Ice Man: Skyline's Copp sets football records, leaves legacy
October 27, 2011
Eventually, Andrew Copp may be best-known as a hockey star. His spot on the USA under-18 national team development program squad marks him as one of the top players his age in the country.
But he’ll be remembered as one of Ann Arbor Skyline’s first standout athletes for another sport he simply couldn’t give up.
Bittersweet and heart-breaking are how Copp described the end of this football season. The MHSAA playoffs begin this weekend, and he hoped to be a part -- a possibility that was likely closer than Skyline’s 3-6 record might imply, given four of those losses were by four or fewer points. And that’s not the worst part. Even if Skyline had earned a berth, Copp would’ve been forced to watch after breaking his right collarbone in multiple spots three weeks ago.
Still, there will be plenty to remember fondly for the first quarterback in his school’s four-year history. Two MHSAA records and his school’s first varsity football wins will top the list, even as the combination of football and the injury will force Copp the miss the first half of his USA team’s season.
“It means a lot, starting something new and trying to put your stamp on it,” Copp said. “As the quarterback, it’s a lot of weight on your shoulders to start something that 10, 20 years down the road people are going look at.
“Last year, when I got offered to play (USA) but had to quit football after the first game, I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t quit on the team.”
That kind of leadership was “worth its weight in gold” for a school and program only just getting started, Skyline athletic director John Young said.
Copp likely would’ve attended Ann Arbor Pioneer -- like both of his parents had -- had Skyline not opened in fall 2008.
The Eagles’ football program started that first fall, but didn’t field a varsity team until 2010. Copp was the quarterback all four years until his he was injured on a run during the first quarter of his team’s Week 7 game against Temperance Bedford.
Two weeks earlier, against Ann Arbor Pioneer, Copp had thrown for an MHSAA record 557 yards and record-tying seven touchdowns. In six games this fall plus a few minutes of that seventh, Copp completed 96 of 156 passes for 1,732 yards and 27 touchdowns. Those season touchdown passes also qualify for an MHSAA record book listing, as do the 31 completions that led to his record-setting numbers against Pioneer.
“Obviously, I can’t throw for 557 yards without my line doing a great job, my receivers catching balls and making plays. And probably the most unsung heroes on our team are the running backs, who were blocking for me,” Copp said. “I just remember everything going our way, almost like a recess football game.”
But it took some flexibility from USA hockey and a tough decision by Copp to make it possible. Usually, USA players aren’t allowed to play other sports, Copp said, but he was granted that exception. He joined USA hockey after his junior football season, and this summer started that team’s workouts at 8 a.m. before then moving on to workouts and film study for football. This fall, after his five classes at Skyline to start the day, he’d work out for hockey from 1:30-4 p.m. every week Monday through Wednesday, then start football practice at 4:30. All while remaining a strong student and adhering to a hockey-imposed 9 p.m. curfew.
Ironically, the 6-foot, 185-pound Copp joined the football team to become more physical for hockey on the advice of his father Andy, a successful youth hockey coach. Andrew has seen some similarities between the two sports -- as a hockey center he also controls play. Hockey helped Copp be ready for a fast pace of play and developed the quick decision-making necessary to thrive at quarterback.
His football mind helped him help the Eagles when he could no longer lead them on the field. “He had surgery on Tuesday, missed Wednesday, and was back at practice the next day,” Skyline coach Rodrek Jones said. “That was the same day my offensive coordinator was not able to come to practice, and (Copp) called the entire practice for me. He stayed very focused.”
Copp still can’t carry his backpack around school, but hopes to play hockey by January. He is almost assured of an outstanding college hockey opportunity, and Jones thinks he has the ability to play college football as well. Young said Copp, along with receiver Jordan Woods (committed to Purdue) and volleyball player Maggie Halloran (committed to Michigan State), has put Skyline on the map. Despite the tough end this fall, it’s a legacy Copp is glad to leave for those who come after him.
“He’s one of the most popular kids in school, on the Homecoming king court ... a typical All-American kid,” Young said. “I’m extremely happy for him. I was disappointed he broke his collarbone, because he was on track for a more spectacular year. But he helped, along with other players, to elevate their play this year.”
PHOTO
Skyline quarterback Andrew Copp (9) takes a snap against Ann Arbor Pioneer on Sept. 23. Copp threw for an MHSAA-record 557 yards and a record-tying seven touchdowns in a 52-49 loss. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Lepley. Head shot by Pete Draugalis.)
'Oakridge Family' True in Name & Purpose
October 3, 2018
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Every football team talks about being a family.
But at Muskegon Oakridge, it’s more than just a motto.
Three of the Oakridge varsity coaches have sons on the team, including head coach Cary Harger with two-way starting senior lineman Cole Harger.
“It does make it extra special, being a senior and playing for my dad,” said Cole Harger of the Eagles’ high-flying start, which has them 6-0 and ranked No. 3 in Division 5 in the latest Associated Press poll.
“The family thing is real out here. This is such a tight-knit community, and we’re just together all the time. We know each other so well and know how to push each other.”
