Drive for Detroit: Week 6 in Review
October 6, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Less than a month remains in the MHSAA football regular season, and 21 percent of the 11-player playoff field is filled after 53 teams earned qualifying wins during Week 6.
A number of others must turn their attention solely to the postseason after the whittling over the weekend of many league races to only a few remaining favorites.
See below for some of the most significant stories we watched unfold during Week 6:
Greater Detroit
Detroit Cass Tech 21, Detroit East English 16
Usually it’s the Cass Tech offense that gets the headlines. But in its toughest Detroit Public School League game of this season to date, the team’s defenders were the eventual heroes after the Technicians (6-0) went up two touchdowns early. East English (4-2) held Cass Tech to a season-low in points and scored the most the Technicians had given up since Oak Park put up 26 on opening night, but the Technicians held strong late to remain tied for first. Click for more from MLive-Detroit.
Also noted:
Walled Lake Central 38, Waterford Mott 20 – After two seasons of sub-.500 records, Walled Lake Central claimed a share of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association North title for the first time since 2010 while dropping second-place Mott to 4-2.
Birmingham Brother Rice 28, Orchard Lake St. Mary's 20 – The Warriors (6-0) claimed a share of their third straight Detroit Catholic League Central title in handing St. Mary’s (5-1) its lone loss.
Canton 40, Livonia Churchill 35 – Canton (5-1) claimed a share of its second straight KLAA South championship by dealing 2012 champ Churchill (5-1) its first loss.
Clinton 28, Morenci 26 – Clinton (6-0) stopped a 2-point conversion attempt during the final minute to extend its 24-game regular-season winning streak and deal Morenci (5-1) its first loss after its best start since 1997.
Upper Peninsula
Ishpeming 20, Beal City 0
These Ford Field regulars have played in different divisions in recent trips, but met in Gaylord for one of the most intriguing games of 2014. The good news for Beal City is the Aggies held Ishpeming (6-0) to its fewest points since 2012. But the Hematites also notched their second straight shutout, holding Beal City (5-1) scoreless for the first time since 2010. Ishpeming’s winning streak is up to 27 straight. Click for more from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun.
Also noted:
Iron River West Iron County 40, Calumet 26 – West Iron (6-0) pulled within a win of a second-straight West Peninsula Athletic Conference title by escaping improved Calumet (3-3), which is tied for second place.
Crystal Falls Forest Park 36, Felch North Dickinson 14 – This rivalry game was a little less fierce than usual, as the Trojans (4-1) made it three straight over the Nordics (3-3).
Marquette 13, Kingsford 8 – The Redmen (5-1) kept pace in the Great Northern U.P. Conference to set up a Week 9 championship game with undefeated Menominee.
Sault Ste. Marie 28, Gladstone 22 – The Blue Devils (3-3) have stormed back from an 0-3 start, while Gladstone (3-3) has gone the opposite after starting 3-0.
Mid-Michigan
DeWitt 16, St. Johns 10
The Panthers’ run of 32 straight league wins (dating to 2008) was on the line midway through the fourth quarter as DeWitt trailed by a point. But back-up quarterback Chase McPhee – in for injured starter and Division I college prospect Jacob Johnson – led the Panthers (6-0) on a go-ahead touchdown drive that helped them clinch a share of the Capital Area Activities Conference Red title while handing the rival Redwings (5-1) their lone loss. Click for more from the Lansing State Journal.
Also noted:
Olivet 69, Stockbridge 48 – The Eagles (5-1) are at least partial owners of the inaugural Greater Lansing Activities Conference championship, with second-place Stockbridge (4-2) now needing help from Maple Valley to gather a share.
Jackson Lumen Christi 35, Coldwater 24 – Lumen Christi (6-0) pulled within a win of claiming the inaugural Interstate 8 Athletic Conference title while dropping Coldwater (5-1) into a tie for second place.
Clare 43, Gladwin 36 (OT) – Clare (4-2) hasn’t had too many scares in winning seven straight Jack Pine Conference championships, but survived one from the Flying G’s (4-2) to hold on to a tie for first.
Stanton Central Montcalm 28, Remus Chippewa Hills 27 – The Hornets (4-2) broke open the Central State Activities Association Gold race by handing formerly first-place Chippewa Hills (5-1) its first loss.
