At Hudson, Winning Starts with the 'Ride'
November 2, 2017
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
HUDSON – It was a couple hours before kickoff for the Hudson Tigers, and head coach Tom Saylor didn’t think his team was focused enough.
“It was early on in our winning streak,” said Saylor. “Everybody was kind of laughing and just not thinking about the game. I told them to get on the bus and we drove right out of town, past the cemetery and I think we drove clear to Clayton (a town about six miles away). The players were thinking, ‘What is this guy doing?’”
The home game for Hudson turned into a road game – complete with a bus ride. A tradition was born.
“I thought we played better on road games,” said Saylor, who coached the Tigers through their record-setting 72-game win streak during the 1970s. “There weren’t so many distractions.”
Friday night, Hudson’s players will board the bus once more this season and take the trip from the high school locker room into downtown Hudson to Thompson Field, where the Tigers play their home games. Hudson will take on Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in a Division 7 District championship game.
The head coach now is Chris Luma, who was a quarterback for Hudson during part of that win streak. He said the bus ride is a little shorter these days, but remains a surreal moment for all Tigers players and coaches.
“Coach Saylor liked to only make right turns,” Luma said. “That was his thing. We’d go out of the school and only make right turns to get to the field. Now, we just come out of the school, go down Maple, go right past my house and turn and go to the stadium. It’s about a five-minute ride.”
And it takes place in total silence.
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” said Tigers running back Malik Ray, who has more than 1,500 yards rushing. “It’s a really different experience. It’s legit. We get on the bus and some kids pray and others just think about the game. We don’t have time to mess around. Once we hit the seats, it’s go time. There’s no joking around. No way.”
Luma said every so often a young player will board the bus and talk or say something and a captain will quickly let him know the bus ride is done in silence.
“I’ll get on the bus, count them up and make sure we have everybody and give them the look,” he said. “It’s all quiet. We drive to the stadium, pull up and the players get out and go to the shed. Everyone has their own routine.”
Hudson has been home to a lot of big games on Friday nights over the years. The Tigers’ tradition is well known. Hudson held the national high school football winning streak record of 72 games for 22 years. Thompson Field has been the site of a lot of those Hudson wins and impactful games.
“The place has held more huge games than any other venue in Lenawee County over the past 60 plus years,” said Hudson sports historian Bill Mullaly. “Thompson Field has been around since 1955, and there have been many exciting, thrilling and very meaningful games played there with upwards of 5,000-plus people watching, especially back in the winning streak days.”
Before 1955, Hudson’s field was located in a low area right next to the current stadium, which sits on a hill in town and was moved because the old field was prone to flooding. The stadium is not on campus, somewhat atypical at the high school level.
Saylor used to live right next to the stadium, on the hill.
“I would wake up and see the stadium every morning,” he said.
Luma said the bus ride is different to the ‘home’ game than it is for an actual road game.
“When I was a player, I’d sit right next to Coach Saylor,” he said. “For road games, we’d go over my assignments, what he expected out of me. We’d talk about situations and what I should say or do in the huddle. I think those times sitting on the bus with him is one of the reasons I went into coaching.
“Riding to a home game, though, there was no talking. It’s still that way.”
Luma has had a remarkable coaching career at Hudson, winning 175 games, including a Division 7 championship in 2010. Friday will be Hudson’s second game ever against St. Mary, a traditional power from Monroe County with a couple of MHSAA championships to boast about – including its most recent in 2014, a Division 6 championship. The Falcons are competing for the first time in the Division 7 playoffs.
Ironically, both teams run the ‘T’ offense and both teams have strong rushing attacks. Hudson (9-1) was the Lenawee County Athletic Association champion while SMCC (6-4) got into the playoffs at 5-4 after navigating a difficult Huron League schedule.
No matter the weather, Thompson Field figures to be a packed house.
When it’s game time, Ray will board the bus, make the silent ride, get to the stadium and play catch for a few minutes with Hudson quarterback Andrew Valdez. When the team is ready to take the field, they’ll leave the shed and take turns with the rest of the team touching a sign above the door that says “The Team, The Team, The Team.”
Then – and only then – will it be game time.
