08/27/2025
Mt. Morris-Clio to renew gridiron rivalry on Thursday
By Greg Tunnicliff
CLIO – High School football season is a fun time of year, particularly the first week of the season.
All teams are 0-0, and everyone has high hopes for a good season.
Nothing can start a season off better than an old-school rivalry game, and that is just what will happen on Thursday afternoon at Atwood Stadium in Flint.
Mt. Morris and Clio will rekindle their storied rivalry in the kickoff game of the Vehicle City Gridiron Classic at 4 p.m. Defending Division 7 state champion Millington will take on Reese in the second game of the doubleheader at 7 p.m.
The Mt. Morris-Clio contest is one of the most-played high school football games in Flint-area history, with Thursday’s game being the 75th meeting between the two programs.
Mt. Morris leads the overall series 42-30-2.
Mt. Morris has recently had the upper hand on Clio, having won the last three contests between the two programs, including a 25-8 victory over the Mustangs in the team’s most-recent encounter on Aug. 29, 2024 at Clio.
It is the Panthers’ longest winning streak in the series since they won five straight games from 1984-88.
Clio has not beaten Mt. Morris since it fashioned a 30-18 triumph over the Panthers on Aug. 27, 2015 at Mt. Morris.
When the Panthers and the Mustangs meet up on Thursday, they will once again be playing for ownership of the Maginn Trophy.
Don Maginn was the owner/publisher of the Genesee County Herald from 1933-67, and he awarded a traveling trophy to winner of the Mt. Morris-Clio football game from 1931-47.
Maginn died on April 29, 1978 at the age of 69.
After a 76-year hiatus, the trophy returned to the rivalry in 2023.
Both Mt. Morris and Clio will be looking to use Thursday’s game as a way to kick start a bounce-back season.
Mt. Morris posted a 4-5 overall record, and it took sixth place in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference with a 2-5 league slate last year.
Clio fashioned a 0-9 overall record, and it took sixth place in the Metro League Stars Division with an 0-6 mark in 2024.
Both teams will be sporting big-time players.
Mt. Morris will be led by senior wide receiver Juewelz Redwine, who caught 38 passes for 602 yards and six touchdowns en route to earning second-team All-MMAC honors last year.
Clio’s top playmaker is its senior quarterback/defensive back, D’Marion Erlenbeck.
As a junior, he passed for 643 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed 137 times for 548 yards and nine scores. Defensively, he logged 39 tackles and three interceptions, returning one for a score.
Erlenbeck was a first-team all-league pick on defense.
Be sure to pick up a copy of next week’s Mt. Morris-Clio Herald to get the inside scoop on this year’s Mt. Morris-Clio football game.
Notable Greater Flint-area football rivalries
(Listed by most games played)
Games, Rivalry, Time span, Record
95, Fenton-Holly, 1923 to present, Fenton leads series 67-21-7
87, Flushing-Clio, 1923-2022, Flushing leads series 42-40-5
85, Grand Blanc, Davison, 1933-present, Grand Blanc leads series 42-40-3
81, Flint Central-Flint Northern, 1928-2008(2), Flint Central won series 41-39-1
81, Flushing-Davison, 1933-2013, Davison leads series 50-28-3
81, Millington-North Branch, 1939-2017, Millington leads series 51-29-1
77, Clio-Grand Blanc, 1923-2004, Grand Blanc leads series 54-18-5
74, Mt. Morris-Clio, 1924 to present, Mt. Morris leads series 42-30-2
74, Clio-Davison, 1925-2004, Davison leads series 45-27-2
72, Flushing-Grand Blanc, 1933-2008, Grand Blanc leads series 44-27-1
71, North Branch-Imlay City, 1952-present, North Branch leads series 42-29
Notes:
1. Millington has played Vassar (non-area team) 82 times from 1914-2016, and the Cardinals lead the series 44-35-3.
2. Flint Northern was shuttered as a school at the end of 2008-09 school year, ending its rivalry with Flint Central.
3. The times span is indicative of when the first game and last game between the two teams was played.
4. Certain rivalries go back further than the chart indicates, but the previous years were not able available.