Southwest and Border
Three Rivers 25, Vicksburg 12
The Wildcats’ 0-2 start is becoming a distant memory as they work deeper into the Wolverine B Conference East schedule. Three Rivers (4-2) has won four straight and set itself up to play Plainwell this week to possibly decide the eventual league champion. Vicksburg (4-2), meanwhile, was one of the hottest teams in the state to start the season and beat Three Rivers in 2013, but has now lost two straight. Click for more from the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Also noted:
Berrien Springs 26, Paw Paw 8 – The Shamrocks (4-2) suddenly are in the Wolverine B West conversation, having now won more games this fall than in each of the last two and with this impressive victory over Paw Paw (3-3).
Portage Central 35, Niles 13 – Reigning champion Portage Central (4-1) remains in striking distance in the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference West if first-place Stevensville Lakeshore falters, while Niles (4-2) remains in position to make the playoffs with a couple solid wins down the stretch.
Stevensville Lakeshore 21, Portage Northern 13 – This was key for the Lancers (5-1), who fell to Northern (4-2) by two points last season.
Union City 18, Jonesville 16 – The Chargers (6-0) have bounced back nicely from last season’s 3-6 finish and are tied for first in the Big 8 Conference.
Lower Up North
Cadillac 21, Gaylord 20
The Big North Conference race opened up a bit last week (see next result below), but nearly got a lot more interesting with Gaylord (4-2) continuing to push the traditional favorites. Reigning champion and first-place Cadillac hadn’t had alcall this close (except, perhaps, needing a goalline stand in 2013 against Traverse City Central) over its two-season run atop the standings. Click for more from the Cadillac News.
Also noted:
Petoskey 16, Traverse City Central 13 – The Northmen (5-1) now get Gaylord, but look best to benefit in the Big North if Cadillac falters; Central (4-2) also is tied for second and gets Cadillac in Week 9.
Boyne City 50, Maple City Glen Lake 0 – Boyne City (6-0) looks good to not only win the inaugural Northern Michigan Football Conference Leaders title, but also finish the regular season perfect for the first time since 2001.
Oscoda 21, Lincoln Alcona 16 – The Owls (3-3) are in position for their best finish since at least 2000 after delivering Alcona (3-3) its third straight loss.
Whittemore-Prescott 26, Tawas 16 – Although not a league game, this was a good measuring stick locally for the Cardinals (6-0), who continued their surge against solid Tawas (4-2).
West Michigan
Holland West Ottawa 28, East Kentwood 21
While solid, these two haven’t been much in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title discussion in a while – but West Ottawa (5-1) has earned the opportunity to match favorite Rockford for the championship in Week 9 if it can survive Grandville and Hudsonville over the next few weeks. East Kentwood (5-1), still off to its best start since 2004, has a similarly tough road as it seeks a sixth win for the first time since that season. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.
Also noted:
Hudsonville 27, Grand Haven 24 – After two straight one-point losses, Hudsonville (4-2) got on the positive end of a close finish and handed Grand Haven (3-3) its third straight defeat.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 44, Greenville 36 – Forest Hills Northern (6-0) earned the opportunity to face league co-leader Cedar Springs this week by dispatching another O-K Bronze contender in Greenville (4-2).
Hopkins 35, Grandville Calvin Christian 27 – Hopkins (5-1) paid back Calvin Christian (2-4) for a one-point loss in 2013 to remain in line for a fifth-straight O-K Silver title.
Lowell 20, Grand Rapids Christian 12 – The Red Arrows (6-0) continued to impress by claiming a close one over another O-K White power in Grand Rapids Christian (4-2).
Bay and Thumb
Saginaw Swan Valley 14, Freeland 7
In what was and remains likely to be Swan Valley’s toughest regular-season game, the Vikings (6-0) showed plenty of mettle. The defense continues to rank among the most stellar in Michigan this season after giving up only one score to push this fall’s total points allowed to a mere 29 (Freeland, now 5-1, hadn’t scored fewer than 42). And of course standout running back Alex Grace showed, with 261 yards rushing and both of his team’s touchdowns. Click for more from The Saginaw News.
Also noted:
Burton Bendle 41, Flint Hamady 36 – The Tigers (3-3) have bounced back nicely from a 1-3 start, although Hamady (4-2) – itself impressive after going 0-8 a year ago – didn’t make this easy.
