The Notre Dame Varsity Football season came to a close as the Irish fell 12-9 in the MHSAA Regional Finals round to Flint Powers Catholic.
Both defenses were the story of the first half as both the Irish and Chargers came up with key stops on fourth downs deep in their own territories. It was Powers that would get on the board first, completing a 36-yard pass down to the Notre Dame one-yard line before running in a score with 39 seconds left in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead into halftime.
After a Notre Dame drive was stopped at the Powers one-yard line early in the third quarter, an Irish stop and a safety by Evan Noga on a punt attempt would reduce the deficit to 6-2. The Irish offense was able to march down the field during a drive spanning the late third and early fourth quarters and Connor Gaeschke would give Notre Dame a 9-6 lead with a one-yard touchdown. The lead would be short-lived however as the Chargers would respond on the very next drive, scoring on a nine-yard run with 4:34 left to retake a 12-9 lead.
The Charger defense, which put pressure on the Irish passing attack all evening, would force an interception on the next Notre Dame drive and the Chargers would run out the majority of the clock.
For the Irish, Gaeschke led the offensive attack by carrying 33 times for 186 yards and the lone Notre Dame touchdown. The Irish finish the year a 10-2, matching the most wins in school history while also setting a school-record with 459 points scored.
Notre Dame will graduate 19 seniors in Geordan Bolden, Blake Bur, Vaughn Carraher, Josh Edmonds, Nalin Fox (Purdue Commit), Reid Gaboury, Connor Gaeschke, Kalan Hand, Daniel Heimbuch, Nathan Impellizzeri, Ethan Johnson, Julian Lee, Connor Long, Nathan Perkins, Antonio Popp, Bryce Rich, Ben Shick, Joseph St. Andre and Andrew Vella.