Leader Re-Energizes Past Power Stevenson
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
November 22, 2019
Regardless of how one looks at it, Justin Newcomb is the right person for the right job at the right time.
Newcomb, 33, is one of the youngest head football coaches in the Detroit area, and he’s causing a stir. He’s in his second season at Sterling Heights Stevenson and the person most responsible for the Titans playing in an MHSAA Division 1 Semifinal on Saturday for the first time in a decade.
Stevenson (8-4), as an additional playoff qualifier, has played the underdog role to a T throughout the playoffs. There’s an advantage to that role, and Stevenson will take it up again when it takes on Davison (10-2) at Troy Athens at 1 p.m.
Once a football power, Stevenson fell back to the middle of the pack in the highly competitive Macomb Area Conference Red from 2010-18. Four times previously the program had reached an MHSAA Final, the last in 2009 when the Titans lost to Detroit Catholic Central, 31-21, in the Division 1 title game.
That was Hall of Fame coach Rick Bye’s 35th and final season at Stevenson. Since then, the Titans qualified for the playoffs three times and didn’t win a playoff game. That is, until this season.
“You’ve got goals,” Newcomb said. “You set goals at the start (of the season), and you just want to get the most out of (your) team.”
When Newcomb took over, the program had won just three games over the previous two seasons. The Titans were 4-5 overall in 2018, and just 1-4 in the MAC Red, which was won by eventual Division 1 champion Clinton Township Chippewa Valley. The average margin of defeat in those four league losses was 25.5 points.
“We took our lumps (in the MAC Red),” Newcomb said. “The challenge was getting kids to come out. When we first came in there was some interest lost. We had to beg some to come out. Now that we’re winning, kids are saying they want to come out.”
Despite his young age, Newcomb has coached high school football for 14 seasons. He started as an assistant under Mike Powell at Warren Cousino in 2006 when Newcomb was a student at Wayne State University. For 10 seasons he was the head varsity baseball coach at Cousino, but he gave that up when he took over for Powell as Cousino’s head football coach in 2017.
Though Newcomb finds himself in the right position at Stevenson, don’t view Stevenson’s sudden success as luck. Newcomb possesses an insatiable appetite for knowledge. If there’s a clinic to attend, you’ll likely find Newcomb there. And his ego doesn’t prevent him from talking to more experienced coaches to pry loose valuable information. Most often you’ll find Bye on the Stevenson sideline, not as an assistant but someone there whom Newcomb can confide in.
“Justin is positive and energetic,” Bye said. “He’s definitely not a guy who thinks he knows it all. He’s bought into everything, the Stevenson history, everything. He’s up on technology, much more so than I ever was. And he doesn’t let little things bother him. His practices have a tempo, and there’s little time wasted.”
Not lost in Newcomb’s system is his military background. After graduating from Wayne State with a teaching degree, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2011. He continues to serve today in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR).
“It has a lot to do with the way we coach,” Newcomb said of his military experience. “(Coaching) is a lot more than just what goes on on the field. There’s (teaching) leadership roles and being responsible. In our culture, it’s all about winning. It’s all about playing time. The kids get caught up in that.
“Their attitudes have changed. We had to address the group as a whole. We had guys that first year that said that they play linebacker, and that’s it. Others came in saying they just play one way. That’s not how we do it. You’re here to help the team. Now the kids are doing whatever we need them to.”
A prime example is junior Giovanni El-Hadi. A college prospect (committed to University of Michigan), El-Hadi had been told, by some outside of the program, that he was an offensive lineman and wouldn’t play defense. This season El-Hadi is starting on defense for the first time and said earlier this fall that his time spent on the defensive side has helped improve his speed.
Another two-way starter on the line is senior Sal Madonna. Madonna is a two-year starter, and he and his brother, sophomore Biagio Madonna, are the sons of assistant coach Carmine Madonna – who played for Bye during the late 1990s.
