FOOTBALL DIVISION 1 BONUS COVERAGE: Edwards puts on display in leading West Bloomfield past defending state champion Davison
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
DETROIT — Donovan Edwards boasts quite an intangible out on the football field.
His track and field speed is a weapon that few teams can match and is something one simply cannot teach.
That speed and athleticism is something opposing teams cannot simulate in practice as well.
Edwards showcased his skillset in his final high school football game Saturday, racking up 257 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns in leading West Bloomfield to a 41-0 shutout of defending Division 1 state champion Davison in the D-1 state finals at Ford Field.
Edwards, a fourth-year varsity veteran and a standout sprinter on Lakers’ track and field team two years ago who had his junior track season shutdown due to the COVID-19 scare, came back for his senior football season and led West Bloomfield to its first-ever state title.
Edwards recently graduated early from West Bloomfield, moved into the dorms at the University of Michigan early this past week and received a waiver from both the NCAA and MHSAA to play in the state finals, which originally would have taken place back on Thanksgiving Weekend.
“It’s a humbling feeling,” said Edwards, who bowed in prayer immediately after the final seconds dropped off the scoreboard in the win over Davison. “I just thanked God that we not only had the gift of being here and winning, but just for the blessing of being alive.”
In 2017, West Bloomfield dropped a rare 3-2 decision to league rival Clarkston in the D-1 state finals. Edwards was the sole player on the Lakers’ roster year still on the team and he remembers clearly that defeat.
“I told the seniors on that team that before I graduated that we would win a state championship,” smiled Edwards. “We lived up to that promise.
“We’ve put West Bloomfield on the map as a football school, it started right before I got there and we just took it to another level,” continued Edwards. “We finally got it done.”
The Lakers would score more points this time around — a lot more points — quickly turning a close-knit 0-0 affair midway through the first quarter into a rout.
West Bloomfield (11-1) led 17-0 at the half and outscored the Cardinals 24-0 in the second half in the most lopsided game in MHSAA Class A/Class AA/Division 1 history.
“This is surreal — so surreal,” smiled West Bloomfield Ron Bellamy, who has turned his Lakers into a state powerhouse during the last decade. “We’ve waited so long for this moment. These last few years since the last time we played at Ford Field, the coaching staff here has vowed that we would create a champion and we did it.”
Davison had a second-quarter touchdown called back and had two incomplete passes in the end zone in the waning seconds, as it tried to spoil the shutout. The Cardinals suffered only their fourth shutout loss in the last decade and worst defeat since losing 35-0 to Fenton back on Aug. 29, 2014.
““If anyone has watched us play, it was very uncharacteristic of us,” sighed Davison coach Jake Weingartz, who was missing two of his top players in quarterback Brendan Sullivan and two-way starter Harrison Unger. “We do not normally play this way. “I’m very proud of our kids for battling all the adversity this year, with the stop and start and losing our quarterback to early graduation. Obviously this is not how we wanted it to end.”
“But this is not Davison football, continued Weingartz. “Congratulations to West Bloomfield. They are a fantastic football team and Donovan Edwards is a (five-star) player that has amazing speed. We allowed too many big plays today and against a team like West Bloomfield you cannot do that. I’m very proud of our kids for battling all the adversity this year, with the stop and start and losing our quarterback to early graduation. Obviously this is not how we wanted it to end.”
On the Lakers’ second possession, Edwards blazed a 78-yard trail for a touchdown and Jake Ward nailed the ensuing extra point to put West Bloomfield up for good at 7-0.
Ward later booted a 39-yard field goal and classmate Mekhi Elam scored on a 13-yard run to help West Bloomfield gain its 17-point halftime lead.
In the second half, Niles King scooped up a fumble and raced to pay dirt for the 24-0 lead. West Bloomfield later added touchdowns run of 71 and 16 yards — both from the fleet-footed Edwards — and Ward capped the scoring with a 45-yard field goal, which is the fourth longest boot in MHSAA 11-Player State Finals history.
But Edwards more than stole the show in his encore performance. He scored 14 touchdowns in the postseason, often leaving the game once it was decided.
“This here is the best football player in the state of Michigan,” beamed Bellamy of Edwards. “Five star — big-time college. Whatever it may be. Teams come to stop one football player, and he had 200-some yards (in the finals). He’s the best player in the state.”
West Bloomfield pitched its sixth shutout of the season over 12 games — including second clean sheet of the postseason — and held it fourth postseason opponent to six or fewer points. The Lakers, who captured a 35-34 double-overtime victory over Belleville during last week’s state semifinals, outscored its six postseason foes 315-57 and 476-96 in the shortened-season.
“I think we’re the best football team in the state,” said Bellamy. “Ever since we lost to Clarkston (in Week 3) we have been playing some great football.
“Defensively, we have been getting it done,” added Bellamy. “Those guys don’t get enough credit.
We have been shutting down (most of) the teams we’ve played all season.”
West Bloomfield’s sole loss came came against OAA Red Division rival Clarkston, which won state titles in 2013, 2014 and 2017. The Lakers regrouped and wrapped up the campaign with nine straight wins and the coveted and elusive state title.
“I thought at the (second shutdown) we were playing the best football in Michigan,” said Bellamy. “When we came back, I said to the kids we are going to finish this mission and we were able to finish this mission.”
Davison, which captured its first state title last season, had given up only 35 total points during the Cardinals’ previous five playoff games. Davison had not lost since a Week 9 defeat during the 2019 season to Lapeer, 24-21, in overtime.
The Cardinals are also a combined 49-9 over the last five seasons, and having outscored the opposition 377-111 this season with nine opponents behind held eight points or less.
“We know that when you come to Ford Field you’ve got to play defense,” continued Bellamy. “Davison has a heck of a defense, but our defense was better today. Those guys were lights out.”
West Bloomfield outgunned Davison 361-167 with all of those yards coming on the ground. The Lakers recovered two fumbles and had three different players record sacks. Travis Reece had seven total tackles and a sack to lead the West Bloomfield defense to a dominating performance.
TaVion Warre had 16 carries and 59 yards for Davison.
Category: Featured Articles, Football, High School, High School (M-Z), Most Recently Updated Stories, NOS reference, Prep Wraps, Sport, Top Stories, Uncategorized, Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes
