Midland Boys Hoops Earns 'Football' Buzz
March 21, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND — Payton DeWildt is accustomed to pep rallies at school.
Just not during basketball season.
"It's just not something they do," the Midland High senior said. "Only when we play Dow, our crosstown rival."
And only in football.
"Midland High is known as a football school," said DeWildt, the quarterback on the Chemics' football team last fall. "When I was a freshman (on the varsity basketball team), the seniors were good. I said we've got to keep this winning tradition going and make Midland a basketball school, also."
In four seasons of basketball, DeWildt has known nothing but success, a concept that was foreign to a generation of hoopsters at Midland. The Chemics have won District championships in three of his four years after going 13 years without a title.
What sets this year's team apart is that it also added a Regional championship to the mix, the first for the Chemics since winning back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979.
Suddenly, basketball is a big deal at Midland, worthy of the treatment usually reserved for the football team. A pep assembly will be part of the pregame hype at Midland before the Chemics face Macomb Dakota at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Grand Blanc in the MHSAA Class A Quarterfinals.
"There's quite a buzz," said 14-year coach Eric Krause. "It was really nice to see the people very excited. In the past football has been there, but it was really cool to see guys getting recognized. You like to see the efforts being rewarded, so it's really exciting. It's nice to see some of the older members of the community who will come to games, no matter what your record, and to see the excitement in their faces."
For the players, there is a sense that they are making history.
"Definitely," DeWildt said. "We just won the first Regional Final since 1979. We're trying to make it one more game. We just want to prove we're one of the best teams to come through Midland High, so we want to make it as far as we can."
If Midland can topple second-ranked Dakota (25-0), the Chemics (17-6) will reach the MHSAA Semifinals for only the second time in school history. The Chemics reached the semis in 1970, losing 82-71 to Detroit Pershing. Midland made the Quarterfinals two more times in the '70s, losing 72-53 to Flint Northern in 1978 and 66-58 to Saginaw in 1979.
A major reason why the Chemics haven't lasted to the final week of the postseason is geography. They not only play in one of the toughest leagues in the state, but they have had to go head-to-head with Saginaw Valley League rivals in the tournament. In the last three seasons, the Chemics lost in the 2013 Regional Semifinals to a Saginaw team that made the MHSAA Semifinals, in the 2014 District Semifinals to a Mount Pleasant team that made the MHSAA Semifinals, and in the 2015 Regional championship game to a Saginaw Arthur Hill team that was the MHSAA runner-up.
It's tough to go deep into the tournament when so many nearby schools are capable of going all the way to the Breslin Center. The Valley has had 12 schools combine to make the MHSAA Class A Quarterfinals 137 times. Five Valley schools — all from Flint or Saginaw — have combined for 22 MHSAA Class A championships.
"You had to play in a league that is arguably the best public school league, some years, in the nation in the 1990s before I got into it," Krause said. "I don't mean to take anything away from what we're doing, but Flint isn't Flint anymore — not the way it was. Dave MacDonald is a good friend of mine who coached Midland Dow for over 30 years. He'd be over .500 most years, some years with 12 or 13 wins. The amount of pros he coached against, people just don't understand.
"I believe the Valley is one of the best leagues in the state. The difference is it used to be one of the best leagues in the nation."
To reach the Quarterfinals, Midland had to take down one of the two elite Saginaw programs for the first time in the postseason since beating Arthur Hill in the 1971 District Final.
The Chemics split their regular-season series with Saginaw, each winning on its own home court, so what happened when the teams met for the Regional championship shouldn't come as a huge surprise. On a night in which the tension was felt on the court and in the stands, Midland knocked off Saginaw, 60-56.
Midland held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before Saginaw rallied to grab a four-point lead. Midland finished the game on a 12-4 run.
"It was the best game I've ever played in my life, the most exciting game," said senior Matt Jarema, another four-year varsity player. "I can probably say that most of my teammates all said it was the most exciting game they ever played; it was something. We knew we were bigger and stronger than them. We knew we could beat them. That's what we came in and did."
