ISHPEMING, MI-- The Ishpeming High School football team returned home to cheers and celebration Saturday night, after the Hematites won the MHSSA Division 7 Championship earlier that day.
People crowded the streets not only to see the town’s annual Christmas parade, but to welcome the team back and voice their overwhelming support.
The Hematites beat Detroit-Loyola 20-14 at Ford Field in Detroit. It’s the first state football championship for the school in 33 years.
The team vowed to go all the way this past summer, after coach Jeff Olson’s son Daniel took his own life. Daniel was a member of the 2010 state runner-up Hematite team.
The team got the honor of lighting Ishpeming’s Christmas tree at the end of the parade.
