Garber Standout VanSumeren Does it All
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
September 13, 2017
Ben VanSumeren doesn’t get much rest during Essexville Garber football games.
Not that he wants or needs it.
“I worked out twice a day throughout the summer because I knew I would be playing every down,” the do-it-all senior said. “I think I’ve sat out two plays the whole season. One, I had a 60-yard touchdown, then I ran in the two-point conversion, and I’m the kicker, so they didn’t have me kick (the ensuing kickoff).
“I just love playing football.”
VanSumeren is going to have plenty of opportunity to continue playing the game he loves. He‘s a Division I tight end and linebacker prospect with scholarship offers from 11 college programs – Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Cincinnati, Air Force, Columbia, Eastern Michigan, Harvard, Missouri, Navy, Yale and Minnesota.
He’s had significant interest from others, including Purdue, where he plans to take an official visit in the coming weeks.
His combination of size (6-foot-3, 228 pounds) and athleticism (a 4.56-second 40-yard dash and a 40-inch vertical jump) make him an obvious DI candidate, and in case you wondered if those numbers were inflated, his Nike SPARQ score (rating his athleticism based on a series of fitness tests) of 127.74 ranks him No. 10 in the nation among all prospects and No. 1 among tight ends.
“The first thing that comes to mind on Ben is he’s a freak athlete,” Garber coach Jake Coquillard said. “I think being at a small school and in mid to northern Michigan doesn’t do him justice or get his name out there the way other people would downstate. I think he would have more schools on him, to be honest.
“But his work ethic is absolutely off the charts. He has a constant will to be better, which as a coach, I don’t know if I’ll ever have another kid that works and wants to have perfection as much as him, and that means in the game of football, in the weight room or in life. He’s a special, special young man.”
Coquillard believes VanSumeren’s greatest potential is on the offensive side of the ball, as he fits the mold of a prototypical receiving tight end. But defense, which is fairly new for him this season, has come pretty naturally, too.
“A lot of the big Power 5 schools have wanted him for defense,” Coquillard said. “He didn’t play much defense last year and he didn’t even have film. But they look at him at 6-3, 224 to 230 and they’re thinking backer. This year he is playing outside linebacker for us and doing a good job. He’s definitely not afraid to come get you.”
Playing at the Division I college level is something VanSumeren has known he was capable of since the sixth grade – not because of anything he had done, but because it was something he decided he wanted to do.
“It was just something I wanted, and once I get something in my head that I want, I’m going to work endlessly to get there,” he said.
His first offer came from Western Michigan University this past February, and he committed to sign with the Broncos shortly after. He de-committed in the spring after recording his jaw-dropping SPARQ score, telling MLive at the time that he wanted to evaluate all of his options and be up front with the Western coaches.
Offers started trickling in throughout the spring and summer, and college coaches were going out of their way to find the 550-student school in Bay County and pay him visits. There they were able to watch him on the baseball diamond, where he’s a standout centerfielder.
“It’s really humbling to know that six months ago I was without any offers or much college attention,” VanSumeren said. “Now I have the No. 1 SPARQ score and people are looking at Essexville Garber -- coaches are coming in asking where Essexville is.”
VanSumeren and Coquillard also have been proactive in contacting college coaches.
“We’ve contacted about every coach and program that we possibly could,” Coquillard said. “I think him being the No. 1-rated tight end as far as scores go at the Nike Opening (combine) put his name out there. We sent tape or tried to get with (coaches) on the phone to get his name out there. He is from a small school. We always say that if you’re good enough, they’ll find you. But sometimes they get lost in the shuffle, too.”
With him trying to raise his profile, one could forgive VanSumeren for focusing solely on tight end and linebacker in his senior season. He’s done anything but that, however.
He’s played quarterback and running back for the Dukes (1-2). He’s also the kicker and the punter.
“That’s the type of person he is,” Coquillard said. “A couple games ago, we had him at quarterback and running back to try and get him the ball. He even said, ‘Coach, I think you need to move me around. I’m a team guy, and we need to get the other guys the ball, too.’
“He’s a very unselfish young man. He’s about the team, and he loves playing all the different positions. As athletically gifted as he is, I think it’s an awesome thing on his part to be willing to do that.”
In VanSumeren’s eyes, moving from position to position is a win-win.
“I’m just about the team, and if the team is going to benefit from it and if the defense can’t adjust, that’s what I’m going to do,” VanSumeren said. “And I think colleges like seeing that. I think versatility is big for colleges.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Essexville Garber’s Ben VanSumeren follows his blockers during a Week 2 loss to Bridgeport. (Middle) VanSumeren makes a move upfield. (Photos courtesy of the Essexville Garber football program.)
Heston Football Celebrates 1st League Title as Seniors Cap Extraordinary Rise
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2025
St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy finished this football season with a five-game winning streak and in possession of a trophy representing the school’s first North Star League Big Dipper championship in any sport.
The feat is especially incredible considering where the Patriots’ football program stood just four years ago.
Those Patriots welcomed a new assistant coach who would soon take over the program, but also five freshmen – Dylan Chichowski, Owen Romancky, Corbin Greenless, Desyln Klumpp and Tiernan Hinmon – in the starting lineup.
