Drive for Detroit: Regionals in Review
November 12, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Four of last season's MHSAA football champions still have opportunities to repeat when the games return to Ford Field in two weeks.
But Friday and Saturday's Regional Finals laid waste to some of the seemingly safest title predictions from only a few weeks ago.
Few weekends in recent playoff history have done as much damage to the top of The Associated Press' polls. Four top-ranked teams fell in Regional Finals – leaving Rockford, Muskegon, Portland and Muskegon Catholic among those instead celebrating trips to this Saturday's MHSAA Semis. Ithaca in Division 6 is the only No. 1 team from the final polls still alive.
And then there were the 8-player Semifinals – two classics that set up what looks like another this Friday at Greenville High School.
Read on for a few lines on all 34 games played in Michigan over the weekend. And click to see this weekend's schedule of 11-player Semifinals.
Division 1
Rockford 25, Clarkston 14
The Rams (10-2) advanced to their third Division 1 Semifinal in four seasons by handing Clarkston its first and only loss of the fall. Rockford has won at least 10 games in eight of the last nine seasons, and got this milestone victory after jumping out to a 13-0 lead. Clarkston finished its 10th-straight playoff season at 11-1. Click to read more from the Grand Rapids Press.
Also noted:
Detroit Catholic Central 28, Plymouth 7 – The Shamrocks (8-4) advanced to their fourth Semifinal in the last six seasons and have given up only 39 points during the playoffs. Plymouth finished 9-3.
Detroit Cass Tech 21, Saline 14 – The reigning champion Technicians (10-2) advanced to their third straight Semifinals, while ending Saline’s best season at 10-2.
Lake Orion 51, Macomb Dakota 35 – The Dragons (11-1) had three of their last night seasons end with playoff losses to Dakota (10-2), most recently in 2007.
Division 2
Muskegon 49, Midland 21
It’s fair to argue that no team has faced a tougher playoff road than the Big Reds (11-1), whose postseason opponents were a combined 24-6. Midland (11-1) was undefeated and considered a slight favorite to win Division 2. Click to read more from the Muskegon Chronicle.
Also noted:
Caledonia 42, Mattawan 28 – The Fighting Scots (9-3) have bounced back in a big way after two straight 4-5 finishes. Mattawan (10-2) finished with its single-season record for wins.
Birmingham Brother Rice 42, Walled Lake Western 12 – The reigning champion Warriors (10-2) are one win from another trip to Ford Field and have won all three playoff games by at least 21 points. Walled Lake Western finished 9-3.
Wyandotte Roosevelt 10, Oak Park 6 – Roosevelt (11-1) finally got back home, and enjoyed celebrating its first Semifinal berth since 2001. But Oak Park (9-3) also can celebrate its best finish.
Division 3
Grand Rapids Christian 31, Stevensville Lakeshore 7
The Eagles (11-1) moved into their first MHSAA Semifinal by handing Lakeshore (11-1) its first and only loss this season. Grand Rapids Christian gained 410 yards, with quarterback Alex VandeVusse throwing for only 254 and two touchdowns this week (he threw for four and ran for four the week before). Click to read more from the Grand Rapids Press.
Also noted:
DeWitt 29, St. Johns 27 – This was another memorable chapter to an intense Capital Area Activities Conference Red rivalry, with DeWitt (10-2) getting the sweep this fall but only after the Redwings (8-4) hung close until the very end.
Battle Creek Harper Creek 26, Tecumseh 24 – After starting this season 0-2, Harper Creek (10-2) has surged into its second straight Semifinal – although not without a good scare from Tecumseh (9-3).
Orchard Lake St. Mary 42, Detroit East English 24 – Reigning champion St. Mary (10-2) is one win from its fourth straight trip to Ford Field. East English, in its first season, finished 9-3.
