What a way to end the football season: exhausted!

Certainly, the players, but the spectators, too, witnessing the thrilling come-from-behind victory by Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep in the last game of the MHSAA’s two-day football finals extravaganza Thanksgiving weekend at Ford Field.

The Eaglets slipped past Muskegon, 29-28, for their third consecutive Division 3 state title on an 18-yard touchdown pass with just four seconds to play.

“This will go down in St. Mary’s lore as one of the great moments in our program’s history,” head coach George Porritt said.

Trailing 28-23, the Eaglets started the championship drive on their own 20-yard line with 1:55 on the clock. Four runs, a pass completion and a 15-yard pass interference penalty against Muskegon set the stage for this Hollywood ending: junior quarterback Caden Prieskorn firing a bullet to junior wide receiver Kyren Cunningham, who made the catch just inside the right corner of the end zone.

It was the eighth state crown for St. Mary’s, seven under Porritt.

OLSM’s junior Ben Fee kicked three field goals, the third one, a clutch 49-yarder in the fourth quarter that set a state-finals record.

Two other CHSL schools claimed state titles in the MHSAA fall program.

First of its kind: Lutheran North girls golf – Macomb Lutheran North girls golfers accomplished two firsts in one day: winning the school’s first state championship, and becoming the first high school golf team, boys or girls, from Macomb County to win a state title.

The Mustangs, ranked No. 1 all season long, wound up 36 strokes better than runner-up Livonia Ladywood for the Division 4 championship.

Junior Serena Nguyen led three Mustangs among the top 10 individuals with back-to-back 79s. Rounding out the squad were senior Sydney Martens, sophomore Kaity Rittner, senior Madison Mohr and junior Grace Farquhar.

Second of its kind: Cranbrook repeats in boys tennis – On his seventh match point at No. 1 singles, Benji Jacobson smashed an overhead winner to give Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood a 34-33 win over Detroit Country Day to clinch the Cranes’ second straight Division 3  championship.

Seven of a kind: runners-up – Detroit Loyola, averaging 35 points a game all season,  didn’t find the end zone until the fourth quarter, down by three touchdowns, losing the Division 7 championship, 28-14, to Pewamo-Westphalia.

Novi Detroit Catholic Central took a 14-7 first-quarter lead, then was shocked as Detroit Cass Tech responded with 42 unanswered points to a 49-20 victory for the Division 1 championship. The Shamrocks offense was crippled by the absence of sophomore quarterback Austin Brown, who suffered a broken leg a week earlier in the semifinal game against Romeo.

Livonia Ladywood in Division 4 girls golf – The Blazers improved on their fourth-place finals finish a year ago. Leading the way were junior Gabriella Scopone (83-83), who placed ninth, senior Lydia Cranmer (86-81), 10th, and senior Jordyn Rioux (85-87), 12th.

Dearborn Divine Child in Division 2 boys soccer – The Falcons lost 1-0 to Mattawan in a shootout. It was the deepest run for Divine Child soccer in the school’s history.

Farmington Mercy runner-up Division 1 girls swimming – The Marlins wound up a mere 10 points behind Rockford. Junior Katie Minnich won the 100-yard backstroke for the second year in a row.

Bloomfield Hills Marian in Division 3 girls swimming – Marian’s 400 free relay team of senior Kailyn Swantek, junior Gabby Granata, junior Lauren Biglin and senior Sophia Schott set a new Division 3 meet record of 3:27.85. Biglin also claimed a pair of individual championships, in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle.

Looking ahead – Grosse Pointe University Liggett and Ann Arbor Greenhills will be joining the CHSL in the fall. Liggett beat Greenhills, 32-30, for the Division 4 boys tennis crown, snapping Greenhills’ streak of nine state championships in a row.

Say and throw a Hail Mary – “I said 33 Hail Marys,” an excited fan told Mike Pruchnicki, football coach at Clarkston Everest Collegiate, in the wake of the Mountaineers beating Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes, 22-21, for the first time ever to advance in the state playoffs. Quarterback Grant Burgess threw the gridiron version of the Hail Mary, a desperation pass hauled in by Alex Legg in the end zone.

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Don Horkey may be reached at [email protected].