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Ida Builds Greatest Season 'Brick by Brick'

By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half

November 5, 2015

By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half

IDA – As the greatest football season in Ida High School history rolls into the second week of the MHSAA playoffs, it could be said that winning isn’t even the best thing the Bluestreaks have done this year.

Winning certainly hasn’t been the most important thing they did this season.

With the community strongly backing the program throughout its undefeated season to date, which continues tonight in a Division 5 District Final at home against Dearborn Heights Robichaud, the team has given back – while building a collection of memories they will cherish no matter how long this history-making trip rolls on. 

From hosting a fundraiser that hit much closer to home than they anticipated, to welcoming back a beloved member of the program after a health scare – and all while putting together the most successful run in school history – Ida has had a season to remember, even as it works to add more moments before the run is done.

Supporting a new teammate

The regular-season finale was designated as a fundraiser for childhood cancer awareness, and the game against rival Erie-Mason raised more than $4,000 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a private institution in California that gives grants to children who are battling cancer.

“I had seen something on Facebook and looked into it and decided that we needed to do something other than just get ready for football games,” Ida coach Tom Walentowski said. “We scheduled our Game 9 as a gold-out game with one of our rivals, Erie-Mason, and we raised money for childhood cancer awareness. The kids got big into that.”

Unknown at the time of the decision to raise funds for childhood cancer awareness, Chloe Arnold, a 5-year-old resident of the Ida community, was battling leukemia.

The close-knit Bluestreaks had room in their hearts to join another team. They joined Team Chloe. And in the regular-season finale, Team Chloe also was able to raise money through sales of merchandise.

One unique item was a helmet that had an Ida decal on one side and an Erie-Mason decal on the other. Players from both teams signed the helmets, which then were donated to Team Chloe for a silent auction that raised $665. A total of $2,315.42 was raised that night for Team Chloe.

“Gold is the color for cancer childhood awareness, and gold is in our school colors and it’s also in Erie-Mason’s school colors, so that’s why we decided that would be the game to do the gold-out,” Walentowski said. “We sold over 500 T-shirts. The kids were really into it.” 

The greatest season

Entering the 2011 season, Ida had made the playoffs just three times and finished a regular season undefeated just once – in 1971. The Bluestreaks suddenly have made making the postseason a habit, going 6-3 before losing in the first round in 2011, just missing the postseason at 5-4 in 2012 and then returning to the playoffs each of the past three seasons. Last year, the team finished 8-3, tying the program record for victories with its most since 1991.

That is quite a turnaround for a program that had just three winning seasons from 1999-2010. The reversal of fortunes has been impressive. Prior to 2013, Ida had never scored more than 259 points in a season. The Bluestreaks scored 346 in 2013 and 349 in 2014, and they already have scored 428 this year.

This isn’t just an offensive juggernaut, either. Ida has allowed only 87 points through 10 games.

When asked what has made the difference, Walentowski opened the door to the weight room, where the players were busy doing their lifting on a Monday afternoon, and simply said, “These guys.”

Ida steamrolled its first seven opponents by a combined score of 310-40. Then, in the eighth week, Ida was tested. The Bluestreaks trailed Hillsdale 7-0 at halftime and pulled out a 20-17 victory in double overtime.

“I think when you come out at halftime and you’re down 7-0 and you win the game, obviously that helps your confidence,” Walentowski said. “They never got rattled, they just went about their game.

“When you do that, it just reaffirms to them that you just keep playing your game and things will be fine.”

Ida completed the perfect regular season with a 63-7 victory over Erie-Mason and then won its first playoff game 35-23 over Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard. It was just the second home playoff game in school history, and tonight’s game will be the third.

“I love hearing all of our fans roar when we get a first down or a touchdown,” senior quarterback David Kolakowski said.

Needless to say, the Ida community has gotten behind the winning football team in a big way.

“We hear from a lot of coaches from other teams that they have never known a football team that had such a good community like we do,” senior guard/linebacker Mike Zlonkovicz said. “We drove into town on playoff day, and there was the score from every game on the light posts.

“It was really touching to see that. We’re not only representing the entire school but the entire town.”

The Bluestreaks run an odd-front defense and an offense that so heavily relies on the running game that Walentowski said the old saying of “three yards and a cloud of dust” offense applies to this team in phrase only.

“We don’t like three yards, though,” he said. “We prefer to average eight or nine.”

Ida boasts a pair of 1,000-yard running backs in Eric Bugg and Nick Levicki. Bugg broke the single-season rushing record and also has scored the most touchdowns in school history. Levicki is second on the all-time touchdown list.

