By David Fleet
Editor
Completing his second season as Blackhawk head coach, Brad Zube reflected on a stellar 2017 football season.
“The Blackhawks completed another fine season in 2017 finishing with a 7-4 record highlighted with a come from behind playoff victory 45-44 over Auburn Hills Avondale on a last second field goal,” said Zube.
The playoff victory marked the first for Brandon High School in 17 years. Zube is 15-7 after taking over at Brandon in 2016.
“The Blackhawks were led this year by an explosive offensive unit that scored a whopping 406 points which was the second highest total in school history,” he said.
The offense racked up over 4,500 yards of offense including over 3,500 on the ground.
“It’s no surprise that eight members of the offense were recognized as all Flint Metro selections,” he said. “The defense chipped in four more All Flint Metro selections giving the Blackhawks 12 selections on the season.”
All League – Flint Metro League (Voted by coaches): First Team, Sincere Perkins, RB; Ryan Beauchamp, OL;Gage Difalco, DE and Mike Nicaj, LB. Second Team, Matt Hill, OL; Josh Manfroni, WR; Clay Deboer RB; Hunter Harrington, DB and Clay Hendershot, DL. Honorable Mention: Ean Thompson, OL; Jacob Everett, OL; Anthony Nicaj, OL and Kevin Grigereit, QB.
All Metro North – selected by The Detroit News writers. Ryan Beauchamp, second team; Sincere Perkins – honorable mention; Mike Nicaj – honorable mention; Matt Hill, honorable mention. All Metro North – selected by Detroit Free Press writers, Ryan Beauchamp, second team and Sincere Perkins, honorable mention.
All State – Division 3 and 4, selected by The Detroit News writers, Ryan Beauchamp, honorable mention; Sincere Perkins, honorable mention. All State – Division 3 – Selected by Detroit Free Press writers, Ryan Beauchamp, first team and Sincere Perkins, honorable mention. All State – Division 3 and 4 – Selected by panel of Associated Press writers statewide, Ryan Beauchamp, honorable mention and Sincere Perkins, honorable mention.

Beauchamp started every game at left guard the past two seasons without ever missing a snap in 21 straight games.
“Beuchamp and his fellow offensive lineman Matt Hill, Ean Thompson, Jared Everett, and Anthony Nicaj led the way for an offense that scored nearly 800 points, racked up over 7,000 yards, and helped win 15 football games the past two seasons,” said Zube. “Collectively these five linemen were all honored as all Flint Metro Selections on the First Team, Second Team, or Honorable Mention this year. These five all started 21 straight games without ever missing a snap through two seasons.”
“Perkins made his one year at Brandon a memorable one accounting for 1,800 total yards including 1,100 rushing, 425 receiving, and 275 in kick returns accounting for 18 Blackhawk touchdowns,” said Zube. “Sincere led the team in all of these statistical categories. He will look to continue his All State level of play this spring for the varsity track team.”
All State – Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) selected by a panel of coaches statewide. Ryan Beauchamp, honorable mention and Sincere Perkins, honorable mention. Academic All State – Division 3 (MHSFCA) Bryce Chamberlain, first team.
Blackhawk head coach Brad Zube said the MHSFCA award is very competitive and given to the top student athletes.
“It is a tremendous honor for Bryce to name to the first team,” said Zube. “This award is measured by looking at the player’s cumulative GPA over their high school years, their SAT or ACT test scores, and their class rank. Only a select handful of student-athletes each year earn first team recognition.”
As a team the Blackhawks football team earned an Academic All State Honorable Mention MHSFCA award. The award was for a team 3.86 GPA, the sixth highest among about 100 teams in Division 3. The award is given to the teams with the highest team GPA. Each team is required to turn in transcripts for their top 11 academic achievers and then teams are ranked by their highest average team GPA. The top four schools in each division are considered All State while the next four schools are considered All State Honorable Mention.
“We are very proud of this accomplishment,” said Zube. “This award is a very selective team award. Several other Blackhawks were named to the Flint Metro All Academic Team for achieving a 3.5 GPA or higher.”