The impetus for this year's Regional championship run was a tough loss to Arthur Hill in last year's Regional Final. Midland was within four points early in the fourth quarter before current University of Texas freshman Eric Davis scored 12 points in the final period to lead the Lumberjacks to a 66-52 victory. Arthur Hill went on to play for the Class A title.
"Ever since last year after that Regional Final loss against Arthur Hill, we knew this year we would win the Regionals and we'd be in the Quarterfinals," Jarema said. "Playing against Saginaw and Arthur Hill, they prepare us for pressure like no other. They get up on you. We believe their pressure is some of the best pressure we'll have to face each year to prepare us for this moment now."
Midland has won four postseason games but, much like its regular season, nothing has been easy. Three of the four games have been decided by four points or fewer.
The Chemics opened the postseason by beating Mount Pleasant, 49-48, taking the lead for good on Martin Money's layup with 34 seconds left. After a 58-37 rout of Saginaw Heritage in the District Final, the Chemics overcame adversity to edge Traverse City West, 61-59, in the Regional Semifinal at Gaylord. Center Kyle Johnson was nearly late for that game because of a flat tire, Krause was dealing with a flooded basement before leaving for the game, and West's cheering section dwarfed Midland's because of the travel. Then came the four-point victory over long-time nemesis Saginaw in the Regional Final.
And now a team that has lost six games is within one victory of playing in the Breslin Center.
"We're a very odd team," Krause said. "We know we can play with very elite teams, but we honestly can lose to a lot of teams that are levels below that elite level. We can lose to a lot of teams. Usually when you have teams go this far, that's not the case. We have a strange quality where if things aren't going well, we have to be ready for a close game. Sometimes that makes you not panic when the game is close, because you figure you're going to win the game. We're kind of an interesting team that way."
DeWildt returned from a shoulder injury for the postseason opener to lead Midland's tournament run. He is the only Chemics player averaging in double figures during the tournament, scoring 16.8 points per game.
The scoring is balanced after that, with Virgil Walker averaging 8.8 points, Garrett Willis and Johnson 7.3 apiece, and Jarema 7.0.
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: Midland’s Virgil Walker drives past a Saginaw Arthur Hill player this season. (Middle) Payton DeWildt lines up for a free throw. (Photos courtesy of the Midland athletic department.)
Jets Firing as North Central Seeks Repeat
March 21, 2016
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
POWERS – A second straight Class D boys basketball championship. A third straight MHSAA title covering two sports. A 52-game winning streak.
Toss in an approaching individual scoring record for good measure.
Talk about a massive target on the back of the North Central Jets during the final week of the high school winter sports season. Or you can talk about goals they are close to attaining.
Or talk about pressure. Not, however, for the Jets (25-0), who face Onaway (21-4) on Tuesday in a Class D Quarterfinal at Sault Ste. Marie High School.
Coach Adam Mercier said his squad is just following a game-by-game approach, with the next game always the most important. As for a target on their collective backs, Mercier said, "it is not any bigger than the one they give themselves. They have high expectations, and we expect everyone's A game.
"They treat every game the same. They don't pack it in. They play as hard as they can. They follow every game plan we have."
The Jets are also busy re-writing the MHSAA record book. They already own the mark of 82 wins over three seasons, surpassing the record 79 shared by two Flint schools, Northwestern and Beecher. If the Jets win their final three games of this season, they will tie the mark of 55 wins set over two years by those two schools and would equal Saginaw Buena Vista for fourth place with 55 straight wins. (Chassell has the state mark of 65 straight).
North Central, which has not lost since falling to Cedarville 81-79 in a Quarterfinal game on March 18, 2014, is an astounding 82-1 over the past three years. Mercier is 162-79 in 10 seasons, after starting 6-37 over the first two at his alma mater.
Outstanding team chemistry, created in part through family connections in this small Upper Peninsula community, is perhaps as important for North Central's athletic success as having outstanding talent.
Junior Jason Whitens, an all-state selection on last year's championship team, is just 10 points shy of the school's career scoring record of 1,350 points owned by his uncle, Tom Granquist. Whitens took over the helm of this year's team after the graduation of his cousin, Rob Granquist. The two Granquists and Whitens also played quarterback for the Jets, with Whitens directing North Central to the 2015 8-player title in the fall.
