The Caledonia Fighting Scots might want to ask MHSAA President Mark Uyl and the football selection committee to continue to place them in semifinal games at CAAC conference schools. In 2005, Caledonia travelled to Lansing Sexton, where they defeated Bloomfield Hills Lasher. Seventeen years later, they visited DeWitt to take on Clarkston. In a similar result, they used big offensive plays, strong defense and they will now be headed to Ford Field.
In the first quarter, Caledonia scored late on a 1-yard touchdown run by Brock Townsend. They would take a 14-0 lead into the locker room when Blake Herron ripped off a 28-yard score.
Though the winds were howling in the open air of DeWitt High School, the Fighting Scots rounded out the scoring efforts with a passing touchdown. Mason McKenzie connected with Derek Pennington on a 17-yard strike. Luke Vogeler booted his third made extra point and the Fighting Scots would go on to win 21-0.
Caledonia’s defense was excellent in this contest. They held Clarkston to just 177 yards of offense, forcing three interceptions. Brock Townsend hauled in two, while Jimmy Floyd secured the third.
Derek Pennington led the defense with 6.5 tackles, while Jaxon Engelberg and Reed Vogeler each added 4.5. Engelberg, Pennington and Carlo Aybar were credited with sacks.
Caledonia will now make the school’s second trip to Ford Field, its first since 2005. In that contest, they secured the Division 3 State Championship with a 27-6 win over Haslett. On Saturday, they will take on Belleville with hopes of winning a Division 1 State Championship. The Tigers are the defending Division 1 State Champions, and are a perfect 13-0 on the season. In their semifinal, they escaped with a 29-28 victory over Cass Tech in overtime.
