DETROIT — When you look back at South Christian's 2022 football season, you'll see a lot of great scores for the Sailors. But up until the state championship game on Friday, there were no shutouts for South Christian.
The Sailors fixed that at Ford Field in Detroit. South Christian put the exclamation point on their perfect season with a 28-0 shutout win against Goodrich in the Division 4 state football finals.
"We pride ourselves on defense and we've had a heck of a defense all year, and probably one of the best we've ever had. You just don't talk about it because we're putting such good numbers up on offense," said head coach Danny Brown.
"When you play defense, you've got to love the game and these guys, they just love the game of football. They play so hard, and they're just unbelievable guys."
It still felt like it was anyone's ball game well into the fourth quarter. South Christian had a 14-0 lead and had turned the ball over. But the defense remained strong. Then with 5:53 left to go, senior quarterback and defensive back Jake DeHaan ran a 54-yard touchdown to put the Sailors up three scores.
"It's all credit to my o-line and my receivers," DeHaan said of the success the Sailors had on the offensive side of the ball.
"My receivers made plays on the outside, and my o-line blocked great up front, gave me time, and credit to Garrett Veltman for stepping into play center."
DeHaan finished the game with 266 yards passing and two touchdowns through the air. He also had 99 yards rushing.
Later in the fourth, Jake Vermaas put the game away with a 32-yard interception for a touchdown. The junior defensive back and wide receiver said this state championship game was the greatest he's played in his life.
"Especially on Ford Field, it feels great and to do it for my guys, it means the world to me. I'm just so happy we have a win. If I would've had zero catches, I don't care. I'd be this happy too. I'm just glad we won," Vermaas said.
The Sailors finish the season 14-0.That's the only time in school history they've reached that mark.
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