Photo by Ryan Kerwin, JTV Sports
Mike Moore
Staff Writer
DETROIT — From two losses in three weeks to 11 wins in a row.
From Jackson to Detroit, from Titans to champions.
Herb Brogan said earlier this week that he didn’t think his Lumen Christi football team was one on a mission of any kind, but instead, a group of guys getting better one game at a time.
In the final week, and final day of the season, the Titans saved their best game for the most important in years, defeating Glen Lake 26-14 in the Division 6 final at Ford Field.
Mission accomplished.
“It feels great,” Brogan said afterwards. “It just feels great to do this. “We have certain expectation here, and to see the kids rise to that level of expectations is super.”
“We’ve been working for this all summer long, all year long,” senior running back Bo Bell said. “Last year we ended on a bad note. To come into the season and finish it like this, all the hard work is worth it.”
There was no secret to how the Titans wanted to play, with a strong running game and persistent defense.
Check, and check.
Kyle Minder had a hat-trick of touchdowns in the first half, Bell added another in the third quarter, and by game’s end, the Titans had rushed for nearly 300 yards, while quarterback Troy Kutcha needed to put the ball in the air just six times.
“We’ve run the ball well all year long, and people still jam the box, put nine in the box, and we still found a way to put big numbers up,” Brogan said. “And we did it again today.”
Minder’s first score of the game came from three yards out and capped an 11-play, 55-yard drive for a 6-0 lead with 4:36 to play in the first quarter after a missed extra point.
Minder made it 13-0 with 7:29 to play in the second quarter, scoring on a 1-yard run that capped a 14-play, 69-yard drive taking nearly seven minutes off the clock.
Glen Lake got back in the game when Cade Peterson hit Nick Rice with a 57-yard touchdown pass for a 13-7 deficit with 5:11 to play in the half.
But the Titans weren’t going to the locker room quietly, as they took 4:54 off the clock while using 11 plays to march 75 yards.
Minder once again capped things with a 1-yard run and a 20-7 lead at the break.
“It’s something special,” Minder said of scoring three times in one game. “I’ll never forget this, especially at Ford Field.”
Bell, made it 26-7 on a 3-yard run late in the third quarter, and that was more than enough for the Titans.
Glen Lake’s only other score was a 9-yard Peterson pass to Nick Apsey with 9:47 to play in regulation.
Lumen got the ball back, took 8:04 off the clock on its second-to-last drive, and turned he ball over on downs with just 1:33 remaining at the Glen Lake 26-yard line.
The Lakers failed to get a first down, and Lumen ran out the clock shortly after, sparking a celebration on the field and in the stands from the Titans’ faithful.
“Everything’s worth it,” Kutcha said when asked what it’s like to be a state champ. He finished the game 4-of-6 passing for 66 yards. “We did all the little extras to deserve this.”
Especially what the Titans always do well, rush and play defense.
Bell finished the game with 40 carries, 238 yards rushing and one score.
“He’s as good as we thought he was,” Glen Lake coach Gerald Angers said.
Bell also completed one pass for 32 yards and hauled in one catch for 35 yards.
Lumen rushed 65 times for 298 yards in the win.
“They rushed the ball well,” Angers said. “We blew some assignments and made a couple big mistakes that opened the door for those guys.”
Bell finished the season with nearly 2,700 yards rushing.
“He’s a great player, a great player,” Brogan said. “He’s not very imposing physically, but he’s much stronger than he looks. He has deceptive speed and finds the seems so well.”
Defensively, the Titans didn’t give up much, either.
Peterson was 15-of-20 passing for 254 yards and two scores, but Glen Lake (11-3) rushed the ball 15 times for a total of four yards.
“I think we gave them some different looks up front,” Brogan said of his defense. “We’ve been pretty stout against the run the last three or four weeks. I don’t know how hard they tried to run the ball, though. They came in and were going to throw those bandits and stuff, which they did very well. I just think our front seven played well.”
The Titans (12-2) were playing in the state final for the first time since winning it all in 2009.
The championship was the ninth in program history and seventh during Brogan’s tenure.
“It never gets old,” he said with a smile. “Every time is different, with a different group of kids. It never gets old.”
From 1-2 to 12-2.
From Jackson all the way to Detroit.
Titans, and once again, champions.
See Photo Gallery from the game > Lumen Christi vs Glenn Lake State Championship game