Mercier became head coach of the boys basketball program in 2006 after Gerald Whitens left after a four-year stint.
"They're loose and they keep everything in perspective," Mercier said of his squad. "They have fun, they don't complicate things with egos or individual accolades. It is very similar to last year (basketball) and football. They are able to joke around, and they are able to critique one another. The perspective they have on each other is neat to see."
The system has worked wonderfully for the Jets, who also won the Class D title in 1983. A member of that team was Gerald Whitens, who is Jason's father and serves as an assistant coach on this squad.
Opposing coaches have a solid perspective on the Jets. Joel Schultz of neighboring Bark River-Harris said, "they combine size and athleticism you don't see in Class D. Couple that with the fact they are gym rats, it is just a perfect storm. They are above a level that is typical in Class D. They are better than a year ago."
Rock Mid Peninsula coach Mark Branstrom, who also coached against that 1983 title team, said, "they are about the most talented group of young men I've seen. It is hard to understand who will ever beat them. They are like a college team, and we are like a high school team.
"They have it all. They are so strong. I don't know where there weakness is."
Chris Nocerini of Crystal Falls Forest Park has been deeply frustrated by the Jets. The Trojans finished 22-3 this season, with all three losses provided by the Jets, including a 75-45 conquest Wednesday for their fourth straight Regional crown. Forest Park, always one of the peninsula's top quintets, is 0-10 against North Central the past four seasons.
"They are a good team, they are deep, they have a nice rotation," Nocerini said. "They have played together for a long time. What makes North Central good is their players understand their roles and when they get their chances, they take advantage of it."
Whitens is averaging 22 points but is also a tremendous distributor and rebounder. Teammates Dawson Bilski (15 ppg) and Bobby Kleiman (11) are also in double digit scoring, while Troy Ekberg and Morgan Cox provide excellent scoring and rebounding inside. Seth Polfus and Marcus Krachinski provide the prime bench support.
"The key for us is having guys off the bench who are willing to accept their roles. It is rare to find those kind of teams nowadays to find kids willing to take a lesser role," said Mercier, who helped out on the sidelines during the team's football playoff run last fall.
The Jets, with six juniors, are averaging 78 points a game while permitting just 41. They also boast a team grade-point average near 3.5.
North Central was seldom threatened this year, trailing at halftime in one game against Mid Peninsula, escaping Crystal Falls with a 61-57 victory March 1 and coming from behind late in the fourth quarter Feb. 9 at Class B Menominee to win 64-60.
Mercier said the game at Menominee, on one of the hardest floors for visiting teams to play, "gave us a good idea where and what we needed to improve. That was our biggest win. We had to respond and Jason Whitens took over. That was our signature win of the year."
While Whitens is the team leader, BR-H coach Schultz said, "Bilski is their best ball player. Cox may be one of the top players in the U.P. on any other team. He is a real unique piece of the team. He is a beast, strong and explosive." While Whitens is the primary focus for opponents, Schultz said if you can slow him down "you get killed by someone else."
Branstrom said of Whitens: "His first step is so quick. He has all the tools. He can hit shots from anywhere. He can do about anything he wants to do (including dunks and triples). He is long and tall and looks like a greyhound on a fast break."
Branstrom says Kleiman "is the glue of that team" and that Bilski "has all the tools. He is a natural. Cox inside is an animal and Ekberg is long and tall and can shoot from anywhere."
It is also tough to defend the Jets because Branstrom said "their passing skills are spectacular. Not just good; spectacular."
The North Central-Onaway winner advances to East Lansing and will meet the winner of Fulton (18-6) and Bellaire (24-1) in Thursday's semifinal at 7:50 p.m.
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTOS: (Top) Powers North Central celebrates its Class D Regional title win over Crystal Falls Forest Park on Wednesday. (Middle) The Jets downed the Trojans 75-45 in front of a packed crowd. (Photos by Paul Gerard.)