Allen Park Cabrini reached the Division 8 state semifinals for the first time in school history under the direction of head coach RJ Chidester, so it's natural that he and one of his biggest weapons, Lander Emerick, earned Michigan Sports Writers Division 7-8 all-state honors. Now in his third season at the helm, the Cabrini grad Chidester was named honorable mention coach of the year after leading his alma mater to a program-best 11 wins and their third consecutive playoff appearance.
A literal big reason for the Monarchs' success this past fall was the play of standout wide receiver Lander Emerick. The big 6-foot-3 senior earned second-team all-state honors after scoring nearly two dozen touchdowns in five different ways, most of which came as the primary pass-catching option. He finished the year with 59 grabs for 975 yards and 16 receiving touchdowns.
The Michigan Sports Writers all-state teams -- formerly the Associated Press teams -- are voted on by a panel of sportswriters from around the state.
The 2025 Michigan Sportswriters Division 7-8 All-State football team, which was selected by a panel of sports writers from around the state. Player of the Year: Beckett Campbell,Hudson
Coach of the Year: Paul Reid, Saginaw Valley Lutheran
LB - Noah Reif, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
LB - Fletch Middleton, Maple City Glen Lake
LB - Brock Cousino, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
DB - Parker Kingsbury, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central
RB - Zaheem Cannon, Sterling Heights Parkway Christian
RB - Ian Moran, Charlevoix; Brady Green, Unionville-Sebewaing; Deegan Carter, Reese; Benson Harper, Harbor Beach; John Milks, Jonesville; Clifford Jones, Clinton.
WR - Dallas Higelmire, Springport
DL - Marquay Smith, Burton-Atherton; Caden Carriveau, Elkton-Bay Port-Lake; Devin Geiger, Ubly, Billy Dinsmore, Unionville-Sebewaing
ATH - Skiler Kruse, Harbor Beach; Lukas Linzell, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
K - Hunter Cox, Maple City Glen Lake
Coach: R.J. Chedester, Allen Park Cabrini; Dan Rogers, Hudson