Marysville, St. Clair Join Together to Honor Beloved Coach with Rivalry Trophy
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 11, 2023
Denny White brought quite a bit to the Marysville and St. Clair communities.
In 1961, as a junior in high school, White was part of the first team to bring a football state title to Marysville.
Fifty years later, as an assistant coach, he played a vital role in bringing St. Clair its first MHSAA Finals title in baseball.
During the years in between, and decade after, White brought his knowledge of and passion for those sports to hundreds of student athletes.
But most recently, he brought the two communities together.
This past Friday night, the rival schools played for the Denny White Trophy, an award created to honor the late coach and connect the two communities where he was most revered.
“I’m so happy with all the support that has been around the project,” said Brady Beedon, a family friend who helped to create the trophy and was in the booth calling Friday night’s game for Get Stuck On Sports. “It’s the least we could’ve done for a man who helped so many athletes. His legacy deserves to be preserved.”
In a fitting tribute to White, who died Jan. 22 of this year following a long battle with cancer, the two teams played a hard-fought game at East China Stadium, with White’s alma mater Marysville coming away with a 25-20 victory.
Both teams featured players who had been coached by White at some point in one or both of the sports, as his time on the bench lasted through the fall of 2022.
That season, he coached the JV B football team at Marysville. Most recently before that, he had been the varsity baseball coach at St. Clair from 2015-21.
“Not much can unify rivals, but Coach White’s influence goes beyond that rivalry,” Marysville football coach Derrick Meier said at a press conference unveiling the trophy. “He’s affected thousands of local athletes. … It is awesome that someone had such an influence across the board with all local athletes (in multiple) sports. I contacted him my first year coaching varsity, and he was not willing to leave where he was at. I called him three subsequent years; he graciously declined. The last year he did accept, we added a JV B team, his wisdom and knowledge went well beyond just coaching on the field. We’re all lucky for his influence.
“Heroes get remembered. Coach White will be remembered.”
White was a 1963 graduate of Marysville, who then attended Ferris State and Central Michigan. His coaching journey did not begin in the area where he grew up, however, as he coached baseball and football at Newaygo High School before coming to St. Clair.
He spent 35 years in the Saints athletic program, coaching baseball and multiple levels of football.
Much of his time was spent as the pitching coach for St. Clair for coaches Richie Mallewitz and Bill McElreath. That included the 2011 season, when his pitching staff included current major leaguer Jacob Cronenworth, who now plays second base for the San Diego Padres.
Also on that staff were Joel Seddon, who was drafted twice – once out of high school and again after college – and would go on to be the closer at South Carolina; and Jared Tobey, who pitched at Wayne State and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers, playing four years in their minor league system.
While White coached nearly 1,000 baseball games in his career, he was involved with more than just high school sports. He also coached a 13-year-old Little League team to a state title and the semifinals of the Great Lakes Regional in 2015.
No matter the level, White poured all he had into coaching, and that included his final season on the sidelines at Marysville, just months prior to his passing.
“Every single kid that he touched with that team, you could just tell, gravitated toward him immediately,” said Travis Disser, who coached with White that final year at Marysville. “His lessons and his light-hearted humor are just something that you can’t replace, or ever hope to. I was lucky enough to learn pitching from Coach White when I was a younger kid, as well. He was the exact same Denny White as he was all those years ago, as he was last year during his battle with cancer. Coach White was a warrior in every sense of the term. His lessons, both on the field and off the field from him, are something that I’ll never, ever forget.”
The idea to create the trophy honoring White came about not long after his death, as Beedon worked with Meier, former St. Clair athletic director Denny Borse and St. Clair assistant football coach T.J. Schindler to create and design the trophy.
The final product is a two-tiered trophy topped with a pair White’s hats – one from St. Clair, the other from Marysville – that have been bronzed. It includes the years in which he won his state titles at his respective schools, and a passage about his life. There is also room to list the yearly winners, as it is planned to represent the rivalry and shared respect for White in the two communities for years to come.
