By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
JACKSON — Getting to the regional finals in the MHSAA football tournament is a special thing for a lot of teams. For Constantine, who made it to the playoffs with a 6-3 record ranked 21st in the state by playoff points, it was even more special.
However, the Falcons’ playoff run ended abruptly Saturday afternoon in the Division 6 regional finals, as they lost 42-6 to two-time defending state champ Jackson Lumen Christi in Jackson in a game that was dominated by the host school wire to wire.
Constantine Head Coach Shawn Griffin said he was proud of his team for making it to the regional final.
“If you had told me last year we’d be playing in a regional final, I’d have laughed in your face. I’m not going to say it wasn’t the way we wanted to go out; we probably beat a couple of teams we shouldn’t have beat in the playoffs,” Griffith said. “These kids played their heart out, and sometimes it’s a heck of a task to slay the giant.”
Looking at the quarter-by-quarter score, it appeared to be a close game early on at first, with the score 7-0 in favor of Lumen Christi after the first quarter, but looking deeper into the box score, the domination by the Titans was evident. The home team scored 21 points before the Falcons even got a first down, and the Titans got plenty of push on Constantine’s offensive line, holding the Falcons to 37 yards of offense through the first 22 minutes of the game.
The Titans would get 37 yards within their first four plays of their opening drive. After Constantine went three-and-out on the opening possession of the game, Lumen Christi went 58 yards on eight plays, seven of those being runs by senior running back Kadale Williams, who capped off the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 Titans with 5:31 to go in the first quarter.
After Constantine went three-and-out on their second drive, Lumen Christi appeared to be knocking on the doorstep of the end zone on its first play of the drive with a long pass caught by running back Josh DuMont inside the red zone. However, DuMont fumbled as he was heading toward the end zone, thanks in part to Cooper Juday, with Brody Godfrey recovering it and returning it to the 10 yard line.
However, Constantine would not be able to capitalize on the fortuitous turnover, as they went three-and-out on their next possession as well, and the floodgates opened from there. At the start of the second quarter, Williams would score from 11 yards out to put the Titans up 14-0, and then after another Constantine three-and-out, it would be DuMont finding the end zone for a 21-yard TD to the left side to make it a 21-0 game.
Constantine’s first first down of the game would come on their next drive via a two-yard rush by Juday deep in their own territory, and they would get a second first down on that drive via a fake punt from Brody Jones to Godfrey down to their own 38. However, the drive would stall out and the Falcons turned the ball over on downs, leading two plays later to a 29-yard touchdown rush by Williams to make it 28-0.
“That’s the hardest back in Division 6 to tackle right there, and he showed why everybody’s been saying the things about him that they should be,” Griffith said of Williams, who had 10 carries for 102 yards and three touchdowns on the day, all in the first half.
Constantine would get a sustainable drive right near the end of the first half, however, it would only get so far as the Titans’ 34-yard line before time expired, one of the few times Constantine ventured into opposing territory in the game.
In the second half, Lumen Christi would rely on their backups and younger players, resting many of their starters for their upcoming state semifinals appearance. They would score on the first possession after recovering an onside kick at midfield, with Kenyon Bushinski rushing it in for a five-yard touchdown to make it 35-0. He would score his second touchdown of the quarter later on with 1:27 to go in the third quarter on a two-yard touchdown plunge to make it 42-0 going into the third quarter.
After Constantine recovered a fumble on defense on Lumen Christi’s next possession, the Falcons would get their lone points on the board two plays later, as Brody Jones scampered down the left sideline for a 70-yard touchdown to make it 42-6 in the fourth quarter and the final score.
“Good to see him ending it on a good note there. He’s been pretty spectacular for us, when you consider two years quarterbacking, 18 wins,” Griffith said of his senior quarterback Jones, who played in his final game for the Falcons Saturday. “He’s been pretty exceptional for us.”
On the day, Jones was the leading rusher thanks to that 70-yard scamper, rushing 15 times for 107 yards and the line touchdown. Godfrey had eight carries for 30 yards, and Juday had three carries for eight yards. Jones was 2-of-4 passing on the day as well, for 20 yards.
Defensively, Godfrey and Jones led the way with seven tackles, while Canon Manley had six tackles and a fumble recovery. Collin Hickey had six tackles as well.
For Lumen Christi, after Williams’ 10 carry, 102-yard performance, Bushinski had 10 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way, while Isaac Rehberg had five carries for 33 yards. Quarterback Timmy Crowley was 4-of-5 passing for 70 yards, with Charlie Saunders hauling in two catches for 38 yards and Kash Kalahar catching one pass for 32 yards.
Overall, Constantine finishes with an 8-4 record, while Lumen Christi moves on to play Marine City in the state semifinals in Novi on Saturday, Nov. 23.
“I can’t be upset about the effort our kids gave. I thought they came out, we had a great week of practice, the kids did everything that we asked them to do. Like I say, sometimes you’re not as talented as the group that you’re playing against. It happens,” Griffith said. “It’s a great lesson to learn, and I’d rather learn that lesson in a regional final than be in a game that you think, man, we should’ve won that, and you came out on the short end. That’s a talented football team, and I think we exceeded expectations. Hats off to our seniors, a great group of kids; the kids that ended up coming out, playing their tails off for us this year, I can’t say anything bad about any single one of those guys.”
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