“Eric is, I guess for lack of a better term, he’s the poster boy of this team,” Walentowski said. “He is really a good young man. He’s a 3.5 student, he’s solid in the classroom, he’s a great citizen, he’s humble, he just works hard. He doesn’t particularly care for all the fanfare.”

Bugg said the pressure from last season’s success weighed on his mind this season.

“I didn’t know how to live up to it since we did so well last year,” he said. “We’re just trying to beat how we progressed last year, and so far we have.

“We have to get past districts and keep doing what we’re doing.”

Brick by brick

Defensive line coach Gary Deland delivers a motivating speech prior to every game. His topic this week was “brick by brick.” The players listen to him, and that message had extra importance because Deland is experiencing it in his personal life.

Midway through the season, Deland had to undergo emergency triple-bypass heart surgery, but he is back on the sidelines coaching the team and progressively getting better from week to week. In his words, he is improving brick by brick.

“He didn’t know it at the time, but in the first half of our first game against Jefferson, he was having a heart attack,” Walentowski said of Deland. “He got through the game and said his chest was bothering him, but he thought it was indigestion.

“A couple of weeks later it was still kind of bothering him on and off, and he said he should get it checked. We were getting ready to play Blissfield, which was Game 4, and he went to the hospital on Wednesday morning, and they said you’re not leaving, you are having open-heart surgery Thursday morning.”

A week after triple-bypass heart surgery, Deland was back, giving a motivational speech to the players.

“It was a great talk,” Walentowski said. “He has quite a personality, and the kids love him. For us, it was like we hadn’t better screw anything up before Coach D gets back here. I think we all had that attitude.

“The following week, he was back on the sidelines.”

It seemed like nothing was going to keep Deland from returning to his boys.

“It was a blur,” Deland said. “I was less than a few weeks out of surgery, and I was back on the sidelines. My doctor did not approve, but he knew I was going to be on the sidelines and he wasn’t going to be able to stop me.

“I was there; I was with my team. These are a great group of kids. They work hard, and they deserve everything the coaching staff can give them, and that’s why I wanted to be there for them. They have been there for this school and this community all year long.”

Although Deland said he blocks out thinking about his health on the sidelines, the players remain very aware of it.

“The kids have gone out of their way to protect me on the sidelines,” he said. “When a play is coming out of bounds, I have to get out of the way. I cannot get run over. So they do protect me on the sidelines so I don’t get run over by any play out of bounds.

“The doctor doesn’t want me to get too excited, and I try not to. Each week I can feel the momentum of my strength coming back, and I get a little more vocal and a little more animated on the sidelines.

“I have a passion for football, and the kids know it. They know I can blow up at any time, or I can be the grandfather for them.”

And, every week, he is the motivator with his speeches.

“From that very first practice in the summer to the last game as a senior, everything is built brick by brick,” Deland said. “I can draw a correlation between that and my recovery, what I’ve gone through. It’s the same thing. It’s brick by brick.

“You might take two steps forward, and you think you’re getting on to where you want to be as a team, and I might be getting on to how I want to feel, and the next thing you take that giant step backwards. You don’t feel so great, or all of a sudden you were praised by the coach the day before and now you’re screwing up every which way.

“But you’re still going forward, and that is how I paint my recovery, brick by brick, the same as this team. They will progress in the season and the playoffs brick by brick.”

Nobody knows how the season will end, but it already is the greatest football season in school history. The Bluestreaks are giving back to the community with their work for childhood cancer awareness, and they are banding together to win football games.

It is the time of their young lives.

“Being a quarterback was not always my intention,” Kolakowski said. “I was a wide receiver, but in my JV season I had to play quarterback. Then, in the playoff game, I was like, ‘It would be so sweet to be able to run this offense,’ and now I’m getting to live out my dream, which is awesome.”

It is a season that has been building, excuse the expression, brick by brick.

“I think these guys have had a lot of goals,” Walentowski said. “Six of the seniors were with us as sophomores, and there were two freshmen who were with us back then, so those eight kids, they’re still here, and they’ve been building every year.

“They expected to work hard and do well, and that’s what they’re doing. They don’t just like to play football, they like to play football together. There’s a big difference.”

Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Ida running back Nick Levicki attempts to run through tacklers during his team's win over Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard last week. (Middle) Head coach Tom Walentowski, far left, and assistant Gary Deland talk things over with the team looking on. (Below) Fans hung a sign supporting Deland upon his return. (Top and middle photos by Ray Leighton. Bottom photo by Kim Farver.)