“On the bus ride to the game, you’ll see people on the streets and they are waving at you and they are excited,” Ray said. “You can see joy in their eyes.
“Anytime you play in a playoff game, it’s a truly great experience. Playing one more game with these guys … its more than I can say.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Hudson’s players enter Thompson Field at the start of a game this season. (Middle) Malik Ray works to elude a Morenci defender during a Week 2 win. (Photos by Mike Dickie.)
2016 Week 5 Football Playoff Listing
September 19, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Here is a list of Michigan High School Athletic Association football playing schools, displaying their win-loss records and playoff averages through the fourth week of the season.
Schools on this list are in enrollment order for 11-player teams, with 8-player teams ordered by playoff average. An asterisk (*) beside a record indicates a team has eight or fewer games scheduled.
Those schools with 11-player teams with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules, or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer, will qualify for the MHSAA Football Playoffs beginning Oct. 28. Schools with 5-4, 4-3 or 4-4 records may qualify if the number of potential qualifiers by win total does not reach the 256 mark. Schools with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer may be subtracted from the field based on playoff average if the number of potential qualifiers exceeds the 256 mark.
Once the 256 qualifying schools are determined, they will be divided by enrollment groups into eight equal divisions of 32 schools, and then drawn into regions of eight teams each and districts of four teams each. Those schools with 8-player teams will be ranked by playoff average at season’s end, and the top 16 programs will be drawn into regions of eight teams each for the playoff in that division, which also begins Oct. 28.
To review a list of all football playoff schools, individual school playoff point details and to report errors, visit the Football page of the MHSAA Website.
The announcement of the qualifiers and first-round pairings for both the 11 and 8-player playoffs will take place at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23 on the Selection Sunday Show on FOX Sports Detroit. The playoff qualifiers and pairings will be posted to the MHSAA Website following the Selection Sunday Show.
11-Player Playoff Listing
1. Utica Eisenhower, 2700, 4-0, 92.000
2. Clarkston, 2683, 3-1, 70.250
3. Grand Blanc, 2628, 4-0, 94.000
4. Howell, 2499, 3-1, 66.500
5. Dearborn Fordson, 2487, 4-0, 94.000
6. Detroit Cass Tech, 2368, 4-0, 70.000
7. Northville, 2325, 3-1, 76.750
8. Brighton, 2142, 3-1, 72.500
9. Detroit Catholic Central, 2128, 4-0, 94.000
10. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North, 1986, 4-0, 90.000
11. Dearborn, 1978, 3-1, 70.500
12. Lapeer, 1932, 3-1, 60.500
13. Saline, 1923, 4-0, 94.667
14. Bloomfield Hills, 1831, 4-0, 92.000
15. White Lake Lakeland, 1822, 4-0, 90.000
16. Grandville, 1810, 4-0, 94.000
17. Hudsonville, 1797, 3-1, 74.750
18. Warren Mott, 1768, 4-0, 90.000