Oakridge faces its toughest test of the season Friday when it hosts conference rival Montague (5-1), which comes in riding a five-game winning streak and ranked No. 10 in Division 5.
Oakridge has been the dominant team for almost 40 years in the West Michigan Conference, a league which has put 14 teams in MHSAA state championship games and celebrated nine Finals winners. Oakridge has made it five times, winning titles in 1997, 2005 and 2008.
Early on in that stretch, the Eagles’ main league rival was North Muskegon, and later Ravenna. In the 2000s, the most competitive rivalries shifted north to the White Lake area in Whitehall and Montague, particularly Montague.
Oakridge is 7-4 against Montague over the past 11 years, with many of those games classic back-and-forth battles that came down to the final minutes (and sometimes, seconds). But the only game that anyone at Oakridge seems to remember is from a year ago, when host Montague pounded Oakridge 40-0 – the most lopsided conference loss in school history.
“We have waited 51 weeks for the opportunity to erase that memory,” said senior linebacker Jaden Parker, whose father, Tim, is the Oakridge defensive coordinator. “We got shell-shocked last year and didn’t fight back. This year we have more seniors, and we won’t let that happen again.”
This year’s matchup features two of Michigan’s top running backs. Montague senior Bryce Stark, a returning Associated Press all-stater, has gained 542 yards on 74 carries (7.3 per carry), despite being slowed early in the year with a knee injury. Oakridge counters with battering ram junior fullback Leroy Quinn (6-1, 216), the leading rusher in the Greater Muskegon area with 111 carries for 1,119 yards (10.1 average) and 19 touchdowns.
Coach Harger is quick to point out that Stark is just one of many weapons on this Montague team who worries his team.
“The first thing that strikes you about Montague is their athleticism and the number of quality athletes we have to focus on,” said Harger, a 1990 Oakridge graduate. “But they are also big up front, so you have to be concerned with that, as well. We need to play our best game.”
The final father-son connection on the Oakridge varsity staff is offensive coordinator Nate Danicek and his son, Jacob, a sophomore who starts at safety and plays slot receiver on offense when the Eagles break out of their full-house backfield and go with a spread look.
But the Oakridge football family goes far beyond just the coaching staff – it’s a way of life.
After a long practice Tuesday evening, Coach Harger and Coach Parker (whose fathers coached them on an Oakridge youth football team almost 40 years ago) went down the varsity roster and quickly pointed out all of the players whose fathers also played varsity football at Oakridge.
On that list is senior starting quarterback Koleman Wall (6-3, 197), whose father, Scott Wall, was the starting fullback on the 1990 team, the first Oakridge team to reach the MHSAA title game. Other father-son duos are starting running back and linebacker Blake Masterman (father Dan Masterman), starting center Mavrick McLouth (Dude McLouth), Jacob Barber (Nate Barber) and Sander Brott (David Brott).
Sander Brott is also a third-generation Eagle, as his grandfather, Mark Fazakerley, played on the first Oakridge varsity team in 1966.
“We are doing our best to carry on the tradition that Jack Schugars started out here,” said Coach Parker, referencing Schugars, who had a 262-78 record in 31 seasons at Oakridge from 1979 to 2010. “It’s a point of pride that these are all Oakridge kids. We don’t have schools of choice, so almost every one of these kids has been playing together since the youth leagues.”
The Oakridge youth league still boasts more than 150 players and is the starting point for one of the state’s most consistent programs.
With its six consecutive wins to open the season, Oakridge has qualified for the playoffs for the 15th straight year and 23rd of the past 24. Many believe this team could be good enough to get all the way to Ford Field for the first time since 2008.
The Eagles have an experienced backfield led by Quinn, but also featuring speedy senior Masterman (359 yards) and multi-talented senior Jalen Hughes (315 yards). Wall provides a fourth running threat and has been efficient through the air, completing 28-of-43 passes for 516 yards and 10 touchdowns, with just one interception.
The defense is led by senior tackle Brandon Wilde (5-9, 212), who has 38 tackles on the season with half of those tackles in the backfield for negative yardage, including six sacks. Masterman leads the team with 40 tackles, and senior cornerback Jaxon Fri has three interceptions.
Oakridge could possibly play Montague a second time in the playoffs. Montague has traditionally been a Division 6 playoff team, but with its enrollment up 36 students from last year to 445, it could end up with Oakridge in Division 5.
Another possible Eagles rematch down the road is with top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley, which beat Oakridge in last year’s MHSAA Regional Final, 48-14.
The “Oakridge family” isn’t looking near that far ahead, but is focused on proving itself after last year’s lopsided loss at Montague.
“The way we played in that game last year was our biggest motivation all offseason,” said Cole Harger. “That wasn’t Oakridge football. I think one of our biggest strengths this year is our togetherness as a team, and we have the opportunity to prove that on Friday night.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Senior Cole Harger and Oakridge coach Cary Harger are one of three sets of fathers and sons on the varsity this season. (Middle) Harger (66), a two-way starting lineman, lines up his block during a Week 2 win over North Muskegon. (Below) Harger, with Jacob Danicek (middle) and Jaden Parker, whose fathers also are on the coaching staff. (Photos by Sherry Wahr.)