MCC Extends Streak, Hands Off Legacy
November 25, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – A trio of running backs who played major roles in Muskegon Catholic Central’s last three MHSAA championships closed their high school careers celebrating the school’s fourth straight title Friday.
Along the way, they also handed off the program’s future.
Seniors LaTommy Scott, Logan Helton and Walker Christofferson had become Ford Field fixtures the last few seasons, and each contributed to their combined four touchdowns in this Division 8 Final. But the fifth score of MCC’s 35-6 victory over Ottawa Lake Whiteford was scored by a freshman who will take over from here – and showed the promise that makes the Crusaders look good to continue these annual trips to Detroit.
Splitting time at quarterback with senior Trenton Bordeaux, freshman Cameron Martinez ran for a team-high 154 yards and a touchdown and threw for 61 yards and a score to help MCC pull into a tie for second all-time with its 12th MHSAA football title.
Although a freshman, the scene wasn’t entirely unfamiliar for Martinez; his brother Christian had quarterbacked the team to its 11th title last year as a senior.
“Every time we made it, I was watching from the crowd. I couldn’t wait to put on the gold helmet and bring this team back again,” Cameron Martinez said. “I love this group of seniors. I’m going to miss them, and that’s what I wanted to do – give them their fourth straight title.”
With four straight, the Crusaders (14-0) are now one shy of the MHSAA record of five consecutive titles shared by the Farmington Hills Harrison teams from 1997-2001 and East Grand Rapids’ teams from 2006-10. With 12 championships total, MCC is tied with now-closed Detroit St. Martin dePorres for second most in the sport, one behind Harrison’s record 13 football titles.
Martinez entered the Final third on the team with 614 rushing yards, tallying 12 touchdowns on the ground, and second to Bordeaux with 540 passing yards plus nine scoring passes. Also a starting linebacker, he didn’t play offense in MCC’s 35-0 Semifinal win over St. Ignace last week. But he was impacting the Crusaders’ offense by the end of Friday’s first quarter.
Martinez’ first carry came on the final play of that quarter, for three yards, and he opened the second with a 26-yard run. He also had a 19-yard run and 23-yard pass to set up Helton’s five-yard scoring run that put the first points on the board with 9:05 to go in the first half.
After coming up shy on another drive late in the half and then pushing the score to 14-6 on a 35-yard Helton run to cap its first possession of the second, MCC made it 21-6 with 3:08 to play in the third quarter with a drive that included 55 rush yards on five Martinez carries, including the final one for three yards into the end zone.
“Anytime you have a running quarterback, you have to defend 11 and not 10; it’s just simple math sometimes,” MCC coach Steve Czerwon said. “Having somebody in the backfield as dynamic as Cameron, with the ability to make plays … people are like, ‘He’s a freshman.’ Well, he’s a freshman, fine. But he doesn’t play like a freshman.”
MCC welcomed its captains from the last three seasons to Thursday’s practice, and after, Czerwon asked Christian Martinez if he was nervous for his brother. Christian’s response to Czerwon: “Nah, he’s made for these big moments.”
“After he said that – and he knows him a heck of a lot better than I do – I felt good about using him today,” Czerwon added. “And I thought he performed very well.”
So did those seniors. Helton ran seven times for 67 yards and those two scores, and Scott ran eight times for 69 yards and scored on the 25-yard touchdown “pass” which was more of a front pitch on a sweep around the left side. Christofferson, who ran for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the Semifinal win, added the day’s final score with 1:04 to play.
Helton, also a linebacker, had 10 tackles and Christofferson, a defensive back, had seven to follow up all-state senior linebacker Andrew Schulte's team-leading 13. The Crusaders never trailed this season, and the defense was a big reason why; including 13 points surrendered over five playoff games, MCC allowed only 77 points this fall (5.5 per game).
But Friday’s score didn’t tell well how close this matchup was for most of it. Whiteford had six turnovers on downs, falling short of first downs by only a yard four times. Twice, MCC sophomore defensive back Dawson Steigman made rally-ending stops. Three of the fourth-down misses came in Crusaders territory.
Whiteford junior quarterback Thomas Eitniear was especially impressive, completing 7 of 10 passes for 96 yards and running nine times for 111 yards including the team’s lone score, an 81-yard sprint around the left end that made it 7-6 with 2:37 to go in the first half.