“For me, I’ve been a part of Stevenson football for a long time,” Sal Madonna said. “Last year’s team wasn’t as connected as much. This year we bonded together. We trusted Coach Newcomb’s style. Even last year as juniors (we knew) to be successful, we had to buy in. We didn’t have the same mindset last year. We’re playing with a lot more confidence now.
“This means a lot to me. I remember being in the stands (at Troy Athens) when Jason Fracassa threw a touchdown pass in the (2009) Semifinals. Just like this team, that team never gave up.”
This team rebounded from a 2-3 start with a 13-7 comeback victory over Utica in Week 6. That game, more than others, was the turning point of the Titans’ season. Newcomb made a switch at quarterback, moving Biagio Madonna from linebacker and switching fellow sophomore Jordan Ramsey from quarterback to slot receiver and running back. With Ramsey, Newcomb was running a zone read offense. With Madonna, Stevenson is running an option attack.
In the victory over Utica, Stevenson used a trick play to score the winning touchdown. Last week in the 9-7 Regional Final victory over Detroit Cass Tech, the Titans had a goal-line stand in the first half and scored the winning touchdown on a double pass. Madonna threw to Dylan Kleinedler, who threw to Ramsey for a touchdown early in the second half. A Ramsey interception ended the game with 14 seconds left.
The previous week against Macomb Dakota, Newcomb decided not to go for the tying field goal from 40 yards out, and instead called on Madonna to throw the winning touchdown pass to Ramsey with a minute to play. Stevenson won 38-35 against a team it had lost to, 40-14, during the regular season and before Newcomb had made the quarterback switch.
“We’ve been fortunate the last few weeks with trick plays,” Newcomb said. “(But) getting here is a testament on just how hard these kids have worked.”
Tom Markowski is a correspondent for the State Champs! Sports Network and previously directed its web coverage. He also covered primarily high school sports for the The Detroit News from 1984-2014, focusing on the Detroit area and contributing to statewide coverage of football and basketball. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sterling Heights Stevenson players hoist their Division 1 Regional championship trophy after defeating Detroit Cass Tech last week. (Middle) Jordan Ramsey (5) breaks into the open against the Technicians. (Photos courtesy of the Stevenson football program.)
Heston Football Celebrates 1st League Title as Seniors Cap Extraordinary Rise
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
November 5, 2025
St. Helen Charlton Heston Academy finished this football season with a five-game winning streak and in possession of a trophy representing the school’s first North Star League Big Dipper championship in any sport.
The feat is especially incredible considering where the Patriots’ football program stood just four years ago.
Those Patriots welcomed a new assistant coach who would soon take over the program, but also five freshmen – Dylan Chichowski, Owen Romancky, Corbin Greenless, Desyln Klumpp and Tiernan Hinmon – in the starting lineup.
“If you rewind the clock, and go back to, like 2022, we went four straight games without even scoring a point,” said third-year head coach Matt Whelchel, who joined the staff that fall. “So to come from that and fast forward to this year, those (five) have been assistant coaches almost to me. They've really led this program to where it is right now.”
Those five seniors were part of a team than snapped a 43-game program losing streak as sophomores. They then led the Patriots to a 4-5 finish last year and 6-2 overall record this fall – with an undefeated run through league play. Heston was not eligible for the MHSAA Playoffs in 8-player because its enrollment exceeds the 215-student maximum to compete in the postseason. But Whelchel noted that the school remains ecstatic about what the team accomplished.
Before turning the program around last year, the Patriots found wearing jerseys to school on game days more than a little difficult.
“We would not get made fun of, but when we talked about having a football game or had our jerseys on and we were in that losing situation, it wasn't a very prideful thing,” noted Klumpp, the team’s kicker, running back and receiver. “You're wearing a football jersey, and everyone else thinks that you're just a joke because we never win.
“And being able to turn that around, people, you know, just mentioning how fun the football games have been to watch. It's also been something we had to fight through.”