Division 4
Saginaw Swan Valley 35, Croswell-Lexington 13
The Vikings (10-2) will be making their third Semifinals appearance in seven seasons. But this has been the most impressive run of the three. The Vikings opened by beating first-time playoffs qualifier Saginaw Valley Lutheran, followed by beating a solid Goodrich team by 30, and then this week handed Croswell-Lexington its first and only loss. The Pioneers (11-1) did finish this fall with their most wins for one season. Click to read more from the Saginaw News.
Also noted:
Comstock Park 62, West Branch Ogemaw Heights 27 – The Panthers (11-1) didn't see a letdown after beating Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the District Final; their 62 points against Ogemaw Heights (8-4) was a season high by more than two touchdowns.
Grand Rapids South Christian 38, Three Rivers 14 – South Christian (9-3) is back in the Semifinals for the first time since 2004 after winning five or fewer games each of the last three seasons. Three Rivers can celebrate an 8-4 finish after going just 1-8 in 2011.
Detroit Country Day 47, Grosse Ile 14 – Country Day (10-2) advanced to its ninth Semifinal by containing a Grosse Ile offense that had scored 70 points the week before. The Red Devils finished 10-2 to move to 20-5 over the last two seasons.
Division 5
Portland 45, Flint Powers Catholic 28
This might have been the upset of the 2012 playoffs so far – not because Portland hasn't had success, but because reigning champion Powers has dominated so thoroughly this fall. No team had gotten within 25 points of the Chargers (11-1) since September, but Portland (11-1) took an early lead and ran. The Raiders last made the Semifinals in 1975 – the first season of MHSAA playoffs – and had never won more than nine games in a season before this fall. Click for more from the Flint Journal.
Also noted:
Menominee 28, Clare 21 – New Menominee coach Joe Noha played for and served as an assistant to recently-retired Ken Hofer, and has taken their program back to the Semifinals for the ninth time. The Maroons moved to 11-1, while Clare finished a seventh-straight playoff season 9-3.
Grand Rapids West Catholic 21, Newaygo 7 – West Catholic (9-3) has returned to the Semifinals for the third straight season despite starting 1-3. Newaygo also can celebrate a comeback story, finishing 9-3 after going 4-23 over the last three seasons.
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 16, River Rouge 6 – In its fourth Regional appearance, Gabriel Richard (11-1) set a school record for wins while ending the best season ever for River Rouge (11-1).
Division 6
Constantine 49, Hillsdale 35
The Falcons (10-2) have to love the preparation they get playing in the Kalamazoo Valley Association. They've made the Semifinals four straight seasons after joining the league five years ago, and now are playing for their second-straight Finals berth. Hillsdale was off to its best run since 2006 and finished 11-1. Click for more from the Jackson Citizen Patriot.
Also noted:
Shelby 26, Negaunee 22 – Shelby has watched a number of its league mates make long playoff runs in the past, but the Tigers (10-2) are in their first Semifinal after ending the best run by the Miners (10-2) since 2004.
Ithaca 31, Montrose 0 – Make that 40 straight wins and counting for the Yellowjackets (12-0), who are known for offense but tallied their seventh shutout in stopping the Rams (10-2).
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central 28, Grass Lake 21 – A great turnaround by the Falcons (10-2) continued as the 2010 and 2009 MHSAA runners-up continued to rebound from last season’s 4-5 finish. Grass Lake finished 10-2 to up its two-year record to 21-3.
Division 7
Flint Beecher 19, Saginaw Nouvel 15
This followed right behind Portland over Powers in games that made the state take special notice this weekend, but this time the Flint team came out on top. The Buccaneers, under former Michigan State and NFL receiver Courtney Hawkins, advanced to their first MHSAA Semifinal by upending reigning champion Nouvel (9-3). Beecher (8-4) has made the playoffs six straight seasons, but had played in a Regional Final only once – in 1980. Click for more from the Saginaw News.
Also noted:
Ishpeming 28, Lake City 12 – The Hematites (11-1) made their fifth Semifinal and second in three seasons, and have allowed only 24 points in three playoff games. Lake City finished its best season at 10-2.