Ithaca defenders converge on a Shepherd ball carried during the Yellowjackets' 43-0 win to finish 9-0.

1st & Goal: 2024 Week 9 Review

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 28, 2024

Wow. The 2024 football regular season did not go quietly. 

MI Student AidBetween multiple matchups of undefeated teams, several league championships being decided, and final maneuvering to get into the field of the 50th MHSAA Football Playoffs, there was a lot to follow – with the final moves still being made late Saturday afternoon.

Below we glance at several of the highlights, and Friday we'll move into playoff mode as we preview the first round of this season's tournament. 

Bay & Thumb

HEADLINER Midland 17, Midland Dow 6 Midland High (8-1) locked up one of the final league championships still in question, finishing an outright title run in the Saginaw Valley League Blue when a Dow win would have given the Chargers (5-4) a share. The Chemics also avenged two losses to Dow from 2023, from the regular-season finale and first week of the playoffs, and they could meet again this postseason as well if both win first-round games this week. Click for more from the Midland Daily News.

Watch list Almont 49, Detroit Edison 24 Almont (9-0) enters the playoffs as the No. 1 overall seed in Division 6, holding down the top spot for the third-straight week with this win over Edison (6-3), which entered Week 9 No. 6 on the Division 6 playoff list. The Raiders had last finished a regular season 9-0 in 2019.

On the move Davison 48, Lapeer 28 The Cardinals (7-2) cemented second place in the SVL Blue, but more importantly moved ahead of Oxford to earn a home game in their Division 1 matchup this week. Marine City 37, Detroit Central 15 The Mariners finished second in the Macomb Area Conference Silver this season but defeated a co-league champion in Central (6-3) to hold onto the No. 4 spot on the Division 6 playoff list. Frankenmuth 41, Gladwin 14 The Eagles (9-0) wrapped up a fourth perfect regular season over the last half-decade with a second-straight win over Gladwin (6-3).

Great Detroit

HEADLINER Detroit Catholic Central 23, Detroit Martin Luther King 7 DCC’s Jaden Pydyn starred in this Prep Bowl showcase game at Ford Field, running for two touchdowns and scoring a third on an interception return. The Shamrocks moved to 9-0, completing their first perfect regular season since COVID-shortened 2020 and first at 9-0 since 2016, and they sit second on the Division 1 playoff list. King finished 6-3 and moved down only one spot on the Division 3 list to No. 7. Click for more from Hometown Life.

Watch list Romeo 14, Grand Blanc 13 This one was a stunner as Grand Blanc (7-2) had just clinched the SVL Red title the week before and Romeo (4-5) was six spots from falling out of the Division 1 playoff field. Instead, Romeo moved up to No. 19 and earned a rematch with Week 3 opponent Utica Eisenhower.

On the move Macomb Dakota 28, Oxford 0 Dakota (8-1) won a meeting of league champions, adding to its shared title in the MAC Red by shutting out the Oakland Activities Association Red-winning Wildcats (6-3). Clarkston 32, Utica Eisenhower 3 Clarkston (6-3) finished tied for second in the OAA Red and dominated its matchup with the other co-champion from the MAC Red, sending Eisenhower to 7-2. Macomb Lutheran North 17, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 14 (OT) Lutheran North (8-1) completed its most successful regular season since posting the same record in 2006, adding the Catholic High School League Cardinal championship by handing Everest (8-1) its only loss.

Mid-Michigan

HEADLINER Howell 30, Belleville 29 Howell finished 9-0, concluding its first perfect regular season since 1963 (according to Michigan-Football.com) and after going only 3-6 a year ago. The Highlanders retained the No. 1 position on the Division 1 playoff list for the third straight week. So to call this a shocker seems at least a little absurd, but Belleville (8-1) hadn’t lost a regular-season game since Week 3 of 2021 and has played in three straight Division 1 Finals and won the last two. Justin Jones’ touchdown grab from Preston Barb with eight seconds to play clinched the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship and was called by the Howell Football’s X feed “the biggest play in the history of Howell football.” Click for more from the Livingston Daily Press & Argus.

Watch list Leslie 35, Hanover-Horton 14 The Blackhawks (8-1) have gone from not posting a winning season since 2012 to claiming the overall Cascades Conference championship by handing Hanover-Horton (8-1) its only defeat.

