Detroit, MI – The Hudson Tigers football team are the state champions in Division 8 for the State of Michigan this year. On the back of a strong defensive performance and timely offense, the Tigers were able to take-down Beal City 14-7 at Ford Field.
The game did not start in Hudson’s favor, however, as the Aggies scored the lone touchdown in the first quarter on a 53 yard touchdown pass. The extra point was good, which made the score 7-0 heading into the second quarter.
A back-and-forth game in the second only yielded one score, but fortunately for Hudson, they were the team with the positive outcome. Nick Kopin scored on a 6-yard run to put the Tigers on the board with 0:14 left in the first half. The two-point-conversion attempt was successful as Ambrose Horwath hauled in the go-ahead-score. Those were the only points in the second quarter, so both teams hit the locker room with an 8-7 lead for Hudson.
Both Beal City and Hudson had their fair share of chances in the third quarter, but there was no scoring in the frame.
The deciding score came with 6:58 remaining in the contest. It was Nick Kopin again for the Tigers scoring from 2 yards out on a touchdown run. The 2-point-conversion attempt was incomplete, so that made the score 14-7 in favor of Hudson.
A final defensive stance, including an interception by Bronson Marry with less than 6 minutes left in the game, solidified the win for the Tigers. Friday’s State Championship win was their first since 2010.
Here is the breakdown of stats for Hudson:
Passing-
Easten Strodtman (1-1, 17 yards)
Rushing-
Nick Kopin (25 att, 131 yds, 2 td)
Payton Rogers (10 att, 62 yds)
Brendan Akers (13 att, 49 yds)
Receiving-
Ambrose Horwath (1 catch, 17 yards)
Defense-
Nick Kopin (6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 pass break-ups)
Ethan Harris (4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for loss)
Bronson Marry (4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception)
The 14-7 win for Hudson capped-off a perfect season (14-0), and gave Beal City their second loss (12-2).