Detroit Catholic Central football completes perfect season with Division 1 state title

DETROIT — Detroit Catholic Central defeated Detroit Cass Tech 42-19 on Nov. 30 at Ford Field in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state championship football game.

The final score shows a comfortable victory for Detroit Catholic Central, but the first half was much closer until a DCC touchdown before halftime.

“We knew, obviously, they were going to be a great team,” Detroit Catholic Central senior lineman Benny Eziuka said. “Defense played great in the first half. Offense was a little slower than we would’ve wanted but got the touchdown before the half.”

That momentum carried throughout the rest of the game. The 23-point margin of victory is the largest in a Division 1 title match since 2020.

“In the second half, the defense started forcing some turnovers and the offense started pouring it on,” Eziuka said. “It just became a whole team effort to get the win.”

After back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, the expectations surrounding Detroit Catholic Central were high, and have been high for more than a calendar year. However, the team didn’t allow the hype to weigh on the players.

“This team is just different. … We knew we were going to be good and we knew we were going to be the best,” Eziuka said. “We didn’t let anything phase us. We were confident but didn’t get cocky about it. … We had one goal in mind.”

The goal was to win the state title, and that’s been the goal for each of the last two years.

“We had a lot of seniors from last year reaching out and encouraging us. … They should’ve gone out with a state title,” Eziuka said. “We really wanted to do it for them because they really brought our program back to what it’s supposed to be: The best program in the state.”

The 2025 championship was a rematch of the 2024 MHSAA Division 1 semifinals, where Detroit Cass Tech beat Catholic Central 17-14 before going on to win the Division 1 title.

“We believed we were a better football team than them last year,” Detroit Catholic Central head coach Justin Cessante said. “We thought if we played them five times last year that we would’ve beat them four. … But we didn’t prove it the day we needed to prove it.”

Cass Tech and DCC are two of the best and most historic programs in Michigan. Both teams were undefeated going into the final and have a combined nine Division 1 titles just since 1999.

“We talked all year that we wanted Cass Tech in the state championship,” Cessante said. “We didn’t want an easy way out. We wanted everyone to be at their best and healthy so that we can go out there and see who the best football team is.”

It’s safe to say that Catholic Central was the best football team in the state in 2025. A 14-0 record, state title, a Catholic League Central Division title over Division 2 state champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, and blowout performances seemingly every week. In fact, the 42-19 state title game was the closest game the team played all postseason.

“We have a football team with a lot of really good football players,” Cessante said. “The offense was the most explosive offense, statistically, in Catholic Central history, and our defense lived up to our tradition of the ‘Brick Wall’ defense.”

Catholic Central has now had back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and is poised to be one of the best teams in the state again in 2026.

“One thing is how you handle success. Don’t forget the process of what got us here,” Cessante said. “That’s playing for something bigger than yourself. The bottom line is, we’re going to get back to work.”

This is Detroit Catholic Central’s 11th state title since 1978, and according to the school, is the program’s 15th in its history. This is the first DCC football title since 2009 and is Cessante’s first as head coach of the team.