To Assist and Honor Those Who Served
September 7, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Born into a multiple-generation U.S. Military family, Eddie Ostipow understood early the honor in serving one’s country.
His father, Mike, did so in Vietnam. Grandfather Alex Ostipow – now 90 – was part of the D-Day Invasion of France during World War II, then taken as a prisoner of war during the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, and earned three purple hearts while deployed from 1942-46.
Tonight, as the Orioles’ football coach leads his team against Eaton Rapids, both will take the field with him – symbolically at first, and then down from the stands with a larger group of veterans and active-duty soldiers who will be honored for their contributions to this country.
Mike and Alex Ostipow's names are among those that will be worn on both teams’ jerseys as part of their “Victory for Veterans” game to benefit the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Home for Children based in Eaton Rapids.
Funds raised from the purchase of those jerseys and other donations all will benefit the National Home, which was built in 1925 and provides a variety of services to military members and their families, including housing when a family member is deployed. Total, the schools raised roughly $6,300 for the home, which receives all of its funding through donations.
“The kids don’t always understand what those people sacrificed for the freedom we have to even play football on Friday nights,” Ostipow said. “It’s close to me. (And) for me, selfishly, I’ll be able to honor my grandfather.”
Kickoff is 7 p.m. Both teams will wear camouflage jerseys featuring the names of military personnel that were purchased with donations of $100. Charlotte players were given the opportunity to wear the names of family members. For those who did not have names to wear, jerseys were sponsored by teachers and other members of the community.
Charlotte 2002 graduates Nick Cantin and Matt Lamoreaux will serve as honorary captains – Cantin is in the Air Force and Lamoreaux serves in the Navy. After the game, players from both teams will present their jerseys to the service members or their families who they honored.
This cause was a natural for the Orioles. On the Friday before Memorial Day each spring, Charlotte hosts a school-wide round table of veterans, who speak candidly with students about their war experiences. And this opportunity allowed both communities to donate to an effort close to home – both schools are in Eaton County, and Eaton Rapids is only 11 miles from Charlotte.
Ostipow had heard of the home previously – in fact, his grandmother had visited the facility while his grandfather was deployed. But until he began researching for tonight’s event, he didn’t realize the variety of services it provides.
His student teacher, former Eaton Rapids quarterback Matt Marriott, is the son of one of the home’s facility managers. After a series of meetings with Marriott's dad, representatives from the home and Eaton Rapids’ administration and coaches, the plan was hatched.
The Orioles received a bonus when their local National Guard recruiter heard about the effort, and the Guard paid for $2,500 of the $2,800 it would have cost to print the Orioles’ jerseys. That meant $2,500 more that Charlotte could donate to the home.
Click to learn more about the VFW National Home for Children.
Forest Park Meets Expectations, Adds to Tradition with 5th Championship
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
December 5, 2024
MARQUETTE — They came. They saw. They conquered.
The Crystal Falls Forest Park Trojans did what they set out to do this season, earning their first MHSAA Finals title in seven years in a 42-20 triumph over the Morrice Orioles in the Nov. 30 8-player Division 2 championship game at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome.
Forest Park sits fourth all-time with 15 championship game appearances over the 50 years of MHSAA Football Playoffs. This was the program’s first championship since winning Division 2 in 2017 and came after six straight seasons of reaching the postseason but losing during the first or second round.
“My brother (Kevin) and I been talking about this since we were little,” Trojans sophomore quarterback Vic Guiliani said. “When (Morrice) got within 35-20, we just had to keep our foot on the pedal. They responded very well, but we kept our composure.
“It’s crazy motivation. Every year you lose a lot of good seniors, but we still have the heart. We want to get back here.”
The victory enabled the Trojans to finish 12-1. Their only loss took place in a regular-season finale Oct. 25 when they dropped a 45-34 decision to Powers North Central.
That defeat cost Forest Park the Great Lakes Eight Conference West championship. But the Trojans stormed back to avenge it with a 34-12 win over the Jets two weeks later to clinch a Regional title.
“There were a lot of little things,” sophomore running back Dax Huuki recalled of the first North Central matchup. “That was our worst game of the season, but that was probably the best thing that happened to us. That was a nice little reality check, but we weren’t going to put up with it. Everyone on the team really wanted this. That’s what got us here. Our seniors told us what we needed to do and ‘we’re not going to take a play off.’ They held us accountable.”
Forest Park’s successes in the championship game against Morrice were consistent with what the Trojans did well all season. Huuki ran 19 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns, finishing this fall with 162 carries, 1,560 yards and 22 scores on the ground. The team’s 291 rushing yards total for the game pushed the Trojans to 4,004 for the season – but Giuliani also completed all four of his passes for 60 yards, giving him 968 for the season and pushing the team total to an importantly complementary 1,049. Seniors Grayson Sundell (918 yards/18 TDs rushing) and Nick Stephens (11 TDs) were among other top runners for the Trojans.
Seven players started on both sides of the ball, and holding Morrice to just 194 yards of total offense fell in line with the team’s average of 201 average yards allowed entering the game.
After giving up 45 points to North Central in Week 9, the Trojans gave up a combined 56 over four playoff games.
“We definitely felt the sting of losing in our last regular-season game,” Forest Park coach Brian Fabbri said. “Five turnovers and 10 penalties didn’t help.
“It feels great to be state champions. I know how it feels to walk off the field on the other side. I experienced that twice. It’s not a good feeling.”
Fabbri became the fourth coach in Forest Park history to win one of the program’s five overall championships. He also played on a pair of Trojans teams that finished Finals runners-up in 2004 and 2005.
He’ll graduate seven of the 23 players on the postseason roster, including also two-way starters Matthew Showers, Brody Starr, Nate Bradish and Kevin Giuliani. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Giuliani had made the all-state second team as a junior and will continue as an offensive lineman at Michigan Tech.
“Expectations were very high,” Fabbri said. “Our senior leadership was amazing. They kept us in the game.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS Forest Park’s Nik Stephens (22) gets to the pylon for one of his three touchdowns Nov. 23 at Northern Michigan University. (Middle) The Trojans’ seniors take a photo with the program’s fifth championship trophy. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)