Drive for Detroit: Week 2 in Review
September 11, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The definition for "rivalry game" has grown pretty broad over the history of high school athletics.
Some are considered rivalry games based purely on the fact they've been played for years. Others have been around for only a few, but the competition has become so fierce that it's the first date circled when schedules are printed each fall. Both include the intensity, anticipation and excitement that generally bring a few more casual fans to the bleachers on Friday night.
Some of Michigan's best rivalry games are among the most notable results from Week 2.
West Michigan
Zeeland East 50, Zeeland West 44 (OT)
This is shaping up as one of the best football rivalries in the state, with three of the last four games decided by eight points or fewer and East — last season’s regular-season winner — then losing to West 46-0 in their playoff opener. East has the upper hand again between schools separated by mere yards. Click to read more from the Grand Rapids Press.
Also noted:
Muskegon 35, Grand Rapids Christian 13: This would’ve been the best game on the west side any other week with the reigning MHSAA Division 2 runner-up Big Reds (2-0) continuing to look impressive in knocking off the reigning Division 3 champ Christian (1-1) in their first matchup since 1994.
Comstock Park 39, Grand Rapids West Catholic 20: West Catholic (0-2) won the first five games of these teams’ recent series before Comstock Park (2-0) got on the board last week.
Hamilton 21, Coopersville 20: A blocked extra point saved this win for the Hawkeyes (1-1) while dropping the Broncos to 0-2.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central 16, Muskegon Catholic Central 13: These teams brought this series back last season after a seven-year break, and the Cougars (1-1) have won both while this time dropping the Crusaders to 0-2.
Greater Detroit
Detroit U-D Jesuit 28, Detroit Country Day 27 (OT)
In part because it plays in a Detroit Catholic League Central with Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Detroit Catholic Central, Birmingham Brother Rice and Warren DeLaSalle, U-D Jesuit has had some tough seasons over the last decade; its last playoff appearance was in 2000. But this win over the reigning Division 4 runner-up Yellowjackets (0-2) made the Cubs 2-0 — equaling last season’s win total — and could be an indication of more to come. Click to read more from MLive Detroit.
Also noted:
Belleville 17, Chelsea 14: The Tigers (1-1) are seeking their first playoff berth since 2004, and beating annual qualifier Chelsea (0-2) is a great start.
Detroit Martin Luther King 6, Detroit East English 0 (2 OT): King (2-0) and East English (0-2) — formerly Crockett — are always two of the best teams in the city, and this might go down as the best regular-season game before the Public School League playoffs.
Farmington Hills Harrison 20, Rochester Adams 7: Harrison (2-0) made it four straight over Oakland Activities Association White rival Adams (1-1).
Plymouth 28, Milford 27: The Wildcats (2-0) came back from a two-touchdown deficit early in the third quarter to edge Milford (1-1).
Southwest and Border
Schoolcraft 37, Constantine 28
This was only the second week of nine on the Kalamazoo Valley Association schedule, but the league title could again be Schoolcraft’s to lose after this win over reigning Division 6 runner-up Constantine (1-1). A 47-yard touchdown pass after a Constantine turnover sealed the victory for the Eagles (2-0). Click to read more from the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Also noted:
Kalamazoo Central 23, Battle Creek Central 7: The 110th meeting in one of the nation’s longest football rivalries saw Kalamazoo Central (2-0) climb within 12 (47 wins to 59) of catching up to the Bearcats (1-1 this season) for the series lead. This game played for the Totem Pole traveling trophy dates to 1893.
St. Joseph 14, Battle Creek Harper Creek 9: After missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons in 2012, St. Joseph is 2-0 after handing a first loss to back-to-back MHSAA Semifinalist Harper Creek.
Mattawan 64, Marshall 34: The Wildcats (1-1) awakened on offense after scoring only once on opening night; Marshall also upped its offensive output by 20 despite falling to 0-2.
Plainwell 14, Three Rivers 7: They’re not in the same division of the Wolverine Conference anymore, but Plainwell (2-0) made it three straight over the Wildcats (1-1).
Lower Up North
Maple City Glen Lake 28, Charlevoix 0
A big win by Charlevoix (1-1) over St. Ignace on opening night made this one look like a potential nail-biter. But Glen Lake (2-0) made it three in a row and two straight shutouts over the Rayders, and this week starts its pursuit of a second straight Northwest Conference championship. Click to read more from the Petoskey News.
Also noted:
Boyne City 35, Kent City 14: After a tough opening-night loss to Glen Lake, Boyne City (1-1) bounced back against the Eagles (1-1).
