Division 1 final: Belleville repeats with strong defensive performance

Detroit — Sophomore defensive lineman Lamar Fairfax came up with a big sack to flip the momentum and give Belleville the chance of repeating as Division 1 state champions Saturday at Ford Field.

Belleville — 14-0 and ranked No. 1 in The News Super 20 poll — was known for its high-scoring offense all season, but it made big play after big play on the defensive side of the ball to lift the trophy once again with a 35-17 comeback victory over Caledonia.

Caledonia (12-2) held a 14-7 lead and was driving when Fairfax sacked dual-threat quarterback Mason McKenzie for a 13-yard loss on a fourth-and-3 play from the Belleville 33 with 1:12 left in the first half.

Instead of Caledonia adding points before entering the locker room at the break, Fairfax’s sack gave the ball to Belleville at its own 47 and sophomore sensation Bryce Underwood took over.

Underwood, who had trouble with his accuracy for much of the first half, hit on four straight passes, including a 24-yard pass to Adrian Walker to the Caledonia 39. Underwood then found Dennis Crawford for 27 yards to set up a 7-yard scoring strike to Walker in the back of the end zone with 15 seconds left to pull Belleville even at 14.

“We were up 14-7, took a timeout because we wanted to get a shot down the field and we didn’t pick up a blitz and took a sack. They ended up scoring right before the half and I think that gave them a lot of momentum,” Caledonia coach Derek Pennington said.

BOX SCORE: Belleville 35, Caledonia 17

Underwood, considered the top quarterback in the nation for the 2025 class, threw for five TDs in last year’s state title game win over Rochester Adams. This time around, he showed he could do some damage with his legs, rushing for 149 yards.

Trailing 17-14 in the third, Underwood broke loose for a 40-yard run to the Caledonia 36 and Jeremiah Beasley followed with a 36-yard TD run for a 21-17 lead with 39 seconds left in the quarter. Belleville led the rest of the way.

Underwood scored on a 48-yard TD run with 8:48 left for a 28-17 cushion. Beasley kept the drive alive with a 10-yard run on a gutsy call by interim coach DeJuan Rogers on a fourth-and-2 play from the Belleville 42 with 9:20 remaining.

Underwood also hit on 15-of-25 passes for 155 yards and two TDs, the final one coming on a 23-yard strike to Mychal Yharbrough with 3:50 remaining.

“He’s a five-star kid, the No. 1 quarterback in his class. He’s a great player,” Pennington said of Underwood. “We had a bunch of kids from Caledonia chasing him around. He’s a good kid and hats off to him. He’s obviously got a bright future.”

Said junior linebacker Derek Pennington Jr., the coach’s son, on Underwood: “I thought he was great. He was running the ball. He was really elusive, and it was hard to bring him down. Also, he threw absolute darts in the middle of the field, and right before halftime they were driving down the field real fast.”

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It was Rogers who took over for Belleville coach Jermain Crowell, who was suspended by athletic director Joe Brodie at the start of the playoffs when he learned Crowell was being investigated by the MHSAA for possible violation of the state’s undue influence rule.

Crowell was banned from coaching at any school in any sport through the 2024-25 school year by the MHSAA for the infraction earlier this week. Rogers stepped up and made sure Belleville repeated as state champs with Underwood leading the way.

“Great player to go out here and lead these guys. Second year, two championships and he’s got a lot on his plate,” Rogers said of Underwood. “He has everybody watching him and just to keep his composure and do what’s asked of him, not always the big play, not the 70- or 80-yard touchdown, but just do what’s asked of him. It’s amazing.”

Underwood was humble about his performance, saying: “Really, just taking what they give me. Being back on this field really didn’t make me nervous because I know what we’ve got to do.”

Caledonia showed it belonged in the title game, scoring first when McKenzie engineered a 66-yard drive. He found Pennington Jr. for 25 yards to the 6 to set up Brock Townsend’s 1-yard TD run with 5:27 left in the opening quarter.

Belleville came right back with Colbey Reed breaking loose for a 38-yard TD late in the first when he broke three tackles.

Caledonia took advantage of a bad officiating call to keep its drive alive. Townsend was stopped for no gain on a third-and-1 at his own 48, but the official gave him a yard for the first down. McKenzie followed with a 33-yard run to the Belleville 1, setting up Townsend’s second TD run of the game with 3:48 left in the second quarter.

Then, after forcing a three-and-out, Caledonia got the ball back on a punt that was returned by Jimmie Floyd to the Belleville 40. But that's when Fairfax came up with the sack to flip the momentum.

Belleville’s defense also forced another first-half turnover to end a Caledonia threat early in the second quarter.

Caledonia had the ball in the red zone, advancing to the Belleville 18, when linebacker Andre Thomas got a hand of McKenzie’s pass and Walker got in front of the receiver for an interception with 10:47 left in the second quarter.

“We just had a slant to Kaden (DeHorn) and one of the linebackers tipped it and the DB (Walker) made a great play on the ball, picked it up off the ground. Just a tough break,” McKenzie said.

Belleville’s defense continued to step up big. Junior defensive back James Robinson came up with consecutive big stops after Caledonia faced third-and-3 at the Belleville 47, first stopping McKenzie for no gain and then tackling Justice Reed for lost yardage on fourth down.

Belleville piled up 432 total yards, including 277 on the ground (23 carries). Reed gained 71 yards on nine carries and Beasley 57 yards on four carries.

Belleville limited Caledonia to 262 total yards, including just 94 during the second half when Belleville picked up 189 yards on the ground.

McKenzie rushed for 134 yards on 23 carries but connected on just 6-of-18 passes for 77 yards and had threw two interceptions.

david.goricki@detroitnews.com