Detroit bound: Chemics move on to Ford Field with thrilling 31-28 comeback win

by Jason Wolverton

As far as playoff games go, Saturday’s Division II semifinal wasn’t Midland’s prettiest.

But it just might have been its greatest.

Sophomore Matt Alcott caught a 27-yard go-ahead touchdown with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter as Midland completed a 21-point comeback and secured a trip to Ford Field and the Division II state championship with a 31-28 victory over Lowell at Lansing Everett High School.

Midland outscored Lowell 24-0 over the game’s final 27 minutes to set up its first trip to the finals since 1993 when the Chemics lost to Farmington Hills Harrison 12-9. Midland will face undefeated Detroit Martin Luther King Friday at 1 p.m.

“It’s unbelievable,” said quarterback Andrew Maxwell, fighting back tears. “I can try to describe it, but I can’t do it justice. This is unbelievable.”

It was just as unbelievable for Lowell, who surrendered the comeback but almost finished one off of their own. The Chemics turned the ball over on downs late in the fourth quarter, giving the Red Arrows one last chance with 2:21 to go in the game. Needing 90 yards for the win, Lowell managed to pick up 89 of them as they marched down the field on the shoulders of junior quarterback Kyle Nichol.

Nichol made a big play early in the drive when a low snap got past him and rolled back about 15 yards. But instead of falling on the ball, Nichol picked it up and ran out of the pocket and threw it away to avoid a big loss. That put Lowell in position to convert an improbable fourth-and-long when Nichol hit a receiver over the middle for a big gain. And the Red Arrows would get a couple more big gains before facing third-and-goal with under 30 seconds to play. That’s when Nichol rolled to his left and was stuffed just short of the goal line. With no timeouts left, Nichol raced his team to the line to try to stop the clock but didn’t realize it was fourth down. He took the snap and spiked the ball, turning it over on downs and securing the win for Midland.

“They wouldn’t quit either,” Midland coach Terry Wilczek said of Lowell. “They just kept making plays. And they had a lot of different people that made plays too. It just was a great high school football game.”

Lowell took the ball to begin the game and wasted no time getting on the board, as Austin Graham scored from five yards out to give the Red Arrows the early lead. Jerry Adams connected on the PAT to make it 7-0.

Midland answered on its first possession, though, when Maxwell connected with Michael Albrecht on a 32-yard first down strike before tossing a 33-yard touchdown to Alcott that completed a 65-yard scoring drive for the Chemics. Catlin Porter’s point after knotted the score at 7-7 with 5:55 to go in the first.

The two teams traded punts to close out the first quarter before Lowell started to pull away with a second quarter offensive showcase that took the wind right out of the Chemics’ sails.

Graham scored again on a 16-yard touchdown run a minute into the second to make it 14-7 and then extended the lead to 21-7 with a 2-yard touchdown run from Nichol with 5:52 to go in the half.

Three minutes later, Lowell would get the ball back and score again when Nichol hit Torsten Boss on a 75-yard touchdown bomb down the sideline to give the Arrows a 21-point lead.

But that’s when the Chemics started the comeback, getting the ball on their own 24 with three minutes to go in the half and marching the length of the field for the score. But it wasn’t easy for Wilczek’s crew as they had a touchdown called back for offensive pass interference that set up a fourth-and-14. But the Chemics pulled a rabbit out of their hat with a hook-and-latter when Benner caught a quick pass and tossed it back to a streaking Albrecht who carried it all the way down to the 5. On the next play, Maxwell hit Benner on a fade route in the corner of the end zone for the score with 10.2 seconds left in the half. Porter’s extra point made it 28-14.

“We made so many changes offensively and defensively,” Wilczek said. “We tried everything, believe me. We used it all up today.”

Midland got the ball to begin the second half, but eventually turned it over on downs. The Chemics got it back after a Lowell punt, but were smothered on three straight plays. The punt team came out on fourth down, but Porter took the snap and raced around the edge for a 17-yard gain and a first down.

Porter’s run helped set up the Chemics’ third score of the game when Maxwell hit Joel Parsons for the score on fourth-and-goal to cut the lead to 28-21 with Porter’s kick.

Porter made another big play on the ensuing kickoff when he sent a high, short kick towards the Midland sideline. Lowell was unable to field it cleanly and the Chemics got the ball back with a chance to tie the game.

But the Red Arrows’ defense held and stopped the Chemics on fourth down again when Maxwell’s pass to Roberson was no good with 3:20 to go in the third.

Lowell took over on their own 15, but fumbled the ball right back to Midland on the very first play. Three plays later, Porter connected on a 31-yard field goal that made it 28-24.

“We needed to get some points,” Wilczek said of his decision to kick the field goal. “I was debating the first time whether we should kick the field goal or go for it. And then when we didn’t get anything and they gave us the ball back, I just said we’ve got to get some points out of it this time.”

Lowell came right back and looked as though they were going to get on the board themselves. But on third-and-goal, Nichol couldn’t handle a low snap and was forced to dive on the ball at the 25 for a big loss. Nichol couldn’t connect with an open receiver on fourth down, giving Midland the ball back and kick starting the Chemics’ game-winning drive with 9:57 to go in the game.

Lowell would not make it easy on the Chemics, though, as they faced yet another fourth down. And for the fifth time in the second half, the Chemics went for it. Wilczek’s gamble paid off as Maxwell escaped pressure and found a wide-open Albrecht for a first down with 7:16 to go.

“The line gave me a lot of time to throw the ball and the receivers caught the ball well,” Maxwell said. “We did what we had to do to win. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Maxwell again avoided pressure a few minutes later when he slipped the grasp of a Lowell defender and found a wide-open Alcott for a 27-yard touchdown that gave Midland its first lead of the game. Porter hit the PAT to make it 31-28.

Alcott’s score was the second of the game for the junior varsity call up, who said he never expected to get a chance to contribute.

“It’s just a reward being on the sidelines and dressing,” he said. “But actually playing and scoring touchdowns is an amazing feeling.”

And what was Alcott feeling as the ball was hanging in the air?

“Just don’t drop,” he said. “Just don’t drop it.”

Midland forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive and Lowell punted back to Midland. The Chemics picked up a big first down and were able to run some time off the clock before being stopped on fourth down to set up Lowell’s last chance.

“The game had its ups and downs,” Maxwell said. “But as a team we hung in there and we played big when we needed to play big, and we came out on top.”

As for Wilczek, he said he and his team will take the weekend to enjoy the win before getting back to work.

“What we want to do right now is just enjoy this,” he said. “We’ll worry about the next ball game maybe on Monday. Let’s just enjoy what we did today.”

For more photos from Saturday’s game click on “Photo Slideshow” in the top right corner of this article.

Photos by Jason Wolverton