Standish-Sterling 47, Gladwin 7: The Panthers (2-0) made it 10 straight over Gladwin after also beating the Flying G’s (1-1) in last season’s playoff opener.
Harbor Springs 40, Frankfort 12: The Rams (2-0) pulled within a win of last season’s total while dropping the Panthers to 1-1 as they try to make up for last year’s first playoff miss since 1994.
Traverse City West 21, West Branch Ogemaw Heights 8: The Titans (1-1) got a leg up by winning their Big North Conference opener while also avenging last season’s 56-39 loss to Ogemaw Heights (1-1).
Upper Peninsula
Houghton 26, Ishpeming Westwood 20 (2 OT)
Not only did Westwood (0-2) own two straight wins over Houghton before last weekend, but the Patriots won those games by a combined score of 70-0. They led again this time by two touchdowns early before the Gremlins (1-1) came back to claim their first victory this fall and pull within one more of equaling their victory total of all 2012. Click to read more from the Marquette Mining Journal.
Also noted:
Iron Mountain 27, Gwinn 8: Iron Mountain (1-1) bounced back from an opening-night loss; Gwinn (1-1), despite this loss, played the Mountaineers much closer than the last two seasons.
St. Ignace 26, Mancelona 20 (OT): After their first opening-night loss in four seasons, the Saints (1-1) bounced back while dropping Mancelona to 0-2 after the Ironmen lost just once in 2012.
Ishpeming 38, Manistique 0: The Hematites (2-0) have outscored their first two opponents, both 2012 playoff teams, by a combined 74-0. Have no fear Emeralds: You also started last fall 0-2 but made the postseason.
Powers North Central 14, Munising 12: Munising (0-2) no doubt is smarting after losing its first two games by a combined nine points, but the Jets surely are celebrating their second straight 2-0 start.
Mid-Michigan
Lansing Everett 48, Saginaw 14
Five Capital Area Activities Conference Blue teams left Greater Lansing for Week 2 games, but only the Vikings (2-0) returned with a victory. Everett’s offense has scored 83 points so far and looks even better than last season’s best effort in four seasons. Saginaw did struggle to keep up this time, but is 1-1 entering Saginaw Valley Association North play this week.
Bath 40, Fulton 22: For a Bees (1-1) team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2000, a second straight win over traditionally powerful Fulton has to be encouraging. The Pirates (1-1) also are looking to climb back into the playoffs after missing in 2012.
Fowler 26, Laingsburg 12: This has been one the best Central Michigan Athletic Conference games for a decade; Fowler (1-1) enjoyed a nice bounce-back after a loss to Mendon on opening night, but the Wolfpack finds itself in a recently-rare 0-2 spot.
Beal City 48, Clare 0: This was expected to be much closer, but Beal City (2-0) might just be this strong. The Aggies have now outscored their first two opponents by a combined 109-0 while Clare is 0-2 again although it ended up 9-3 with the same start in 2012.
St. Johns 28, Dearborn 13: The Redwings (1-1) followed up a lackluster opening-night loss to Charlotte with an impressive win over a playoff regular in Dearborn (0-2).
Bay and Thumb
Essexville-Garber 25, Millington 6
The Saginaw News called this a “program-defining” win for Garber, and it might’ve been the team’s biggest in the Tri-Valley Conference East since also beating the Cardinals in 2009. The Dukes (2-0) broke a two-season playoff hiatus last fall, and this season could be league title contenders as well — although the Cardinals (1-1) certainly shouldn’t be expected to fall out of the mix. Click to read more from the Saginaw News.
Mount Pleasant 21, Flint Powers Catholic 14: The Oilers (1-1) had a rare struggle in 2012 and opened this fall with a loss to DeWitt, but got back on the right foot by beating recently powerful Powers (1-1).
Fenton 43, Adrian 7: The Tigers (2-0) continued to roll after a rivalry win over Linden in Week 1; Adrian fell to 1-1 but 0-2 versus Fenton over the last two seasons.
Flint Carman-Ainsworth 49, Saginaw Heritage 20: Carman-Ainsworth (2-0) enhanced its status as a Saginaw Valley South favorite by knocking off a solid Hawks team (1-1).
Richmond 28, Croswell-Lexington 21: The Pioneers (1-1) had beaten Richmond (1-1) in six straight including a second time last season during the playoffs.
Trophy Games
Each week the MHSAA highlights trophy games played across the state. One was mentioned above, and we also knew about this one heading into the weekend.
Promise Bowl Trophy: Jackson High and Lumen Christi began playing for this prize a year ago, and the Titans own both matchups so far. Final: Lumen Christi 43, Jackson 14.
