Heartbreak: Chemics’ storybook season comes to end with 47-21 defeat

by Cory Butzin

It wasn’t supposed to end this way.

One game from completing their magical season, the Midland Chemics were unable to find a fairytale ending Friday as Detroit Martin Luther King rolled up 40 unanswered second half points to defeat the Chemics 47-21 and take home the Division 2 state championship at Ford Field.

The Chemics jumped out to a 14-0 lead and led 21-7 early in the third quarter, but the Crusaders’ defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns and the offense found its groove to pull away.

“We figured if we were going to win it, it was going to be a close game,” said Midland head coach Terry Wilczek. “Maybe a low scoring game where the defenses dominated, but it obviously got away from us.”

Colter Roberson led the charge early for the Chemics, as he punched it in from 2 yards out on the Chemics second drive of the game to give them a 7-0 lead following Catlin Porter’s extra point.

On the ensuing possession Midland’s defense forced a three and out, bringing Samuel Lilly out to punt for Detroit King. But Andrew Cox broke through the line and blocked the kick and the Chemics took over on the Crusaders’ 25.

Three plays later, penalties had forced the Chemics back and brought up third-and-24, but Andrew Maxwell found Roberson down the sideline and the senior took it 40 yards for the touchdown. Porter’s PAT made it 14-0 Midland with 2:45 to go in the first.

Detroit King finally got onto the board nine seconds into the second quarter when Donavan Dickerson found Corey Chatman for a 26–yard touchdown pass. Lilly’s extra point made it 14-7. Chatman’s touchdown seemed to stir the Crusader’s drowsy offense as they were able to move the ball well against Midland the remainder of the first half. Still, Midland held and the score remained 14-7 at the half.

King got the ball to begin the third quarter, but the Chemics eventually forced them to punt out of their own end zone. A bad snap on the punt attempt forced Lilly to try to run for the first down, but he was stopped short to give the Chemics the ball back on Detroit King’s 19. On the first play from scrimmage, Roberson broke off the right tackle and raced into the end zone for his third touchdown of the day to give Midland a 21-7 lead and seemingly put them in the driver’s seat.

“[Lilly] took it and we tackled him and then we went in for the touchdown to give us a 21-7 lead,” Wilczek said. “I thought we had some good momentum in our favor at that particular time.”

But in no time Midland’s lead evaporated as the wheels fell off for the Chemics. Detroit King got the ball back and marched down the field, where they scored on a 25-yard touchdown run by Cincinnati-bound running back Darrin Williams. The extra point was wide right, leaving the score 21-13.

On Midland’s next possession, Dickerson picked off a Maxwell pass and raced 20 yards down the sideline for a score and then took the 2-point conversion attempt around the right edge and dove into the end zone to make it 21-21.

Dickerson was not done, though, as he found Flenard Whitfield for a 29-yard touchdown pass seven seconds into the fourth quarter to give King its first lead of the day at 28-21. Eighteen seconds later, Midland had the ball back and Maxwell dropped back to pass only to have the ball tipped at the line of scrimmage. Edgar Pouncy then stepped in front of it and took it back 33 yards for a touchdown and suddenly Midland was down 35-21.

“The pick and a lot of other stuff happened really fast and all the momentum was gone,” Maxwell said. “It sucked all the air right out of it. That was tough.”

Four minutes later, Williams added his second touchdown of the day from 16 yards out to give the Crusaders a 41-21 lead following the missed extra point. Lilly punched it in from 9 yards out with 23 seconds left to close the scoring at 47-21.

“You talk about taking advantage of momentum when it’s in your favor,” Wilczek said. “When they got a little momentum in their favor, they really pounded us.”

As for Detroit King, coach James Reynolds said he expected his team to come back despite tough competition from Midland.

“We’ve been down before,” he said. “We knew we had to play 48 minutes.”

The state championship was the Crusader’s first as they finish the season with an unblemished 14-0 record. The Chemics, meanwhile, finish 11-3. And though they were hoping for win number 12, many of the players said the experience was something they would carry with them for the rest of their lives.

“Our whole crowd came together which gave us a boost early on,” said Chemics tackle Andrew Grillo. “It just came up short and that hurts, but it was a good memory and I’ll always remember it.”

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

Photos by Jason Wolverton & Cory Butzin

**Note: Due to MHSAA restrictions, only 12 photos from Friday’s game are available for purchase.**