“Whether it was Little League kids over the last 20 years, or some of the football players and baseball players that he coached over the decades that he coached, all of them when they get together have great stories and fondness for all the memories that (White and his fellow coaches) helped them create,” said Sandy Rutledge, the current St. Clair athletic director and a longtime friend and colleague of White. “I think it’s awesome that now as we play for this trophy every year, it will give our coaches a chance to kind of explain who Coach was. The next generation, maybe they didn’t even know him, will know that he is a legend, and he’ll always be remembered.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) From left: St. Clair’s Larry Wawryzniak, Liam Nesbitt and Peyton Ellis, Denny White’s wife Karen White, and Marysville’s Bryce Smith, Carter Saccucci and Caz Carty stand with the first-year traveling trophy celebrating Denny White’s coaching career. (Middle) White was a mainstay in the area’s sports community for more than six decades. (Below) The trophy celebrates his contributions to both schools and will list the winners of their annual football game. (Trophy photos courtesy of Brady Beedon. Headshot courtesy of the White family.)
1st & Goal: 2025 Week 3 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 11, 2025
The Michigan High School Football Coaches Association and Michigan Sports Writers both released their first state rankings of the season this week, providing their opinions on the top teams in every division.
There are always a few programs that dominate from start to finish. But this season already seems like it could provide an audible.
Consider, of 602 teams playing 11 or 8-player football this fall, only 179 (just under 30 percent) after just two games. And that total is guaranteed to decrease by 28 teams over the next two days as we have that many matchups of unbeatens – several of which are noted below.
Some related food for thought: Although we finished the 2024 regular season with 27 undefeated teams statewide, only Millington and Deckerville hoisted MHSAA Finals championship trophies without taking a loss. We had only two undefeated champions in 2023 as well, but five in 2022.
You'll again have the opportunity to tune into several games this weekend on the NFHS Network. Scores for every game across the state will posted on the MHSAA Scores page as they conclude.
Bay & Thumb
Ithaca (2-0) at Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary (2-0)
This matchup determined league championships in both 2022 and 2023, and Ithaca has won 20 straight league games including all five in the Tri-Valley Conference Blue a year ago. MLS gave the Yellowjackets their closest league game (35-14) last fall and is off to a solid start outscoring its first two opponents by a combined 82-8. Ithaca’s is coming off one of the state’s more notable victories of Week 2, 36-7 over Lawton.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Bay City John Glenn (2-0) at Essexville Garber (2-0) WATCH, Durand (2-0) at Montrose (2-0) WATCH, Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central (2-0) at Saginaw Valley Lutheran (2-0) WATCH, Harbor Beach (2-0) at Ubly (1-1) WATCH.
Greater Detroit
Rochester Adams (2-0) at West Bloomfield (2-0) WATCH
Arguably the most competitive league in the state – the Oakland Activities Association Red – begins play with what should be a challenging matchup for both of these opponents. Adams claimed year’s meeting 21-17 on the way to eventually reaching the Division 1 Semifinals, and has a couple of big wins so far this fall over Romeo and Rochester. West Bloomfield has won both of its first two games by 37-0 scores, shutting out Dearborn Fordson and Southfield Arts & Technology.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Birmingham Groves (1-1) at Harper Woods (2-0), Clarkston (1-1) at Oxford (2-0) WATCH, Gibraltar Carlson (2-0) at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (1-1) WATCH, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (2-0) at Warren De La Salle Collegiate (1-1).
Mid-Michigan
Williamston (2-0) at Mason (1-1)
Williamston can finish reversing last season’s 0-3 start with a win over Mason, which won last year’s meeting 34-20. This matchup again kicks off the Capital Area Activities Conference Red schedule, and Mason has won 18 straight league games and the last three Red titles. The Bulldogs fell just short in their comeback attempt last week against DeWitt, but have won six in a row over the Hornets – who have been impressive in revenge wins over Lansing Catholic and Hastings.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY St. Johns (2-0) at Fowlerville (2-0), Midland Dow (2-0) at Mount Pleasant (2-0), Portland (2-0) at Olivet (2-0) WATCH, Northville (2-0) at Howell (2-0) WATCH.
Northern Lower Peninsula
Davison (2-0) at Traverse City Central (2-0)
Davison has dominated these meetings the last three seasons, with three victories all by at least 35 points. But Central also is 2-0 heading into this game for the first time during that run and has scored a combined 96 points in big wins over returning playoff qualifiers Novi and Parma Western. Davison edged Warren De La Salle Collegiate last week 23-21 to avenge a 2024 defeat after opening with a 17-point win over Roseville.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Boyne City (2-0) at Cheboygan (1-1) WATCH, Kalkaska (2-0) at East Jordan (2-0) WATCH, Escanaba (2-0) at Petoskey (1-1) WATCH. SATURDAY Marquette (1-1) at Gaylord (2-0) WATCH.