PHOTO: Lansing Everett (white jerseys) improved to 2-0 with last week's win on the road against Saginaw High. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)
GR Catholic Central Unveils New Home
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
August 23, 2016
GRAND RAPIDS – Former Grand Rapids Catholic Central football player and current assistant coach Kyle Shelton didn’t know if he would ever see the day – the day when the football program would have a place to call home.
And it wasn’t until he witnessed shovels digging dirt that Shelton knew it was going to become a reality.
Cougar Stadium was unveiled to the community over this past weekend, the crown jewel of a nearly $10-million project at the Cougar Athletic Trails (CAT) athletic complex.
“It’s long overdue, that’s for sure,” said Shelton, a 1999 Catholic Central graduate. “It’s nice from a functional standpoint, having a surface always ready for practice, which we haven’t had in the past, and to have all of our teams in one spot, which we haven’t been able to do.
“From a teaching standpoint, we have brand new team rooms where we can watch film, and that’s just the football side of things.”
Cougars senior running back Antonio Strong may be biased, but ranks his new digs among the tops in the area.
“It’s one of the best complexes around, and I think one of the best in the state,” he said. “It felt like it was meant to be.”
Last week, the CAT was re-dedicated and blessed. It was the first of several events throughout the weekend to celebrate the facility’s re-opening.
Several thousand people braved severe weather Saturday to attend the first Catholic Central Hall of Fame induction while getting a glimpse of the new turf field and surrounding amenities.
“This place is amazing,” fifth-year Cougars varsity football coach Todd Kolster said. 
“I think it’s second to none, and it shined pretty brightly on Saturday night when the weather was bad. We had probably over 3,000 here during a tornado getting ready to hit just to see the place.
“It’s just awesome for our community to have a place to call home. It’s awesome for our kids to call this home.”
While a majority of football programs boast home stadiums or fields, Catholic Central has never been among them.
The school is celebrating its 110th birthday this season, and this is the first time in school history it will have a place to call its own.
For more than a century, Catholic Central has had to travel and play its home games at other venues.
Houseman Field in downtown Grand Rapids was where the Cougars played a majority of their “home games.” In recent years, they’ve had to travel to surrounding schools, including Grand Rapids Christian and Ada Forest Hills Eastern, to play.
It will be an entirely new experience for the Cougars when they host East Grand Rapids on Friday to open the 2016 season.
“We don’t have to get on a bus to play football,” Kolster said with a smile. “It will be different in how it impacts our schedule. What do we do for a home game now? Before we didn’t have much time. It was school, then we went to chapel, and then we came out here for a walk-through before getting on a bus and leaving. That was every week.”
The freshmen and junior varsity football teams played at the complex in past years on a makeshift field, but the varsity didn’t due to lack of lights and space.
Last season during construction, all three teams were bused to games.
“There wasn’t a single time last year that we didn’t get on a bus to play a football game,” Shelton said. “Last year was trying in that respect. Game days, (it) now saves us a good hour in travel time to a football game.
“We finally have a place to call home. We have a home that we can take pride and hopefully a tough environment for teams who come here and play. A home-field advantage so to speak, something we’ve never had.”
Catholic Central athletic director Trevor Hinshaw remains awestruck by the sight of the school’s decorated surroundings.
“It’s unbelievable, and I get goose bumps every time I walk out here,” Hinshaw said. “It’s a pretty amazing facility, and we are beyond blessed to call it home. To have no more home games on the road will be weird, but I think we will get used to it quickly and come to appreciate our new reality.”
The tradition of Catholic Central was not forgotten in the process. A plaza honoring legendary football coach Ted Sowle sits on the concourse, as do plaques commemorating past MHSAA championships.
Other influential people in the community from days past also are recognized throughout the stadium.
“It’s important that our kids understand the traditions that came before them and the people that came before them to make this happen,” Kolster said. “I’ve talked to guys that I’ve coached, and they’re sad they don’t get to play here, but excited for the guys who are and for the future of our school. Those guys laid the foundation for us to play here.”
Friday night will mark another historic date in school history, and the players are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to play their first “home game.”
“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” Strong said. “I’ve been waiting for this all year.”
“It’s going to be live here,” senior cornerback Mike Brown added.
Hinshaw said the undertaking of hosting the first game involves a lot of logistics, but he hopes to cherish the moment.
“Ultimately, I want to make sure that through the stress I find time to enjoy the experience as well,” he said.
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at[email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Players work out on the freshly-completed Cougar Stadium turf. (Middle) The stadium scoreboard overlooks plaques dedicated to past GRCC champions. (Below) Gates will open for a varsity game for the first time Friday. (Photos by Dean Holzwarth.)