19. Grand Ledge, 1694, 3-1, 68.500
20. Davison, 1668, 4-0, 84.000
21. Rochester Adams, 1666, 3-1, 66.250
22. Romeo, 1641, 3-1, 72.000
23. Walled Lake Northern, 1631, 4-0, 88.000
24. Grosse Pointe South, 1600, 4-0, 92.000
25. Temperance Bedford, 1597, 3-1, 66.750
26. Detroit Western International, 1584, 3-1, 44.750
27. Brownstown Woodhaven, 1579, 3-1, 64.750
28. Detroit East English, 1579, 3-1, 50.500
29. Livonia Churchill, 1578, 3-1, 72.250
30. Traverse City West, 1552, 3-1, 70.750
31. Warren Cousino, 1496, 3-1, 66.250
32. Detroit Martin Luther King, 1487, 4-0, 78.000
33. Detroit U-D Jesuit *, 1482, 3-1, 60.250
34. Jenison, 1481, 3-1, 64.500
35. Traverse City Central, 1394, 4-0, 96.000
36. Midland, 1388, 3-1, 60.500
37. Portage Central, 1388, 3-1, 62.750
38. Walled Lake Western, 1370, 4-0, 92.000
39. Grosse Pointe North, 1367, 3-1, 58.500
40. Battle Creek Lakeview *, 1353, 3-0, 84.000
41. Berkley, 1319, 3-1, 68.500
42. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, 1316, 3-1, 68.500
43. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1311, 3-1, 66.750
44. Port Huron Northern, 1288, 3-1, 52.000
45. Wyoming, 1288, 3-1, 62.750
46. Midland Dow, 1254, 4-0, 84.000
47. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1250, 3-1, 68.400
48. Birmingham Groves, 1248, 4-0, 92.000
49. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 1198, 3-1, 58.250
50. Lowell, 1165, 4-0, 92.000
51. Holly, 1164, 3-1, 62.500
52. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1161, 3-1, 66.250
53. Greenville, 1142, 3-1, 70.500
54. Allen Park, 1094, 4-0, 94.000
55. Redford Thurston, 1090, 3-1, 62.500
56. Byron Center, 1070, 3-1, 62.500
57. Muskegon, 1052, 3-1, 66.500
58. Ortonville-Brandon, 1034, 3-1, 56.250
59. Detroit Cody, 1015, 3-1, 48.750
60. Mason, 1009, 3-1, 64.500
61. Zeeland East, 1007, 3-1, 58.750
62. DeWitt, 1002, 3-1, 76.500
63. St. Joseph, 989, 3-1, 68.500
64. Trenton, 969, 4-0, 90.000
65. Linden, 940, 3-1, 60.500
66. Cedar Springs, 936, 3-1, 68.500
67. Niles, 931, 3-1, 57.850
68. Coldwater, 929, 3-1, 66.250
69. Romulus, 929, 4-0, 35.333
70. Grand Rapids Christian, 912, 4-0, 88.800
71. Warren Fitzgerald, 891, 4-0, 80.000
72. New Boston Huron, 886, 3-1, 54.750
73. Battle Creek Harper Creek, 880, 4-0, 74.000
74. Chelsea, 867, 4-0, 84.000
75. Redford Union, 865, 3-1, 50.250
76. Stevensville Lakeshore, 865, 3-1, 70.500
77. Vicksburg, 861, 3-1, 54.750
78. Dearborn Divine Child, 859, 4-0, 78.000
79. Zeeland West, 857, 3-1, 70.750
80. Edwardsburg, 855, 4-0, 74.000
81. Sparta, 834, 3-1, 50.500
82. Fowlerville, 833, 3-1, 56.750
83. Cadillac, 817, 3-1, 62.250
84. Hamilton, 810, 4-0, 82.000
85. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 797, 3-1, 50.250
86. Marysville, 794, 4-0, 76.000
87. Detroit Osborn, 786, 3-1, 54.500
88. Milan, 775, 4-0, 78.000
89. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 749, 3-1, 72.250
90. River Rouge, 741, 3-1, 56.750
91. Three Rivers, 730, 3-1, 60.000
92. Escanaba, 722, 4-0, 90.000
93. Detroit Mumford, 714, 3-1, 50.500
94. Ludington, 695, 3-1, 46.750
95. Detroit Country Day, 692, 4-0, 70.000
96. Alma, 674, 3-1, 56.750
97. South Haven, 674, 3-1, 58.250
98. Wyoming Kelloggsville, 660, 3-1, 51.417