Southeast & Border
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (2-0) at Jackson Lumen Christi (1-1) WATCH
We featured Lumen Christi in this space last week as well, but it’s hard not to again when the Titans have arguably the toughest nonleague schedule in the state. They’re coming off wins over two 2024 champions – Lombard Montini from Illinois and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep from Division 5 – and now get an opponent that fell just a win shy of also playing for the Division 5 title last season. Grand Rapids Catholic Central is facing its first in-state opponent after earning wins over teams from Illinois and Ontario.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Adrian (2-0) at Chelsea (2-0) WATCH, Blissfield (1-1) at Clinton (1-1) WATCH, Tecumseh (2-0) at Ypsilanti Lincoln (2-0) WATCH, Ann Arbor Huron (1-1) at Dexter (2-0).
Southwest Corridor
Schoolcraft (1-1) at Constantine (2-0)
This is a matchup we circle every season, and it’s easy to explain why. Constantine’s 31-29 win over Schoolcraft a year ago, while its third straight, was the second in a row decided by one score or less, as have been five of their last 12 matchups. Both teams went on to great success last season, Constantine winning a District title and Schoolcraft claiming its Regional. And while the Eagles do have an early loss, it came last week to Division 4 power Hudsonville Unity Christian.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Battle Creek Harper Creek (1-1) at Coldwater (2-0) WATCH, Kalamazoo United (1-1) at Lawton (1-1) WATCH, Three Rivers (2-0) at Otsego (1-1) WATCH, Niles (2-0) at Paw Paw (0-2) WATCH.
Upper Peninsula
Calumet (2-0) at Negaunee (2-0) WATCH
The Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper division is among the deepest leagues in northern Michigan, sending four teams to the playoffs last year with two more finishing 4-5. Calumet and Negaunee have been two of the frequent contenders, Negaunee last sharing the league title in 2023 and Calumet most recently in 2021. The Miners won last year’s matchup 29-0 and the last five in the series.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Hancock (0-2) at Houghton (0-2) WATCH, Iron Mountain (1-1) at Manistique (1-1) WATCH, Gladstone (0-2) at Kingsford (1-1) WATCH, Ishpeming Westwood (0-2) at Menominee (2-0) WATCH.
West Michigan
Caledonia (2-0) at Hudsonville (2-0) WATCH
These two are among four Ottawa-Kent Conference Red teams that have started 2-0, with three more at 1-1 as league play begins. Grandville and Rockford have especially notable wins among that 1-1 group, and this league race truly could be wide open – which will make every game including this one especially important. Hudsonville last season broke a three-year losing streak against Caledonia, and despite substantial graduations has opened with impressive victories over Byron Center and East Lansing. The Fighting Scots’ 56 points last week against Muskegon Reeths-Puffer were their most since 2023.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Hudsonville Unity Christian (2-0) at Ada Forest Hills Eastern (2-0) WATCH, Grand Rapids West Catholic (1-1) at Grand Rapids South Christian (1-1), East Kentwood (2-0) at Jenison (2-0), Grand Rapids Northview (2-0) at Sparta (2-0).
8-Player
Pickford (2-0) at Newberry (2-0)
Pickford has won the last two Great Lakes Eight Conference East titles, and last year’s run to finishing Division 1 runner-up included a 44-14 win over Newberry. But Newberry already has one victory this season over a team that reached Superior Dome a year ago – 22-20 over reigning Division 2 champion Crystal Falls Forest Park in Week 1 – and last week’s 34-14 victory over Ontonagon also avenged a 2024 loss.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Deckerville (2-0) at Bad Axe (2-0) WATCH, Adrian Lenawee Christian (2-0) at Climax-Scotts (1-1), Britton Deerfield (1-1) at Colon (2-0), Concord (2-0) at Mendon (2-0) WATCH.
MHSAA.com's weekly “1st & Goal” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Click to connect with MI Student Aid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO Ithaca and Lawton players attempt to reel in a pass during the Yellowjackets' Week 2 win. (Photo by High School Sports Scene.)