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Kalamazoo Rivals 'United' for Football

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

August 24, 2015

KALAMAZOO — With a big grin, Isaac DeVries said he was relieved a year ago when he heard his Kalamazoo Christian football team was uniting with Hackett Catholic Prep for the next two seasons.

“My first thought was ‘I don’t have to play special teams’,” the K-Christian senior said, laughing. “There’s more people to play. Getting breaks every once in a while is always good.”

K-Christian junior Alex Visser echoed DeVries sentiments. 

“(Two years ago) we only had 13 players on the team, and that was tough,” DeVries said. “We had to play both ways the entire game. The idea of having more players on our team sounded real nice.

“It was different at first because you didn’t really know the (Hackett) kids, but once we got into the season, it was good.”

One year later, the feeling among the players is more than relief.

Despite graduating 22 players and returning only six letterwinners from 2014, the Hackett/Christian co-operative program – which goes by Kalamazoo United – has 22 players on the varsity and 26 on the junior varsity.

It’s coming off a 6-4 finish and appearance in the Division 4 playoffs. Prior to last season, K-Christian last made the playoffs in 2011, while Hackett last qualified in 2006.

The team’s helmets are black with a “U” on the sides – one half of the U green for Hackett, the other purple for Kalamazoo Christian. Instead of choosing Fighting Irish or Comets – the mascots for those schools – the team is called the Titans and made up nearly evenly of athletes from both.  

“The best thing is we’re all friends,” Hackett sophomore Keaton Ashby said. “As a team, we’re brothers. This is a family.

“Personally, I love how we all treat each other. We’re not Hackett and Christian; we’re Kalamazoo United.”

Low numbers at both schools led to the football merger, Hackett athletic director Mike Garvey said.

“(K-Christian AD Jerry Weesies) and I were concerned with the health and safety of the kids with so few numbers,” he said. “It’s hard to maintain a football program if you can’t provide a junior varsity program.”

Weesies said 8-player football was discussed and discarded.

While talking about combining the two rivals into one team, much of the concern came from parents.

“We initially knew we were going to get push back,” Weesies said. “We knew from both sides there would be some faith-based religious push backs. Also push back from the rivalry. We anticipated it. It was there initially and died quickly.

“What changed the course so quickly, once we started moving forward in spite of some of the push back, was the kids got along so well and so quickly started doing summer activities together that some of the parents said, ’Oh, look at my son. He’s happy. These are just kids.’”

As the victories started coming, that brotherhood strengthened.

None of last year’s players had previously experienced the playoffs. United lost to Eaton Rapids 36-0 in the first round, but that’s only made the players hungrier for success.

“It was great, sitting there at the (MHSAA playoff pairings show) watch party, watching to see who we were going to play,” Hackett senior Jacob Buchman said. “It was one of the best feelings in the world.”

While the players are brothers in football, that doesn’t diminish the rivalry in other sports.

DeVries, who also plays basketball, said it just makes their hoops rivalry more intense.

“Everyone wants to win that one, just to get bragging rights during football season,” he said. “It’s always fun playing Hackett in basketball and (to) see all the guys you know cheering against you.”

Three of the football team’s six returnees are team captains.

Patrick Koning was chosen by the coaches.

“He is a leader both in the weight room and in conditioning,” first-year head coach Jesse Brown said. “He’s a charismatic leader.”

The other two were chosen by team vote.

Buchman, a unanimous choice, “is the hardest worker and put in the most work over the summer,” Brown said. “He’s always uplifting, and people listen when he speaks.”

The third captain is Jordan Corstange, who “leads by his performance,” Brown said. “He’s very important with what he does on the field.”

The fourth will be chosen weekly by the coaches based on his performance.

“It could be a different guy every week or it could be the same one for a couple of weeks,” Brown said.

Ashby will lead the team at quarterback.

“He has a big frame and a strong arm,” Brown said. “He’s a very intelligent player, and that made the coaches’ decision unanimous.”

This year’s United team not only has a new coach but also a new affiliation: the Southwestern Athletic Conference. When the Kalamazoo Valley Association disbanded this spring after more than 65 years, United became part of the 20-team SAC and opens the season by hosting Decatur on Thursday.

The team will play in the SAC Division 1 with Coloma, Fennville, Watervliet and former KVA partners Constantine and Delton Kellogg

“The (SAC) merger has changed some things for us,” Brown said. “It’s schools that are comparable to the size of Christian and Hackett. The KVA became unbalanced with the size of schools.

”As the enrollment in Hackett and Christian was going down, others were going up. It’s hard to take a team with 17 to 25 kids going against one with 60.”

Koning said there will be adjustments to playing in a new conference.