“Coming into halftime, that was the exact kind of game we were looking to play – to chew clock, and we just didn’t articulate a couple of our possessions into scores,” Whiteford coach Jason Mensing said. “Second half, they found some things offensively against us and took advantage. And on top of that, we didn’t articulate our drives as well.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the effort and passion, and probably the thing I’m most proud of was I didn’t feel like the moment was too big for our kids, which oftentimes you get into this type of stage, the moment can be a little large. I thought our kids handled themselves with great composure, and that’s one of those attributes for life that really matters.”
Whiteford made its first appearance in an MHSAA Final, following up its second straight – and second ever – Semifinal appearance. The Bobcats finished 13-1.
“Me and a bunch of the senior guys, we dreamed about this since freshman year,” said senior running back Jesse Kiefer, who finished as the school’s career record holder in rushing yards, points and total offense. “Coming in and being able to play on this field, it’s just not real to me. Obviously, we wanted it to come out a different way than this, but it’s still an experience I’ll never forget.”
Kiefer had seven tackles at linebacker, following senior safety Herbie Bertz’ 13 and junior tackle Jared Atherton’s eight. Kiefer also broke up three passes.
With it being their last, MCC’s seniors asked to not come out of this game early as they have most of this season with the Crusaders beating all of their opponents by at least two touchdowns.
But as they left Ford Field once more, surrounded by 13 underclassmen, they were confident with who might lead MCC back next time.
“Handing it off the Cameron, our program is in good hands,” Helton said. “I don’t expect anything less than what we’ve been doing.”
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon Catholic Central’s Cameron Martinez stretches toward the goal line for a score late in the third quarter. (Middle) Martinez works to elude Whiteford’s Hunter Lake.
Week 8 Football Playoff Listing
October 15, 2013
Here is a list of Michigan High School Athletic Association football playing schools, displaying their win-loss records and playoff averages through the seventh week of the season.
Schools on this list are in enrollment order. An asterisk (*) beside a record indicates that a team has eight or fewer games scheduled. A caret (^) beside a school’s name indicates that a team is one win away from playoff qualification.
Those schools with 11-player teams with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules, or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer, will qualify for the MHSAA Football Playoffs beginning Nov. 1-2. Schools with 5-4, 4-3 or 4-4 records may qualify if the number of potential qualifiers by win total does not reach the 256 mark. Schools with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer may be subtracted from the field based on playoff average if the number of potential qualifiers exceeds the 256 mark.
Once the 256 qualifying schools are determined, they will be divided by enrollment groups into eight equal divisions of 32 schools, and then drawn into regions of eight teams each and districts of four teams each.
Those schools with 8-player teams will be ranked by playoff average at season’s end, and the top 16 programs will be drawn into regions of eight teams each for the playoff in that division, which also begins Nov. 1-2.
To review a list of all football playoff schools, individual school playoff point details and to report errors, visit the Football page of the MHSAA Website.
The announcement of the qualifiers and first-round pairings for both the 11 and 8-player playoffs will take place on Oct. 27 on the Selection Sunday Show at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Detroit. The playoff qualifiers and pairings will be posted to the MHSAA Website following the Selection Sunday Show.