Pewamo-Westphalia 26, Decatur 21 – This group of Pirates (9-3) is much different than the one that made it to last season’s Final at Ford Field, but the results are coming up the same. Decatur finished 9-3, its best since 2008.
Detroit Loyola 32, Britton Deerfield 0 – The last two seasons have been the best two in the short history of Loyola (12-0), which will make its first Semifinal appearance after finishing 11-1 but falling in the Regional last season. Britton Deerfield finished 8-4.
Division 8
Muskegon Catholic Central 28, Mendon 6
Although the Crusaders (9-3) are considered a statewide power, this was their first Regional title since 2009. But they’re certainly the favorites now for their first MHSAA title since 2008. Mendon (11-1) had won 25 straight games including last season’s Final and had scored fewer than 27 points only one other time this fall – in a 15-12 win over reigning Division 7 runner-up P-W. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.
Also noted:
St. Ignace 26, Felch North Dickinson 20 – The Saints (12-0) are in the Semifinals for the sixth time and second straight, but had to outlast another previously-unbeaten team; North Dickinson finished 10-1.
Beal City 49, Johannesburg-Lewiston 16 – Beal City (12-0) is back in the Semifinals for the first time since its last championship season in 2009. Johannesburg-Lewiston’s last two seasons have been ended by the Aggies; this time the Cardinals finished 9-3.
Harbor Beach 17, Waterford Our Lady 10 – The Pirates are 11-1 for the second straight season, but this time are back in the Semifinals for the first time since 2007. Our Lady rebounded from last season’s 4-5 to finish 9-3.
8-Player (Semifinals)
Bellaire 20, Rapid River 16
Bellaire (9-3) finished only fourth in the Bridge Alliance Conference this fall, but took out league and 2011 MHSAA runner-up Rapid River to reach the second 8-player Final in MHSAA history. Bellaire opened this season 0-2 but also beat the Rockets (9-3) on Oct. 19. Click to read more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Deckerville 36, Portland St. Patrick 30 (2 OT)
The Eagles (11-1) withstood a 22-point comeback by St. Patrick that pushed this game to overtime, but got the game-winning stop in the second extra period. Both of these programs played 8-player this fall for the first time, and Deckerville earned its first MHSAA Final berth after also playing in a Semifinal in 2000. Portland St. Patrick, which did win an 11-player championship in 1992, finished this fall 11-1. Click to read more from the Port Huron Times Herald.
PHOTO: Rockford senior running back Sam Reinke (46) stretches for the goalline during the Rams' Division 1 Semifinal victory Saturday at Clarkston. (Click to see more, plus photos from Birmingham Brother Rice/Walled Lake Western at Terry McNamara Photography.)
Gaylord's Teams Pursue Return to Elite
September 23, 2015
By Dennis Chase
Special for Second Half
GAYLORD – Gaylord High School is in the midst of a football revival.
Gaylord St. Mary is hoping it can say the same in a few years.
Gaylord High is 4-0 and, among various media polls, ranked as high as No. 4 in Division 3. The senior-laden Blue Devils will be put to the test Friday, facing another unbeaten, Traverse City Central, on the road.
St. Mary, challenged by numbers, is 0-4. With just five seniors on the 25-player roster – there’s no junior varsity team – the Snowbirds are building for the future behind a "solid" sophomore class.
"We realize we're behind the eight ball in terms of numbers," St. Mary coach Kevin O'Connell said. "But we're very encouraged about what's coming up.
"We start six to seven sophomores on each side of the ball, plus a freshman. We're very young. We're a JV team playing on Friday night. We're OK with that because over the next two or three years we anticipate being very competitive."
Gaylord coach Will Cleaver can relate to that. Two years ago, in his first season back after a five-year hiatus, the Blue Devils started 0-8 before closing the campaign with a win over Alpena.
"That was a grind, a tough season," Cleaver said. "Our kids really had to learn a lot of things. We just weren't competitive."
