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1979: Rice Meets Moeller in 'Biggest Game Ever'

August 30, 2019

By Ron Pesch
Special for Second Half

DATELINE: Cincinnati, Ohio, 1979

“The Brother Rice-Moeller game is the biggest game any Michigan high school football team has ever played.”

Hal Schram - ‘The Swami’
Detroit Free Press

“I’m nervous as heck,” said Birmingham Brother Rice coach Al Fracassa to Free Press sportswriter Mick McCabe. “This is the biggest challenge of my life.”

On Saturday, September 22, 1979, Fracassa’s Warriors travelled 270 miles south from the hotbed of Michigan high school football to the hotbed of Ohio high school football for a first-ever showdown with Cincinnati Moeller. Heading into the 1980s, many would argue that Brother Rice was the top football (and perhaps the top boys prep sports) program in the state of Michigan. At the same time, many would say Moeller had replaced Washington Massillon High School as the premier grid program in the Buckeye State, and that Moeller also represented the nation’s top prep football team. To quote McCabe in his pregame write-up:

“Moeller had a 53-game winning streak snapped last fall after winning Ohio’s Class AAA state championship the previous three years. It also won the mythical national championship in 1976 and ’77. Seventeen players from (the 1978) Moeller team received college scholarships, including wide receiver Tony Hunter at Notre Dame and Larry Gates, the backup quarterback at Purdue.”

Moeller was coached by 44-year-old Gerry Faust – soon to become a Notre Dame legend. But in the fall of 1979, he was still building his impressive resume at Moeller.

While both were all-male Catholic schools and maintained three football teams – varsity, JV and freshman – there were stark differences. Fracassa’s varsity coaching staff at the time included three members: Mike Popson, Ron Kalczynski and Mike Cieslak. In comparison, Faust had 17 assistant coaches on his varsity staff (and 25 student managers).

“Every year is a rebuilding year for us,” said Faust. “We average between 24 and 38 seniors a year and about 20 of them start.”

“Their second team is as good as most teams around here, and I’m not exaggerating,” Fracassa told McCabe.

Entering the contest, Faust had posted a 152-17-2 record in 17 seasons at Moeller, while Fracassa, in his 20th year as a head coach, was 123-31-8. A former Detroit Pershing and Michigan State quarterback, Fracassa was named head football coach at Royal Oak Shrine in June 1960. After eight seasons at Shrine, Fracassa moved to Brother Rice and compiled an 86-14-3 mark, including a Class A mythical state title in 1974. His Warriors began an impressive 24-game winning streak in 1976, earning an MHSAA Class A playoff title in 1977, but the streak was ended by North Farmington in the Semifinal round of the MHSAA tournament in November 1978.

Faust arrived at Moeller in 1960 to start a football team and had guided the squad since the school began playing varsity ball in 1963. He first started bringing outstate teams to Cincinnati in 1977 with a game against Monsignor Farrell High School of Staten Island, NY. Jesuit High from Dallas, Texas, followed with a visit to Moeller in 1978.

Both Moeller and Rice were undefeated to start the 1979 season. Faust’s Crusaders had allowed only three first downs over three games, including a big 34-7 win over city rival Cincinnati Princeton, the school that had ended Moeller’s long winning streak, and a 30-13 victory over powerhouse Pittsburgh Penn Hills, a school with an enrollment of 4,200 that had compiled consecutive Class AAA Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League championships in the three previous years under coach Andy Urbanic. With the defeat of Penn Hills, the Crusaders were a flawless 3-0 against teams from across state lines entering the Brother Rice contest.

Undefeated in two games, Brother Rice was rated fourth in Class A in Hal Schram’s initial Top Ten rankings. Inexperienced following the graduation of quarterback Jon English (Michigan State) and receiver Marty Martinez (Stanford), the Warriors had downed St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, 21-7, then Grosse Pointe North, 13-7.

Game Time

A crowd of 20,792 (including members of the Brother Rice pep band) packed the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium for the 8 p.m. prep version of the Michigan-Ohio State game. Moeller did not have its own field, playing games at Nippert, Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium (home to the NFL’s Bengals and MLB’s Reds), or a nearby high school field. Moeller dominated the first half with 282 yards of total offense to Brother Rice’s 64, but held only a 13-7 lead at the half. Senior wingback Eric Ellington awed the crowd with touchdown runs of 43 and 61 yards during the first quarter. Rice rebounded with a five-yard touchdown on a bootleg by 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior quarterback Brian Brennan following a fumble recovery by Emil Nagengast during the second period.

