-3 from the 9. Gladwin lined up in a field goal formation, but the snap went directly to Siegert, who threw a pass into the end zone intended for Mead. Will Soulliere and Riley Hubbard had Mead covered, and the pass fell incomplete.

Jarstfer was glad that Siegert eventually had a chance to settle the score with his foot, and not his arm.

“I had been thinking about that fake field goal,” Jarstfer said. “To have another opportunity to not make me look very bad, it was pretty unbelievable.”

Earlier in the second quarter, Esiline burst through a hole in the center of the line and ran 55 yards to the end zone. However, that was scrubbed due to an illegal formation penalty, as the Flying G’s had five men in the backfield.

On their final possession of the first half, Gladwin took a few more shots from midfield, but Wheeler’s first pass to Mead resulted in no gain. That was followed up by three straight incompletions as time expired.

Frankenmuth forced Gladwin to punt from the 19 to open the second half, and Sam Barger’s return gave the Eagles good field position at the Gladwin 43. Frankenmuth gained one first down, but stalled out at the 31 as Esiline made a sure-handed open-field tackle on tight end Brendan Scharrer following a fourth-down completion.

“I just couldn’t be more thankful for the defense on this team, they kept us in it throughout the entire game,” Hoard said. “As quarterback, (scoring just) seven points is not really acceptable, I should have done a better job with that, but defense is key to this team and it’s really our identity.”

“Coming into this game, we knew their defense was really good,” Gladwin’s McDonald said. “They didn’t let the team before us (semifinalist Birmingham Detroit Country Day) have a first down. That’s really good, and we knew it was going to be a low-scoring game.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: MHSAA football finals: Gladwin wins Division 5 on late FG