Drive for Detroit: Playoff R2 Preview
November 3, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's predictable perhaps – and yet still intriguing – how the MHSAA Football Playoffs just a week into the five-week run.
Of 38 teams selected for at-large bids to the 256-team 11-player field, only seven remain.
Of 36 undefeated teams at the end of the regular season, including six in 8-player, 34 are still alive.
At least for now. Two matchups of undefeated opponents are among games highlighted in this week's "Drive for Detroit" preview – powered by MI Student Aid. See those below, and remember to tune in to MHSAA.com for all of this weekend's matchups, scores and next week's matchups as they're determined. All games below are Friday unless noted.
Division 1
Clarkston (8-2) at Davison (10-0)
It’s been four years since these M-15 powers faced off. Clarkston has enjoyed the success since that last matchup, winning Division 1 back-to-back in 2013 and 2014, and now stands in the way of Davison extending its first 10-win season since 2006. Junior Tariq Reid has run for 2,003 yards and 36 touchdowns this fall, and no doubt will be called upon heavily as the Cardinals go for their first District title since 2008.
Others that caught my eye: Rockford (7-3) at Grandville (9-1), Detroit Cass Tech (10-0) at Dearborn (9-1), Macomb Dakota (7-3) at Utica Eisenhower (10-0).
Division 2
Traverse City Central (9-1) at Lowell (10-0)
This could be a history-making evening for Traverse City Central, which is looking to advance to the Regional round for the first time since old Traverse City High did so in 1991. The Trojans vanquished for good rival Traverse City West by a point last week but now face another team that has survived close games as well; reigning Division 2 champion Lowell pulled off a couple of impressive comebacks this fall on the way to a fourth straight season with at least 10 wins.
Others that caught my eye: Birmingham Brother Rice (7-3) at Birmingham Groves (9-1), Grosse Pointe North (8-2) at Grosse Pointe South (7-3), Oak Park (7-3) at Detroit Martin Luther King (8-2) on Saturday.
Division 3
East Grand Rapids (8-2) at Muskegon (9-1)
The west side of the state has earned its football reputation from high-powered matchups like this one could be; these are two of the storied programs in state history, although both also are hungry to add to their legacies. East Grand Rapids is seeking its first MHSAA championship since 2010 and Muskegon is playing to contend for its first since 2008. The Big Reds won their recent meetings in 2014 and 2015, and have yet to be challenged much aside from a Week 2 loss to Lincolnshire, Ill. East Grand Rapids has won seven straight since opening 1-2 with losses to Grand Rapids Catholic Central and later Lowell.
Others that caught my eye: Romulus (9-1) at Allen Park (10-0), Grand Rapids Christian (9-1) at Byron Center (9-1), Coldwater (8-2) at Chelsea (10-0).
Division 4
Marysville (10-0) at Detroit Country Day (10-0), Saturday
Country Day is surging as it seeks its first MHSAA title since 1999; the Yellowjackets have played arguably their three toughest opponents of the season the last three weeks, and handed Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood a decisive 35-7 defeat to open the playoffs. But a defense giving up only eight points per game will face its toughest challenge from a Marysville offense led by 1,000-yard rushers Danta Chrcek (1,595) and Phillip Griffor (1,073). The Vikings are playing for their first 11-win season since 1992.
Others that caught my eye: Hudsonville Unity Christian (8-2) at Benton Harbor (10-0), Lansing Sexton (7-3) at Lake Odessa Lakewood (9-1), Detroit Mumford (8-2) at River Rouge (9-1).
Division 5
Grand Rapids West Catholic (8-2) at Portland (10-0)
It’s hard to not see this as one of the key games in the entire Division 5 bracket. Reigning champion West Catholic opened with a big road win 42-20 last week over Lansing Catholic and now gets the Cougars’ main league rival in Portland, which beat Lansing Catholic by only a point way back in Week 4. The deciding matchup tonight could be the Raiders’ powerful run game and its ability to hold onto the ball (and keep the Falcons' offense off the field) against a West Catholic defense that has given up more than seven points only once since Week 3. (Watch this game tonight on the PrepZone on FoxSportsDetroit.com.)
Others that caught my eye: Remus Chippewa Hills (9-1) at Reed City (10-0), Frankenmuth (9-1) at Freeland (10-0), Muskegon Oakridge (9-1) at Ithaca (10-0) on Saturday.
Division 6
Jackson Lumen Christi (8-2) at Schoolcraft (10-0), Saturday
This could show Schoolcraft’s stature as a contender for its first MHSAA championship since 2001. The Eagles have rumbled to nearly 47 points per game and beat rival Constantine twice in the last three weeks, but can show their stuff on a grander level against one of the state’s best-known powerhouse programs. Lumen Christi hasn’t lost since Week 3 and after opening 1-2 with defeats to West Catholic and Battle Creek Harper Creek. A win this week could be a key confidence boost for the Titans too as they pursue a first Finals trip since 2009.
