Big Second Half Lifts Dexter to State Semifinals

By Mike Williamson Style

Dexter football picked the perfect night to deliver one of the most explosive comebacks in program history.

For just the second time ever, the Dreadnaughts are headed to the state semifinals after storming back for a 56–42 regional championship win over Gibraltar Carlson Friday night. The victory sends Dexter to the Division 2 semifinals, where they’ll meet Birmingham Groves Saturday at 1:00 PM at Ypsilanti Lincoln.

Most expected a track meet, and that’s exactly what unfolded. Both teams came in averaging north of 40 points per game—Carlson with its bruising, Purdue-bound ground game, and Dexter with its record-shredding air attack. Once the offenses settled in, defenses spent most of the night in survival mode.

Carlson struck first after stuffing Dexter on fourth down, punching in a short score for a 7–0 lead. Dexter answered early in the second when Cooper Arnedt found Cole Novara from 18 yards out to tie it at 7–7. From there, the teams traded blows like heavyweights, and Carlson carried a 28–21 lead into halftime after a late drive.

When the Marauders extended the margin to 35–21 early in the third, the Dreadnaughts were suddenly staring at their biggest deficit of the postseason. And that’s when Dexter flipped the script.

Arnedt hit Oliver Hutchison on a 25-yard strike to pull within 35–28. Moments later, William Simpson delivered one of the game’s defining plays—hammering the Carlson quarterback and forcing a fumble recovered by Kyle Sislo. Three snaps later, Arnedt found Novara again to knot it at 35 with 3:30 left in the third.

Dexter wasn’t done. On Carlson’s next possession, Charlie Pomo stripped the ball free, and two plays after that, Arnedt and Novara connected for the third time to take the Dreads’ first lead of the night, 42–35.

The defense forced a punt, and the offense immediately stretched the margin to 49–35 when Arnedt hit Hutchison from five yards out with 8:30 to play. Carlson answered quickly to pull within 49–42, but Dexter smothered the onside kick.

Needing one more punch, Arnedt delivered it—finding Novara for the fourth time, sealing the regional title and a night that will be long remembered in Dreadnaught lore.

While Carlson’s Izaiah Wright showed why he’s bound for the Big Ten—rushing for 294 yards and four scores as part of a 400-plus-yard rushing effort—it was Dexter’s passing attack that rewrote the record book.

Arnedt finished 28-of-40 for 576 yards and eight touchdowns, setting another school record. His 576 yards rank fifth all-time in MHSAA history, and the eight TD passes tie for the second-most ever in a single game.

Novara hauled in 11 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns. His season totals—105 catches and 1,904 receiving yards—now sit second all-time in Michigan history. Hutchison added 10 catches for 152 yards and two scores, while Simpson chipped in four grabs for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Brady Arbaugh provided balance all night long, rushing for 75 yards and adding three receptions for 138 yards and a long TD of his own.

Dexter improves to 11–1 and now stands one win away from Ford Field. The Dreadnaughts will look to make history Saturday when they take on Groves (9–3) with the program’s first-ever trip to the state finals on the line.