“The difference is that with the KVA, it’s been there for a long time, as long as I can remember,” he said. “You knew what was going on with each team.

“Some teams would run the same formation every year. This year, we don’t know much about each team, so it’s just going to be adapting to each team we play.”

While the players might not be familiar with the SAC, Brown and three of his assistants played in the conference. Brown graduated from Martin High School, David Arrasmith and Rob Hardy from Gobles and Vinny Church from Bloomingdale.

“Some of our (13) coaches don’t know which school these (United) kids are from, and that’s a really neat thing,” Brown said. “You just can’t tell. They’re all stand-up young men.”

Summer conditioning and workouts take place at K-Christian, but the team’s home field is Soisson-Rapacz-Clason Field, which was shared by both Hackett and K-Christian football teams in the past.

A few players dropped out of the program when the teams merged.

“I play for the love of the sport,” Koning said. “Some people who didn’t love it left. We just love the sport. It doesn’t matter who you play with or how you get to play, you just play.

“I learned how easy it is to have chemistry with new people. The chemistry with both schools coming together. We really meshed, and this year was easier than last year because we already knew each other.”

“The team’s goal last season was to be successful,” Visser added. “There were a lot of people doubting the whole United thing. We wanted to just go out there and win some games and be successful.”

But this season, expectations are higher: “We want to make the playoffs again,” Visser said.

Ashby said he hopes the co-op team continues past this season.

“I think this is the greatest thing that Hackett and Christian has ever done,” he said. “We put ourselves out there every single day. Honestly, we are improving even more. This is a great opportunity to keep going with another contract.”

Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She continues to freelance for MLive.com covering mainly Kalamazoo Wings hockey and can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Kalamazoo United running back Jacob Buchman breaks through tacklers during a game last season. (Middle) Patrick Koning, a captain this fall, works out while spotted by teammate Isaac DeVries. (Below) Coach Jesse Brown is in his first season leading the program. (Top photo by Dan Cooke; others by Pam Shebest.)

Drive for Detroit: Playoff Week 3 Review

November 12, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The results are fewer at this stage of the MHSAA Football Playoffs, but the headlines are louder with more on the line and the best of the best running into each other with only a few weeks left to play.

This third round saw our 8-Player Finals pairings set – with those championship games taking place this Saturday at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome. Morrice will face Pickford in Division 1, while Rapid River will take on Onekama in Division 2.

Meanwhile, in 11-Player Regional Finals, we saw history made for Belleville, Holton and Breckenridge to name a few. We also saw the end to Pewamo-Westphalia’s attempt at making a fourth a straight MHSAA championship game, and said good-bye to one of Michigan’s most prominent high school programs and the winningest coach in state history.

Click to check out the scores through the first three weeks of the tournament and the pairings for the weekend ahead. “Drive for Detroit” is powered by MI Student Aid. 

Division 1

HEADLINER: Saline 13, Rockford 12 (OT) The Hornets’ impressive body of work this season grows by the week. By outlasting Rockford with a 2-point conversion stand, they advanced to the Semifinals for the first time since finishing Division 1 runner-up in 2014. Add to this one to wins over East Kentwood two weeks ago and Grand Rapids Catholic Central in Week 2 – and giving unbeaten Clinton Township Chippewa Valley its closest game of the season in a five-point Week 1 loss – and it continues to be quite a run. Rockford also should be proud; after opening 1-3 this fall, the Rams not only extended a record 24-year playoff streak but won their first District title since 2015. Click for more from the Ann Arbor News and see below for highlights from FOX 17.

Regional Recap: Clarkston 13, Lapeer 0 The reigning Division 1 champion Wolves (10-2) locked down their fourth Regional title in six seasons and eliminated Lapeer (11-1) for the third time over the last five – and second time during that string where the Lightning entered the game undefeated. Belleville 13 West Bloomfield 10 The Tigers (12-0) have broken through with their first Regional title, defeating last season’s Division 1 runner-up West Bloomfield (9-3) to make their first Semifinal. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley 42, Dearborn Fordson 7 The Big Reds (12-0) are headed to the Semifinals for the first time since 2003 after shutting down a Tractors team that finished 10-2 and was averaging 38 points per game.

Division 2

HEADLINER: Birmingham Groves 53, Livonia Franklin 29 The Falcons (10-2) are headed to their second Semifinals in three seasons after downing Franklin (7-5), a semifinalist a year ago. Groves has run off 10 straight victories since opening this fall 0-2, and the 53 points were a season high. Franklin led at the end of the first quarter 2-0 before the Falcons ran off 21 unanswered points during the second. Click for more from the Oakland Press and see highlights below from State Champs Sports Network.

