Harris Flies Like a Record-Setting Eagle
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 30, 2012
Drake Harris may not have expected the full force of the performance he put up Saturday to cap an incredible junior season for Grand Rapids Christian.
But he had a pretty good idea at the start that it could turn into a special night.
When Orchard Lake St. Mary’s attempted to cover him with just one player – and continued to do so frequently throughout the Division 3 Final at Ford Field – the 6-foot-4, 180-pound Harris found himself in a dream come true.
“I kinda figured they would come out like that and play me like that. My coach knew that, and he just put me in the right position to make plays,” Harris said. “And I was happy they came out like that.
“I’m not the type to brag on myself. But when I see that, man-to-man coverage, that’s my dream. I love when people go man, and no safety over the top. It’s just me and the DB. The better man wins.”
Harris gets a Second Half High 5 this week after probably the most victorious day in his young career.
He grabbed eight passes for an MHSAA Finals record 243 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles beat St. Mary’s 40-37 in overtime to claim their first football championship.
Saturday’s numbers gave him, unofficially, 91 catches for 2,015 yards and 25 scores this fall. While those totals still must be confirmed for record book purposes, the yardage will be the most in MHSAA history for one season and rank 12thnationally. His yards per game this fall will rank fourth nationally and his yards per catch sixth. His catches will rank fourth in MHSAA history and his touchdown catches second.
Harris has committed to sign next fall with Michigan State for basketball and then the following February for football too. He’s expected to do big things again this winter for a Grand Rapids Christian basketball team that advanced to the Class A Quarterfinals last season.
Hoops always was his sport – he wasn't sure at one point that he’d even play football in high school. But Harris said Spartans men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo told him he loves players who are on their football teams as well. And Harris said he is starting to realize his football future might be the brighter of the two.
Saturday couldn't have hurt that observation.
Harris caught passes of 49 and 22 yards before hauling in a 74-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter. He had an 85-yarder called back during the third quarter, but caught passes of 24 and 38 yards to set up a touchdown early in the fourth. He then caught his final three passes during the team’s final possession of regulation, gaining a total of 36 yards in helping to set up Joel Schipper’s 28-yard game-tying field goal with four seconds left.
One catch will live on in Finals memory for years to come. In the fourth quarter, Harris went so high as to nearly jump over his defensive back. The defender tackled his legs mid-air, dumping Harris back-first into the turf. But Harris held on, and the Eagles continued to move.
After gaining more than 1,000 yards receiving as a sophomore too, Harris will need only 609 as a senior to set that MHSAA career record. He needs 66 catches and four for touchdowns to tie those records. And if a record was kept for highlight-reel catches, he might already be the holder.
“People don’t necessarily think he’s tough or something. But to have a guy go up 3-4 feet in the air and get flipped, catch the ball and land on his back or head; that’s pretty tough in my book,” Grand Rapids Christian senior quarterback Alex VanDeVusse said. “I’d take him on my team every single day. He’s amazing.”
PHOTO: Drake Harris went high to make this grab during the fourth quarter of Saturday's Division 3 Final against Orchard Lake St. Mary's. (Click for more from Terry McNamara Photography.)
DeWitt Caps Finals with 1st Title Celebration
January 23, 2021
By Jason Schmitt
Special for Second Half
DETROIT – DeWitt head football coach Rob Zimmerman had every right to talk about how good it felt to capture his school’s first-ever MHSAA Finals football championship Saturday night at Ford Field.
But all he wanted to talk about after DeWitt’s 40-30 victory over River Rouge in the Division 3 Final was the character and drive of his players. That’s what was first and foremost on his mind.
“It’s unbelievable, but I think the greatest part of it all is this is such a great group of kids,” said the veteran coach, who previously has coached four Finals runners-up, the most recent in 2013. “I’ve been saying it all year long, but their character is unbelievable – the motivation, the drive, the leadership. If there’s a group of kids who deserve to win a state championship, it’s this group. I’m so happy for them.”
Total, the program was making its sixth championship game appearance, seeking its first title.
And it didn’t take long Saturday for Zimmerman and his group to take steps toward earning it.
Junior quarterback Tyler Holtz broke open a scoreless game at the 5:50 mark of the first quarter, connecting with senior Blake Beachnau for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 7-0.
River Rouge would answer back early in the second quarter, as senior Mareyohn Hrabowski would find junior Jalen Holly for a 52-yard touchdown. A two-point conversion pass from Hrabowski to freshman Nicholas Marsh gave Rouge an 8-7 lead.
But it was at that point that the DeWitt defense stepped things up. And it also was the point when Holtz began to take over the game. The Associated Press’ Player of the Year in Divisions 3 and 4 threw two more touchdown passes before halftime, then added another midway through the third quarter to help his team to a 27-8 lead. All three scores went to different receivers – eight yards to senior Andrew Debri, 35 yards to senior Nick Flegler and 25 yards to junior Thomas McIntosh.
“That’s why he’s the player of the year,” Zimmerman said of his junior signal caller. “He was front and center today, and his composure was unbelievable. He’s just off the charts, and he was the difference-maker in this game.
“We felt that we had the matchup advantage in the passing game going into this because our receivers are very good. We felt like we could throw the ball, too. We just had to mix in the run enough to take some shots without them just playing pass the whole time like they did against (Detroit Martin Luther) King (in the Regional Final).”
Holtz finished the game 12-of-16 passing for 177 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 15 times for a game-high 118 yards – and another score. River Rouge head coach Corey Parker admitted his team couldn’t find a way to stop Holtz.
“(Holtz) is able to throw the ball on the run, and that creates threats to a defense like no other,” Parker said. “Throwing the ball on the run, that’s truly a dual-threat guy. He didn’t really run the ball on the perimeter, he ran the ball on the interior and he was able to throw the ball real well.”
Hrabowski did his best to keep his team in the game. A four-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and a 12-yard touchdown pass to Marsh early in the fourth helped keep it a two-touchdown game. He also added a three-yard touchdown run and ensuing two-point conversion to cap off a game in which he threw for 227 yards and ran for another 94, while accounting for all of his team’s touchdowns.
“They didn’t give up. Their kids played hard,” Zimmerman said of Rouge (9-2). “They’re the defending state champs so we knew they weren’t going to go easy. We kept scoring and they kept coming back. I’m just so proud of our kids.”
Rouge defeated Muskegon, 30-7, in last year’s Division 3 Final. Hrabowski returned this season, but many of the players on this year’s roster were new.
“Our goal is to get here (every year),” Parker said. “If you’ve got young guys making plays like that, you know exactly what your future looks like, so I’m pretty excited about what we’re going to do moving forward.”
DeWitt (12-0) capped off a magical season which saw its offense put up nearly 500 points in 11 games played, while its defense was dominant, allowing just 78, including Saturday’s Final. Flegler and fellow seniors Grant Uyl and Cooper Brumfield all led the team with 10 tackles each.
“We have unity, no matter what, on defense,” said Flegler, who also handled all the kicking duties for the team. “Our mindset is always, ‘What the next play? What’s the next play?’ We don’t linger on failure and we’re always looking to improve on the next play, and I think that’s what brings us success.”
PHOTOS: (Top) DeWitt junior Thomas McIntosh (10) looks back to see if defenders are closing in as he makes his way toward the end zone Saturday. (Middle) DeWitt quarterback Tyler Holtz breaks into the open. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)