Starting their first possession of the third quarter on their own 33-yard line, Ellington ripped off a 34-yard run to the Rice 33 on Moeller’s first play of the drive. Three plays later, he went left for 10 yards and his third touchdown of the game. The Crusaders opened up a 33-7 lead in the fourth quarter before Rice got back on the scoreboard. Fracassa went to the playbook for some “razzle dazzle.”

Operating from their own 32-yard line with 2:19 left to play, “Brennan tossed a deliberate bounce pass on a lateral to reserve quarterback Dave Yarema,” wrote Randy Holtz in the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Yarema then fired a 68-yard touchdown to the wide open Steve Allen to finish the game’s scoring.”

“We’ve been using it a long time,” said Fracassa, commenting on the play with limited delight following the 33-14 loss. “We told the kids before the game that this would be one of the best teams they were ever going to play against. They’re really a tremendous team. If you can’t contain Ellington, you’re in trouble. You’ve got to be something else to catch this kid.”

Ellington ended with 178 yards on 10 carries.

“Eric really ran well,” added Faust. “He’s a great back, but you’ve got to give credit to (our) line up front.”

Due to the early format of the MHSAA playoffs, which were introduced in 1975, the defeat likely had eliminated Brother Rice from the state playoff picture. A 10-7 loss to Catholic League opponent Detroit Catholic Central in Week 5 of the season and a 6-3 regular-season record ensured no postseason play for the Warriors in 1979. Detroit Catholic would end the year as Class A state champ with a perfect 12-0 record.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association had begun its football playoff system in the fall of 1972. To little surprise, Moeller went on to win the state’s Class AAA title for the fourth time in 1979, defeating Parma Padua Franciscan 41-7. Moeller again was proclaimed national champion by the National Sports News Service. (For those interested, highlights can be found here).

College Comes Calling
Back in Michigan, in February 1980, Fracassa applied for the head coaching position at Michigan State to replace Darryl Rogers, but wasn’t interviewed. When Frank “Muddy” Waters was named as MSU’s new coach, he offered Fracassa the position of offensive coordinator. But Fracassa chose not to go. In the fall, his Warriors again won the Class A championship. It wouldn’t be his last opportunity to jump to the college game.

The Great Experiment
In Ohio, Faust’s Crusaders would win the state and national titles again in late November 1980. After more than a month of rumors, on the day after winning the state title, Gerald Anthony Faust was officially announced as “the only head coach Notre Dame has ever selected from the high school ranks.”

Another Chance at MSU
Fracassa was a back-up signal caller at Michigan State. “I was always stuck behind the All-Americans,” he told the Detroit Times in 1960 shortly after taking charge at Royal Oak Shrine.

“First, he understudied Al Dorow,” wrote Wally Dwyer in the Times. “Then it was Tom Yewcic and finally Earl Morrall.”

Morrall’s son Matt, Leon Hart’s son Kevin, Tobin Rote’s son, Rocky, Roger Zatkoff’s son David and Jack Simmons’ son, Terry, were the offspring of past Detroit Lions who played on Fracassa’s 1974 champion.

In December 1982, George Perles was named to replace Waters as head coach at Michigan State. A former teammate of Fracassa’s at MSU and, later, a coaching friend and rival when Perles coached Detroit St. Ambrose and Fracassa guided Shrine, Perles spoke to Fracassa about the possibility of joining the Spartans’ defensive staff. Again, Fracassa chose to remain at Brother Rice.

A Legacy Sealed …
In the fall of 1983, Fracassa’s Warriors grabbed another Class A title. It was the third of nine MHSAA championships his teams would ultimately earn. When he retired following the 2013 season, he was the state’s all-time winningest football coach with a 430-117-7 mark.

… and a Legacy Altered
In November 1985, Faust resigned from his position at Notre Dame.

“Faust said the job was ‘the fulfillment of a lifelong dream,’” wrote Mitch Albom in the Free Press, days after the announcement. “And he did it proud on most counts. He worked feverishly, turned out good men, a clean program. And technically, a winning program, 30-25-1. But nowhere near winning enough for Notre Dame.”

“Faust knew it.”

To the dismay of countless Irish fans, Notre Dame continued to honor its contract despite the losses. “No matter how loudly the fans yelled,” noted Albom, “the school would not fire Faust.”

“So, with a choked voice and moist eyes, he saved the university the ugliness of firing him by resigning with one game left on his contract.”

