Dominant Defense Sparks King Repeat
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
November 25, 2016
DETROIT – As much as it hurts Detroit Martin Luther King to lose to Detroit Cass Tech, falling twice to its rival this fall helped the Crusaders win the school’s third MHSAA football championship and second consecutive Friday.
King’s defense was outstanding, as the Crusaders held Walled Lake Western (12-2) to 124 yards in defeating the Warriors 18-0 in the Division 2 Final at Ford Field.
King (12-2) lost to Cass Tech, 31-18, during the regular season and then again in the Detroit Public School League title game at Ford Field, 41-20. King trailed 17-0 at halftime in the first game and 21-0 in the second meeting, and never seriously threatened Cass Tech in either.
First-year head coach Tyrone Spencer was the defensive coordinator before taking over for Dale Harvel, who died on July 22 of a heart attack. Harvel was the defensive coordinator in 2007 under coach Jim Reynolds when King won its first MHSAA title against Midland, 47-21.
“The (players) overcame a lot,” Spencer said. “They overcame adversity. But it’s also how you handle success. That’s why I thought those two losses helped. And I said then that I thought we would peak at the end.
“We think about (Harvel) all of the time. We thought about him yesterday, and we thought about him today. It meant a lot for us to win this. I know he’d be proud.”
King’s dominance on defense not only stuffed Western and an offense that averaged 42.5 points over the first four playoff games, but the unit had four interceptions, two of which went for touchdowns.
King led 6-0 at halftime, then gained just one yard in the third quarter and increased its lead to 12-0.
That’s what an opportunistic defense can provide.
Western began the second half well when quarterback Johnny Tracy completed a 21-yard pass to Justin Thomas to midfield. Jalen Bell then sacked Tracy for a 9-yard loss, and then Tracy attempted a sideline pass that was tipped just beyond the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Jesse Scarber at the King 44. Scarber, a first-year starter, raced down the left sideline to complete a 56-yard scoring play, and King led 12-0 with 10:37 left in the third quarter.
“King was very physical up front,” Tracy said. “They put on some pressure, and they were coming hard.”
For Scarber, it was his second interception of the game and fifth of the season – but this one was special.
“Once I saw it tipped, I just got it and ran for the end zone,” he said.
The defensive line, led by sophomores Tyrece Woods and Bell, have been stubborn against the run all season. It’s the secondary that’s been prone to give up a big play here and there, and Spencer addressed that after the second Cass Tech loss and again this week.
“We put a lot of pressure on our defensive backs,” Spencer said. “We’ve been big on the run, and I told (the defensive backs) you’ve got to step up.”
Using two passers, Western completed 8 of 23 throws for 70 yards with three interceptions. The Warriors were sacked four times.
King was held to 156 yards, but the offense had its moments.
The game was scoreless late in the first half when King took over on the Western 26 after a short punt. It took the Crusaders five plays to score as quarterback Dequan Finn completed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Ambry Thomas with 12 seconds left before the break. Matt Alati blocked the kick conversion attempt, and King led 6-0 at halftime.
Jaylen Wilson led King with 57 yards rushing on nine carries and Finn, a sophomore in his first season as a starter, was 7 of 15 for 68 yards passing.
There was one play, with King nursing that 12-0 lead, when Finn made a play that sometimes can be overlooked. King faced a 2nd-and-6 from its 23 when Finn completed a 31-yard pass to Christian Chatman to get the Crusaders out of a hole. The play came with 6:33 left, and King was able to milk another two minutes off the clock.
“It was a double post,” Finn said. “I saw the corner playing out and we talked about it on the sideline before the play. We all noticed it.
“It’s all about the team. My line did a great job of blocking.”
Jay-Veyon Morton completed the scoring when he returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown with 2:53 left.
“King played great defense throughout the playoffs,” Western coach Mike Zdebski said. King’s defense allowed 35 points in the five playoff games. “They’re big up front. Cass must be a really good team.”
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit King’s Jay-Veyon Morton (22) snags one of his two interceptions as Walled Lake Western’s Cody White works to bring him down. (Middle) King’s Ambry Thomas stretches toward the goal line while two Western defenders, including Jack Dodge (11), attempt to slow him.
Orchard View Buy-In Reaps Big Turnaround
October 30, 2019
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
It was far from love at first sight.
When returning Muskegon Orchard View standouts like senior Dayton Rose and junior Owen Swanson first met their new varsity football coach Fred Rademacher back in January, they weren’t so sure what to expect moving forward.
“I was very skeptical,” said Rose, who at 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds was asked to move from tight end back inside to guard in Rademacher’s wing-T offense. “I caught a lot of passes last year, and I really didn’t want to go back to the wing-T.
