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NILES — Julian Means-Flewellen had a Senior Night he will never forget.

The Niles senior tallied nine rushes for 250 yards and three touchdowns on offense and eight tackles on defense to help lift the Vikings to a win over Paw Paw to clinch the Wolverine Conference Championship.

“They were undefeated,” Means-Flewellen said. “We knew we were gonna handle business today. We’re just a great team and I’m proud of everybody. I’m proud of the seniors and it’s amazing that I got to do this on my senior night.”

“He had a fantastic night,” said Niles head coach Scot Shaw. “He ran well. He’s our leader as a senior. I was very happy for him.”

The game was especially meaningful for Means-Flewellen, who was able to share his moment with father Jason and mother Jennifer Flewellen both in attendance. Jennifer, who was in a car accident in September 2017, woke up in August 2022 after spending almost five years in a coma. She has been home for three months and was able to see Means-Flewellen shine under the Friday night lights.

“It means everything,” Means-Flewellen said after the game. “My parents mean the world to me and to have them walk on this field with me one last time for my senior year is amazing.”

With the regular season in the books, Means-Flewellen and the Vikings turn their attention to the playoffs. The announcement of the qualifiers and first-round pairings for both the 11 and 8-player playoffs will take place at 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22, on the “Selection Sunday Show” on Bally Sports Detroit Extra and its website – https://www.ballysports.com/detroit/. The playoff qualifiers and pairings will be posted to the MHSAA Website following the Selection Sunday Show, and times and dates will be added Monday, Oct. 23. The MHSAA will also announce the order for this season’s 11-Player Finals, to be played Nov. 25-26 at Ford Field, during the Selection Sunday Show.

Means-Flewellen believes his team has what it takes to make a deep playoff run.

“It’s gonna take us continuing to execute, work hard in practice and just come out on Friday nights and use all that and perform like we always do,” he said.

In case you missed it: Niles football wins Wolverine Conference title in 56-18 rout of No. 3 Paw Paw