“We probably won’t see another Gerry Faust experiment again,” added Albom at the time. “Everyone will point out that it didn’t work the first time …”

“College football was once a game of its name. College kids playing football. That was long ago. Today it is a multimillion-dollar industry …”

The great experiment certainly altered memories of Faust, the structure of coaching contracts, and the path for all high school coaches who aspired to lead at a higher level. One might even say it was a turning point for winning and losing, and what would be ‘acceptable’ at all levels of sports across America.

P.S. Moeller and Rice again met in 2007, with the Crusaders again topping Brother Rice, this time 14-6. Both schools had entered this match-up with identical 2-1 records.

Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.

PHOTOS: (Top) Brother's Rice's Brian Brennan looks for an opening while a Moeller defender pursues. (2) Brother Rice coach Al Fracassa. (3) Moeller coach Gerry Faust. (4) A Moeller bumper sticker tells of its many successes during the 1970s. (5) Eric Ellington starred for Moeller against Brother Rice. (6) Faust left Moeller for Notre Dame in 1980. (Photos gathered by Ron Pesch.)

Haslett/Okemos football

1st & Goal: 2021 Week 2 in Review

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 6, 2021

From Niles to Napoleon to Petoskey, teams that frequently were stopped in their tracks a year ago have successfully made that first cut into the open over the first two weeks of the 2021 season.

Others like Detroit Cass Tech and Martin Luther King have found full stride – their breakaways coming over the weekend against a pair of annual contenders from the opposite side of the Lower Peninsula and right on time to set up potentially the most high-powered matchup of this regular season.

Below is a glance at especially eye-catching scores and some of the stories behind them from Week 2.   

Bay & Thumb

HEADLINER Bad Axe 42, Cass City 0 The game that couldn’t be played last season was finally played last week, and Bad Axe sent a statement in the Greater Thumb Conference West. Both Bad Axe (2-0) and Cass City (0-2) had finished unbeaten in the league last season, but their early-season game had been canceled. The Hatchets won this matchup for the first time since 2014, ripping 50 and 60-yard touchdown runs on the way. Click for more from the Huron Daily Tribune.

Watch list Croswell-Lexington 28, North Branch 7 The Pioneers’ lost last season only twice, both times to eventual Blue Water Area Conference and District champion North Branch. Circle Croswell-Lexington’s Week 5 against Richmond as a potential BWAC title decider.

Remember this one Standish-Sterling 27, Ithaca 20 While last week’s big win over Pinconning was worth celebrating too, this week’s Panthers victory over Ithaca could be much more telling of a potential turnaround. Standish-Sterling (2-0) is seeking its first winning season since 2013; its only victory last season came by forfeit.

More shoutouts Marlette 36, Sandusky 12 The Red Raiders (1-1) defeated reigning GTC East champion Sandusky for the first time since 2013. Grand Blanc 38, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 34 The Bobcats moved to 2-0 thanks to Hunter Ames’ 74-yard go-ahead touchdown toss to Nasir Carson with 30 seconds to play.

Greater Detroit

HEADLINER Detroit Martin Luther King 40, Muskegon Mona Shores 19 With their first of three recent meetings in the 2019 Division 2 Final, these two have arguably the best cross-state series running. The Sailors (1-1) won the first two matchups and had won 19 straight including the last two Division 2 titles. King (1-1) couldn’t have earned a better bounce-back after falling in its opener on a game-ending touchdown pass. Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.

Watch list Detroit Cass Tech 49, Muskegon 14 Undefeated Cass Tech’s dominating performance on the road against one of the top programs in the state just added to the anticipation of this week’s matchup with King.

Remember this one Warren De La Salle 38, River Rouge 29 Both had to scramble after losing Week 2 opponents, and the result was a high-caliber matchup between two teams that ended at Ford Field last season.

More shoutouts Detroit Catholic Central 35, Davison 14 The Shamrocks quickly bounced back from their Week 1 loss to Chippewa Valley with a solid win over a Davison team that while 0-2 has to be one of the best teams in Michigan still looking for a first win. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 17, Hudsonville 15 The Eaglets are 2-0 with those wins by a combined seven points against strong opponents; consider Hudsonville another of the best 0-2 teams in the state after two defeats by a combined six points against top competition.