Others that caught my eye: Maple City Glen Lake (8-2) at Roscommon (9-1), Calumet (9-1) at Negaunee (10-0), Napoleon (8-2) at Grass Lake (9-1).
Division 7
Saugatuck (10-0) at Pewamo-Westphalia (10-0), Saturday
A matchup of offensive stars Jared Smith and Blake Dunn make this one of the state’s most intriguing matchups in any division, regardless of the fact it’s also a rematch of last season’s District Final. Smith is up to 2,108 yards rushing this season on just 166 carries – for a 12.7 yards per carry average – and will go down as one of the top running backs in state history after setting an MHSAA record for single-season yardage as a junior with more than 3,000 as the Pirates finished Division 7 runners-up. Dunn has run for only 1,916 yards this season – 16.1 per carry – and thrown for 729 more.
Others that caught my eye: Detroit Loyola (8-2) at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett (10-0), Flint Hamady (8-2) at New Lothrop (9-1), Unionville-Sebewaing (9-1) at Ubly (10-0).
Division 8
Mendon (8-2) at Climax-Scotts (10-0)
Climax-Scotts finally broke a four-year playoff losing streak to Mendon last season with an 8-6 first-round win, and should be confident heading into a possible repeat, this time for a District title. The Panthers haven’t been challenged much, aside from a 20-point win over Pittsford in Week 6. Mendon has had to do a little more work under first-year coach and alum Robert Kretschman, but is riding a six-game winning streak and three-win improvement from a year ago. (Watch this game tonight on the PrepZone on FoxSportsDetroit.com.)
Others that caught my eye: Saginaw Nouvel (7-3) at Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (8-2), Newberry (8-2) at St. Ignace (9-1), Lincoln Alcona (9-1) at Frankfort (10-0).
8-Player
Crystal Falls Forest Park (9-1) at Powers North Central (10-0)
Forest Park in Week 2 gave North Central its closest game in two seasons of 8-player football, which means this rematch could go a couple different ways. The Jets, who won that night 60-42 and have scored 56 or more points in every game, may need quarterback Jason Whitens to add significantly to his 36 touchdown passes on only 91 completions this fall if the offenses come out firing again. Or Forest Park and senior running back Dan Nocerini (2,181 yards/39 TDs rushing) could work to keep Whitens off the field and the score a little lower this second time around.
Other Regional Finals: Pickford (9-1) at Engadine (10-0), New Haven Merritt (10-0) at Deckerville (9-0), Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (10-0) at Portland St. Patrick (10-0) on Saturday.
Second Half’s weekly “Drive for Detroit” previews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Lowell downed Greenville in a Division 2 playoff opener last week. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Haslett Saving Big Hits for Game Time
August 16, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
HASLETT – The sound of cleats on pavement. He and his teammates, hand in hand, walking toward the field together minutes before kickoff. Manowar’s “Heart of Steel” ringing in their ears from a few minutes before.
Justin Kuchnicki gave himself goose bumps Monday describing Haslett’s weekly pregame ritual, which the senior lineman will take part in again beginning Aug. 26 when the Vikings open this season against Remus Chippewa Hills.
They’ll certainly be revved up – and especially to lay some big hits after saving them up during three weeks of non-collision practices.
Haslett has one of the most successful football programs in the Lansing area, with two trips to MHSAA championship games and 14 playoff appearances total over the last 18 seasons. The Vikings finished 6-4 a year ago against a schedule featuring four eventual playoff teams.
The program also might be the first in all of Michigan high school football to fully eliminate full-speed hitting at practice, something Haslett has moved toward over the last few seasons before longtime coach Charlie Otlewski decided to knock it out of his practice plans completely this fall in large part to keep his players healthier for when it matters most.
“It gives you the edge when it gets to game day. You practice all week and you’re not really hitting or doing anything like that, and you get to game day … and everyone’s ready to just go out there and fly around and make plays,” Kuchnicki said. “You’re not really worried about kinks and stuff in your body that you’d have from practices, so you just go out there and lay it on the line.”
Friday was the first day Michigan high school players were allowed to practice in full pads. Storms drenched mid-Michigan that afternoon, so Haslett’s first day in full gear was Monday. And from a distance, it sounded like any other full-contact practice with the normal hoots and hollers and smacking of pads.
But on closer look, it was anything but. Lineman worked against blocking dummies on a sled or teammates holding hand pads. When the offense came together to run plays, linemen blocked against overturned plastic trash barrels. On the opposite end of the field, subvarsity players worked on defensive pursuit angles but again without hitting. Under a set of uprights laid an old gymnastics mat used to soften the fall during tackling drills, which players again did against standup dummies instead of their teammates.
