It’s time to vote for the Detroit Free Press Buffalo Wild Wings Boys High School Moment of the Season.
This week we’ll take a look at some of the best moments from the 2025-26 Michigan High School boys’ sports season.
Voting will close at 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 16.
Here are the nominees:
Novi Detroit Catholic Central defeats Detroit Cass Tech for D-1 football state title
Both Detroit Catholic Central and Cass Tech entered the final matchup of the season undefeated (13-0), but it was the Shamrocks who bested the Technicians, 42-19, to capture the Division 1 state championship. Catholic Central got contributions from three key players: quarterback Duke Banta completed 9 of 11 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns (all to Gideon Gash). Gash’s three receptions totaled for 126 yards. On defense for the Shamrocks, Jack Janda had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Cass Tech quarterback Donald Tabron II went 25 for 37 for 258 yards, two touchdowns and three turnovers.
The two programs have developed a rivalry. DCC’s previous championship game appearance came in 2016, which resulted in a 49-20 loss to Cass Tech. In 2024, the two teams met again in the state semifinals, and the Technicians defeated the Shamrocks and went on to win the state title that year.
Dearborn Divine Child defeats Hudsonville Unity Christian for D-4 football state title
Divine Child captured its first football championship in 40 years when it defeated Hudsonville Unity Christian, 23-22, in the Division 4 state title game at Ford Field. Two-way player Marcello Vitti led the charge for the Falcons in the final game of the season. On offense, he had 19 carries for 120 yard and a touchdown. On defense, he had 14 tackles.
Quarterback Drew Sheridan went 19 of 25 for 241 yards and two touchdowns.
Divine Child’s playoff run saw the team pick up wins against Tecumseh, Madison Heights Lamphere, Harper Woods and Goodrich on the way to its championship victory.
KJ Torbert sends East Lansing to the state finals at the buzzer
East Lansing senior and 2026 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball recipient KJ Torbert punched his team’s ticket to a second straight Division 1 state title game appearance after hitting a buzzer-beater to defeat Birmingham Brother Rice 55-52 in the state semifinal match.
The game was tied at 52 with 15.8 remaining on the clock and Torbert worked the ball up the court looking to make a play. With five seconds left on the clock, Torbert dribbled to the left side of the court and knocked down his shot over Brother Rice’s Greg Grays Jr., leaving less than a second left to play.
East Lansing went on to play Rockford in the state final but came up short, 54-50.
Lewis Lovejoy drops 41 in D-3 state final loss
Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac sophomore Lewis Lovejoy left everything he had on the court during the team’s 61-57 loss in the Division 3 state championship game against Pewamo-Westphalia.
Lovejoy had 41 points in the final game of the season and put his name in the MHSAA record books with the seventh-most points scored in a championship game. He went 14 for 27 from the floor, making 72% of the team’s shots.
Charlevoix wins D4 golf tournament a year after crash
One of the best feel-good moments of last season was the Charlevoix boys golf team winning its first state championship in program history a year after a horrific crash cut the team’s season short and injured several players and coach Doug Drenth.
The Rayders won the Division 4 championship with a two-day score of 645 strokes, defeating Muskegon Western Michigan Christian by 17.
Senior Bryce Boss had a two-day score of 149 and finished as the runner up in the individual state championship match.
This week’s nomination includes reporting from Jared Ramsey and Christian Romo.
Editor’s Note: We reserve the right to disqualify a candidate or declare a vote “no contest” if tampering such as bots or offering to pay for voting is evident. Please respect the integrity of the vote the way these athletes respect the integrity of the game.
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Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Vote for Freep Buffalo Wild Wings Boys high school moment of the season
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