Hearts Heavy, St. Mary's Keeps Promise

November 29, 2014

By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half

DETROIT — The most important football game in Brandon Adams' life suddenly didn't seem so important.

At a time when excitement should've been rising within the Orchard Lake St. Mary's junior, he was holed up in his bedroom, coming to grips with the lowest moment in his young life.

Football? Who cares about something as trivial as football — even a state championship game — when your mother just died two days earlier?

Playing a game may not have been important, but fulfilling a promise to his mother and continuing to live as she would have wished helped him to get up, get out of his room and move forward.

"At first, I didn't think I was going to play this game," said Adams, whose 1-yard run with 5:42 left in the first quarter was the only touchdown in the Eaglets' 7-0 victory over Muskegon in the MHSAA Division 3 Final on Saturday night at Ford Field.

"Thursday, after she passed, I was sitting in my bed at home. My dad walks in and says, 'I don't want you to sit here and sulk,' so I went to practice Friday. We had a team meeting at 1 before our practice at 2. All the guys gave their condolences and said, 'We're not losing this game. We're making a promise to God, to my mom and to the team that we're gonna win,' and we did. I don't know. It's just ..."

Adams' voice trailed off as he held the game ball, standing before reporters and bravely articulating his feelings while still in the midst of grief.

His mother, Katie, was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer three months ago. She continued to follow her son's team, all the way up through the Semifinal victory over New Boston Huron just five days before she died on Thanksgiving.

"All the guys came to the hospital, because she was in hospice for her last hours," Adams said. "The one thing she was saying to all the guys was, 'I'm going to watch the game on TV and I want you guys to bring me back the trophy. Well, she's not here, but we did. It was a promise my brothers made to me and to my family and to each other that we would win the game.

"She never missed a game. Even with her chemo, she was sick as a dog and she'd come sit in her car and come watch. This was the first game in my football career she's missed."

In a time of tragedy for the team, St. Mary's coach George Porritt saw inspiration in the way Adams was supported by his teammates.

"The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind," Porritt said. "What's great is watching kids take care of kids when there are tough times. This team rallied behind this kid. Last night was special."

From a football standpoint, Porritt supported Adams by giving him two straight carries after his fumble nearly ended the game's only scoring drive.

Adams broke through the line and appeared primed to scamper into the end zone on a 4-yard run from the 6-yard line, but he lost the ball, only to recover it himself.

Adams got the next carry, moving the ball one yard closer to the end zone, before going untouched around the left side to cap a nine-play, 34-yard drive.

Adams was appreciative of the opportunity to get the next two carries following his fumble.

"My coaches are very persistent on hanging on to the ball," he said. "After that fumble, it's human nature to get down on yourself and hang your head, but my coaches kept preaching, 'Hold your head up, we'll get through it,' and they gave it back to me again. I knew I was going to get into the end zone."

Porritt insisted that Adams wasn't given the chance to bounce back just because he was going through a hard time in his life.

"Sometimes we like the kid to get the ball right away, get it right back in his hands," Porritt said. "We had to have him."

Real life beyond the football field was also the theme for Muskegon as coach Shane Fairfield addressed his players after the Big Reds lost in an MHSAA Final for the third straight year. They lost to Birmingham Brother Rice in the last two Division 2 title games.

"It's not going to be easy," Fairfield told his team. "It hurts. It should hurt, because it means so much. ... We have to continue the pursuit of greatness in our lives."

Adams tempted fate with his early fumble, but wasn't as fortunate in the second quarter. On second-and-goal from Muskegon's 2-yard line, Alezay Coleman popped the ball loose from Adams' grasp and Taron Smith recovered for the Big Reds with 10:53 left in the first half.

Having escaped a possible early 14-0 deficit, Muskegon's offense began to click after its first three possessions resulted in only four yards on eight plays. The Big Reds marched 95 yards in 14 plays, taking 6:56 off the clock, but came away with no points when they also failed to score from the 2-yard line.

Those missed opportunities by each team from the opponents' 2-yard line would be the closest either would come to scoring after the Eaglets opened up with a touchdown.

The defensive standoff was surprising, given the fact St. Mary's averaged 47.5 points and Muskegon 37 in four playoff games.

