Loyola Learns Championship Lessons
November 29, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – Saturday’s celebration began with respect, senior linebacker Paul Engram said, for an opponent that had become familiar and frustrating.
Detroit Loyola hasn’t lost a regular-season game since 2010. But the Bulldogs also hadn’t solved Ishpeming in their first two MHSAA Division 7 Final matchups, falling to the Hematites to end both of the last two seasons despite obvious size and arguable speed advantages.
“We know they could beat us, and they thought they could beat us, and we had to recognize that,” Engram said. “We knew what we can do. We had to believe in ourselves and play as a team.
“Football isn’t always about just playing a game. It’s about life. We really learned a lesson about how to stick together and trust, what love and trust are really all about. Because that’s what we were missing the last couple of years.”
Loyola had all of the above Saturday morning in defeating Ishpeming 29-8 to claim its first MHSAA title.
Just as in 2012 and 2013, Ishpeming scored first. But this time, the Bulldogs responded with 29 unanswered points dominating with the physicality that has helped it build a 65-10 record under coach John Callahan since he took over the program in 2009.
“Passion, motivation. Us losing two times in a row, we just really had a goal,” said senior running back Marvin Campbell, who like Engram had played prominent roles on all three Finals teams. “We just knew we had to get this done.”
Campbell finished with 215 yards on 21 carries with all four of Loyola’s scores – on runs of 47 and eight yards in the second quarter, 66 in the third and five yards in the fourth.
The first touchdown would’ve come earlier – a two-yard scoring run was called back because of a penalty – and Ishpeming junior Thomas Finegan intercepted a Loyola pass on the next play. With junior quarterback Ozzy Corp either running or completing passes on 10 plays, the Hematites responded with a 13-play, 90-yard drive capped by his 1-yard scoring run and two-point conversion pass with 1:03 to go in the first quarter.
But Loyola (14-0) made adjustments – taking opposite tacks for each side of the field.
Callahan had traveled to watch Ishpeming twice this season, including against eventual Division 8 semifinalist Beal City when those teams met in Week 6. Callahan noticed how the Aggies tried to defend Ishpeming’s powerful run – and came back to a defense he’d used coaching Pontiac Notre Dame to a league title before moving to Loyola. The “nitro” defense took all of his players off the line and gave a look of seven linebackers able to range side to side.
Loyola finished Saturday with six tackles for losses and three sacks, with junior lineman Anthony Fitzpatrick leading with 11 tackles.
“(Nitro) gives us better vision,” Callahan said. “With what they ran, they were going one way or the other. It gave our guys the opportunity to move as quick as they were and get to the spot.”
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs did just about the opposite offensively, as the game wore on getting back to the fundamentals of its base power running game that had served so well the last four seasons.
Loyola finished with 297 yards on the ground, with senior Mideyin Wilson picking up 75 on 16 carries.
“Those guys are seniors now, all those guys we played before,” Ishpeming coach Jeff Olson said. “They’re big. They’re strong. They were better than us. There are only so many things you can do, and we tried a lot of different things, a lot of different blocking schemes. They just dominated us at times.”
Corp turned in another courageous performance without senior teammate and top back Ozzy Hakkarinen to assist – the latter was injured in last week’s Semifinal. Corp ran for 198 yards in that game, and added 111 yards passing to the team’s lone score Saturday.
Senior Dominic Suardini had 14 tackles for the Hematites (12-1), which had won 33 straight games entering Saturday – good to tie for eighth-longest winning streak in MHSAA football history and fourth longest among streaks to take place entirely during the playoff era (beginning in 1975).
“People don’t understand how hard it is to get here. When you do it three times in a row and win two, people think it gets easy,” Olson said. “We had some tough teams we had to play along the way, and you’ve got to beat those teams. And those teams are giving you everything they have. You can’t just have talent; you’ve got to have great kids, got to have competitors. We had that.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Loyola celebrates its first MHSAA football championship at Ford Field. (Middle) Ishpeming quarterback Ozzy Corp prepares to throw with the Bulldogs pressuring. (Below) Loyola’s Marvin Campbell runs away from tacklers for some of his 215 rushing yards. (Click for action photos and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
ISHPEMING PICK - The Ishpeming defense stopped a long game-opening Detroit Loyola drive when Thomas Finegan intercepted a Nicholas Lee pass. The Hematites scored on the ensuing drive.
MARVELOUS MARVIN - Marvin Campbell rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns for Detroit Loyola in its 29-8 Division 8 victory over Ishpeming. Here's the third score on a 66-yard run.
Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Millington Caps 1st Finals Trip with Decisive 'Forever' Championship
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 30, 2024
DETROIT – Dallas Walsh and his Millington teammates achieved a childhood dream Saturday at the Division 7 Football Final.
But for the sea of red in the Ford Field stands, and the few left watching at home, it was the fulfillment of a dream that started decades before the current Cardinals had taken a single snap.
