Another 1st-Time Opportunity Awaits as Hart Continues Memorable Playoff Run
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2023
HART – When Hart High School constructed a new trophy case last year, football coach Joe Tanis was given the job of organizing it.
Talk about adding insult to injury.
Tanis found a home for all 67 of the trophies in the new display case – including District, Regional and state championship trophies from every sport under the sun, from cross country to wrestling to bowling. Every sport, that is, except for football.
“We have a chance to do something very special this Friday night,” Tanis, in his third year as Hart’s head coach, told his huddled team at the end of Monday’s practice. “We have a chance to add the first football trophy to that trophy case.”
Hart (9-1), which qualified for the football playoffs for the first time in school history and became the final Muskegon-area school to earn a playoff berth, then picked up its first playoff win Friday, 44-22, over Kent City in a Division 6 District Semifinal in front of 2,000 fans at Hart.
“Winning a playoff game felt amazing,” said senior quarterback and safety Connor Edwards. “It was so cool to look out at the crowd and see it packed all the way to the concession stand. I’ve never seen that before.”
The Pirates will now play for a coveted District championship trophy this Friday night at Reed City.
“I grew up watching Hart football and never have we ever had a good football team,” said senior cornerback and running back Austin Martinez. “The coolest part is that our grade, since we were little kids playing Bucs football, said we were going to turn it around and now we’re doing it.
“Our team is just a bunch of aggressive guys that don’t back down from anyone.”
Hart’s football woes go back decades, and many in the town of 2,126 located about 30 miles north of Muskegon were starting to wonder if their Pirates would ever win on the gridiron. In fact, one must understand the depths of despair the Hart football program has endured to appreciate the current level of euphoria.
Before Tanis’s arrived in 2021, the Pirates had won a total of 12 football games over the previous 10 years, with their last winning season coming with a 5-4 mark in 1997.
Tanis’ tenure started off in typical Hart fashion at 2-5, but his team won its final two games in 2021, leading into a 6-3 season last fall and 9-1 this year.
“We have celebrated on 17 of our last 21 Friday nights,” Tanis said.
Hart’s football turnaround is the final piece of the puzzle to complete the school’s amazing sports renaissance.
Hart won five consecutive Finals titles in girls cross country from 2017 to 2021, the boys cross country team won the school’s first boys team championship last fall, girls track has captured back-to-back Finals titles, competitive cheer took fourth in Division 4 last spring, girls basketball made it to the 2023 Division 3 Semifinals and boys basketball finished 20-0 last regular season – winning the school’s first boys basketball conference title in 60 years.
Football started its turnaround with the arrival of Tanis and defensive coordinator Jacob Tumele in 2021 – a coaching duo which has worked tirelessly recruiting, getting kids in the weight room and, as Tanis readily admits, getting a big boost with the realignment of the West Michigan Conference.
The WMC broke into two divisions in 2021, with a larger-school Lakes division featuring powers Oakridge, Whitehall and Montague, and Hart settling into a much more favorable schedule in the smaller-school Rivers division. The Pirates took second in the Rivers this fall, with their only loss coming at the hands of unbeaten North Muskegon.
Tanis also preached an “all-in” mentality, starting with himself.
Tanis, a Grandville native whose last head coaching job before Hart stretched seven years at Muskegon Orchard View, bought a house on Pirate’s Way leading into the town’s academic campus.
“One of the conditions of this job was that I had to move into town,” explained the 41-year-old Tanis. “Well, to get to my driveway, you first have to pull into the school driveway, so I can’t get any closer. And we absolutely love it.”
All five members of the Tanis family could easily walk to school each day. Joe is the dean of students at the high school, wife Jilanna works in the district’s central business office located in the early elementary building, his two youngest kids are in the elementary school and his oldest child is at the middle school.
“There is a Tanis in all four of the buildings,” Tanis said with a smile.
On the field, Tanis dug back into football’s past to find Hart’s new offense – the single wing, which features a direct center snap to one of the three backs, a quarterback who blocks more than he throws and an unbalanced line to create mismatches at the point of attack.