Frankenmuth 21, Birch Run 14 – The Eagles (5-1) likely now need help from Birch Run (5-1) against first-place Millington if the three are to share the Tri-Valley Conference East title.
Fenton 41, Clio 20 – The Tigers (6-0) remain tied for first in the Flint Metro League despite a challenge from much-improved Clio (3-3), which hadn’t won a game since 2009 before opening night.
Davison 34, Bay City Western 28 (OT) – The Cardinals kept their playoff hopes alive and also sit just a win back in the Saginaw Valley Association Blue standings.
8-player
Rapid River 20, Cedarville 19
These two have built quite a rivalry in the Bridge Alliance Conference – Rapid River handed Cedarville its only regular season loss last season, beat Cedarville during the 2012 playoffs after losing to the Trojans by 60 five weeks earlier, and suffered their only regular-season loss to Cedarville during the 2011 season. Add this to the classics. Click for more from the Escanaba Daily Press.
Also noted:
Lawrence 52, Deckerville 20 – Lawrence (6-0) is again looking like a strong possibility to drive to at least the MHSAA Semifinals; Deckerville (5-1) also had entered undefeated.
Engadine 28, Posen 26 – The Eagles (3-3) got a needed boost, especially with undefeated Bellaire up next.
PHOTO: Detroit Cass Tech improved to 6-0 with a 21-16 win over Detroit East English in Detroit Public School League play. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit PSL.)
Playoffs Packed with Livonia Power
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
October 25, 2017
LIVONIA – Let the good times roll.
Football fans in Livonia have been blessed recently with the success of Livonia Public Schools’ football programs, and this season is no exception.
Churchill, Franklin and Stevenson all qualified for the MHSAA playoffs, and glancing at the pairings all have a reasonable shot at winning their Pre-District games and perhaps a District title as well.
Churchill and Franklin are both 7-2 and open Division 2 play as visitors, Churchill at Pinckney (8-1) and Franklin at Walled Lake Western (8-1). Stevenson will compete in Division 1 and, even though the Spartans are 5-4, will play host to Detroit Catholic Central (5-4). All three games are Friday at 7 p.m.
All three are members of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association. Franklin has made the playoffs three consecutive seasons and reached a Division 2 Semifinal in 2015. Churchill has qualified for the playoffs five of the last seven seasons and Stevenson, the most consistent program of the three, is in for the fifth time in the last six seasons. (Livonia Clarenceville, another public school in Livonia, is not part of the Livonia Public School system and did not make the playoffs this fall.)
The three head coaches agree that the source of this recent success is a thriving little league program, the Livonia Junior Athletic League. Four teams compete in the league – the Blue Jays, Eagles, Falcons and Orioles – and players range in age from 6 to 13. Those 6 and 7-year-olds compete in flag football.
The LJAL is the lifeline to the high schools because Livonia Public Schools does not sponsor middle school or junior high football.
“We’ve always had a strong little league program,” Franklin coach Chris Kelbert said. “With the little league program, our feeder program, we’ve worked hard to develop a system for them to do what we do.”
The Livonia schools haven’t always been so successful. Franklin, for example, won the first Class A title in 1975, then went 30 years before making its next playoff appearance. Stevenson made the playoffs just once in the first 19 seasons of the MHSAA tournament. But since 1993, the Spartans have qualified 16 times highlighted by a Division 1 championship game appearance in 2007 and a Semifinal appearance the following season.
Then there’s Churchill. The Chargers made the playoffs in 1979, then seemingly disappeared. Not only did they not make the playoffs again until 2004, the Chargers had one of the poorest runs in terms of victories in state history. From 1990-96 they won one game. At one point Churchill lost 34 consecutive. Following those rugged years the Chargers finished 2-7 five straight season (1997-2001).
Times have changed. John Filiatraut, now the head coach at Dearborn Divine Child, helped guide the Chargers out of those rough times as they won the school’s first District title in 2004 and finished 8-4. Except for a 1-8 season in 2005, Churchill has remained competitive since that bounce-back season.
Bill DiFillipo was an assistant under Filiatraut and is in his fifth season as Churchill’s head coach. He said talent in his program keeps improving and he credits the coaches, on his team and within the LJAL, for that progress. He also said the healthy rivalry that exists between the three schools has sparked enthusiasm and an increase in competitiveness.
