DEARBORN — What began as a promising playoff season ended in heartbreaking fashion last Friday night as both Dearborn Public Schools football teams dropped first round games, effectively ending their seasons.

Fordson and Edsel Ford, both among the top point-getters in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Playoffs, were each eliminated on their home fields despite having lost just one game between them on the season.

Edsel Ford lost 51-19 to Inkster on Friday while Fordson fell in a much closer game to Detroit Cass Tech on the same night by a score of 24-23 despite jumping out to a 23-2 lead.

The Thunderbirds’ loss was tough to take, but at the same time, the team recognized just how meaningful their 8-2 season was to the program.

“The kids were disappointed,” said Edsel Ford Head Coach Mark Tyler. “They believed in themselves all year long, and that night was no different. They understand the legacy they have left and held their heads up high.

“This was the most complete team I have ever coached in 23 years of coaching high school football. They were the best.”

Tyler said that Inkster simply had too many weapons for his team to handle and that special mistakes cost his team.

Next year, he believes his team can come back strong again despite a small sophomore class. For the program to continue to be solid, he hopes they can draw more young athletes from Salina Intermediate School on the south end of Dearborn.

As for the Tractors, who finished with a 9-1 record, it was a highly disappointing end considering they finished the regular season undefeated for the second straight year but fell earlier in the playoffs than most expected.

“As a whole we did not do a good job in the second half, we gave them momentum and they got rolling from there,” said Fordson Head Coach Fouad Zaban.

“We had a few opportunities to finish and we did not take advantage.”

Late in the game, Fordson senior quarterback Ali Baidoun scored what looked to be the go-ahead touchdown on a long run, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty that made it third-and-long from the 30-yard line of Cass Tech.

Fordson was unable to convert on the next two plays and the Technicians held on for the upset victory.

Baidoun said the experience was tough in the locker room after the game as expected. But he also has realized that how lucky he was to play in the Fordson program.

“It’s something that I grew up always wanting to do,” he said. “It was a dream come true to be the starting quarterback and that’s something I’ll hold with me the rest of my life.”

Zaban credited his friend and Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher’s team for a well-played and coached game and said that the Fordson players, while disappointed, learned valuable life lessons in the loss.

“Well, it was really sad and emotional in the locker room. I tried to tell them what I normally tell them and that is that this is only a game and we have more important things in life to take of,” he said.

“Let’s learn from our experiences and move on. But I know that is easier said than done.”