Bryce Underwood and Belleville’s offense provided the fireworks in the Division 1 MHSAA District Finals against Saline in front of a packed house at Belleville High School.
The Tigers defeated Saline 42-7 to advance to next week’s regional finals in front of a crowd that filled both stands and lined up against the fence that surrounded the entire field. The Tigers jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the first half and kept rolling in the second half to come away with the 35-point win.
Belleville wasted no time and took the lead. The Tigers scored on three of their four possessions in the first half and returned an interception for a touchdown. Saline came out desperate, but failed on fourth down on their first two possessions of the second half, leading to a pair of Belleville touchdown passes to make it 42-7.
Underwood completed 11 of 19 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns, including an 87-yard TD late in the first half, and two interceptions. He also rushed six times for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Belleville, which improved to 10-1, is looking to finish with three state championships over four seasons after losing to Southfield A&T in the Division 1 championship last year. Saline finishes the year 7-4, after its first loss on the field; the Hornets had to forfeit the first three games due to the use of an ineligible player, but won seven in a row before being eliminated.
Belleville will play Novi Detroit Catholic Central, which defeated West Bloomfield, in the regional final next weekend.
Belleville’s forced turnover leads to a dominant first half
Belleville received the opening kickoff and drove 62 yards in four minutes to take a 7-0 lead. Senior running back Raymond Smith Jr. started things off with a first-down run, followed by an Underwood scramble for 19 yards. Smith had a 30-yard touchdown taken off the board due to an illegal shift, but two defensive pass interference penalties brought Belleville inside the red zone, and Smith came in for an 11-yard run.
The Hornets put together a 13-play drive from their own 6 to the red zone, but were unable to put any points on the board. Saline attempted a wide receiver screen inside the 15, the receiver fumbled and Belleville recovered, leading to a touchdown.
Belleville pushed the score to 21 with a pick-six from senior linebacker Andre Thomas Jr., who fell off the line of scrimmage and jumped to intercept Tommy Carr and return it 65 yards for a touchdown. Saline scored a touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half when Carr hit tight end Cole Kreuzer for a 12-yard touchdown.
Underwood recovers from early interception
Saline went three-and-out on the opening drive with a short punt and Belleville marched right back into the red zone after Underwood escaped pressure and hit Trey Graham 31 yards over the middle while taking a hit. But Underwood tried to force a throw into a tight window on the next pass and was intercepted by Saline sophomore Princeton Jones.
But the LSU commit didn’t make many major mistakes after that, aside from a missed deep ball. On the next drive, Belleville drove 90 yards and Underwood completed three of five passes for 62 yards while rushing for 24 yards, including a painful touchdown in which he escaped a free rusher, tiptoed down the sideline and through four Saline defenders shot for an 11-touchdown run on the yard.
On the first play after Saline’s touchdown, Underwood climbed into the pocket and launched an 87-yard moon shot to Antwon Thomas to make it 28-7 before halftime. Underwood threw it from his own 10-yard line and landed it perfectly in Thomas’ hands at Saline’s 40-yard line.
He completed his first two passes in the second half for 28 yards, including a touchdown from 17 yards to Graham in the back corner. After another fourth-down stop, Underwood completed two passes, including a 12-yard slant to Charles Britton III for a touchdown. With less than two minutes left, Underwood forced a deep shot that was intercepted by James Rush.
Michigan jacks in the box and stands
Belleville athletic director Joe Brodie confirmed to the Free Press that former Michigan football assistant Connor Stalion is “in the area” but has not officially hired him to the coaching staff. Stalions sat in the Belleville coaching box wearing headphones. Stalion sounded on the headphones when Belleville had the ball. Earlier this week, co-head coach Calvin Norman told the Free Press he is not employed.
Stalions, who resigned from Michigan after becoming the subject of the Wolverines’ NCAA investigation for sign stealing, was the defensive coordinator of Detroit Mumford (who finished 1-8) and also served as head coach for one game.
There was a large contingent of Michigan fans on hand to watch Underwood lead the Wolverines in their recruitment of the top player in the 2025 class. There were Michigan flags in the stands and shirts that read “Bryce and E Dot,” referring to Underwood and four-star defenseman Elijah Dotson, who is committed to Pittsburgh.
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Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22and email him at [email protected].