It may have taken four appearances to Ford Field, but the Ubly Bearcats left no question of who was the best team in Division 08 across the entire state of Michigan. Ubly defeated Whiteford 21-6 for their first state title in school history, avenging a loss from a year ago in the state championship.

It was a total team effort by the Bearcats, as it has been all season long, with four ball carriers totaling 281 yards on the ground. The Bearcats controlled the line of scrimmage and thus, the tempo of the game; Ubly's offense was on the field for 66% of the game for 31:51 of the 48 available minutes. Whiteford held the ball for just 16:09 (34%) and had just five total drives in the entire game.

Seth Maurer paced the backfield with 137 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown. Luke Volmering ended with 77 yards from 16 carries, resulting in one score. Canden Peruski and Evan Peruski each had eight carries for 35 and 32 yards, respectively. Through the air, Peruski was 2-3 for 29 yards and a score with both catches brought in by Ryan Learman. Brett Mueller was 3-3 in extra points, bringing his season total to 76-81 (93.8%) and his final high school career tally to 220-232 (94.8%).

With the win, Ubly completes the 2023 season with a perfect 14-0 record and Eric Sweeney retires as head coach after four memorable seasons, leading the Bearcats to a 48-5 record in that span. The Ubly Bearcats have not lost a regular season game since October 02, 2020 and made it to Ford Field in three of the last four seasons.