“If you rewind the clock, and go back to, like 2022, we went four straight games without even scoring a point,” said third-year head coach Matt Whelchel, who joined the staff that fall. “So to come from that and fast forward to this year, those (five) have been assistant coaches almost to me. They've really led this program to where it is right now.”
Those five seniors were part of a team than snapped a 43-game program losing streak as sophomores. They then led the Patriots to a 4-5 finish last year and 6-2 overall record this fall – with an undefeated run through league play. Heston was not eligible for the MHSAA Playoffs in 8-player because its enrollment exceeds the 215-student maximum to compete in the postseason. But Whelchel noted that the school remains ecstatic about what the team accomplished.
Before turning the program around last year, the Patriots found wearing jerseys to school on game days more than a little difficult.
“We would not get made fun of, but when we talked about having a football game or had our jerseys on and we were in that losing situation, it wasn't a very prideful thing,” noted Klumpp, the team’s kicker, running back and receiver. “You're wearing a football jersey, and everyone else thinks that you're just a joke because we never win.
“And being able to turn that around, people, you know, just mentioning how fun the football games have been to watch. It's also been something we had to fight through.”
Klumpp, Greenless, Romancky and Chichowski also experienced a winless season as eighth-graders as Whelchel served the school as the middle school head coach and varsity assistant. Whelchel took over the varsity program in 2023.
The players credit Whelchel with instilling an offseason work ethic. The focus on studying film, spending time in the weight room and dedication to maintaining mental and physical health were also among keys to the Patriots’ turnaround.
“Our senior class had it extra hard starting out from middle school,” said Romancky, who played on both the offensive and defensive lines. “I think after our freshman year, once we lost every game, the drive to win the first one just became very apparent and we really took that step forward.”
Whelchel is quick to point out the school had had a good deal of talent over its 11 years of football history. Dedication, though, is at an all-time high for the Patriots.
“I have no doubts in my mind that we had players in the past that wanted to win, but you've got to have more than that,” said Whelchel, who also serves as an elementary physical education teacher. “We had talent sometimes – we just didn't have the drive. You've got to have more than the will to win. You got to spend time in the weight room and keep grades up – and it takes a lot of dedication.”
Whelchel also credits his coaching staff for much of the Patriots’ success. The assistant coaches are Jory Klumpp, Graham Church, Liam McKeage and Nathaniel Snyder.
Heston always has found community support for football, but things are a little different nowadays. The varsity players are often asked for autographs from youth football kids.
“The community has always had our back — even last year, coming into some of our home games without a winning season — we always had our stands full and stuff,” said Chichowski, the team’s quarterback. “And this year, as I work out of school during the day, everybody who comes in is asking about the game, when it starts, and just telling us that they're going to be there and stuff. It's awesome.”
Chichowski racked up 1,076 passing yards and threw 12 touchdown passes. He also had four rushing TDs and 308 yards rushing for 1,384 total offensive yards. He was named to the Big Dipper’s all-conference team, as was Klumpp, Romancky, Tiernan Hinmon and Corbin Greenless.
Greenless, a senior lineman, led team in tackles with 114 plus six sacks. He added defensive touchdowns via a blocked punt and an interception.
Hinmon, also a senior, led the team in touchdowns scored with 18. Twelve were on the ground, where he compiled 780 rushing yards. He also came through with a pick six against Au Gres-Sims in the fourth quarter of Heston’s 43-6 season-concluding victory.
Romancky, who also had interception return touchdowns against Hillman and Whittemore-Prescott, admitted losing wore on the Patriots.
“I think all the losing left a bad taste in the mouth, and we just wanted to like clear it out and get that winning feeling,” he said. “All the losses that piled up fueled the drive to win.”
The Patriots had eight seniors this fall, but Whelchel is not at all thinking about a rebuilding year in 2026.
“We're going to lose a lot of talent for sure. But we had some really talented sophomores this year, and the only reason they didn't see the field a lot is because we had a lot of those guys playing ahead of them,” Whelchel said. “The seniors obviously had talent on the field, but they're leaders off the field too. And so they've set an example for next year’s seniors and juniors. I think we'll pick up – maybe not exactly where we left off – it might take some growing pains.”
Hinmon believes these seniors have paved the way for future Patriots football players to keep the winning tradition alive.
“Everybody used to call us the pity-party Patriots,” Hinmon indicated. “They never thought we were good, and now this season, we really proved ourselves. We worked hard. I think our next season, the younger ones are going to have a great season.”
“I think it's a thing of standards,” Klumpp added. “It just sets at the bar even higher for everyone else that's going to go through this program.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. 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) St. Helen Charlton Heston players huddle on a game day this season. (2) Patriots quarterback Dylan Chichowski works to elude a Rogers City defender. (3) Owen Romancky (21) leaps to haul in a pass against Hillman. (4) Tiernan Hinmon sets up to make his move while carrying the ball against Breckenridge. (Owen Romancky photo by Ashley Patti/Houghton Lake Resorter. All other photos submitted by Jessica Romancky.)