Wayland, Hopkins and Martin all were confronted by formidable foes Friday night in regular season finales.
Martin squeaked by NorthPointe Christian 22-20, but Wayland lost a 47-38 shootout to non league rival Hastings and Hopkins was shut out 40-0 by O-K Silver champion Belding.
Martin 22, North Pointe Christian 20
The Clippers fell behind 14-0 in the first two periods, but finally came alive offensively late in the third quarter and afterward,
Anderson Keeler scored all three touchdown for the Clippers on runs of 4, 23 and 25 yards and he converted one two-point PAT.
The Mustangs came back with a vengeance in the last three minutes with a return of a fumble recovery for a touchdown, by they were foiled in their two-point conversion to provide Martin with its eighth victory in nine starts overall this season. The Clippers Sunday will learn about who they will face in the post-season playoffs.
Hastings 47, Wayland 38
These two former O-K Gold Conference rivals showed plenty of offensive fireworks, but the Saxons managed to pull away at the end.
Hastings built a 28-15 advantage in the first half of play and the Wildcats made several comebacks, but couldn’t seem to hold the Saxons’ potent offensive attack.
The loss very likely will mean the end of the season for Wayland, which entered Friday night’s contest entertaining hopes for a post-season berth. The Wildcats had a playoff drought from 2013 to 2022 and broke the string a year ago with a 6-3 record. This year they finished at 4-5.
Hastings is looking forward to playoffs after polishing off an 8-1 season overall.
Belding 40, Hopkins 0
The Vikings expected a very tough battle with their hosts, but didn’t count on failing to dent the scoreboard.
Belding has been averaging better than 46 points per game this season, and even better than that after its season opening 20-6 loss.
Hopkins fell to 6-3, but it looks forward to getting into the playoffs next weekend after missing out in 2023.