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11-Player Playoff Listing
1. Utica Eisenhower, 2772, 4-3, 58.429
2. Clarkston, 2737, 6-1, 87.286
3. Macomb Dakota, 2693, 7-0, 100.571
4. Howell, 2672, 4-3, 57.857
5. Grand Blanc, 2624, 6-1, 91.000
6. East Kentwood ^, 2612, 5-2, 73.143
7. Rockford, 2572, 6-1, 91.000
8. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 2506, 7-0, 104.000
9. Lake Orion, 2490, 6-1, 85.143
10. Dearborn Fordson, 2309, 4-3, 61.048
11. Holland West Ottawa, 2293, 4-3, 59.286
12. Northville, 2275, 6-1, 86.000
13. Detroit Cass Tech, 2262, 7-0, 100.571
14. Brighton ^, 2164, 5-2, 77.000
15. Monroe ^, 2145, 5-2, 67.857
16. Detroit Catholic Central, 2132, 6-1, 85.810
17. Plymouth ^, 2126, 5-2, 67.429
18. Canton, 2078, 7-0, 106.286
19. Novi, 1986, 4-3, 55.571
20. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North, 1965, 6-1, 85.000
21. West Bloomfield, 1941, 4-3, 57.857
22. Saline, 1897, 6-1, 88.000
23. Westland John Glenn, 1880, 4-3, 54.143
24. Holt, 1866, 4-3, 58.000
25. Warren Mott, 1796, 7-0, 92.571
26. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek ^, 1759, 5-2, 72.000
27. Hudsonville, 1736, 4-3, 62.571
28. Ann Arbor Skyline, 1715, 4-3, 54.143
29. Grand Ledge, 1715, 4-3, 55.571
30. Belleville ^, 1714, 5-2, 69.714
31. Davison, 1692, 4-3, 47.571
32. Walled Lake Northern ^, 1688, 5-2, 70.714
33. Traverse City West, 1653, 4-3, 61.857
34. Rochester, 1615, 4-3, 55.286
35. Waterford Kettering, 1604, 4-3, 54.571
36. Temperance Bedford, 1600, 7-0, 108.571
37. Grosse Pointe South, 1598, 4-3, 57.571
38. Rochester Adams, 1582, 4-3, 60.286
39. Saginaw Heritage, 1575, 4-3, 57.000
40. Warren DeLaSalle ^, 1564, 5-2, 79.200
41. Walled Lake Western, 1556, 7-0, 99.429
42. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1488, 6-1, 84.286
43. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 1476, 4-3, 59.857
44. Midland, 1462, 6-1, 87.571
45. Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1460, 6-1, 79.714
46. Pinckney ^, 1452, 5-2, 72.143
47. Traverse City Central, 1448, 4-3, 52.952
48. Oak Park ^, 1438, 5-2, 71.143
49. Detroit Martin Luther King *, 1432, 6-0, 97.714
50. Ypsilanti Community, 1399, 4-3, 49.000
51. Port Huron ^, 1398, 5-2, 68.548
52. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1373, 7-0, 102.857
53. Portage Central, 1372, 7-0, 99.429
54. Lansing Everett ^, 1369, 5-2, 63.714
55. Portage Northern ^, 1364, 5-2, 72.571
56. Southfield, 1356, 6-1, 93.429
57. North Farmington *^, 1352, 4-3, 53.810
58. Caledonia ^, 1350, 5-2, 66.714
59. Battle Creek Lakeview, 1348, 7-0, 84.571
60. Birmingham Seaholm, 1337, 7-0, 93.714
61. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1326, 7-0, 104.857
62. Grosse Pointe North, 1323, 4-3, 58.571
63. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1314, 6-1, 86.429
64. Midland Dow, 1304, 6-1, 83.000
65. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1300, 6-1, 91.000
66. South Lyon ^, 1277, 5-2, 72.143
67. Swartz Creek, 1277, 4-3, 57.024
68. Birmingham Groves, 1274, 7-0, 93.714
69. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, 1231, 4-3, 46.143
70. Fenton, 1188, 7-0, 97.143
71. Grand Rapids Northview, 1182, 4-3, 54.857
72. Warren Woods Tower ^, 1170, 5-2, 55.429
73. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 1151, 6-1, 86.143
74. Lowell, 1146, 7-0, 110.857
75. Taylor Truman, 1131, 6-1, 81.714
76. Holly, 1124, 4-3, 55.714
77. Muskegon, 1118, 6-1, 92.286
78. Lapeer East, 1113, 4-3, 55.714
79. Marquette *, 1110, 5-1, 79.381
80. Detroit East English ^, 1109, 5-2, 64.738
81. Detroit Cody, 1106, 4-3, 51.429