Hart, which starts seven seniors on both sides of the ball, is averaging 49 points per game during its current five-game winning streak.
Senior Joseluis Andaverde (known to all his teammates as “Beast Mode”) is the most dangerous offensive weapon with 185 carries for 1,537 yards and 19 TDs. His primary blocker is Edwards, the quarterback, who has rushed for 756 yards and 12 touchdowns while completing 11-of-35 passes for 267 yards, five TDs and one interception.
Five of the Pirates’ six starters on the offensive line are seniors, with the exception of standout sophomore Hollis Rockwell at center – which is a critically important position in the single-wing offense.
Tanis feels the unique offense really benefits his team in the playoffs, when teams have only one week to prepare for it.
That being said, Tanis knows his undersized and inexperienced playoff team will be the underdog this week at Reed City, a perennial playoff team which came within one point of advancing to Ford Field last season, losing 13-12 to Negaunee in a Division 6 Semifinal.
“The major appeal of taking this job was having the opportunity to do things that have never been done here before,” said Tanis. “We have done some of those things, and hopefully there are more to come.
“You have to change the way the kids think, and we’ve done that. Now these kids think of themselves as winners.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Senior tailback Joseluis Andaverde runs the ball in a game against White Cloud on Aug. 31. (Middle) Hart coach Joe Tanis, in his third year, has led the Pirates to a 9-1 record thus far and the school's first-ever playoff victory on Oct. 27 against Kent City. (Below) Hart's senior football players and their coaches take a final walk off the field after defeating Ravenna, 44-0, on Oct. 20 in the final regular-season home game. (Photos by Harriet Kidder.)
1st & Goal: 2025 Football Finals Review
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 3, 2025
This season’s MHSAA Football Finals saw only two of 20 teams reach championship games for the first time – the lowest number of first-timers since the start of the 2020s – but several more play for Finals titles for the first time in a decade, or two, or even three or four.
Dearborn Divine Child won its first championship since 1985, Portland St. Patrick its first since 1992, and Harbor Beach, Menominee and Detroit Catholic Central all claimed their first titles in more than a decade as this fall came to a close over the last two weekends.
We also had repeat winners – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Jackson Lumen Christi and Martin – and although their runs ended in defeat, Blanchard Montabella and Dexter did advance to championship weekends for the first time.
MHSAA.com once again covered all 10 championship games, with quick recaps and links to those stories below followed by notations of performances entered into the MHSAA Finals record books and a report on some of the main storylines to emerge as those championships were being decided.
Finals in Review
11-Player Division 1: Detroit Catholic Central 42, Detroit Cass Tech 19 – Read
DCC claimed its first Finals championship since 2009 by emerging from this matchup of undefeated teams and avenging a 2024 Semifinal loss to eventual champion Cass Tech. While Shamrocks senior Samson Gash has received some of the highest statewide praise for his offensive talents this season, junior brother Gideon Gash starred this time with three touchdown catches all 37 yards or longer.
11-Player Division 2: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 51, Dexter 14 – Read
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s repeated as Division 2 champion following quarterback Jabin Gonzales (304 yards/4 TDs passing, 102 yards rushing) but also thanks to a stellar defensive effort against the Dreadnaughts’ record-setting offensive attack. The Eaglets held Dexter to just 266 total yards, and only 69 during the second half after taking a 24-14 lead into the break.
11-Player Division 3: DeWitt 54, Mount Pleasant 20 – Read
This was another matchup of undefeated contenders, and DeWitt again lit up the scoreboard in winning its second championship. The Panthers set a team Finals record for most rushing yards (575) with senior Traverse Moore claiming the individual Finals rushing record with 397 – 83 more than the previous all-time best.
11-Player Division 4: Dearborn Divine Child 23, Hudsonville Unity Christian 22 – Read
Divine Child’s first Finals championship since 1985 was a product of steady play on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Marcello Vitti ran 19 times for 120 yards and a score and Drew Sheridan completed 19 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, Divine Child stopped a two-point conversion try midway through the fourth quarter to keep a one-point lead, then held Unity to two yards on its final possession.