But those underclassmen in 2013 stepped up, leading the Blue Devils to a 5-4 mark and near-playoff berth last season.
"The thing I was most proud about in 2014 was that we were competitive in every game," Cleaver said. "There were no blowouts, like in 2013. We were making progress."
The progress has continued. With the senior class leading the way, Gaylord football is returning to where it was when Cleaver first ran the program from 2000 to 2007. The Blue Devils went 55-24 during those eight years.
"It's exciting to be in the situation we're in now," Cleaver said. "We're pleased with how our kids are progressing and responding. We've got some pretty good players. That makes it easier."
One of those players is senior running back/safety Shane Foster, who rushed for 148 yards and four touchdowns in last week's 52-8 win over Ogemaw Heights. Foster was on the varsity as a sophomore in 2013 – a time when success was elusive. Gaylord slipped to 7-38 in the five years after Cleaver left following the 2007 season.
"It's all about mindset really and that (2013) team didn't have a good mindset,” Foster said.
That's changing now.
"Last year we went 5-4," Foster said. "Obviously, we want to do better than that and make the playoffs. We realize we have to come together and work as a team to make that happen."
Gaylord’s athletic director Christian Wilson has watched his school’s progression – and it puts into perspective what St. Mary is going through. Those sophomores who had to play in 2013 have continued to work hard, especially in the weight room, he said, and now are reaping the benefits.
"Sometimes you have those years when you've got a lot of young kids playing," Wilson said. "But it's difficult to win games, especially in the Big North Conference, when your key players are sophomores or even juniors. You need to have senior leadership. We've been blessed with that this year."
"So goes your seniors, so goes your season, as a general rule," Cleaver added.
Seniors dominate the line on both sides of the ball for the Blue Devils. Foster is the leading ground gainer. Another senior, Jacob Freeman, is a threat, too. He returned a kick 60 yards for a score, hauled in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Nick Rowley and completed a 34-yard pass to Rowley on a trick play in the win over Ogemaw.
Rowley, a sophomore, gives the Blue Devils balance. He completed 12 of 15 passes for 170 yards in a Week 3 win over Escanaba.
"Our kids have caught on as to what it takes to win ... what it takes to play at a high level," Cleaver said. "It all has to come together. We have great kids, and I have a staff that does a great job with those kids. It's been very rewarding."
Foster credits the staff for turning the team's fortunes around. It all starts with Cleaver, who left in 2007 to work as a defensive line/quality control coach under Butch Jones at Central Michigan University. He spent the next season coaching inside linebackers at Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas, before returning to Gaylord and helping out in the youth football program.
Cleaver, a financial adviser, said he didn't expect to return to the sidelines at the high school given the commitment it would take to rebuild the program. But his two sons, who were playing in the system, "begged" him to consider it. So a family meeting was called.
"I told them that if I'm going to do this, it's going to take a lot of work and you need to be on board," Cleaver said. "If everyone is not all in, it's not going to be worth it. Everybody voted and said 'Let's do it.'"
Gaylord started 4-0 last season, but a loss to Traverse City Central spiraled into a 1-4 finish.
"After that (loss to Central), it didn't go the way we planned," Foster said.
That's why Friday's showdown is critical for the Blue Devils.
"We're trying to make our statement here for the Big North Conference (title)," Foster said.
At St. Mary, there is no league title to play for this season. The goal is long range – boost numbers in the program. With Manistee Catholic Central switching to 8-player this fall, St. Mary is now the smallest Catholic school playing 11-player football in the northern Lower Peninsula. In fact, the Snowbirds, who co-op with Alba, are the sixth smallest program in the state with 133 high school students – 91 at St. Mary, 42 at Alba.
With three Ski Valley Conference members – Bellaire, Pellston and Onaway – playing 8-player, there was talk in the community about making that switch, too. But that's all it was – talk. Since then the school's made a commitment to 11-player by joining the Northern Michigan Football League, with play starting next season.