Mid-Michigan

HEADLINER Portland 20, DeWitt 17 Keeping in mind that Portland played for the Division 5 championship just three seasons ago and had split games the last two seasons with the Panthers (1-1), this one still reverberated across the state. That’s mostly because of how the Raiders pulled it off. First, Portland (2-0) stopped a veteran DeWitt offense that averaged 45 points per game last year and scored 47 in its season opener. Then came the game-winning score with 22 seconds to play. Click for more from the Ionia Sentinel-Standard.

Watch list Hartland 19, Novi 7 The Eagles are seeking their first winning season since 2015 and are off to a 2-0 start for the second season in a row. They just missed getting back over the hump last year finishing 3-4 with two close losses at the end.

Remember this one Corunna 20, Hemlock 13 The Cavaliers (1-1) won more games last season than the previous two combined in going 5-4. If they take another step, this could be remembered as the win that put them back on the right track. Jaden Edington’s touchdown run with 10:26 left was the game-winner.  

More shoutouts Hastings 38, Battle Creek Harper Creek 35 The reigning Interstate 8 Athletic Conference champ Saxons (2-0) survived a close one as they embarked on their repeat quest. Lansing Catholic 30, Williamston 21 Portland is going to get all the buzz coming out of this week, but the Cougars also showed against a top-tier program that they’ll be in the thick of the Capital Area Activities Conference White race as well.

Northern Lower Peninsula

HEADLINER Kingsley 48, Maple City Glen Lake 0 The Stags (2-0) are going to be a team we all watch this season. They’ve now won 22 of their last 23 on the field, and Glen Lake (1-1) hadn’t taken a loss of this magnitude since the teams’ 2019 meeting (after which the Lakers bounced back to finish Division 6 runner-up). League play starts next week for both, and you can already circle Kingsley vs. Traverse City St. Francis in Week 9 among the most intriguing regular-season finales statewide. Click for more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Watch list Petoskey 44, Escanaba 27 The Northmen (2-0) haven’t won more than two games in a season since 2018, but that’s almost assured with this especially impressive as Escanaba (1-1) has been one of the Upper Peninsula’s best again over the last half-decade.

Remember this one Boyne City 27, Charlevoix 8 The Ramblers (2-0) had dropped two straight to the Red Rayders, who suffered their first regular-season loss since Week 8 of 2019.

More shoutouts Traverse City Central 60, Marquette 28 The Trojans (1-1) bounced back from an opening loss to DeWitt with their seventh-straight win over Marquette (1-1). Elk Rapids 48, Johannesburg-Lewiston 28 Even with the Cardinals (0-2) off to a rare slow start, this provided plenty of reason to celebrate after Elk Rapids won once last season.

Southeast & Border

HEADLINER Hudson 22, Erie Mason 0 The Tigers raised some eyes with an opening-night win over Ithaca, and many more will be watching now that they’ve shut out the reigning Tri-County Conference champion as well. They are 2-0 for the first time since 2017, and they have another opportunity to make some noise this week when they start the Lenawee County Athletic Association schedule against last season’s Division 6 runner-up Clinton. Click for more from the Adrian Daily Telegram.

Watch list Napoleon 54, East Jackson 0 The Pirates are 2-0 for the first time since 2002, and already have doubled their victory total from 2020.

Remember this one Ottawa Lake Whiteford 34, Ida 14 In these teams’ first meeting since 1976, Whiteford earned its first win over Ida since 1968 according to Michigan-football.com.

More shoutouts Reading 30, Grass Lake 12 The Rangers’ defense has been especially impressive so far, following up a shutout by giving up only 12 points to a Warriors team that hasn’t finishing below .500 since 2001. Milan 27, New Boston Huron 19 These two tied for second in the Huron League last season behind Riverview. This season’s race is only getting started, of course, and Huron (1-1) gets the undefeated Pirates this week while Milan has defeated opponents that went a combined 16-3 in 2020.

Southwest Corridor

HEADLINER Niles 26, Buchanan 0 Former Three Rivers coach Scott Shaw – who led that program to the 2003 Division 4 title – has made Niles another team on the rise in his first season. The Vikings won one game a year ago, two the season before and no more than three since 2014. But Niles followed up an opening-night victory over Sturgis with this shutout of the Bucks, who finished 8-1 in 2020. Click for more from the South Bend Tribune.

Watch list Niles Brandywine 30, Cassopolis 24 After opening with a win over reigning Division 8 champ Centreville, Brandywine moved to 2-0 against a Rangers team (1-1) looking to bounce back from a rare off year.