11-Player Division 5: Grand Rapids West Catholic 42, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – Read
West Catholic jumped out to a 28-0 lead and didn’t allow reigning champion Notre Dame Prep to get on the scoreboard until the final minute of the first half. The 1-2 punch of running back Collin Abram and quarterback Grady Augustyn accounted for a combined 347 yards for the Falcons, and the Fighting Irish also lost all-state quarterback Sam Stowe for the majority of the second half with an injury.
11-Player Division 6: Jackson Lumen Christi 28, Kingsley 15 – Read
The Titans claimed a fourth-straight Finals championship and repeat in Division 6 by scoring the game’s only second-half points – 14 to go ahead and stay there during the fourth quarter. Lumen Christi’s Sean Walicki starred on both sides of the ball, running for 142 yards and two touchdowns and making 17 tackles.
11-Player Division 7: Menominee 34, Schoolcraft 6 – Read
Two years after finishing Division 7 runner-up and only four points shy of Lumen Christi in that title decider, Menominee returned to Ford Field and won its first championship since 2007. Clayton Miller ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns for the Maroons, who finished a perfect 14-0. Schoolcraft’s only points came with 6:09 to play.
11-Player Division 8: Harbor Beach 31, Hudson 20 – Read
The 11-Player Finals opened with a matchup of undefeated contenders. Harbor Beach withstood Hudson’s powerful running attack and followed quarterback Caden Bucholtz (146 yards/1 TD rushing, 82 yards/2 TDs passing) to its first Finals title since 2012. The Pirates took a 21-0 lead into the final four minutes of the first half and got a scoring run, touchdown reception and 20-yard field goal from Skiler Kruse.
8-Player Division 1: Martin 52, Blanchard Montabella 8 - Read
Hudson claimed its third Division 1 title in four seasons with a dominating performance, as Montabella scored the game’s first points but were held off the board the rest of the way. Quarterback Haylen Buell ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries, and completed all seven of his passes – including one for another score – for the undefeated Clippers.
8-Player Division 2: Portland St. Patrick 53, Felch North Dickinson 0 – Read
The Shamrocks seemed to set the tone on the opening kickoff – returning it to North Dickinson’s 3-yard line – on the way to winning their first 8-player championship and first in either football format since 1992. St. Patrick led 20-0 after just seven minutes and 33-0 at halftime, with seven players reaching the end zone at least once by the end of the contest.
Record Report
Detroit Catholic Central and Jackson Lumen Christi moved into a first-place tie with Farmington Hills Harrison for 11-Player Finals appearances as all three have played in 18. (Harrison closed in June 2019).
DeWitt senior Traverse Moore earned seven 11-Player Finals record book listings, his most notable for an all-time best 397 yards rushing – which broke Kadale Williams of Lumen Christi’s record of 314 set just last season. Moore also set records with three touchdown runs during the first quarter, and his 461 total yards (including 64 passing) are the second-most in Finals history. He made four more lists as well, including for 24 points scored.
Mount Pleasant quarterback Xavier Creguer also set a record during the Division 3 game, his 91-yard scoring run the longest rush in 11-player championship game history.
Three kickers made the 11-player single-game extra points list with six apiece – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Beckett Keifer in Division 2, DeWitt’s Vincent Rose in Division 3 and Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Landon Smith in Division 5
A trio of quarterbacks also made 11-player record lists. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Jabin Gonzales did so with 304 yards passing, his four touchdown tosses, and 406 total yards (including 102 rushing); the total yards rank eighth all-time. Detroit Cass Tech’s Donald Tabron II made passing lists with 25 completions, 37 attempts and 285 yards, and Dearborn Divine Child quarterback Drew Sheridan also made the completions list with 19. Tabron’s attempts rank eighth, and his completions tied for fourth on that list.
