Groves junior Jeremiah Whitley sheds a tackle from Lakeview’s K’alon Williams.
By: Scott Bentley | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published November 17, 2025
ST. CLAIR SHORES — Birmingham Groves football defeated St. Clair Shores Lakeview 37-14 in a Division 2 regional final matchup on Nov. 14 at Lakeview High School.
The victory secured Groves a spot in the Division 2 semifinal on Nov. 22 with a trip to Ford Field on the line. In 2024, Groves made the semifinal and lost to Orchard Lake St Mary’s in overtime by a score of 28-27.
“This is our fifth time in the semifinals in the past nine years,” Groves head coach Brendan Flaherty said. “We’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned a lot.
“Our coaches and players work extremely hard and I think those guys are bought into it,” Flaherty said.
Groves ended up winning the game by three possessions, but the game was physical and hard-fought throughout. Lakeview kept the game close in the first half, but Groves was prepared for everything thrown its way.
“It’s a physical day and a physical week due to practice and preparation," Flaherty said. “We had a ton of respect for them.
“I don’t think the score is indicative of how close that was, especially in the first half,’ Flaherty said.
The physical week of practice to prepare for Lakeview clearly paid off for Groves. The group continued to apply pressure offensively, and defensively, and it led to the floodgates opening up in the fourth quarter.
Groves should also be praised for the midseason turnaround the team had. At one point earlier in the year, the Falcons were under .500 and riddled with injuries. Now, at worst, the team will be one of the four final teams in Division 2.
“It’s the belief and togetherness,” Flaherty said.
“We were 2-3 through five games and had two senior starters knocked out for the season. You can’t make a playoff run on Week 6. All you can do is worry about Week 6. And we bought in.”
This core at Groves has done a lot of winning, and the senior class on the team is looking to cap off their high school careers with a state championship.
“In high school football, in my opinion, everything revolves around your seniors. Your seniors are going to dictate your season,” Flaherty said. “We have a group of guys that are hungry and have great resolve. They want to write a chapter of their story this year.”
Lakeview’s historic season ends
Despite the loss, Lakeview’s season was arguably its best football season in school history. The team officially ends 2025 with a 9-3 record and the program’s first ever district title.
“It’s a big deal. To win a district title is very special,” Lakeview head coach Patrick Threet said. “It’s our first one as a school and was one that was very hard fought to get.”
Lakeview had a difficult schedule that included wins over programs that the school has never beaten before. The success and preparation helped the team become playoff ready.
“Facing very good teams. Teams that were receiving recognition throughout the state (and) two of the top ten teams of the state,” Threet said. “It was not only this team’s ability and work ethic, but their leadership, too.”
Threet took over as head coach of Lakeview in the 2015-16 season and has taken the program to heights that it has never seen before.
“When we take a look at the decades for Lakeview… in the 80s the win percentage was .394 and in the 1990s the win percentage was .200,” Threet said. “In the 2000s it was .289…the 2010s it was .443, and right now in the 20s we’re at a .600 winning percentage.”
Lakeview has gone from a perennial bottom-feeder in the high school football landscape to a state quarterfinalist in 2025.
The two 2025 Division 2 semifinals matchups are Orchard Lake St Mary’s vs.Portage Central and Birmingham Groves vs. Dexter.
“They’re (Dexter) really good,” Flaherty said. “They throw the ball well and have an explosive offense. Obviously, we want to try and limit that and score some points ourselves.”
To see semifinal results from all eight divisions, go to MHSAA.com. All divisional state championship games will be played at Ford Field on Nov. 28 and Nov. 30.