D-Coach Stratton, QB Son Leaving Family Mark on Whitehall's Undefeated Run
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
November 2, 2022
Keith Stratton may be an assistant coach, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he has the best vantage point of his son Kyle, Whitehall’s standout junior quarterback.
“I actually miss most of his plays,” explained Keith Stratton, who is in his 10th year as the Vikings’ defensive coordinator.
“I usually have my back to the field, talking to my (defensive) guys. I know he did something good from the roar of the crowd or the PA announcer.”
Kyle Stratton – whose trademark, flowing blonde locks seem to atone for his dad’s bald look – has done plenty of good this fall, leading his team to a West Michigan Conference Lakes title, a No. 2 ranking in Division 4 and a 10-0 record. The Vikings’ closest game since Labor Day was a 42-12 win over Big Rapids in last week’s playoff opener.
Whitehall will face a stiffer challenge in Friday’s Division 4 District title game against Fruitport (8-2), winner of six in a row and tri-champions of the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue.
“It’s been a great season, but we still have a lot of unfinished business,” said Kyle, 17, who also plays basketball and baseball. “We’re motivated to bring new things to Whitehall which we haven’t had before.”
Whitehall’s longest postseason runs came in 2003 and 2014, both ending in Regional Finals. The goal this year is to sail into uncharted waters – i.e., the Semifinals and then the Finals at Ford Field, for the first time in school history.
Stratton (5-foot-8, 170 pounds) gives the Vikings a great shot with his ability to run and pass out of the veer offense. He has been a great runner since earning the starting QB job as a sophomore, and is the team’s leading rusher with 99 carries for 802 yards and 14 TDs. But his emergence as a highly-accurate passer has elevated Whitehall’s offense to a new level, as he’s completed 72-of-112 passes (64 percent) for 1,362 yards, with 24 TDs and six interceptions.
Stratton uses all of his weapons through the air, including wideouts Trannon Aylor and Camden Thompson and slotbacks Nate Bolley, Malcolm Earvin and Ca’Mar Ready.
“Kyle has worked so hard and essentially doubled his statistics from a year ago,” said 10th-year Whitehall coach Tony Sigmon, a former standout linebacker at DeWitt and Alma College. “He always has the ability to take off and run, but he now has the patience to scramble and still be looking downfield for his receivers.”
Whitehall’s offense, directed by Kyle Stratton and averaging 51 points per game, has received plenty of accolades this fall. But the Vikings’ stingy defense, under the tutelage of Keith Stratton, might be the key to a postseason run.
Keith Stratton, known for his backwards baseball cap and hands-on-his-knees stance before each play, directs an ultra-aggressive unit which has allowed a total of 40 points over the past two months.
“I don’t wear a headset; it clouds my brain,” Keith said with a laugh.
His blue-collar mentality is instilled in his defense, which is led by senior inside linebackers Graycen Shepherd and Jackson Cook.
“People ask me what it’s like to coach my son, but really, I look at all of these kids like my sons,” said Stratton, who is married to Jodi, and the couple has two older sons, Caleb and Andrew. “They are all thinkers. They come up to me and ask questions. They have exceeded my expectations.”
Stratton, a 1990 graduate of Muskegon Catholic Central, walked-on to the football team at Grand Valley State and was one of eight walk-ons out of 50 to earn a spot on the roster, playing backup fullback and on the scout team.
He majored in criminal justice and went on to work for the City of Muskegon Police Department for 25 years, retiring last year. Early in his career as a cop, he coached eight years of junior varsity football at Muskegon Catholic, then started coaching at Whitehall in 2010. When Sigmon took the head coaching job in 2013, one of the first things he did was name Stratton his defensive coordinator.
“We had been coaching defense together (under previous coach Cliff Sandee), and when we would compare notes before practice, it was like looking in a mirror,” said Sigmon, who is also aided by offensive coordinator CJ VanWieren. “So I was very comfortable putting Keith in charge of the defense. We’ve been at it for 10 years now, and he’s done a great job of growing and progressing as a coach.”
Stratton’s defense will be put to the test against a Fruitport offense which features a big offensive line and the senior twin duo of running back Paschal Jolman and quarterback Collin Jolman.
Paschal already has eclipsed 2,000 rushing yards through 10 games, with 146 carries for 2,028 yards (13.8 per carry) and 25 TDs. Collin has completed 65-of-111 passes for 1,284 yards and 14 TDS, while also scrambling 96 times for 825 yards and 17 TDs.
“Fruitport is balanced and tricky and fast and big,” said Keith Stratton, who grew up in Fruitport. “They break a ton of big plays. We need to limit those big plays and make them work for everything.”
Fruitport turned some heads and gained major respect back on Oct. 7, when it upset then-undefeated and Division 6 top-ranked Grand Rapids West Catholic, 28-20. Since that thrilling signature win, the Trojans have been riding high, scoring an average of 56 points over the past three weeks.
The only time Keith Stratton ever puts on a headset is when his son is on the field directing the Vikings’ offense. While he said it would be nice to watch his son live, his time is better used talking to the other coaches in the booth to make defensive adjustments.
Kyle, meanwhile, said he is motivated by his dad and wants to follow in his footsteps as a college football player and then taking up a career in law enforcement.
“I respect him a lot,” said Kyle. “He’s told me a lot of stories about his time as a cop – going out at 2 a.m. and risking his life. That motivates me more than he even knows.
“If he can do that, I can go out there every Friday night and give every ounce of what I have for my town, and my team, and my friends.”
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) Whitehall quarterback Kyle Stratton embraces his father Keith after a game this season. (Middle) Keith Stratton, left, and Kyle man the sidelines during Kyle’s younger years supporting the program. (Photos courtesy of Jodi Stratton.)
1975 Ishpeming Title Made National News, Set Standard for Success to Come
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
November 22, 2024
ISHPEMING — Before the 1975 season started, Ishpeming football players talked about the possibility of playing Hudson for a Class C championship.
That was no easy task with just four teams in each Class making the playoffs during the first year the MHSAA sponsored a football tournament.
“We just said to ourselves, ‘Wouldn’t it be something if we played them in the state championship game?’” said Mark Marana, Ishpeming’s all-state quarterback.
When that dream came true, the Hematites felt confident they could defeat Hudson, Marana said, no matter how improbable it appeared.
Hudson entered the 1975 Class C championship game on a 72-game winning streak. The Tigers had been featured in Sports Illustrated, and they were highlighted on TV before a Sunday of NFL games. Everyone knew about Hudson.
When Ishpeming beat the Tigers, the New York Times published a wire story about it.
The Hematites stunned everyone but themselves with that 38-22 victory to become the first Class C champions in Michigan.
“It was one of the greatest things I’ve been a part of in my lifetime,” Marana said.
He said they’re still celebrating the title, and he’s 67 years old.
“It was really a highlight in our community, naturally,” Marana said. “When you’re a Yooper, I think we had the whole U.P. going for us to win the game and the state championship. It was great; we were an underdog going in. They were a good team, but we were also good ourselves.”
The Hematites played bigger schools throughout most of their schedule, including undefeated Class A Marquette, which likely helped them clinch one of the four playoff spots.
“We had some talent,” Marana said. “We had a great tailback in Mike Dellangelo (5-foot-6, 160 pounds). We were doing some things offensively that people weren’t doing at the time. We were running the option game out of the I formation. We had multiple formations, which a lot of teams didn’t do at that time.”
Ishpeming jumped Hudson early. Bill Andriacchi blocked a punt to set up the first score of the game, and Ishpeming led 24-8 after the first quarter.
Hematites’ coach Mike Mileski emphasized the importance of that play to the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
“We had three guys scout Hudson in their Semifinal, and one of the things we thought we could do was block their punts,” he said. “We had four different rushes planned, and we just called the right one in that case. It was our game after that.”
“There was pressure on those guys,” Marana said. “That was one thing that was real critical is that we jumped out to a great start.”
Dellangelo rushed for 158 yards on 21 carries and scored two touchdowns in the championship game played at Central Michigan University.
He scored his first touchdown on a 60-yard run; with Marana’s 2-point run, it gave Ishpeming the 24-8 lead going into the second quarter. Dellangelo’s other TD, a 10-yard rush in the third quarter, gave the Hematites a 36-16 advantage.
“Mike Dellangelo was a great, great tailback,” Marana said. “He had great speed, he was an extremely tough kid and he could pick them up and lay them down.”
Marana said the Hematites were well-coached by Mileski. He said he was lucky enough to get the all-state recognition from the Detroit Free Press, but he said he couldn’t have done it without his teammates.
“It happened at the right time, first year of the playoffs. It worked out you’re playing a team that’s got 72 straight wins,” he said. “I’m going to tell you, they were extremely well-coached and they were a very good football team, also.”
Marana said Ishpeming was a close group that grew up together.
“Great coach, great team, great teammates, guys that were dedicated,” Marana said. “We were very close. Actually, when you have a good team, most of the time you’re pretty close to one another.”
They continue to stay in touch. When Marana was inducted into the U.P. Sports Hall of Fame this spring, 18 of his teammates were at the ceremony. There were only 25-26 players on the team.
“We’re very tight, very tight to this day,” he said.
It was the first of seven championship game appearances for Ishpeming, which has won five Finals titles.
It all started with the 1975 team.
PHOTO: Ishpeming's Mark Marana works to break away from a tackler during the 1975 Class C Final. (MHSAA file photo).