“Then I told him that I was a second-team all-state punter. He told me: ‘That’s nice, but I don’t punt.’ At that point, I was really wondering about this dude.”
Fast forward to present day, and there’s overflowing mutual admiration between team and coach at this eastern Muskegon County school district, which had emerged as a mid-sized state powerhouse for a solid decade from 1995 to 2005 before falling off the map.
The Cardinals are not only back in the MHSAA Playoffs after a 10-year hiatus, but they returned in style improving from 2-7 last fall to a perfect 9-0 this regular season. OV is ranked No. 2 in Division 4 heading into Friday night’s home showdown against No. 7 Sparta (8-1).
“We have a great senior class,” said Rademacher, whose most recent head coaching job was at Hastings, where he was 44-43 over nine years. “There are 14 seniors that are great football players, and they like to work hard. You add in a coaching staff that has bought in and an administration that is backing us, and it’s a formula for success.”
Orchard View opened the season with a hard-fought home win over Spring Lake, then went on the road for three straight weeks – coming home a perfect 4-0 after wins over Kent City, perennial power Muskegon Catholic Central and Belding.
The Cardinals did it on the field by ditching the spread offense and going back to the wing-T, which they ran to so much success under John Shillito (making the MHSAA Finals in 1995 and 1999) and Matt McDonald (winning the school’s lone championship, in Division 4 in 2004).
Rose, a dominating pulling guard, is one of six seniors among the starting front seven on offense – with the only underclassmen junior guard Jayshawn Sandin-Davis. The other starters up front are center Jordan Tuttle, tackles Dominic Baushke and Xavier Ruiz and ends AJ Herrera and Hayden Stanfield.
The ground game is keyed by the 1-2 punch of shifty junior fullback Brendan Hyatt and bruising senior halfback Edmari Mitchell, along with regular subs in senior Alex Andrews and sophomore Darius Williams.
“I like my backs to be unselfish,” said Rademacher, 51, who was an assistant at East Kentwood for four years under Shillito before taking the Hastings job. “They have adopted my viewpoint that it doesn’t really matter who scores the touchdown as long as we score a touchdown.”
Rademacher is a Flint native whose father, Fred, was the first varsity football coach at Flint Powers Catholic. His varsity assistants include OV principal Dan Bolhuis and defensive coordinator Brian Andrews, along with Morgan Wansten (running backs and defensive line), Eric Prow (offensive and defensive lines) and Pete Vellenga (defensive backs and offensive line).
The trigger man for the Cardinals is Swanson, who has done an admirable job distributing the ball and carrying out all of the fakes that are an integral part of the wing-T. He has been deadly on keeper runs, and his strong arm adds another dimension to the attack – which may be required to win a loaded District that also includes Grand Rapids Catholic Central, which has won two Division 4 titles over the past three years.
“I love to throw the ball, like any quarterback, so I wasn’t real happy at first about the new offense,” said Swanson, who plays four sports – football, basketball, bowling and baseball. “But going 9-0 makes up for everything.”
The Cardinals capped their turnaround tale with a 32-20 home victory last week over North Muskegon. OV raced out to a 24-0 lead in that game, before NM rallied back behind the arm of senior quarterback John Hayhurst.
Rose, the leader of the Cardinals’ defense at middle linebacker, knows that unit is going to have to play much better pass defense against Sparta, which is led by four-year starting quarterback Jakel Davis.
The secondary of Hyatt and Andrews at safety and Brendan Nelson and Williams at cornerback will be put to the test, both in coverage and in knowing when to come up and fill on keeper runs.
True to his coach’s word, Rose has punted just three times the entire season, as Rademacher has chosen to go for it on fourth down from all over the field.
Rose said he and his teammates have come to understand that there is a method to their new coach’s madness, and that belief has produced a new-found confidence in the OV program. Rademacher got a head start on preparation this week, skipping the team’s playoff selection show watch party Sunday to map out this week’s practice plan.
“He’s a little weird, and it takes awhile to get to know him,” concedes Rose, who hopes to continue playing football at the Division II or Division III college level next year. “I mean, we have no music at our practices and he doesn’t get any of our jokes. He is the definition of an old man. But hey, we’re winning.”
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 guard Dayton Rose pulls down the line as Alex Andrews gets a handoff from quarterback Owen Swanson during Orchard View’s 42-35 win at Belding on Sept. 20. (Middle) First-year coach Fred Rademacher (gray hat) talks to his team during that Cardinals' win. (Below) Orchard View is back to playing wing-T football as the backfield, from left, of Alex Andrews, Brendan Hyatt and Edmari Mitchell get their proper spacing before a play during a 32-20 win over visiting North Muskegon on Oct. 25. (Photos by Katie Ream.)