Detroit Cass Tech receiver Will Sykes Jr. pointed at Salem quarterback Luke Creighton and yelled, “That’s Josh Allen! That’s Josh Allen!”
A few moments later, Creighton was holding the MVP trophy.
Creighton, a Northwood signee, led East to a 22-21 win over West in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game on Saturday, June 20, at Lawrence Tech University.
It wasn’t easy.
Creighton completed 11 of 19 passes for 120 yards and rushed 12 times for 45 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-tying score in the final minutes.
But with the East trailing by nine and 6:16 remaining, he threw an interception to Freeland’s Zander Wheatley in the red zone.
“I thought I put us in the dirt there for a second,” said Creighton, the son of Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton. “Then, our defense got the job done. So I knew we had to finish it.”
The East defense delivered.
After forcing a quick stop, Ida’s Jaxon Bolster drilled a 44-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-15 with 3:22 left.
The West only needed to run the ball to eat the clock.
Instead, Saginaw Heritage’s Connor Greif was intercepted by Harper Woods Chandler Park’s Lionel Thompson Jr., who returned it 34 yards and handed Creighton one last chance.
A mix of completions, scrambles and heads-up plays moved the East inside the 5-yard line. Then Creighton powered in from 1 yard out to tie it at 21.
Bolster’s extra point gave the East a 22-21 lead with 1:19 remaining.
“After the interception, I pulled Luke aside on the sidelines and told him to just do what he does,” East coach Landon Garrett said, who also coached Creighton at Salem the past four seasons. “He knew he made a bonehead read. It wasn’t a bad throw or anything like that. He was just playing too fast and doing too much. When he went back out there, I trusted him 100% to get the job done.”
Creighton was sharp from the start.
He connected with Warren Cousino’s Mikey Kozel, Northville’s Kamden Brown and Sykes throughout the first half while also punching in a 1-yard score.
But he took over in the fourth quarter.
Twice he found Brown, who finished with four catches for 96 yards and returned three kickoffs for 79 yards. The first connection covered 36 yards. The second was even better, a 34-yard one-handed grab by Brown along the sideline.
Creighton’s ability to extend plays with his legs forced West’s defense to account for him on every snap, creating opportunities for his receivers downfield. It’s why Sykes, who caught seven passes for 45 yards, was comparing Creighton to Allen, the Buffalo Bills QB.
“He’s just an amazing kid,” said Garrett, whose son, Landon Garrett III, also starred at linebacker in the game. “With him, it’s like having another coach on the field. He’s like my other son, and he is a gamer who’s coachable and knows what to do when things go wrong. He knows how to come back and get it done.”
The West team still had one final chance. Facing 1.7 seconds left, it lined up for a potential game-winning 14-yard field goal. The kick missed.
Seconds later, East players hoisted Creighton onto their shoulders before he was named MVP.
“We couldn’t have done it without our defense there,” Creighton said. “This experience was just awesome because everyone wants to be here. Everyone wanted to work hard.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life and the Detroit Free Press. Follow him on X at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: EMU coach’s son leads epic comeback in Michigan All-Star football game
Reporting by Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brandon Folsom, Hometownlife.com | USA TODAY Network