On the move Belding 40, Hopkins 0 In a winner-take-all for the Ottawa-Kent Conference Silver title, Belding (8-1) did so for the third straight season, running its league winning streak to 17 games and sending the Vikings to 6-3. Fowler 35, McBain 28 The Eagles (9-0) completed their first perfect regular season since 2014 and are No. 3 on the Division 8 playoff list after handing Division 7 McBain (8-1) its only defeat. Mason 43, Fenton 0 Mason (7-2) won a matchup of league champions and moved up to No. 8 on the Division 3 playoff list as it begins a quest to reach Ford Field for the second-straight season.

Northern Lower Peninsula

HEADLINER Boyne City 23, Traverse City St. Francis 20 Ryan Spate’s 35-yard field goal with five seconds to play turned an outright league championship for St. Francis (6-3) into a three-team share that included the Ramblers (7-2) and Kingsley in the Northern Michigan Football League Legends. The win was Boyne’s first over the Gladiators since 2017. Click for more from the Petoskey News-Review.

Watch list Maple City Glen Lake 35, Mancelona 0 The Lakers (8-1) completed an outright championship in the NMFL Legacy and sit No. 8 on the Division 8 playoff list with their only loss this season to Division 6 Reed City.

On the move Traverse City West 23, Traverse City Central 7 The Titans (6-3) capped their best regular-season finish in three years with their second-straight win over rival Central (4-5). Petoskey 42, Clare 21 Petoskey won this matchup of league champions to finish 9-0 for the first time since 1974. Clare is 7-2 with its only losses to league title winners. Kingsley 47, Charlevoix 28 The Stags received a piece of the NMFL Legends title thanks to Boyne City’s win, and also moved up to No. 13 on the Division 6 playoff list for downing the Rayders (6-3).

Grand Ledge's Anthony Baker (28) eludes Okemos defenders as Sean Cho (7) pursues during the Comets' 46-10 win.

Southeast & Border

HEADLINER Dexter 35, Chelsea 6 The Southeastern Conference Red-winning Dreadnaughts (9-0) claimed this matchup of league champions after jumping to a 21-0 first-quarter lead against the SEC White-clinching Bulldogs (7-2). In doing so, Dexter also avenged last season’s 31-21 loss to Chelsea. Click for more from the Ann Arbor News.

Watch list Pinckney 12, Ann Arbor Pioneer 7 Including the first four games of this season, Pinckney (5-4) had lost 13 straight before winning their last five games this fall with this one clinching a Division 4 playoff berth. The Pirates jumped six spots to No. 30 on that division’s playoff list.

On the move Jackson Lumen Christi 39, Kalamazoo United 21 Lumen (8-1) impressed in another CHSL Prep Bowl showcase game, handing another league champion in United (7-2) just its second defeat. Saline 8, Lake Orion 7 Saline (6-3) scored and added a two-point conversion during the final minutes of the fourth quarter to get past the Dragons (6-3). Ida 23, Clinton 14 Ida (8-1) secured second place in the Lenawee Country Athletic Association and sent Clinton (6-3) into third, and ended a three-game losing streak against the Redwolves.

Southwest Corridor

HEADLINER Kalamazoo Central 20, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix 10 The most consequential meeting of these rivals in some time went to Central (6-3), which not only clinched the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference East title outright but jumped five spots to No. 32 in Division 1 to secure a first playoff appearance since 2018 (not counting COVID-shortened 2020, when nearly all teams qualified). Loy Norrix missed the playoffs, but at 5-4 posted its best finish since 1998. Click for more from WWMT.

Watch list St. Joseph 15, Portage Central 0 Despite losing a Week 7 contest to Mattawan, St. Joseph (8-1) clawed back to shut out Portage Central and share the SMAC East championship with the Mustangs (6-3). The shutout was St. Joseph’s third over the last seven weeks and avenged last year’s loss to Central.

On the move Niles 21, Paw Paw 0 Niles (8-1) finished a second-straight perfect run through the Wolverine Conference, posting its second-straight shutout this month and fifth of the season in this winner-take-all matchup. Paw Paw also is 8-1 and will travel back to Niles this weekend for a Division 4 playoff opener. Stevensville Lakeshore 28, Portage Northern 13 Despite losing its first six games this season, Lakeshore (3-6) won its final three and will return to the playoffs after facing six opponents that finished with winning records including Northern (5-4). Buchanan 17, Union City 7 The Bucks (6-3) jumped from a precarious No. 31 spot on the Division 6 list all the way up to No. 22 with this win over a league champion in Union City (8-1).

An Otsego player pulls in a pass during the Bulldogs' 17-7 win over Three Rivers. 

Upper Peninsula

HEADLINER Kingsford 27, Marquette 17 Kingsford (9-0) defeated a longtime rival to finish a first perfect regular season since 2002, and by downing the Division 2 Sentinels moved all the way up to No. 4 on the Division 5 playoff list. The Flivvers have won three straight over Marquette, which finished 6-3. Click for more from the Iron Mountain Daily News.

