Division 3 No. 1-ranked Detroit Martin Luther King Jr. dominated Mason 46-7 in a Michigan High School Athletic Association football semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 20, at Wayne Memorial.

   King (12-1) scored at will to go up 39-0 at halftime and played the entire second half under a running clock in a rout against an overmatched Mason.

   “I challenged these guys today, I wanted to get it rolling so we could get to Ford Field and we can be on all cylinders,” King coach Tyrone Spencer told reporter. “We came in and seemed to get it going. I’m really proud of them with the way they fought today.”

   King will face defending Division 3 champion and No. 2-ranked DeWitt in the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 27, in the concluding game at Ford Field.

   DeWitt beat St. Joseph 43-7 in its semifinal game.

   The Crusaders last reached an MHSAA title game was in 2019 when they fell to Muskegon Mona Shores, 35-26. King won a Division 3

championship in 2018 and Division 2 championships in 2016, 2015, and 2007.

  Mason (10-3) was coming off a 20-17 upset of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in the regional finals.

   King junior Dante Moore, ranked one of the top junior quarterbacks in the country, was razor-sharp during the first opening half as he riddled the Mason defense by hitting seven of eight passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns (Lynn Wychle-El, Joseph Williams, and Chansey Willis).

   After two safeties, Sterling Anderson Jr. returned a kickoff 63 yard for a touchdown. The lead ballooned to 39-0 when Anderson darted through the Mason defense for a 39-yard touchdown run to start a running clock in the second half.

   Moore didn’t take a snap during the second half and Tim Ruffin’s 41-yard pick-six early in the third added to King’s final margin of victory. The Crusaders also got an end-zone interception from Samuel Washington, Moore’s backup.

   Mason averted the shutout with 2:49 left on A.J. Martel’s two-yard touchdown run.