Regional Recap: Muskegon Mona Shores 58, Portage Northern 28 The Sailors (11-1) also scored a season high to win their second Regional title ever and first since 2014, over a Northern team that at 9-3 tied its program record for wins set in 1981. Midland 43, Walled Lake Western 0 The Chemics (9-3) won their first Regional title since 2007 with one of the most impressive victories of the weekend, handing Western (8-4) its first shutout since the 2016 Division 2 Final. Warren DeLaSalle 21, Port Huron Northern 3 The reigning Division 2 champion Pilots (10-2) ended the winningest season since 1986 for Northern (10-2), which did hold DeLaSalle to its third-fewest points of this fall.

Division 3

HEADLINER: Muskegon 34, Cedar Springs 18 The reigning Division 3 champion Big Reds (12-0) withstood one of their toughest challenges of this season, as Cedar Springs (10-2) trailed by only a point, 13-12, at halftime. Muskegon quarterback Cameron Martinez – who broke La’Darius Jefferson’s school season record of 2,095 rushing yards during the game – ran for 32 and 75-yard scores during the third quarter. The Red Hawks finished with their most wins since going 11-2 in 2000. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle and see highlights below from WZZM.

Regional Recap: Zeeland East 50, Parma Western 24 The Chix are headed to the Semifinals for the first time since 1989 when East and West were one school. Parma Western ended its longest playoff run with a school record for wins at 10-2. DeWitt 42, Farmington 7 The Panthers (12-0) bounced back offensively after scoring nine points in the District Final and as a defense giving up eight points per game locked down the Falcons (8-4), who completed their longest run since 2002. Detroit Martin Luther King 54, Allen Park 15 The Crusaders (10-2) won their sixth Regional title in eight seasons, ending Allen Park’s at 9-3 after the Jaguars bounced back from just missing the playoffs in 2017.

Division 4

HEADLINER: Chelsea 21, Farmington Hills Harrison 14 The Bulldogs (9-3) have risen from third in their league during the regular season to win their second Regional title over the last four years, this time under first-year coach Josh Lucas. Chelsea’s win also marked the end of Farmington Hills Harrison football under coach John Herrington, who concluded as the winningest coach in MHSAA history with a 443-112-1 record since starting the program in 1970. Harrison (8-4) is closing next summer. Click for more from the Sun Times News.

Regional Recap: Grand Rapids Catholic Central 35, Escanaba 6 For the third straight season, the two-time reigning Division 4 champion Cougars (11-1) eliminated the Eskymos (9-3), this time holding Escanaba to its fewest points of the fall. Edwardsburg 56, Holland Christian 21 The Eddies (12-0) set up a rematch of last season’s Division 4 Final (a 42-31 loss to GRCC) by scoring more than 50 points for the seventh time this season, ending a nice run for Holland Christian (8-4) with its best record since 2009. Williamston 28, St. Clair 0 The Hornets (10-2) advanced to their first Semifinal since 2010 by shutting out a St. Clair team that finished 9-3 and had scored a combined 132 points over its first two playoff games.

Division 5

HEADLINER: Saginaw Swan Valley 36, Reed City 28 Swan Valley’s side of this bracket began with four of the 30 undefeated teams left in all of 11-player at the end of the regular season, and the Vikings (12-0) remained one by edging another over the weekend. Reed City (11-1) gave Swan Valley its closest game this season and a closer one than when the two met and the Vikings won 29-14 in a Semifinal a year ago. How close was it? Reed City ended the game on Swan Valley’s 2-yard line. Click for more from the Saginaw News and see highlights below from WJRT.

Regional Recap: Hudsonville Unity Christian 39, Kalamazoo United 14 The Crusaders (10-2) advanced to their second Semifinal in three seasons by locking down a Titans offense averaging 53 points per game heading into Saturday. United finished 11-1, its best since the co-op between Hackett and Kalamazoo Christian was formed in 2014. Portland 40, Frankenmuth 6 The Raiders are headed to their first Semifinal since winning Division 5 in 2012 after stopping Frankenmuth (9-3) in its quest to win a third straight Regional title. Marine City 40, Detroit Denby 32 (2OT) The Mariners also finished third in their league during the regular season, but are headed to the Semifinals for the first time since winning Division 4 in 2013. Denby (9-3) concluded its winningest season and longest playoff run both since 2006, with its losses this fall by a combined 18 points.

Division 6

HEADLINER: Montrose 37, Flint Hamady 6 As noted above, this weekend was good to teams finishing third in their leagues this fall. The Rams (10-2) did so in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference, but with this victory won their first Regional title since 2013 and ended the longest run and winningest season ever for Hamady (11-1). Click for more from the Flint Journal and see highlights below from WEYI.

