Clarkston Surges by Kicking it Forward
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
October 27, 2016
CLARKSTON – Coach Kurt Richardson held a disdain for kickers. He didn’t trust them. He contends that a poor kicking game cost his Clarkston football team the 2000 Division 1 Semifinal, a 17-15 loss to eventual champion Grand Ledge.
Three years before, Clarkston had lost one-point games to Rochester (20-19) and Troy (21-20) that cost the Wolves an opportunity to play in the playoffs. Again, the kicking game had let him down.
“We didn’t have kickers,” Richardson said. “We made kickers. We tried a soccer player once back then, and it didn’t work.”
Enter the Breen brothers, Andrew and Ryan. Andrew Breen was Clarkston’s kicker in 2003. Ryan Breen followed and was the kicker in 2005 and 2006. Maybe it’s a coincidence, but Clarkston hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2002. You won’t get Richardson to say that.
Andrew Breen went on to kick for Tiffin University (Ohio), and every place-kicker since has gone on to college as a kicker – including his brother, Ryan, who went to Penn State.
The others include Alex Barta, who went on to kick for the U.S. Naval Academy. Then there’s Shane Hynes, the place-kicker on the 2013 Division 1 championship team, who is currently Kent State’s place-kicker. Alex Kessman was the place-kicker on the 2014 Division 1 title team, and he’s at Pittsburgh after graduating from high school this past June.
Zach Mansour is Clarkston’s place-kicker this season. And although he hasn’t decided what college he will attend next year, rest assured Mansour will be on a roster somewhere, whether it’s at the Division I level or below.
“Andrew kind of broke up the ice,” Richardson said. “It’s made a big difference. What also comes out of making field goals and having good kickers is now we’re kicking the ball in the end zone and teams are starting from their 20.”
Ryan Breen doesn’t remember exactly when it happened, but his life changed when he was a freshman at Clarkston High.
Breen and his brother were soccer players throughout their childhood. Then his freshman year his brother was a senior and Clarkston’s kicker, and something clicked. Ryan was just having fun working with his brother, shagging footballs, when he got the urge to try it.
Something clicked for the Clarkston football program as well.
“Coach Kurt realized, after a while, that kicking is so much part of the game,” Ryan Breen said. “He started to trust me my junior and senior years. He’d been let down so much (by kickers). It’s frustrating.
“It opened his eyes that (Clarkston’s) kicking game could be so good.”
Ryan gives credit to his brother for starting what has become a fraternity of kickers at Clarkston. And it continues today with Ryan Breen giving back – or paying it forward, if you will.
Clarkston is a sports-crazed community with football and basketball taking the lead. The fan support these teams receive is as fervent as any in the Detroit area. When an athlete experiences success at a school like this, often that person is motivated to give back. That’s what Breen has done.
“My brother kind of got me into it,” Ryan said. “We were athletes first. My freshman year I’d help him, chasing the footballs after he kicked them. I figured I’d do it for him. I never thought I’d kick. We never thought we’d kick.”
At first, his experience in college led Ryan to go back to Clarkston and share his expertise with the next kicker in line, Barta.
“I got with Alex and his dad,” Ryan said. “I tried to lend the knowledge I had.”
After coaching as a volunteer, Ryan came on staff at the junior varsity level for three seasons. He was there to start this season, but was forced to leave due to the time commitment he had with his business in Oakland County. He’s hoping that soon, perhaps in a year or so, his business will become less demanding and he’ll return to Richardson’s staff.
But he’s left his mark, and others have picked up his lead. Those who have followed, like Mansour, are reaping the benefits.
Mansour handles the place kicking and kickoff duties for Richardson, and he’s 5 of 7 on field goal tries with a long make of 45 yards. A junior, Jermaine Roemer, is the punter and, at this point, it appears he will replace Mansour as the team’s place-kicker next season.
“I was close with Shane (Hynes) and Alex (Kessman),” Mansour said. “I got a ton of knowledge from them. And Shane learned from Barta. I’m close with Jermaine. And Tristan Mattson is on (junior varsity). I’ll be working with him after the season.
“We’ve gotten so good with our kicking. It puts us ahead of other teams. When I worked with Shane and Alex, they were brutally honest. They’ll break you down. They yelled at me. It’s not to hurt your feelings. It’s all for the game.
“Paying it forward? It’s kind of my job. Jermaine and I developed a good relationship. We’ve had that reputation of having good kickers, and we want to keep it that way.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Zach Mansour kicks off Clarkston's season against Lapeer on Aug. 26 at Michigan Stadium. (Middle) Shane Hynes follows through on a kick during the 2013 Division 1 Final at Ford Field. (Click to see more of top photo from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Gull Lake Players Find Opportunities to Play, New Friendships as Part of 'Parchment Pride'
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
September 22, 2026
PARCHMENT — When he took the field for his senior football season, Lucas Hutchinson did not expect to be wearing maroon and white.
The navy blue and white of Gull Lake High School was more his style.
But before the season started, an unusual series of events found Hutchinson and his 18 Gull Lake teammates without any team at all.
That’s when Parchment athletic director Brennan Davis stepped in, contacting Gull Lake AD Karyn Furlong and offering a solution: a cooperative team.
All of a sudden, those 19 players found a new football home.
“Obviously I’d rather be wearing navy blue and white but I’m happy to play in whatever color I can,” Hutchinson said. “Now that I’m playing for Parchment, I gotta have that Parchment Pride so I wear it with honor, and even though it’s not the color I wanted to wear, I’m excited to wear it.”
Gull Lake canceled its football season Aug. 12 after a preseason camp incident that resulted in school and law enforcement investigations.
Davis said his team’s numbers were down this year and adding the Gull Lake players would be the boost his team needed.