On the receiving end of some fine quarterback play, Cass Tech’s Corey Sadler Jr. made the 11-player single-game receptions list with 11, tying for third-most catches, while Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Thomas Puksta made the single-game receiving yardage list with 161 and Detroit Catholic Central’s Gideon Gash tied for the second-most touchdown receptions with three.
Dexter’s Cole Novara rewrote the season receiving records this fall, and added an 11-player championship game listing with a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown. St. Mary’s Daniel Taylor Jr. also made a return list, bringing back a fumble 59 yards for a score.
DeWitt with 54 points made the 11-player team single-game scoring list, but that was just the start. The Panthers’ 575 rushing yards and 639 total yards were records, their seven rushing touchdowns tied another one, their 24 first downs made a record list and their combined 959 total yards with Mount Pleasant made the total offense list for both teams in one game.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s also made the 11-player scoring list with 51 points, and earned another entry with 314 passing yards. Dexter made the single-game completions list in that game with 24, and Detroit Cass Tech made that same list with 25 completions. Hudsonville Unity Christian made the single-game rushing carries list with 66.
Grand Rapids West Catholic tied the Finals record with two other teams by returning two interceptions for touchdowns.
Hudson made the list of teams that did not punt in a Final, and also joined Harbor Beach – which punted once – on the list for fewest punts by both teams combined in one game.
Martin quarterback Haylen Buell made the 8-player total yardage list with 313 in the Division 1 game, leading a Clippers attack that also made the single-quarter points list with 30, single-Final rushing list with 364 yards and rushing touchdown list with six.
Portland St. Patrick quarterback Jerryd Scheurer made the list for fastest touchdowns to begin an 8-Player Final, scoring on a run just 20 seconds into his team’s Division 2 win against Felch North Dickinson. St. Patrick also made the single-game touchdowns list with seven.
Stories Behind the Scores
Single Wing, Several Records: We detailed above most of how DeWitt ran its way into the Finals record book, but the Panthers’ strategy this season deserves more credit for its brilliance. Recognizing his team’s strength on the offensive line and depth of dynamic ball carriers, DeWitt coach Rob Zimmerman leaned heavily on single wing concepts that saw direct snaps to Traverse Moore – technically his quarterback – who then ran behind multiple blockers or worked through counters and other slights of hand that opened up multiple running lanes on just about every play. The Panthers have added several record book entries over the last 25 years thanks to a high-scoring spread passing attack, but they followed last season’s 702 points (ranking eighth all-time before this fall) with 727 this season that will ran fifth on the single-season scoring list. Moore finished with 2,512 yards and 33 touchdowns rushing, and it will be interesting to see if other programs follow suit by incorporating single-wing looks.
Memorable Menominee: The Maroons were once known as one of the last teams to run the single wing, and although they’ve added different looks and more balance under fourth-year coach Chad Brandt, that tough-running, physical culture lives on – and played a big part in Menominee’s perfect season and first Finals championship since 2007. The Maroons just missed winning the Division 7 title in 2023, losing to Jackson Lumen Christi 34-30, but came through this time to claim the Upper Peninsula’s first 11-player championship since 2015. This season, only 16 UP teams played 11-player, while 19 played 8-player.
Watch List: A total of 44,733 fans attended the 11 or 8-Player Finals this season, the highest combined total for the three days since 2019 and despite a snowstorm that blanketed much of the Lower Peninsula over the 11-player weekend. A notable crowd of fans also watched online; although this was the first year the 11-Player Finals were streamed only, on the NFHS Network, we know that the Division 1 championship game drew the fourth-most viewers all-time of any event from any state broadcast on the Network, and that they watched the game for the most minutes ever for a Network broadcast.
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PHOTOS (Top) This collage shows action photos from all 10 MHSAA Finals played this season. (2) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Kareem Pruit (7) brings down Dexter quarterback Cooper Arnedt in 11-player Division 2. (3) Kingsley’s Nolan Hodges (28) wraps up Lumen Christi’s Ayden Gatewood in Division 6. (4) Martin’s Seth Toris (24) charges through a hole with Montabella’s Noah Carlson lining up to attempt a tackle in 8-player Division 1.