"We feel there's a good future here," new athletic director Jeff Hunter said. "We obviously have to work at increasing our numbers. The economy really hurt us for several years. It hurt everybody. This is a choice for people to send their kids here. We've seen our numbers go from the mid-60s (three years ago) to back into the 90s. I would like to see us with 150 kids in this high school in the next five years. We're working really hard."
Five of the 25 players on the roster are from Alba. Hunter said he's looking at other "co-op opportunities" as well in order to strengthen the program, although he did not want to elaborate at this time.
"Everybody wants us to be competitive, most everybody wants us to stay 11-man," he said. "I have some things in the works I'm pushing hard to try and get."
St. Mary has a proud tradition. The Snowbirds went 85-22 over a stretch from 1999 to 2009. They won 10 or more games five years in a row. Twice, in 1999 and 2002, St. Mary finished 13-1, falling in the MHSAA Division 8 Final, first to Mendon (7-6) and then to Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes (13-10).
Cleaver was the coach of the 1999 squad.
Hunter is certain St. Mary has the right coach in O'Connell to bring the Snowbirds back.
"Our current football staff is out of this world, entirely committed," he said. "We're not far from being competitive – three or four athletes. We're in most of these games. There's a lot to come, and Kevin is the guy to lead us."
St. Mary suffered two eight-point losses to start the season – 35-27 to Oscoda and 22-14 to Central Lake. O'Connell would like to have those games back.
"You can't turn the ball over five times one week and four the next and expect to win," he said.
The Snowbirds then ran into two of the area’s powerhouse teams, unbeaten and state-ranked St. Ignace and Johannesburg-Lewiston.
"We're taking our lumps right now, but we're definitely headed in the right direction," O'Connell insisted.
"We have a solid group of athletes in our sophomore class. They're physically big enough to play. And we have a nice eighth grade class coming up."
O'Connell is putting added emphasis in a strength and conditioning program for all high school athletes, regardless of sport.
"We're making great headway and our kids, boys and girls, are getting on board with it," he said. "We want to be able to jump higher, run faster and be more explosive. Last I knew, those (concepts) applied to every sport."
With such a young roster, O'Connell admits he and his staff are spending more time teaching fundamentals than in the past when the school had a JV team. They're also trying to develop the mental aspects of the game, such as working with players in analyzing situations in order to slow the speed of the action down so it's not overwhelming.
O'Connell feels for the younger players who are not ready for varsity, but are thrust into competing with older players. He said they miss out "on those formative years" at the JV level where they can grow, learn the fundamentals, gain confidence and get game repetitions while playing opponents the same age.
Hunter hopes this is just a blip.
"Our intent next year is to have a JV team," he said.
With several smaller schools, especially in the northern Lower Peninsula, turning to 8-player to keep programs alive, O'Connell is concerned about the future for those who elect to stay in the 11-player game. As more Division 8 schools make the switch, more Division 7 schools drop down to create equal numbers for the playoffs – widening the enrollment gaps within the division.
But St. Mary is moving forward, ready to tackle the challenge. Hunter, a pilot for Southwest Airlines, thinks the program is ready to take off.
"Kevin believes we can be successful," he said. "A quality football program is one of the cornerstones to a growing school. A lot of people don't like (to hear) that, but I think it's true. A great athletic program is a draw.
"I'm hoping next year you're writing a different article, and that article will say here's the way to success."
Dennis Chase worked 32 years as a sportswriter at the Traverse City Record-Eagle, including as sports editor from 2000-14. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Gaylord defenders stack up an Ogemaw Heights ball carrier during last week's win. (Middle top) Gaylord coach Will Cleaver addresses his team after a victory. (Middle below) St. Mary junior Josh Nowicki looks upfield for an opening. (Below) Older brother Adam Nowicki, a senior, turns the corner during the Snowbirds' game against Central Lake. (Gaylord photos by Rob DeForge/RD Sports photo; St. Mary photos by Bill Serveny/Gaylord Herald Times.)