Remember this one Battle Creek Lakeview 42, Portage Northern 21 The Spartans (2-0) also are off to a strong start, including this win over the team that would’ve had a claim to the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title if one had been awarded during the abbreviated 2020 season. Lakeview takes on River Rouge this week – an excellent test – and regardless of the result should be a contender in the SMAC when it returns to league play Week 4.

More shoutouts Centreville 28, Schoolcraft 7 The Bulldogs (1-1) rebounded from that Brandywine defeat by handing the second this fall to last season Division 7 semifinalist Schoolcraft. Stevensville Lakeshore 41, Kalamazoo United 19 Ryan Korfmacher set a Lakeshore passing record with 385 yards as his team moved to 2-0.

Upper Peninsula

HEADLINER Ishpeming Westwood 28, Iron Mountain 0 The Patriots (2-0) already look like the team to beat in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper, and running back Zack Carlson just missed getting to 10 touchdowns before Labor Day. And don’t forget the defense, which handed the Mountaineers (1-1) their first shutout since 2018. Click for more from the Iron Mountain Daily News.

Watch list Negaunee 35, Calumet 21 The Miners (1-1), who lost by two Week 1 to Iron Mountain, are now the main candidates standing in the way of a Westwood league title – although Calumet (0-2) still has a say as well and will face Westwood this week.

Remember this one Bark River-Harris 53, West Iron County 6 The Broncos (2-0) already look very good in the West-PAC Iron title race at 2-0 with two games to play and this big win over a Wykons team coming off an undefeated 2020 regular season.

More shoutouts Hancock 20, Ishpeming 12 The Bulldogs (1-1) bounced back nicely from an opening-night loss, while handing Ishpeming (1-1) its first of the fall. Kingsford 21, Gladstone 6 The Flivvers (2-0) haven’t lost in this series since 1998 and this fall have given up only 12 points total.

West Michigan

HEADLINER Muskegon Oakridge 32, Whitehall 19 Although reigning champ Montague bounced back big from its Week 1 loss, this early matchup very well could have a lot to say in the West Michigan Conference race before it’s over. Oakridge (2-0) got up by 20 during the third quarter and held on the rest of the way. The Eagles see Montague in Week 4, and Whitehall (1-1) gets the Wildcats in Week 8. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.  

Watch list Spring Lake 56, Zeeland East 21 Spring Lake had to wait an extra week to get started, taking a forfeit win in Week 1. But the Lakers were the talk of West Michigan once they finally got on the field, impressing against one of the region’s annual powers.  

Remember this one Rockford 35, Cedar Springs 6 This was a great sign for the Rams heading into Ottawa-Kent Conference Red play, especially defensively, as Cedar Springs is likely again to make some noise in the Gold.

More shoutouts Allendale 14, Hopkins 0 The Falcons head into O-K Blue play coming off a shutout of last season’s Silver champion. East Grand Rapids 30, Grand Rapids South Christian 21 The Pioneers (1-1) rebounded from an opening loss to run their winning streak over the Sailors to five with the O-K White schedule set to begin.

8-Player

HEADLINER Deckerville 50, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 26 The Eagles also had to wait an extra week to get rolling, but it didn’t take long for them to catch up against an Irish team that reached the Division 2 Regional Finals last season. Both should contend in North Central Thumb League divisions, Deckerville after finishing third in the Stars last season and Sacred Heart coming off a runner-up run in the Stripes.

Watch list Mio 12, Hillman 0 The Thunderbolts went from 9-2 in 2019 to 0-6 in 2020, but at 2-0 they’re headed back up in a hurry. They have yet to give up a point.

Remember this one Rudyard 63, Cedarville 6 The Bulldogs (2-0) had lost all eight games to Cedarville since moving to 8-player football in 2016, and they also upped their scoring margin this fall to a combined 115-6.

More shoutouts Lake Linden-Hubbell 60, Rapid River 6 The Lakes (2-0) are finding their footing in 8-player and have outscored their first two opponents of the season by a combined 102-14. Pellston 36, Hale 12 After trailing at the half, Pellston (2-0) outscored Hale 28-0 during the second to run its regular-season winning streak to 10.

PHOTOS: (Top) Haslett drives on Okemos during Thursday's 47-0 win. (Middle) Detroit Catholic Central's Declan Byle unloads a pass as Davison defenders close in. (Below) Negaunee quarterback Gerald Johnson keeps the ball but is tackled by Calumet's Hans Killunen. (Photos by John Johnson, Terry Lyons and Cara Kamps, respectively.)