North Dickinson will play for an MHSAA state football championship for the first time since 1998, facing Portland St. Patrick at 2 p.m. Eastern time today at the Superior Dome in Marquette.

The Nordics (12-0) advanced to the 8-player Division 2 title game with 44-28 win over Onekama a team that otherwise gave up only 11.5 points per game this season. The Portagers finished 11-1, setting a school record for victories.

St. Patrick defeated Deckerville 36-15, denying the Eagles a return trip to Superior Dome as they sought to add to their Division 1 title won a year ago. Instead, the Shamrocks (12-0) will play in their first final since 2020.

In 11-player Division 8, Bark River-Harris (10-1) will face Harbor Beach (12-0) in a state semifinal at 1 p.m. Eastern time today at Alpena Wildcat Statium. Menominee (12-0) takes on Pewamo-Westphalia (11-0) in a Division 7 state semifinal at 2 p.m. Eastern time today in Gaylord.

The 8-player Division 1 game will kick off at 11 a.m. Eastern time today at the Superior Dome, as Blanchard Montabella (11-1) and Martin (12-0) square off.

Here’s an MHSAA.com preview of the North Dickinson-St. Patrick matchup in Division 2:

NORTH DICKINSON

Record/Rank: 12-0, No. 7

Coach: Mike Christian, 10th season (37-59)

League finish: First in Great Lakes Eight Conference Central

Championship history: 11-Player Class D runner-up 1998.

Best wins: 44-28 over No. 2 Onekama in Semifinal, 32-12 (Regional Final) and 38-34 over Lake Linden-Hubbell, 40-22 over St. Ignace in Regional Semifinal.

Players to watch: TE/DE Trenton Kramer, 6-4/190, jr. (1,062 yards/18 TDs receiving); FB/LB Jason Graham, 5-8/160, jr. (1,207 yards/17 TDs rushing); QB/DB Brady Jungwirth, 5-10/155, sr. (1,888 yards/28 TDs passing); HB/LB Tyler Fleming, 5-3/110, sr. (612 yards/6 TDs rushing). (Statistics through Regional Final.)

Outlook: North Dickinson has gone from not having a team two years ago to reaching its first championship game in nearly three decades. The Nordics have played only one single-digit game this fall, defeating Lake Linden-Hubbell by four in their season opener before winning the rematch two weeks ago by 20. North Dickinson missed the playoffs last season but did win their final five games, giving them a current 17-game unbeaten streak. Jungwirth’s ability to throw gives the Nordics more balance than most, and Kramer was averaging 19.3 yards per catch heading into last week.

PORTLAND ST. PATRICK

Record/Rank: 12-0, No. 3

Coach: Patrick Russman, 19th season (138-61)

League finish: First in MSAC Red

Championship history: 11-Player Class D champion 1992, five runner-up finishes.

Best wins: 36-15 over No. 4 Deckerville in Semifinal, 51-22 over No. 1 Mendon in Regional Final, 14-7 over No. 9 Morrice, 42-16 over Division 1 No. 2 Blanchard Montabella, 62-12 over Division 1 No. 9 Merrill.

Players to watch: QB/DB Jerryd Scheurer, 5-9/165, jr. (572 yards/10 TDs passing, 306 yards/11 TDs rushing, 32 tackles/7 interceptions); RB/DB Brady Leonard, 6-0/185, sr. (1,263 yards/17 TDs rushing, 55 tackles/10 interceptions); RB/DB Hudson King, 5-8/160, sr. (932 yards/16 TDs rushing); OL/LB Augustus Teachworth, 6-3/190, sr. (85 tackles)

Outlook: St. Patrick most recently finished Division 2 runner-up in 2017, 2019 and 2020 and will make this trip to Superior Dome after navigating arguably the toughest playoff path of any team in 8-player. After defeating Division 1 finalist Montabella in Week 9, the Shamrocks opened the postseason with a 62-16 win over Marion before taking on Mendon and Deckerville, and Morrice is the only opponent this fall to get closer than 21 points. It’s easy to point to the powerful offense, but the defense has given up only 10.2 points per game and been opportunistic with 24 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.