Gibraltar Carlson had the shirts printed and ready.
But the 14th-ranked Marauders first had to hold off Allen Park in Week 9 of the 2026 Michigan high school football season, with the Downriver League title on the line. Carlson and Allen Park were deadlocked at 10 entering the fourth quarter in a defensively-dominated game.
Allen Park, which jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead and then struggled to move the ball over the final three quarters, caught a break by recovering a muffed punt at the Marauders' 45-yard line with just over 10 minutes remaining.
But the Jaguars gave the ball right back as junior safety Grayson Malec stepped in front of an Allen Park pass for an interception to keep the game deadlocked.
FOLLOW ALONG: Michigan high school football final scores of Week 9 games
"Everyone had to do their job," Malec said. "We had to talk, make a few adjustments and we got it done."
On the ensuing possession, senior quarterback Cole Federoff – starting for Carlson in place of injured freshman Austyn Lawrence – connected with Malec on a dig over the middle for a 22-yard gain, moving into Allen Park territory.
Two plays later, Federoff tried another pass over the middle on third-and-long. Allen Park seemingly broke up the pass, but after a lengthy referee meeting, they threw a pass interference flag that incensed the Allen Park sideline.
On the next play, junior Brennan Hudson broke through the middle for a 26-yard touchdown with four minutes left. Carlson's defense produced two stops down the stretch to hold on to a 17-10 win over Allen Park (7-2) in a meeting between two top-10-ranked teams in Division 2.
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With the win, Carlson (9-0) completed a second straight undefeated regular season and won its sixth straight Downriver League football title. The shirts, proudly declaring the Marauders' six-peat, could be worn, rather than thrown away.
"We are always getting everybody's best shot and it says so much about our program, our standards, our coaching staff and our players," Carlson coach Jason Gendron said. "In terms of tonight, we just had to weather the storm."
Carlson 17, Allen Park 10
— Jared Ramsey (@jared_ramsey22) October 24, 2026
Six straight downriver league titles https://t.co/eo7SzP5ckzpic.twitter.com/RojmHqzyDs
Allen Park scored on its first drive on a pass from Easton Danosky to Tyrone Osette, who made a nice reaching grab on a wheel route and cut inside to find the end zone. Allen Park intercepted Federoff on Carlson's second play, and added a field goal to go up 10-0.
After the slow start, Carlson made defensive adjustments. The Jaguars then struggled to get anything going offensively over the final three quarters with extra Marauder defensive backs on the field and great pressure up front, led by sophomore Micah Wright, senior Jake Evans and senior Drew Biro.
"I was proud of our defense to hold them to a field goal," Gendron said. "That was huge to get that hold. Then a drive later, we decided to go with a different scheme. Once we went with that scheme, we felt like we really stymied them and caused fits."
At the end of the second quarter, Carlson's offense came to life. A strong running game put them on the doorstep of the red zone with 30 seconds left. Federoff lofted a jump ball to Malec, who made a nice grab to narrow the deficit to 10-7.
"We were down our starter, Austyn Lawrence, and Cole, a senior, stepped up," Gendron said of his quarterback, who had been out since Week 3 with hamstring and back injuries. "When I think about his performance, I think gutsy and had a will to win. Had to handle some adversity too. So, really proud of him."
The second half didn't feature much offense.
Carlson started the second half with a 14-play drive, reaching all the way to Allen Park's 1 before opting for an 18-yard field goal to tie it.
The decision paid off because Carlson's defense kept getting after it. Allen Park went three-and-out and then fumbled on its first two drives of the second half. The third ended on the interception by Malec.
With the win, Carlson secured the top spot in MHSAA Division 2 playoff points heading into Sunday's bracket reveal. The Marauders will play at home early in the playoffs, and could have another date with Allen Park in a few weeks, depending on how everything shakes out.
"It was everything you could have asked for," Gendron said. "It was one of those games where it is too bad somebody had to lose."
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Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Defense leads Gibraltar Carlson to 6th straight Downriver League title