Klumpp, Greenless, Romancky and Chichowski also experienced a winless season as eighth-graders as Whelchel served the school as the middle school head coach and varsity assistant. Whelchel took over the varsity program in 2023.
The players credit Whelchel with instilling an offseason work ethic. The focus on studying film, spending time in the weight room and dedication to maintaining mental and physical health were also among keys to the Patriots’ turnaround.
“Our senior class had it extra hard starting out from middle school,” said Romancky, who played on both the offensive and defensive lines. “I think after our freshman year, once we lost every game, the drive to win the first one just became very apparent and we really took that step forward.”
Whelchel is quick to point out the school had had a good deal of talent over its 11 years of football history. Dedication, though, is at an all-time high for the Patriots.
“I have no doubts in my mind that we had players in the past that wanted to win, but you've got to have more than that,” said Whelchel, who also serves as an elementary physical education teacher. “We had talent sometimes – we just didn't have the drive. You've got to have more than the will to win. You got to spend time in the weight room and keep grades up – and it takes a lot of dedication.”
Whelchel also credits his coaching staff for much of the Patriots’ success. The assistant coaches are Jory Klumpp, Graham Church, Liam McKeage and Nathaniel Snyder.
Heston always has found community support for football, but things are a little different nowadays. The varsity players are often asked for autographs from youth football kids.
“The community has always had our back — even last year, coming into some of our home games without a winning season — we always had our stands full and stuff,” said Chichowski, the team’s quarterback. “And this year, as I work out of school during the day, everybody who comes in is asking about the game, when it starts, and just telling us that they're going to be there and stuff. It's awesome.”
Chichowski racked up 1,076 passing yards and threw 12 touchdown passes. He also had four rushing TDs and 308 yards rushing for 1,384 total offensive yards. He was named to the Big Dipper’s all-conference team, as was Klumpp, Romancky, Tiernan Hinmon and Corbin Greenless.
Greenless, a senior lineman, led team in tackles with 114 plus six sacks. He added defensive touchdowns via a blocked punt and an interception.
Hinmon, also a senior, led the team in touchdowns scored with 18. Twelve were on the ground, where he compiled 780 rushing yards. He also came through with a pick six against Au Gres-Sims in the fourth quarter of Heston’s 43-6 season-concluding victory.
Romancky, who also had interception return touchdowns against Hillman and Whittemore-Prescott, admitted losing wore on the Patriots.
“I think all the losing left a bad taste in the mouth, and we just wanted to like clear it out and get that winning feeling,” he said. “All the losses that piled up fueled the drive to win.”
The Patriots had eight seniors this fall, but Whelchel is not at all thinking about a rebuilding year in 2026.
“We're going to lose a lot of talent for sure. But we had some really talented sophomores this year, and the only reason they didn't see the field a lot is because we had a lot of those guys playing ahead of them,” Whelchel said. “The seniors obviously had talent on the field, but they're leaders off the field too. And so they've set an example for next year’s seniors and juniors. I think we'll pick up – maybe not exactly where we left off – it might take some growing pains.”
Hinmon believes these seniors have paved the way for future Patriots football players to keep the winning tradition alive.
“Everybody used to call us the pity-party Patriots,” Hinmon indicated. “They never thought we were good, and now this season, we really proved ourselves. We worked hard. I think our next season, the younger ones are going to have a great season.”
“I think it's a thing of standards,” Klumpp added. “It just sets at the bar even higher for everyone else that's going to go through this program.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) St. Helen Charlton Heston players huddle on a game day this season. (2) Patriots quarterback Dylan Chichowski works to elude a Rogers City defender. (3) Owen Romancky (21) leaps to haul in a pass against Hillman. (4) Tiernan Hinmon sets up to make his move while carrying the ball against Breckenridge. (Owen Romancky photo by Ashley Patti/Houghton Lake Resorter. All other photos submitted by Jessica Romancky.)