Michigan Collegiate has ‘great opportunity’ to play for state football championship

Deion Black is hard to miss.

The Michigan Collegiate senior is 6-foot-4, and as a quarterback and defensive back he rarely leaves the football field.

Black was poised to lead the Cougars to a regional championship during the 2020 season.

With his team trailing Clinton 13-12 late in the fourth quarter, Black drove the Cougars from their eight-yard line to the Clinton 11.

Then the quarterback who’s hard to miss was, well, missed.

With Black in shotgun formation, a snap went over his head. Clinton recovered and ran out the clock on what the Cougars thought was their year to play for a state championship.

“Everything comes full circle,” Michigan Collegiate coach John Guth said Saturday.

Guth was talking in the aftermath of the Cougars’ 36-29 victory over Michigan Center in a Division 6 semifinal game at Ypsilanti Lincoln.

Michigan Collegiate, playing in its third semifinal, and trying again to reach the state finals for the first time, trailed 29-28 and faced fourth-and-seven from the Cardinals’ 25 with less than a minute to play.

Michigan Center had taken the lead three minutes earlier when a pass from Kaydin Hiland went through a defensive back’s hands and into the arms of Lukas Howard, who then turned and ran to the end zone to complete an improbable 38-yard touchdown play.

“I thought it killed us,” Guth said.

But this time, there was no high snap or tipped ball that would dash the Cougars’ dreams.

The quarterback who’s hard to miss wasn’t finished.

After Michigan Center called time, Michigan Collegiate changed formations and sent receiver Tre Redding from the left side of the field to the right.

“They had players over there (to Black’s left) that could make a play,” the quarterback said.

Redding, the 2021 Macomb County high hurdles champion, ran his route to a corner of the end zone and leaped for Black’s pass.

“I knew I had to put it up just for him — nobody else,” Black said. “It was for him only to grab it.”

Redding did, with 41.2 seconds left. Michigan Collegiate was ahead 34-29, and the lead grew to three points after Black’s conversion pass to Teshawn Thomas.

“I just play the game as it comes to me,” Black said.

Against Michigan Center, the game came to Black in a variety of ways.

He intercepted a pass on the Cardinals’ first possession of the third quarter and returned the ball to the Michigan Center seven.

On fourth down of the ensuing possession, Black ran two yards for a touchdown, and he added a conversion run. Michigan Collegiate led 22-14.

In the fourth quarter, after Michigan Center blocked a punt and got the ball at the Cougars’ eight, Black intercepted a second-down pass in the zone to protect a 28-22 lead.

“I was in the right position at the right time,” said Black, who scored the first touchdown of the game on a running play after the Cougars blocked a punt.

“He’s our leader,” said Bob Wirick, Michigan Collegiate’s offensive coordinator.

Michigan Collegiate plays Lansing Catholic Central in the state championship game at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Ford Field.

“We’re all excited,” Black said. “It’s a great opportunity for all of us, the players and the school.”

Catholic Central (12-1) defeated Standish-Sterling 18-7 in the semifinals.

Nic Gruber had a pair of one-yard touchdown runs and Joey Baker passed for 105 yards to lead the Cougars.

Catholic Central has a championship pedigree. The Cougars won the 2019 Division 5 state title, and they reached championship games in 2011 and 2014.

Michigan Collegiate has been building its reputation since its first full season in 2009.

The Cougars, who’ve never missed the playoffs, lost semifinals to Hudson in 2010 and Jackson Lumen Christi in 2017.

“We played two monsters,” Wirick said.

Guth and Wirick are long-time staff members at Michigan Collegiate, whose first head coach was Alfredo Calderon.

Guth and Calderon were co-head coaches in 2014 and 2015, and Guth has been the head man since 2016.

“We’ve been knocking on the door,” Wirick said after the victory over Michigan Center. “It was our time.”

In a match-up of Cougars vying for a state championship, the Michigan Collegiate kind will be easy to spot.

They’ve got the quarterback who’s hard to miss.