“This is Churchill’s best run,” he said. “You have to have good feeder teams. We’ve done a good job of developing kids. Our senior class was 0-9 as freshmen, and they were 2-7 on the JV. Over at Franklin, Chris has done a good job. When Randy (Micallef) took over, Stevenson was down. Randy and his staff have done a good job of getting them back.”
Stevenson won just five games combined in 2010 and 2011. The Spartans made the playoffs in 2012 and missed the playoffs the following season, but then rattled off three straight appearances and will make it four straight this weekend.
The three programs annually play for a city championship. Stevenson has won the last two defeating Churchill and Franklin in each of the last two seasons.
Franklin’s only losses this fall were to Churchill and Stevenson, and the Patriots have won five straight since the second of those defeats.
Kelbert and his staff have done a remarkable job this season. Running back Isaac Moore was a part-time starter last season, and none of the other 10 starters on offense had started even one game. Franklin returned three starters on defense.
“We have a young offensive line,” Kelbert said. “We have two seniors there, and neither one played offense line before. But we’re clicking now. It’s been frustrating at times. We knew we had some good players coming back. After the Howell game (a 21-0 Franklin victory in Week 5), we saw some improvement. Our defense has been lights out all season. We adopted a new philosophy on defense. We wanted to be more athletic and have more speed. When Romeo won (the 2016 Division 1) title, they won it with small linemen who couldn’t be blocked. We figured we could use that philosophy. The game has changed dramatically in the 19 years I’ve coached in high school.”
Kelbert faced a different test this season. He’s starting his son, Jacob, at quarterback, and he’s just a sophomore. Jacob Kelbert played on the freshmen team last season after going through Livonia’s little league program.
“It has its challenges,” Kelbert said of coaching the eldest of his three sons. “I forget he’s young sometimes. I expect him to play like a senior.”
DiFillipo also has a first-year starter at quarterback, but at least this one was on varsity last season as a back-up. Junior Drew Alsobrooks has played well this season, and he’s benefitted from an experienced offensive line. Four seniors start on the offensive line and the lone junior, Ethan Gyurnek, started last season as a sophomore.
DiFillipo adds that it’s been a team effort.
“Our defense has played the best in the 10 years that I’ve been here,” he said. “We’re giving up 14 points a game.
“Franklin and us have had the best two defenses in our division (KLAA Gold). Grand Blanc has the best offense, and we held them to nine points. Franklin shut them out.”
It’s been a different season for Stevenson. The Spartans started 4-0, then lost three straight. They beat Salem, 31-10, in Week 8 before losing to Franklin, 35-21, in a KLAA crossover.
Micallef said he’s noticed an improvement in the level of skilled athletes to come through the three programs. Specifically in his program, players like quarterback Parker Graham, all-purpose athlete George Ferguson and two-way back Devin Dunn all have had experiences in other sports as well that have contributed to their competitive nature.
“The coaches have become progressively better across the board,” Micallef said. “And some of the kids who might have gone to private schools now are staying put. Catholic Central moving from Redford to Novi has had a hand in keeping some of the Livonia kids here.
“We have some really good athletes this season. Parker was a running back last year, and we played him in the secondary, too. But with him moving to quarterback, I’ve kept him off the defense. But I had him at linebacker last week, and he had like seven or eight tackles. Both him and Ferguson play basketball and baseball, and Devin is a multi-sport athlete, too. In crunch times, these kids have played in so many big baseball games or big basketball games that they’re not afraid to make the big play. They embrace that.”
Tom Markowski is a columnist and directs website coverage for the State Champs! Sports Network. He previously covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clockwise from left, Churchill’s Martell Dooley, Stevenson’s Parker Graham and Franklin’s Isaac Moore are among standouts for the Livonia Public Schools’ three playoff-bound varsity teams. (Middle top) Churchill junior quarterback Drew Alsobrooks has stepped in well as the starter this fall. (Middle below) Senior linebacker Jacob Mass helps key a more athletic Franklin defense this season. (Below) Senior George Ferguson is one of the multi-sport athletes making major contributions to Stevenson’s success. (Photos courtesy of the Churchill, Stevenson and Franklin football programs.)