Reducing collisions – that is, live, game-speed, player-vs.-player hitting – remains the focus of most conversations on health and safety in football. Much of the discussion is centered on reducing concussions, and MHSAA rules changes that took effect beginning with the 2014 season limit teams to one practice per day during the preseason (when teams frequently practice twice) where collisions can take place. During the regular season, teams can have collisions during practice only two days per week.
Otlewski – who formerly coached St. Ignace from 1990-93 before taking over at Haslett in 1994 – said his practices used to follow what could be considered a traditional after-school plan: individual position drills for an hour or more followed by 11-on-11 full contact team practice for 30-40 minutes, twice a week.
But a handful of reasons, chiefly the desire to avoid injuries, started his program on a different path five years ago.
“Nobody wants injuries, but you surely don’t want them in practice. Then the concussion thing started to happen. (But) we didn’t do it because of concussions; we did it because of general overall injuries,” Otlewski said.
“If we lose a guy in Thursday’s scrimmage, or next Thursday in a game, OK, that’s football. But what we don’t want to do is lose someone in practice, because that seems unnecessary.”
The initial changes Haslett began to make to practices that fall of 2011 became drastic two years later, when he and his staff went to a different practice model completely. The Vikings now break every practice into 10-minute sessions alternating between team time and position drills, so position coaches can work with players individually before and after seeing how they perform when all 11 are running plays together.
This new breakdown brought the amount of player-on-player contact at practice down significantly as much more time was dedicated to learning proper footwork, blocking and tackling techniques and other fundamentals. Players on Monday worked at 50-percent speed, at most, against teammates either in front of them and also not moving at game speed, or against others holding pads and dummies.
The last two seasons, the only full-contact session during practices came during preparation for goalline situations; Otlewski and his staff decided to eliminate those this fall as well.
“We’re OK with a certain level (of contact). But we never want to go on the ground; we always want to stay up,” he said. “We want to go fast enough so where we have to use the perfect technique to get there footwork-wise. But we’re trying to eliminate the physicality part.”
To be clear, eliminating all collisions/contact is not required by the MHSAA. And there are probably more than a few in the coaching fraternity who would think Haslett is making a massive mistake.
But the Vikings’ no-contact strategy follows a way of thinking made popular in part by coaches like Dartmouth College’s Buddy Teevens, whose team hasn’t tackled during practices in six years. The Ivy League as a whole adopted a policy of no tackling in practice for the regular season beginning this fall.
Otlewski said teaching to tackle without contact allows his players to practice the same technique-building drills during four-player offseason workouts, his team’s no-pads summer camp and then while wearing pads during the season. His defense doesn’t face a live offense during the week, but he doesn’t think his players lose out because they can gain just as much from watching film and working on pursuit angles and recognizing formations. Same goes for his offense, which can still practice skill work and the passing game full-speed while lineman go half-speed working on footwork and blocking technique.
And he sees 37 players on his varsity roster, with that total remaining consistent over the last many seasons – while three opponents on this year’s schedule don’t have junior varsities and a fourth won’t field a freshman team.
His players three seasons ago didn’t really like the idea of not hitting in practice at first. But they’ve since bought in. He hasn’t heard a ton from parents either way; but he taught a class on football for local moms over the winter, and they seemed to like the idea as well.
“On one hand, I’m a little apprehensive,” Otlewski said. “OK, we haven’t gone full go. Is there a difference all of a sudden when it’s live Thursday against (Grand Rapids) Christian? Are we going to be up to speed?
“I think I still worry about that a little bit. But once we get into it, it’s fine.”
Kuchnicki is just as confident. Contact doesn’t bother this guy. He’s 6-foot-6 and in the neighborhood of 320 pounds. Sure, he’d love to have one contact practice this year so he and his teammates can back up some of the trash-talking they do to each other on the field.
But he’s fine with saving his biggest hits for opponents – and especially those who might think Haslett won’t be prepared for a physical game.
“They’d probably think we’re soft,” Kuchnicki said. “But when it comes game day, they change their minds instantly. I’ll tell you that.”
Geoff Kimmerly joined the MHSAA as its Media & Content Coordinator in Sept. 2011 after 12 years as Prep Sports Editor of the Lansing State Journal. He has served as Editor of Second Half since its creation in Jan. 2012. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Barry, Eaton, Ingham, Livingston, Ionia, Clinton, Shiawassee, Gratiot, Isabella, Clare and Montcalm counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Haslett lineman work on blocking during Monday's practice. (Middle) Vikings coach Charlie Otlewski instructs his players on one of the team's blocking schemes. (Below) Backs work on the option with barrels serving as the defensive front.