A suffocating defense combined with a big day on the ground from Walsh gave the Cardinals a 24-0 victory against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, bringing a first Finals trophy home to Millington.
“It’s definitely an amazing feeling,” Walsh said. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was probably 8 years old. This is something we’ve all dreamt of, and it’s really an amazing experience. Our whole community backed us the whole way. I’m just so glad that we came out with the win.”
The Cardinals were making the first Finals appearance in program history, as they were 0-6 in Semifinal appearances prior to this season.
That just made getting over the hump that much more special.
“It means the world to us,” Millington coach Jason Germain said. “We were 0-6 going into the Semifinals, and we heard about that. These kids knew that. They fulfilled my dreams, and they fulfilled a lot of people in the community’s dreams. If you couldn’t tell, you’d think that was a Division 1 game out there with that many people in the crowd. It is truly, in small towns like Millington and Frankenmuth, that’s what we cling to. We don’t have a lot in our community, but we have our Friday nights and we have our football program. That’s what it really, truly means. We told our guys, pain is temporary, championships are forever, and that’s what they really bought into. And it’s a true testament to our community. I’m telling you, it’s going to be a good night in Millington tonight.”
That fun night will no doubt include tales of a monstrous defensive effort from the Cardinals, which included three forced turnovers and allowing just 3.2 yards per play.
SMCC came into Saturday’s Final averaging 36.3 points and 240.5 rushing yards per game, but wasn’t able to get anything going against a stout Millington front. The Falcons were held to 131 yards of total offense and 68 yards on the ground.
“They did to us what we’ve been doing to teams for 13 games, so I think that’s a testament to them,” SMCC coach Adam Kipf said. “... They brought it on every single play. I don’t think they lost any energy throughout the game, and they were physical. We’d seen that on tape. We figured they’d wear down a little bit, and they did not wear down.”
The Cardinals held SMCC to 2.3 yards per carry, and when quarterback Ian Jones did drop back to pass, he was often greeted with a defender in his face. Millington finished the game with four sacks, getting two apiece from Logan Myers and Brevin Hendricks, which resulted in 34 lost yards for the Falcons.
The Cardinals also forced three interceptions, with Truk Terbush picking off two and Owen Kreger snagging the other.
“We shut out (Pewamo-Westphalia); they’re a prolific offense. We held North Muskegon to 14 until the end of the game – our defense is outstanding, and that’s a credit to our defensive coordinator (Lenny Dantinne) and these guys buying in,” Germain said. “I can’t say enough about these guys and Coach Dantinne and all of our coaches for preparing these guys. You don’t just shut out a team like Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central unless you’re doing film study and working hard.”
Offensively, Walsh, who had a team-high eight tackles, rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Landon Russell had 67 yards on two carries, including a 64-yard TD run. Terbush finished 7-of-12 for 58 yards and a touchdown, and one interception.
Millington (13-0) had a significant field position advantage through most of the first half, and it was finally able to cash in on that late in the second quarter when Walsh opened the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown run.
The Cardinals put themselves right back into a dangerous position on the next play from scrimmage when Terbush intercepted a pass near midfield and returned it to the SMCC 15. The Falcons defense limited the damage, but Millington took a 10-0 lead with a 25-yard Larry Shoens field goal.
SMCC (13-1) was able to create a chance during the final seconds of the half, as Cole Reinhardt returned the ensuing kick 44 yards into Millington territory. But Kreger intercepted a pass in the endzone as time expired to preserve the Cardinals’ 10-point halftime lead.
That would have been enough, thanks to the outstanding effort of the Millington defense, but Landon Russell added a 64-yard TD run late in the third quarter on what was by far the game’s most explosive play. Russell’s run covered more ground than the SMCC offense had been able to gain up until that point (50 yards).
It’s a play that was supposed to go to Walsh, but he made the decision to switch with Russell after it was called.
“It was really, I told (Russell) I needed a breather, so I said, ‘Go get one,’” Walsh said.
That run capped a 95-yard drive for the Cardinals, as they started at their own 5-yard line, and opened the possession with a false start to fall back to the 2½.
“That was the turning point in the game for us,” Germain said. “They could have stopped us there, but our kids persevered and we just went old school football – flanker, double tight, and we just pounded the ball and scored on that. That was the huge part of the game for me, personally.”
The Cardinals tacked on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Terbush to Brevin Hendrick with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
SMCC was led by Lucas Linzell’s 12 tackles, while Brady Hines had eight, including 2.5 for loss. Jack Starner had one sack for the Falcons, and Drew Ferreira had an interception.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Kipf said. “They fought and they battled. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Millington’s Dallas Walsh (5) busts into a wide opening during Saturday’s Division 7 Final at Ford Field. (Middle) The Cardinals’ Brevin Hendricks (11) chases SMCC quarterback Ian Foster in the backfield. (Below) Millington coach Jason Germain holds up the championship trophy as he’s embraced by one of his players. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)