Watch list Iron Mountain 35, Negaunee 21 The Mountaineers (9-0) completed their second-straight perfect regular season with a second-straight win over Negaunee (6-3), and in doing so moved up to No. 8 on the Division 8 playoff list and secured home games through the Regional Final should they continue to advance.

On the move Escanaba 50, Gladstone 7 Escanaba (5-4) won its final two games to finish this season with as many victories as the last three combined. Calumet 51, L’Anse 6 The Copper Kings (6-3) have fallen between Nos. 26-32 on the Division 6 playoff list the last four weeks but secured the No. 30 spot and a place in the bracket with this fourth-straight victory this season. Menominee 41, Bark River-Harris 0 The Maroons bounced back from a two-point loss to Kingsford in Week 8 to close out its best regular season since 2016 and move into the No. 2 spot on the Division 7 playoff list as they too work to get back to Ford Field for the second consecutive November.  

West Michigan

HEADLINER Coopersville 35, Cedar Springs 21 The first-year River Cities Alliance put four of seven teams into the playoffs, making Coopersville’s shared league championship with Lowell even more impressive. The title was the Broncos’ first since 2007 and came as the program also has celebrated its 100th season. Coopersville is 6-3, and Cedar Springs (7-2) would have shared the title instead with a win. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.

Watch list Hudsonville Unity Christian 43, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 28 Unity Christian (9-0) has owned the No. 1 spot on the Division 4 playoff list the last five weeks and impressed yet again sending Notre Dame Prep (7-1) from No. 1 to No. 2 on the Division 5 list.

On the move Grandville 49, Caledonia 20 Grandville (5-4) plowed into the Division 1 playoffs with two straight wins to cap the regular season and kept Caledonia (4-5) from making a final move up the Division 2 list. Grand Rapids South Christian 26, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 20 The Sailors (5-4) were able to secure a place in the Division 4 field by avenging last year’s loss to the Cougars (5-4) to break a four-game losing streak. Zeeland West 34, Grand Rapids West Catholic 20 The Dux (8-1) will bound into the Division 3 playoffs coming off this win over the O-K White champion Falcons (6-3).

Ishpeming's Ethan Corp works to get past an Auburn Hills Oakland Christian defender Saturday during the Hematites' 58-6 victory.

8-Player

HEADLINER Powers North Central 45, Crystal Falls Forest Park 34 The latest chapter in this rivalry saw the Jets claim the Great Lakes Eight Conference West championship outright via this winner-take-all matchup. North Central has won seven straight over the Trojans, this time scoring the most points Forest Park (8-1) has given up this season and holding the Trojans to their second-fewest. Click for more form the Iron Mountain Daily News.

Watch list Deckerville 50, Alcona 42 Deckerville (9-0) faced one of its few challenges this fall – and prevailed impressively once again to finish a regular season undefeated for the first time since 2019. The Eagles remained on top of the Division 1 playoff list as Alcona (8-1) fell one spot to No. 3 with its first defeat.

On the move Indian River Inland Lakes 50, Gaylord St. Mary 8 Inland Lakes (9-0) has never lost a league game in 8-player and wrapped up its fourth-straight Ski Valley Conference title in this winner-take-all with the Snowbirds (7-2). Climax-Scotts 63, Pittsford 14 Climax-Scotts also impressed again in this matchup of league champions, moving to a combined 18-1 over the last two seasons after losing only its opener this fall. Kingston 26, Marion 22 The Cardinals (7-2) showed more of the power of the Big Thumb Conference Blue. They finished third as Deckerville won the league and Brown City was runner-up this fall, but closed the regular season by handing Marion (8-1) its lone loss.

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PHOTOS (Top) Ithaca defenders converge on a Shepherd ball carried during the Yellowjackets' 43-0 win Friday to finish 9-0. (2) Grand Ledge's Anthony Baker (28) finds a crease as Okemos' Sean Cho (7) pursues during the Comets' 46-10 win. (3) An Otsego player pulls in a pass during the Bulldogs' 17-7 win over Three Rivers. (4) Ishpeming's Ethan Corp works to get past an Auburn Hills Oakland Christian defender Saturday during the Hematites' 58-6 victory. (Top photo by High School Sports Scene. Grand Ledge/Okemos photo by John Johnson. Otsego/Three Rivers photo by Gary Shook. Ishpeming/Oakland Christian photo by Cara Kamps.)