Div. 8: Muskegon Catholic Central gets its threepeat

Of course it was a defensive play that started Muskegon Catholic Central’s game-winning touchdown drive in the Division 8 state championship game.

Christian Martinez grabbed an interception, then ended the drive with an eight-yard TD run with 10:20 left in the fourth quarter against Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes.

It gave the Crusaders a 7-0 victory. MCC stuffed an offense that hadn’t scored fewer than 32 points in a game this season.

Martinez’s interception with 62 seconds left in the third quarter was the third of four thrown by Lakers senior quarterback Clay Senerius. Starting at its own 36-yard line, MCC (11-3) passed only one time on the 64-yard drive, a 12-yarder from Martinez to Logan Helton.

Martinez had a 14-yard run, and Walker Christoffersen contributed a 24-yard run to the Lakers 8. Martinez scored on the next play.

“We had some key plays,’’ Martinez said. “We had a third down where the line blocked perfect. That kept the drive going. We had an explosive run by Walker that set up the touchdown. On the touchdown, Jacob Holt got around the edge and blocked two guys. He set it up perfectly for me to get in.’’

Results from state football finals at Ford Field

Waterford Our Lady (13-1) tried to respond, driving from its own 30 to the Crusaders’ 13. On second-and-8, Senerius tried to hit Chris Cartier in the right corner of the end zone, but Christoffersen stepped in front of the pass with 3:21 remaining for yet another interception.

“It was really good knowing that, during practice this week, all we went over was stay deep and stay on your man,’’ Christoffersen said. “He ran a flag route, and I knew if I got to him in time, I could break on the ball. We had good coaching and good teaching throughout the week, and it resulted in the interception.’’

This is the Crusaders’ third straight championship. MCC might not be as talented as its previous two championship teams, but coach Steve Czerwon gladly accepted the hardware.

“It was a hard-fought battle out there,’’ he said. “I don’t think anyone that watched these two teams expected it to be 7-0. We’ve been in quite a few close games. A lot of grit and integrity out of these guys today.’’

Christoffersen led the offense with 113 yards on 18 carries.

While the Crusaders moved the ball, the Lakers were stymied in their first two possessions until Senerius hit Cartier with a 29-yard pass for the team’s initial first down.

Waterford Our Lady finally put a drive together midway through the second quarter, until Brody Kieft broke through for a six-yard loss on Cartier. Devin Senerius, Clay’s twin, then missed a 35-yard field goal.

The Lakers had another scoring opportunity inside two minutes of the first half, but a fourth-down pass by Clay Senerius was tipped away in the end zone.

Clay provided the offense, completing 17 of 27 passes for 193 yards. But the interceptions were killers.

“I made some bad reads; it was my fault,’’ he said.

Coach Josh Sawicki corrected him.

“It was our fault,’’ he said. “We had the most wins in school history and scored the most points. That was a physical, physical football game. In close games, it always comes down to one or two plays that you have to make. Unfortunately, it didn’t fall our way today.’’

Contact Perry A. Farrell: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @farrellperry.