Unsung defensive hero seals district title for Dakota in 41-14 win over Eisenhower

MACOMB TOWNSHIP/SHELBY TOWNSHIP — The Macomb Dakota defense has been highly discussed throughout the course of the season, and for good reason.

Dakota has guys like senior defensive lineman Logan Criteser, who just broke the single-season school sack record with 14.5, and a host of other talented athletes like seniors Aiden Lindsay (DL), Tyler Torey (DL), Brady Hamby (LB), Di’Mari Malone (LB) and Jacob Bajis (DB) leading the way.

There’s no shortage of leadership and talent, but sometimes it’s the player who doesn’t make the weekly headlines who ignites the defense.

As Dakota (10-1) exacted its revenge Nov. 8 at Dakota High School for a regular season loss to Utica Eisenhower (8-3), who beat Dakota 21-14 Oct. 11 for a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title, it was junior defensive back Dominic Vanvliet who had his moment in the spotlight, tallying two interceptions, including a would-be game-sealing interception late in the third quarter.

“I’ve never had a game like this,” Vanvliet said. “Hopefully I keep it up and my team keeps it up and we just keep going in the playoffs.”

Vanvliet’s first interception of the night came late in the third quarter as Dakota held onto a 27-14 lead. The Eagles defense had just forced a punt following a defensive stop on the Cougars offensive unit, and Vanvliet came up big on the ensuing play.

Eisenhower senior quarterback Jack Bullock looked for a deep post toward the middle of the field, and Vanvliet was waiting as he played under the route and leaped up for the interception.

The Dakota offense, courtesy of senior running back and MAC Red Co-MVP Brady Hamby, marched down the field, and Hamby punched in a 1-yard touchdown, giving Dakota a 34-14 lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to watch a Dakota football game yet this season, Hamby on his own makes it worth the trip. He’s the Cougars’ bell cow, and he has no problem carrying the ball 30 times if it means a win for his squad.

“He’s a player of the year candidate in my opinion,” Dakota head coach Greg Baur said. “I know there’s a lot of guys out there with five stars and a lot of offers, but if you want to win a football game, you want that kid on your team.”

Hamby finished the night with 32 carries for 175 yards and four touchdowns while also leading the Dakota defense in total tackles with seven.

Criteser led the team in sacks with 2.5, and erupted the Dakota crowd with a 10-yard touchdown on a scoop-and-score off an errant option pitch from Bullock to senior running back Mason Korn.

Eisenhower struck first when junior Braylon Burnside read a bubble screen to perfection and jumped the route, catching Dakota senior Jadon Ford’s pass in stride and taking it in for the 15-yard pick-six.

Bullock would bring the Eagles back to within a score on a 2-yard touchdown run seconds before halftime to trail 20-14, but it was the Hamby show from there.

Malone also had a 5-yard touchdown run for Dakota in the win.

It was a night-and-day difference from the regular season matchup between both squads, where a costly fumble ultimately played the difference maker in Eisenhower’s win. This time, Dakota made the costly turnover mistake early and won the turnover battle as a whole, allowing one and forcing three.

“If you get turnovers, you’re going to win a lot of games, especially playoff games,” Baur said. “We’ve been preaching to not turn it over, and we did that in the first play, but we’ve also been preaching to take it away.”

For Eisenhower, it’s a crushing end to a rather incredible season — one that entered with question marks and soon held state title aspirations.

Similar to last season, the Eagles will graduate another star-studded class, especially with players who have been mainstays over the course of their high school careers.

“All the four years I’ve been on the team, this is probably one of the closest teams I’ve been on,” Eisenhower senior Conner Temple said. “We all bonded well and we all had fun, but when it was time to lock in and play, we did that. It was just an awesome experience to play with these guys.”

“They (Eisenhower) took me in at a young age, and I learned from a lot of older guys,” Temple added. “Eisenhower football means family to me, and it means going out there and playing for the guy next to you.”

Dakota will now open regionals against Detroit Cass Tech, who is 4-0 against the Cougars in the playoffs since 2010, including a 35-21 win in 2022.

The Cougars now have 14 district championships along with two state titles to their name (2006 & 2007).