Belleville routs Northville with dominant second half: Live updates recap
Northville had the game in its grasp early in the third quarter, but then Belleville struck fiercely and often.
The Tigers went on a scoring spree in the second half, forcing turnovers and flying all over the field to grab a 49-7 home win over Northville on Saturday.
Belleville advances to the semifinals of the Michigan high school football playoffs.
Belleville cruised past Northville for the KLAA championship last month, and quarterback Bryce Underwood was his usual dominant self.
The game looked very different early Saturday, but Belleville eventually took over behind Underwood, Adrian Walker Jr. and a suffocating defense.
Northville ends its season 10-2, while Belleville improved to 12-0.
(Scroll down for a live-updates recap of the game.)
Michigan high school football scoreboard
FINAL: Belleville 49, Northville 7
FOURTH QUARTER UPDATES
TOUCHDOWN BELLEVILLE! Adrian Walker Jr. scores again, this time on defense, racing for a long pick-six on fourth down. It's 49-7 Belleville with a running clock, 3:57 left.
TOUCHDOWN BELLEVILLE! Adrian Walker Jr. takes a quick pass from Bryce Underwood and sprints 24 yards for the end zone. It's 42-7 with 10 minutes left.
TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Northville goes for it on fourth and 2 and gets stuffed behind the line of scrimmage. Belleville ball on the Northville 26 leading 35-7, 11:11 left.
Second and 7 from its own 23, Northville starts with the ball.
THIRD QUARTER UPDATES
Nightmare of a quarter for Northville. The Mustangs go from driving to tie the game to down by 28 in a matter of minutes. On to the fourth!
TOUCHDOWN BELLEVILLE! Jeremiah Beasley runs 64 yards down the sideline for a dagger of a TD in the final minute of the quarter. It's 35-7 Belleville.
TOUCHDOWN BELLEVILLE! Bryce Underwood fires a 30-yard dart to Kevin Simes, and this one's starting to get lopsided. It's 28-7 Tigers with 2:11 left in the third.
INTERCEPTION! Jalen Johnson grabs an under-thrown pass and it's Belleville ball again in Northville territory.
TOUCHDOWN BELLEVILLE! Bryce Underwood dives in for a 1-yard TD after his 40-yard pass to Antwon Thomas set it up. It's 21-7 Belleville with 4:59 left in the quarter.
TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Northville's pass on fourth and 15 comes up well short. Belleville ball on its own 39, 5:48 left leading 14-7.
Northville forces a punt and has great field position on its own 48, 9:10 left.
Players are heading onto the field for the second-half kickoff. Belleville will get the ball first trying to extend a 14-7 lead over Northville.
SECOND QUARTER UPDATES
Final seconds are about as confusing as can be. It appeared that Belleville could set up for one more play from the Northville 35 after offsetting penalties nullified a Bryce Underwood interception, but several minutes later the referees sent the players to the locker room for halftime. It's Belleville leading 14-7. The final seconds of the half took about as long as the entire first quarter.
TOUCHDOWN NORTHVILLE! Isaac Pace surprises the defense with a touchdown pass and it's 14-7. The scoring drive benefits from two pass interference penalties and a huge fourth-down pass from Pace to Colin Charles.
Third and goal from the 1 coming up for Northville, 27.9 seconds left.
Pass interference on a fake punt! Northville is at the Belleville 40, still trailing 14-0.
TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Huge fourth-down stop for Northville. Mustangs needed that bad. They'll try to get back in the game starting on their own 41, 7:12 remaining.
FUMBLE! Another mistake by Northville. It's first and 10 at its own 26 for Belleville.
FIRST QUARTER UPDATES
First quarter ends with Northville driving on the Belleville 28, first and 15, with the Tigers leading 14-0.
Huge play! On third and forever, Northville gets a little more than that on a flea flicker.
TOUCHDOWN BELLEVILLE! Andre Thomas with the scoop-and-score for a 65-yard fumble recovery TD. Disaster for Northville, as it had just gotten its first big play of the day on a long completion to Cullen Murphy. 14-0 Belleville, 4:03 left.
TOUCHDOWN BELLEVILLE! Marquis Peoples catches a Bryce Underwood pass and dives across the goal line for a 23-yard touchdown. It's 7-0 Belleville with 6:08 left in the quarter.
Belleville stuffs a reverse on third down, forcing a quick three-and-out. Bryce Underwood and Belleville's first drive will start on its own 21.
Kickoff! Northville gets a nice return and will start on its own 46.
PREGAME READING
Since a seven-point win in Week 1 over River Rouge, Belleville has routed every opponent since, including a 65-14 victory last week over Saline for its sixth straight district title.
Northville is coming off its first-ever win over Detroit Central Catholic, knocking out the Shamrocks 24-17 last week.
Division I Michigan high school football bracket
Bryce Underwood, No. 1 prospect in 2025, down to 7
Top 25 Michigan high school football rankings (11/6/2023)
SBLive/Sports Illustrated national Top 25: Belleville No. 18 in final 2023 regular season rankings
(Feature photo by Mariusz Nowak)
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-- Mike Swanson | swanson@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports
