DeLaSalle Hammers Home 1st Title
November 28, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – When his team fell to 3-3 to start October, Warren DeLaSalle football coach Paul Verska said he was the only one who believed the Pilots could still finish this fall at Ford Field.
And he realized again before last week’s Semifinal against Southfield that his “loosey-goosey goofball group” was more than prepared for championship game pressure as his four captains danced to M.C. Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” in the snow.
The final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter were not always kind to DeLaSalle this season; all three losses, over three straight weeks, came by seven or fewer points as their opponents took the lead during the final half-minute.
“That kinda strengthened us as a team. We said we’ve pretty much got to go out and get it and not leave it behind the last 30 seconds or a minute,” Pilots senior quarterback Joey Garbarino said. “Me and the captains, pretty much the whole team, pretty much everyone knew. We knew what we could do.”
Over the last five weeks, DeLaSalle showed everyone else – and finished by earning the school’s first MHSAA football championship with a 44-8 win over Muskegon Mona Shores that probably still surprised plenty despite the Pilots’ recent body of work.
DeLaSalle (10-3) gave up only 9.9 points per game during its closing eight-game winning streak and avenged one of those losses by eliminating reigning three-time champion Birmingham Brother Rice in the Regional Final.
Mona Shores (12-2) averaged 39.5 points per game entering Friday and had run for more than 3,000 yards. But the Sailors managed only 99 on the ground and 201 total and didn’t score until the final four minutes of the third quarter.
“I told our kids when we got here that it isn’t how many Ws you have, but who you play,” Verska said. “I said we have a tough schedule, and I know we’re physical. And I knew deep down in my heart we could be more physical than them. I knew they had some great athletes, but I thought if we pounded on them, pounded on them, pounded on them, they wouldn’t go four quarters with us toe to toe.”
The quarterback conversation this week focused on Mona Shores senior Tyree Jackson. The four-year starter carried the Sailors to their first playoff game last season and through most of this school-record postseason run, but watched the end of the team’s 25-24 Semifinal win over Farmington Hills Harrison from the sideline on crutches after sustaining an injury. A University of Buffalo recruit, Jackson threw 24 touchdown passes and ran for 14 scores this season.
Garbarino hasn’t had nearly that buzz although he’s been plenty solid in succeeding a pair of quarterbacks now playing in the Big 10 – University of Michigan’s Shane Morris and Rutgers University’s Giovanni Rescigno.
Garbarino’s numbers this season were solid – 11 touchdowns passing, 10 rushing and just under 1,700 yards combined – but he saved the spectacular for Friday rushing 18 times for 85 yards and two scores and completing all seven of his passes for 89 yards and another score.
“We call the plays in the huddle, and he tells them to man up and let’s go; we’re going to get the three, four, five, six yards, whatever it is,” Verska said. “If I wanted an H-back or a fullback or tight end, this would be my guy. If I wanted a linebacker, this would be my guy. But he sacrificed for the team and played quarterback, and it’s like another fullback running with the ball when he gets it.”
DeLaSalle’s primary back was excellent Friday as well. Sophomore Allen Stritzinger ran for 175 yards on 18 carries, including a 56-yard scoring burst just more than four minutes into the second quarter that helped the Pilots build a 20-0 lead.
Senior Jake Townsley – also a standout goalkeeper on the District finalist soccer team – set an MHSAA Finals record with three field goals, from 41, 23 and 29 yards. Senior Alex Spicuzzi caught only one pass – but it was for a score. Junior linebacker Eric Rogers and senior defensive back Cooper Gammon had nine and eight tackles, respectively, as Mona Shores didn’t get past the Pilots’ 44-yard line until that scoring drive midway through the third quarter.
Jackson wouldn't say how much his injury limited him in the Final, but he battled on despite not being at 100 percent. He did complete 17 of 27 passes for 102 yards but ran for just 14. Senior running back DeOntay Moffett ran for 85 yards, but the Sailors didn’t hold onto the ball for more than 2½ minutes during a possession until, again, that scoring drive when they trailed 30-0.
They also played without junior Hunter Broersma, a starter at receiver and defensive back who was ill and unable to suit up. Junior Tyler Trovinger, the back-up quarterback and a starting defensive back, did play despite also being injured last week and caught the lone scoring pass and made 10 tackles. Junior linebacker Dominique Shermeta had 12 tackles.
“The coaching staff got here four years ago, and we had 66 kids in the program (grades) 9-12,” said Mona Shores coach Matt Koziak, who previously coached multiple levels at Muskegon High. “We go 1-8 the first year, and the kids easily could have been, ‘This is the same old thing.’ But they saw something and were able to work for something.
“I’ve been part of three state championships at Muskegon in one way or another … and this has been my favorite season. I’ll never forget these guys, ever.”
DeLaSalle had made the Finals twice before, finishing runner-up in 2006 and 2008.
PHOTOS: (Top) DeLaSalle running back Allen Stritzinger pushes ahead for yards as Mona Shores’ Austin Wingett (8) and Kentrell Eason (20) pursue. (Middle) Sailors quarterback Tyree Jackson prepares to unload a pass Friday. (Click for action photos and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
STRITZING GOES THE DISTANCE - Allen Stritzing rushed for 175 yards for Warren DeLaSalle in the Division 2 Final, 56 of it coming on this second quarter TD run.
MONA SHORES TOUCHDOWN - Muskegon Mona Shores got on the scoreboard in the third quarter on this 12-yard pass from Tyree Jackson to Tyler Trovinger.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Older, Wiser MCC Ranks with Elite Again
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2020
Max Price is right – Muskegon Catholic Central football is back.
Not that the Crusaders ever went too far away. But after winning four consecutive Division 8 titles from 2013 to 2016, failing to make it out of Districts the past three seasons felt like a 100-year drought to Price and his teammates.
“I feel like this is the way we should be playing here at Muskegon Catholic,” said Price, the three-year starting senior quarterback who has his team at 5-0 and ranked No. 2 in the latest Associated Press Division 6 state poll.
“We were down, no doubt, but now we’re back up and ready for the playoffs.”
MCC has one more hurdle to clear to complete its first unbeaten regular season since 2016 when it hosts Holton at 4 p.m. Friday.
The Crusaders are doing it with defense, allowing a total of 18 points over five games. But even that low number is misleading, as the defense has only allowed one TD from scrimmage (a 79-yard run against Ludington), with the other points coming on an interception return and a kickoff return.
While the defense has been reminiscent of those MCC championship teams, one big change is that the Crusaders are now competing in Division 6 because of a cooperative agreement with nearby Muskegon Western Michigan Christian.
As a result, MCC appears on a collision course to host top-ranked Montague in a Division 6 District championship game next month – which would be a showdown between a pair of three-year starting quarterbacks in Price and Montague’s Drew Collins.
Ironically, MCC’s recent gridiron struggles can be traced back to its first-ever meeting with Montague during the 2017 regular-season finale. The Crusaders came into that game with a 27-game winning streak, but suffered a humbling 34-10 home loss. That game was followed by a lackluster 42-20 win over Decatur in the Pre-District, before a season-ending 26-15 loss at Mendon the following week.
The bad news continued that offseason, when three key sophomores transferred, leaving behind the youngest varsity team in MCC school history.
“We started 10 underclassmen and five freshmen in 2018,” said eighth-year MCC coach Steve Czerwon, whose team finished 3-6 that season. “There’s a lot of JV teams that don’t start five freshmen. I’m as proud of that team as any I’ve coached because of how they hung in there, and now we’re seeing the fruits of that this season.”
Price was thrust into the starting quarterback role as a sophomore and took a pounding behind a small and inexperienced offensive line. He played at less than full strength most of that season and missed the final three games when it was discovered that he had three fractured vertebrae in his spine.
“Looking back, I was scared back there and really didn’t understand the quarterback position,” said Price, who helped MCC flip its record to 6-3 last season. “I was new, and the game was so fast. I am very comfortable now, and that’s a huge thing.”
Price (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) came out this fall flinging the ball around in the Crusaders’ opening win over Ludington, completing 10-of-13 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
But for those worrying that the quintessential running football team has gone pass-happy, no worries. Since that game, MCC has settled into its running ways, with Price passing for just 235 yards and one touchdown over the past four games.
The Crusaders are back to pounding teams on the ground behind an offensive line that has grown bigger and more experienced under the direction of veteran line coaches Mike Ribecky, Joe Perri and Mike Hornak. Guard AJ Lock (6-1, 220) is still the lone senior starter on the interior line, with the other four being juniors – tackles Jaden Johnson (6-4, 235) and Alex Barnhill (6-0, 260), guard Jack Heminger (5-10, 210) and center Landon Patterson (6-0, 220).
The real secret of this year’s team is a stable of talented and interchangeable backs, led by senior Tommy Kartes and junior Joe Waller. The other backs getting significant touches are all underclassmen – juniors Nick Powell, Dane Rutz and Eliot Riegler.
“We were still in the first quarter last week against Orchard View, and seven different kids had touched the football,” said Czerwon. “I don’t think this team has any superstar on it. Quite frankly, we have a lot of kids of equal ability – we have a lot of good, solid players.”
The first to touch the ball each play is Price, who then distributes the ball around.
Price is thankful to be playing at all, after the COVID lockdown wiped out his junior baseball season this spring and a team that many believed was poised to make a run at an MHSAA Finals championship.
He is also thankful to be healthy. Price likely appreciates his health more than most his age because of the health issues of his father, Paul, who was paralyzed in 2015 after a fall at their home.
“I was in middle school when that happened, and I wondered if I should even play football with all the risks,” said Price. “But I know he wants me to follow my passion and be out there. He is a motivation for me, and I love seeing him on the sidelines at our games.”
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) Muskegon Catholic Central senior quarterback Max Price runs behind the block of junior tackle Jaden Johnson during the Crusaders' 30-6 season-opening victory over visiting Ludington on Sept. 18. (Middle) MCC senior slot receiver Tommy Kartes hauls in this reception from Price while an Orioles defender works to break it up. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)