By: Jonathan Szczepaniak | C&G Newspapers | Published October 14, 2024
SHELBY TOWNSHIP/MACOMB TOWNSHIP — For the third straight season, the top spot in the Macomb Area Conference Red was decided in a matchup between Utica Eisenhower and Macomb Dakota.
In 2022, it was Dakota winning the league outright with a 31-14 win over the Eagles, who came back in 2023 and blanked the Cougars 31-0 to earn a share of the league with Clinton Township Chippewa Valley.
Both teams entered this year on a different type of trajectory with Dakota (6-1), who was ranked No. 3 in the state heading into the matchup, returning a slew of starting talent and aspirations for a state title, while Eisenhower (6-1), who was ranked No. 17, was on the downswing after graduating key starters all over the field.
Eisenhower was never concerned about where they were ranked or how many voids there were to fill, but rather how the pieces they had in place could fit with what head coach Christopher Smith was trying to do.
“We were using that (the rankings) for motivation,” junior Braylon Burnside said. “We were talking about how we were getting ranked low. We didn’t care where we were ranked. We just wanted to come in and do our thing — our Eisenhower thing.”
The Eagles did just that as a strong defensive effort guided it to a 21-14 win over Dakota Oct. 11 at Swinehart Stadium, securing co-MAC Red championships for both Eisenhower and Dakota as they sit at 4-1 in the league.
Eisenhower came out swinging early on both sides of the ball, but it was an old reliable on the Eagles defense who would shift the momentum fully in favor of the Eagles.
As Dakota crossed midfield with just under a minute left in the first quarter, a big hit from the Eisenhower defense on Dakota senior quarterback Jadon Ford on a designed run resulted in a 62-yard scoop-and-score for senior defensive back Conner Temple, who jetted down the sidelines with blockers in front of him.
Temple has been the heart and soul of the Eisenhower defense, headlining a returning secondary that paces one of the top defenses in Macomb County.
“It’s basically a whole new group besides our four defensive backs, which are the hardest people to find,” Smith said. “They’re all returners from last year. That made it a lot easier, and the front seven being able to adjust and coaching them up. We just found a bunch of animals in the school and said, ‘You guys are our front seven, go play.’”
The defensive touchdown not only extended the lead to 14-0 but deflated a Dakota offense that would continue to fight its way into Eagle territory but come up with nothing to show for it.
The Cougars didn’t shy away from entering Eagle territory, but a missed field goal and a handful of stops from the Eisenhower defense kept Dakota senior Brady Hamby and the offense at a standstill.
You can only keep Hamby, who had 17 carries for 90 yards, out of the end zone for so long as the Dakota offense finally made a house call late in the third quarter on a 5-yard run courtesy of its senior running back.
When you’re going up against a runner like Hamby, who’s had four games of 100 or more rushing yards and had eight touchdowns coming into the matchup, Smith said he can live with 90 yards and a score compared to how Hamby took over other games.
“We knew we had to shut down the run,” Smith said. “They’re a big, power team and we did the best we could. I know they got some yards, but we held them when it counted.”
The Dakota offense would get another opportunity at the start of the fourth quarter as the Cougars offense worked its way deep into Eagle territory, but a missed field goal ended the scoring threat.
On the ensuing drive, Eisenhower senior quarterback Jack Bullock called his own number for a 15-yard rushing touchdown, which was preceded by a 43-yard pass completion to junior wideout Keaton Duda to set up the Eisenhower offense at the Dakota 7-yard line. Eisenhower was backed up to the 15-yard line after a penalty and a pair of negative yardage plays.
Bullock is the kind of quarterback every coach wants in the locker room, being someone who has waited his turn until he was the guy to lead the huddle. This season, Bullock is showing that patience pays off.
“Jack is a kid that’s waited his turn to be a starting quarterback,” Smith said. “He grew up an Eisenhower Eagles fan and he’s been waiting all his life, and now he’s a MAC Red champion. I’m so proud of him.”
Bullock opened up the scoring on Eisenhower’s first drive of the game as Burnside found a wide-open Bullock down the middle of the field on a flea-flicker for a 20-yard touchdown connection.
“Me and Jack, we’d been working on it all practice,” Burnside said. “Even in practice, it hadn’t been going our way. We knew once we came into the game and were under the pressure we’d be able to run it and be successful. I trusted Jack to catch the touchdown.”
Ford, who threw for 157 yards on 18 attempts, quickly drove down the field and found senior Di’Mari Malone for a 16-yard touchdown to pull within a score with under a minute left, but Dakota was unsuccessful on the onside attempt.
With MAC Red play over, Eisenhower will finish its regular season with St. Clair Shores Lakeview and Clarkston while Dakota will look to rebound against Utica and Oxford.
The way both teams are playing, it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if the two teams met again in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state playoffs, which is all over the minds of the surging Eagles.
“We always talk about it (states) every day,” Burnside said. “We’re always focused on one game after the next, but we’re after that state title.”