99. Croswell-Lexington, 659, 3-1, 58.500
100. Lake Fenton, 654, 4-0, 72.000
101. Grosse Ile, 653, 4-0, 84.000
102. Whitehall, 653, 4-0, 66.000
103. Wyoming Godwin Heights, 645, 3-1, 52.917
104. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 644, 4-0, 84.000
105. Benton Harbor, 643, 4-0, 70.000
106. Corunna, 639, 4-0, 74.000
107. Hudsonville Unity Christian, 629, 4-0, 88.000
108. St. Clair Shores South Lake, 617, 3-1, 64.750
109. Lake Odessa Lakewood, 614, 4-0, 68.000
110. Hancock, 608, 3-1, 38.350
111. Detroit Denby, 593, 3-1, 54.500
112. Muskegon Oakridge, 590, 3-1, 40.750
113. Southfield Bradford, 587, 3-1, 52.500
114. Portland, 579, 4-0, 82.000
115. Remus Chippewa Hills, 577, 4-0, 74.000
116. Richmond, 562, 3-1, 62.750
117. Freeland, 561, 4-0, 84.000
118. Essexville Garber, 550, 3-1, 52.750
119. Algonac, 547, 4-0, 66.000
120. Ida, 546, 4-0, 68.000
121. Carrollton, 543, 3-1, 48.750
122. Kingsford, 543, 3-1, 61.200
123. Olivet, 541, 3-1, 50.750
124. Harper Woods, 540, 3-1, 52.250
125. Frankenmuth, 533, 4-0, 70.000
126. Lansing Catholic, 532, 3-1, 66.750
127. Grant, 520, 3-1, 46.750
128. Kalkaska, 517, 4-0, 60.000
129. Reed City, 496, 4-0, 72.000
130. Grayling, 492, 3-1, 52.750
131. Stockbridge, 482, 3-1, 52.750
132. Grand Rapids West Catholic, 475, 3-1, 46.500
133. Durand, 463, 4-0, 56.000
134. Parchment, 448, 3-1, 38.250
135. Menominee, 439, 4-0, 71.600
136. Ithaca, 426, 4-0, 72.000
137. Clare, 419, 3-1, 50.750
138. Montague, 414, 4-0, 62.000
139. Houghton, 412, 3-1, 38.500
140. Tawas *, 412, 3-1, 40.500
141. Calumet, 406, 3-1, 50.750
142. Morley Stanwood, 404, 3-1, 48.500
143. Negaunee, 400, 4-0, 66.000
144. Warren Michigan Collegiate, 398, 3-1, 56.500
145. Adrian Madison, 397, 3-1, 48.750
146. Charlevoix, 393, 4-0, 54.000
147. Millington, 393, 4-0, 72.000
148. Constantine, 386, 3-1, 48.750
149. Montrose, 386, 3-1, 52.500
150. Byron, 385, 3-1, 46.250
151. Quincy, 381, 4-0, 50.000
152. Watervliet, 380, 3-1, 48.750
153. Maple City Glen Lake, 379, 3-1, 46.750
154. Houghton Lake, 374, 3-1, 48.750
155. Laingsburg, 374, 4-0, 58.000
156. Roscommon, 367, 4-0, 70.000
157. Grass Lake, 363, 4-0, 68.000
158. Kent City, 362, 3-1, 46.500
159. Schoolcraft, 358, 4-0, 58.000
160. Oscoda, 352, 3-1, 44.500
161. Ravenna, 350, 3-1, 46.750
162. Leroy Pine River, 347, 3-1, 52.750
163. Madison Heights Madison, 343, 3-1, 64.500
164. Traverse City St. Francis, 341, 4-0, 70.000
165. Lawton, 333, 4-0, 52.000
166. Clinton, 331, 4-0, 62.000
167. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 330, 3-1, 40.250
168. Reese, 328, 3-1, 46.750
169. McBain, 326, 3-1, 54.500
170. Riverview Gabriel Richard, 320, 3-1, 50.500
171. Bridgman, 312, 3-1, 42.250
172. Iron Mountain, 302, 3-1, 52.083
173. New Lothrop, 298, 4-0, 58.000
174. Gobles, 289, 4-0, 60.000
175. Saugatuck, 289, 4-0, 0.000
176. Pewamo-Westphalia, 288, 4-0, 62.000
177. Gwinn, 287, 3-1, 42.500
178. Cassopolis, 278, 4-0, 60.667
179. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, 277, 4-0, 62.000
180. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker, 274, 4-0, 56.000
181. Carson City-Crystal, 268, 3-1, 34.000
182. Sand Creek, 268, 4-0, 48.000