Regional Recap: Montague 30, Schoolcraft 14 The Wildcats (10-2) reached double-digit wins for the third time in four seasons with their first Regional title since 2009 – when it went on to win the Division 6 title. Schoolcraft (9-3) finished by playing in its first Regional Final since 2013. Traverse City St. Francis 41, Kingsley 20 The Gladiators (12-0) won their third Regional title in four seasons, although Kingsley (10-2) cut the deficit after St. Francis won their first meeting by 35 in Week 4. Jackson Lumen Christi 33, Blissfield 0 Two-time reigning Division 6 champion Lumen Christi (11-0) won its third straight Regional title with its third shutout of the season. Blissfield (7-5) was held scoreless for the first time since 2016.

Division 7

HEADLINER: New Lothrop 26, Pewamo-Westphalia 14 It’s rare that the loudest headline from a football weekend comes from one of the divisions pitting the state’s smaller schools. But it certainly was noticed when New Lothrop (11-1) ended the two-time reigning champ Pirates’ 24-game winning streak. P-W (11-1) had beaten New Lothrop 35-14 in a District Final only a year ago, but now the Hornets will return to the Semifinals for the first time since 2015. Click for more from the Flint Journal.  

Regional Recap: Lake City 34, Roscommon 28 The Trojans (12-0) held off Roscommon (10-2) to make the Semifinals for the second straight season and extend their run of the last two years to a combined 24-1. Cassopolis 23, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central 22 The Rangers’ defense, giving up now 4.3 points per game, was tested for the first time. But Cassopolis (12-0) won its second Regional title in three years by stopping St. Mary (9-3) on a goal line stand to finish the game. Madison Heights Madison 44, Riverview Gabriel Richard 7 The Eagles (12-0) are returning to the Semifinals after handing a playoff defeat to Gabriel Richard (7-5) for the second straight season.

Division 8

HEADLINER: Holton 14, Mendon 6 The Red Devils’ first playoff season since 2007 now includes its first Regional title ever. Holton (8-4) outlasted annual power Mendon to move on after both reached the playoffs as additional qualifiers at 5-4 to end the regular season. The Hornets, after winning their 10th District title in 12 seasons, finished 7-5. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.

Regional Recap: Breckenridge 12, Ishpeming 6 The Huskies (12-0) have taken the steps from first playoff berth in 2016 since 1993, to first District title ever last season to now first Regional championship. Breckenridge drove north and handed Ishpeming (11-1) its only defeat by locking down an offense averaging 42 points per game entering the weekend. Harbor Beach 35, Flint Beecher 0 The Pirates (11-1) are back in the Semifinals for the first time since making three straight trips from 2012-14. Beecher (8-4) closed its longest playoff run since 2012 in Division 7. Reading 54, Detroit Southeastern 0 The Rangers (12-0) now have shutouts in half of their games this season and their first Regional title since 2008. It was a memorable fall for Southeastern (8-4), which made the playoffs for the first time since 2010 and only two years removed from a 3-24 three-year string.  

8-Player Division 1

SEMIFINAL: Pickford 40, AuGres-Sims 20 The Wolverines (11-1) were giving up only 7.5 points per game and hadn’t scored fewer than 50 this season. But Pickford (12-0) dominated on both sides of the ball, breaking through for its first MHSAA championship game berth after missing in Semifinals the last two seasons. Click for more from the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News and see highlights below from MI Sports Now.

SEMIFINAL: Morrice 40, Colon 8 The Orioles (12-0) will continue their deepest playoff run ever, with this victory securing their first MHSAA Finals berth. Morrice locked down a Colon offense averaging 44 points per game, and the Magi (10-2) gave up a season high. Still, it was a strong 8-player debut for Colon, which went 2-7 in 11-player a year ago and was playing in its first Semifinal in either format. Click for more from the Lansing State Journal.

8-Player Division 2

SEMIFINAL: Onekama 28, Portland St. Patrick 14 The Portagers will play in their first MHSAA football championship game after doubling up last season’s Division 2 runner-up. Onekama (10-2) also set a program record for wins, piling up 20 straight points to hold off the Shamrocks (7-5). Click for more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

SEMIFINAL: Rapid River 36, Cedarville 30 One more third-place success story from the weekend. Rapid River (9-3) downed Cedarville 28-20 in Week 7 to eventually lock up that spot in the Great Lakes Conference East, and edged the Trojans (7-5) a second time to reach the 8-Player Finals for the third time this decade and first since 2013. Click for more from the Escanaba Daily Press.

Second Half’s weekly “Drive for Detroit” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division. Click for more information and connect with MI Student Aid on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.

PHOTO: Breckenridge seniors give a thumbs up while celebrating their Division 8 Regional championship in Ishpeming. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)