“I had heard about Gull Lake canceling their season due to safety concerns, and the schedule they’re playing is tough – to go into the game with 20 kids against some perennial powers,” Davis said. “So I reached out to Karyn (Furlong) on a Wednesday morning (about combining the teams). I heard back from her a few hours later.”
From there, a co-op team was born with the assurance that none of the players involved in the incident would be on the team.
The two groups held their first combined practice a week before the Aug. 27 season opener with just one snag.
“One issue we had was helmets,” Davis said. “We had a specific number of maroon helmets that would have outfitted our varsity and JV players, but then (Gull Lake) came over, they had white helmets.
"We asked the Gull Lake players to give up their white helmets for maroon helmets and gave the white to the JV players.”
First-day jitters
Several Gull Lake players, including Hutchinson, were a bit nervous that first practice.
“I didn’t know how we were going to work together and get along,” Hutchinson said. “I knew no one, but I do now,” he laughed. “When I first went into the locker room it was with a bunch of random faces I didn’t know. I was definitely eager to know everybody.”
He said he was worried about the way he and his teammates would be treated.
“Past two years, I was starting on varsity both ways, so even though I was getting to play football, I was worried how things were going to change, for not just me but all the guys from Gull Lake being treated equally and getting playing time. It transitioned smoothly, definitely no favoring with the coaches.”
Parchment quarterback Jordan Bagley said before the rosters combined the Panthers were preparing for a tough season with just 20 players.
“We knew we were going to have a lot of two-way players so that means we weren’t going to drag butt at practice,” the junior said. “We had to show up and bring it every day.
“It was definitely going to be a tough season mentally and physically. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your body.”
He added that Gull Lake players give the Panthers extra depth.
“It lets everybody come out fresh,” he said. “It reduces the risk of injuries, too. They don’t have to worry about coming out of the game if they’re gassed or need a breather, so it’s a big help.”
A bonus for Parchment was Hutchinson and junior quarterback Zac Pfenning, both past all-Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference first-teamers.
“We have a lot more skill positions so that’s always good for receivers and defensive backs to rotate in,” Bagley said. “They bring some leadership, too. Kessler (Johnson) is a good leader who’s helped X (Xavier Garcia). Depth and more players and a lot of new friendships.
"This has been one of better experiences for football in my career. I’ve actually enjoyed it a lot. It’s been a very positive thing for both sides, I believe. Everybody gets to play some football.”
Todd Nunn, Parchment’s second-year head coach, said he was excited to have his team’s numbers doubled.
“I don’t think we could have asked for a better practice that first day,” he said. “The group seemed to gel well; the Parchment kids were explaining to the Gull Lake kids our offensive plays, helped them understand the defense that was being called. It was like they’d been there the whole time.”
Nunn is no stranger to co-op teams.
He coached at Burr Oak, which combined with Colon for the four years he was there.
“I knew what it felt like being the team coming over to the main school,” he said. “I understood some of the reservations the Gull Lake kids might have coming over here.
“We sat the kids down, explained what was happening and how it would benefit them, not having to play both sides of the ball, getting more time to come to the sidelines to get a break. I think they were very receptive to that.”
Parchment and Gull Lake cheerleaders also have combined for several games.
“The co-op was just for football, but our cheerleaders and Gull Lake’s cheer team and coaches are good friends,” Davis said. “They have practiced together previously over the summer.
“We decided on a specific schedule where their cheerleaders would cheer with ours, four or five games.”
In addition, the football team will play a home game for Senior Night at Gull Lake, against Lawton on Oct. 16. The Blue Devils have 14 seniors and five juniors on the team.
Parchment has six seniors, 11 juniors and three sophomores.
Quick transition, perfect fit
The ease with which the process came together surprised Davis.
“Everything fell into place, which was strange because things usually take forever,” he said.
Over the course of one week:
- Davis and Furlong talked on a Wednesday.
- Parchment already had a staff development day scheduled that day and talked about the cooperative possibility.
- A Southwestern Athletic Conference meeting had been previously postponed from Tuesday to Thursday, and all 18 teams approved the co-op.
- “We did not involve the kids until prior to the (Parchment) board meet on Monday at 5.” Davis said. “I met with four of our team leaders at 4:50, board meeting at 5, meet the team night at 6:30, Gull Lake board meeting at 7, so that whole night was a lot.”
- The MHSAA then approved it.
With the season under way, the Panthers take a 2-2 record into Friday’s game against Kalamazoo United, another co-op team made up of Kalamazoo Christian and Hackett Catholic Prep players.
“(Gull Lake) kids follow our strength and conditioning requirements,” Davis said. “Whenever we have an away game, the kids drive here, ride our buses to our events.
“If there are disciplinary issues, they are a Parchment student-athlete, they function as Parchment students. Luckily nothing (bad) has happened.”
Bagley said the combined team has resulted in friendships that will last beyond this season.
“I got to meet a lot of new people, made a bunch of new friendships, which I’m really thankful for,” he said.
Hutchinson said he and his teammates have adjusted well.
“The first week it was weird seeing everyone wearing a different color (than he wore at Gull Lake), running out to a different field and having it be our home field. But now I’ve embraced it. Now I’m a Parchment Panther … for football,” he added, laughing.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Parchment quarterback Jordan Bagley (2) hands off during a game this season, and at right, Lucas Hutchinson (10) carries the ball downfield. (Middle) Clockwise from top left: Parchment athletic director Brennan Davis, varsity football coach Todd Nunn, senior Lucas Hutchinson and junior Jordan Bagley. (Below) Hutchinson wears the maroon and white of the Panthers. (Action photos by Kelci Henton. Headshots by Pam Shebest.)