183. Hudson, 267, 4-0, 66.000
184. Unionville-Sebewaing, 267, 3-1, 10.444
185. Detroit Loyola, 266, 3-1, 52.250
186. East Jordan, 261, 3-1, 34.500
187. Ubly, 260, 4-0, 62.000
188. Springport, 259, 4-0, 52.000
189. Concord, 258, 4-0, 52.000
190. Onekama, 254, 3-1, 30.500
191. Whittemore-Prescott, 251, 3-1, 44.500
192. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic, 249, 3-1, 52.500
193. Saginaw Nouvel, 248, 3-1, 54.750
194. Lincoln Alcona, 245, 3-1, 34.500
195. Evart, 242, 3-1, 44.500
196. Ottawa Lake Whiteford, 242, 4-0, 58.000
197. Breckenridge, 235, 4-0, 48.000
198. St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 232, 4-0, 50.000
199. Melvindale Academy for Business & Tech, 224, 3-1, 44.250
200. St. Ignace, 219, 3-1, 46.750
201. Norway, 214, 4-0, 41.200
202. Newberry, 212, 4-0, 50.000
203. AuGres-Sims, 206, 3-1, 38.500
204. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary, 200, 3-1, 48.250
205. Vestaburg, 195, 4-0, 50.000
206. Merrill, 191, 3-1, 32.000
207. Fowler, 185, 3-1, 38.250
208. Frankfort, 171, 4-0, 48.000
209. Gaylord St. Mary, 170, 4-0, 42.000
210. Climax-Scotts, 169, 4-0, 52.000
211. Muskegon Catholic Central, 163, 4-0, 78.000
212. Lake Linden-Hubbell, 157, 4-0, 60.800
213. Colon, 156, 3-1, 34.750
214. Clarkston Everest Collegiate, 115, 4-0, 54.000
8-Player Playoff Listing
1. Powers North Central, 115, 4-0, 48.800
2. Deckerville *, 177, 4-0, 48.000
3. Cedarville, 156, 4-0, 48.000
4. New Haven Merritt Academy, 165, 4-0, 46.000
5. Engadine, 91, 4-0, 44.000
6. Portland St. Patrick, 92, 4-0, 42.667
7. Lawrence, 186, 4-0, 42.000
8. Owendale-Gagetown, 48, 4-0, 42.000
9. Crystal Falls Forest Park, 159, 3-1, 38.750
10. Peck, 143, 3-1, 36.750
11. Rapid River, 116, 3-1, 36.500
12. Wyoming Tri-unity Christian, 168, 4-0, 36.000
13. Camden-Frontier *, 159, 3-0, 34.667
14. Battle Creek St. Philip, 143, 4-0, 34.000
15. Stephenson, 177, 3-1, 31.700
16. Marion, 132, 3-1, 31.167
17. Waldron, 83, 3-1, 29.417
18. Pickford, 149, 3-1, 28.750
19. Hale, 129, 3-1, 28.750
20. Fife Lake Forest Area, 162, 3-1, 27.417
21. Webberville, 178, 3-1, 27.167
22. Posen, 94, 2-2, 21.917
23. Morrice, 168, 2-2, 21.500
24. Mayville, 196, 2-2, 21.250
25. Ontonagon, 126, 2-2, 21.250
26. Flint International Academy, 185, 2-2, 19.500
27. Onaway, 190, 2-2, 17.500
28. Tekonsha, 135, 1-3, 14.583
29. Brethren, 152, 1-3, 13.667
30. Carney-Nadeau *, 140, 1-2, 12.667
31. Caseville, 98, 1-3, 12.000
32. Eben Junction Superior Central, 125, 1-3, 11.917
33. Flint Michigan School for the Deaf *, 47, 1-2, 11.583
34. Baraga, 150, 1-3, 11.417
35. Ewen-Trout Creek, 115, 1-3, 11.250
36. Burr Oak, 72, 1-3, 11.167
37. Bellaire, 133, 1-3, 9.750
38. St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran, 97, 1-3, 9.750
39. Burton Madison Academy, 198, 1-3, 9.500
40. St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy, 137, 1-3, 9.500
41. Carsonville-Port Sanilac, 118, 1-3, 9.500
42. Manistee Catholic Central, 189, 1-3, 9.000
43. Pellston, 169, 0-4, 2.000
44. Covert *, 95, 0-4, 2.000
45. Kinde-North Huron, 157, 0-4, 1.750
46. Litchfield, 85, 0-4, 1.500
47. Akron-Fairgrove, 105, 0-4, 0.750
48. Big Rapids Crossroads Academy, 193, 0-4, 0.500