"You never know what kind of game it's going to be," Porritt said. "We know we have a great defense and they have a great defense. So, that's what happens. The defenses were a little bit better than the offenses today."

The Eaglets nursed their 7-0 lead through a scoreless second half by not allowing Muskegon to get closer than 31 yards from the end zone.

The Big Reds had four possessions after halftime, with two ending in interceptions. Tyler Cochran picked off a pass on the first play of Muskegon's second possession of the third quarter. The key interception came with 6:37 left in the game when Dwayne Chapman came up with an errant pass on fourth-and-three from the St. Mary's 31.

Muskegon would never touch the ball again. St. Mary's ran out the final 6:37 by getting four first downs on a 14-play possession that covered 49 yards. 

When time expired, St. Mary's had its sixth MHSAA title, while the Big Reds had to settle for the runner-up trophy for the third year in a row.

"A lot of teams around Muskegon can't say they've been there three years in a row," Muskegon senior lineman Rowland Sharp II said. "I've been here since my sophomore year. I'm very proud to say I made it to Ford Field. As I go into my career, I'll be able to say, yes, I played at Ford Field; that's an NFL stadium I played in." 

Muskegon's explosive ground game was held to 109 yards on 33 carries. St. Mary's also struggled with its trademark running game, gaining 133 yards on 45 carries.

Click for full statistics.

PHOTOS: (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s hoists its Division 3 championship trophy after the final football game of the 2014 MHSAA season Saturday. (Middle) St. Mary’s Josh Ross (5) breaks through the line as Muskegon defenders pursue. (Click for action photos and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:

BIG REDS GOAL LINE TAKEAWAY - Early in the second quarter, Muskegon forces an Orchard Lake St. Mary's fumble, which is recovered by Alezay Coleman. 

EAGLETS THWART MUSKEGON'S LAST CHANCE - Muskegon's last offensive chance came near the midpoint of the fourth quarter, where on a fourth down play, a Big Reds pass by intercepted by Orchard Lake St. Mary's Dwayne Chapman. The Eaglets then ran out the clock and won the Division 3 championship game, 7-0.

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.

Coleman's Legendary Heroics Carry Harrison Through Repeat

December 6, 2024

Jackson Lumen Christi's victory in last weekend's 11-Player Division 6 Football Final marked the school’s 14th championship, sending the Titans past Farmington Hills Harrison for the most football state titles in MHSAA history.

Harrison, which closed in 2019, won 13 over a 30-year period from 1981 to 2010, all under the guidance of legendary coach John Herrington.

The third and fourth championships came with Mill Coleman at quarterback. If not for his thrilling playmaking, the fourth title might not have been possible.

In 1989, one year after leading Harrison to the 1988 Class B championship, Coleman and his team found themselves trailing DeWitt by double digits in the second quarter of the Class B title game and by six with fewer than two minutes to play.

But Coleman’s heroics led Harrison to a 28-27 victory, as he scored two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter, the last coming with 1:34 remaining. He finished with 208 passing yards and 89 rushing yards in the win. In the 1988 title game, Coleman had thrown for 238 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant 44-9 victory over St. Joseph.

Harrison's Mill Coleman (6) looks for an open receiver during the 1989 Class B championship game against DeWitt.Over his three years as Harrison’s starting quarterback, Coleman amassed a 37-2 record, with both losses coming during his sophomore season in 1987. The last team to defeat Coleman was Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the 1987 Class B Final.

After his high school career, Coleman excelled at Michigan State, playing quarterback, running back, receiver, and returning kicks. He also spent two years with the Montreal Alouettes in the Canadian Football League, where he scored six touchdowns during his pro career.

Coleman’s son, Mill Coleman III, won a state title in 2023 with Grand Rapids Catholic Central – the school which last defeated the older Coleman. The younger Coleman contributed with five tackles and an interception as the Cougars defeated Corunna 21-7 to claim the Division 5 title.

Previous "Flashback 100" Features

Nov. 22: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer - Read
Nov. 15: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: 
Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: 
James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: 
Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read 

PHOTOS (Top) The Farmington Hills Harrison 1989 Class B championship football team. (Middle) Harrison's Mill Coleman (6) looks for an open receiver during the 1989 Class B Final against DeWitt. (MHSAA archives)