82. Allen Park ^, 1103, 5-2, 72.429
83. Detroit Renaissance, 1097, 4-3, 48.857
84. Detroit Mumford, 1090, 6-1, 78.571
85. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 1079, 6-1, 77.429
86. Zeeland East ^, 1071, 5-2, 72.286
87. Lapeer West, 1063, 6-1, 89.571
88. Redford Thurston, 1063, 4-3, 60.714
89. Byron Center ^, 1039, 5-2, 63.714
90. Mt. Pleasant, 1033, 6-1, 87.714
91. Riverview ^, 993, 5-2, 59.857
92. St. Joseph, 986, 7-0, 97.143
93. Petoskey, 965, 4-3, 55.571
94. Mason ^, 958, 5-2, 62.000
95. East Grand Rapids, 949, 4-3, 56.857
96. Linden, 944, 4-3, 52.000
97. DeWitt, 941, 7-0, 101.943
98. Sault Ste. Marie, 928, 4-3, 52.857
99. Grand Rapids Christian, 927, 6-1, 87.571
100. Detroit Denby ^, 909, 5-2, 60.833
101. Haslett ^, 907, 5-2, 65.143
102. Stevensville Lakeshore, 892, 4-3, 51.429
103. Fruitport ^, 886, 5-2, 58.571
104. Romulus, 882, 4-3, 44.000
105. Milan, 872, 7-0, 94.857
106. St. Clair, 869, 7-0, 92.571
107. Tecumseh ^, 869, 5-2, 66.000
108. Sturgis, 868, 4-3, 53.286
109. Wayland Union, 861, 4-3, 59.143
110. Melvindale, 860, 6-1, 84.286
111. Plainwell, 852, 6-1, 77.429
112. Ionia ^, 851, 5-2, 62.000
113. Sparta ^, 851, 5-2, 61.571
114. Eaton Rapids, 844, 4-3, 49.143
115. Detroit Old Redford *, 838, 5-2, 59.571
116. Zeeland West, 833, 6-1, 78.286
117. Charlotte ^, 830, 5-2, 71.000
118. Battle Creek Harper Creek, 823, 6-1, 76.286
119. Dearborn Heights Annapolis, 818, 4-3, 49.143
120. North Branch, 809, 6-1, 70.429
121. Marysville, 791, 4-3, 51.000
122. Detroit Collegiate Prep, 790, 4-3, 44.286
123. Three Rivers, 789, 4-3, 43.429
124. Edwardsburg, 787, 7-0, 81.143
125. Holland Christian, 785, 4-3, 50.000
126. Spring Lake, 783, 6-1, 72.714
127. Cadillac, 779, 7-0, 94.095
128. Ogemaw Heights ^, 754, 5-2, 63.381
129. Croswell-Lexington, 738, 4-3, 47.714
130. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep ^, 732, 5-2, 65.571
131. Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy, 724, 6-1, 70.476
132. Yale ^, 704, 5-2, 58.143
133. Comstock Park, 701, 7-0, 98.667
134. Detroit Country Day, 700, 4-3, 54.571
135. Fremont, 697, 4-3, 40.714
136. St. Clair Shores South Lake, 690, 4-3, 49.571
137. Otsego ^, 688, 5-2, 54.143
138. Corunna, 686, 4-3, 45.143
139. Lansing Sexton, 684, 7-0, 99.429
140. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 678, 4-3, 48.429
141. Allendale *, 676, 6-1, 77.429
142. Cheboygan ^, 660, 5-2, 66.238
143. Belding, 654, 4-3, 44.429
144. Battle Creek Pennfield, 652, 6-1, 65.857
145. Williamston *^, 651, 4-3, 46.714
146. Grand Rapids South Christian, 645, 6-1, 81.857
147. Saginaw Swan Valley, 644, 7-0, 85.714
148. Richmond, 642, 6-1, 74.000
149. Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 635, 4-3, 54.714
150. Grosse Ile, 632, 4-3, 47.571
151. Paw Paw, 632, 7-0, 78.857
152. Dowagiac, 621, 6-1, 67.000
153. Lake Fenton, 613, 6-1, 70.429
154. Ludington, 610, 4-3, 43.000
155. Remus Chippewa Hills, 600, 4-3, 43.286
156. Marine City, 596, 7-0, 98.286
157. Wyoming Kelloggsville ^, 591, 5-2, 53.286
158. Clawson ^, 584, 5-2, 55.429
159. Essexville Garber ^, 583, 5-2, 60.857
160. Livonia Clarenceville, 577, 7-0, 84.571
161. Portland *, 572, 7-0, 89.143
162. Freeland, 568, 6-1, 69.429
163. River Rouge, 568, 6-1, 57.619
164. Kingsford ^, 561, 5-2, 56.095
165. Wyoming Godwin Heights, 560, 4-3, 36.000
166. Parchment, 552, 4-3, 43.286
167. Ovid-Elsie ^, 549, 5-2, 55.429
168. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 544, 6-1, 77.429
169. Clinton Township Clintondale, 544, 7-0, 81.143
170. North Muskegon ^, 541, 5-2, 51.571 |
171. Gladwin ^, 539, 5-2, 55.000
172. Frankenmuth, 527, 6-1, 79.000
173. Hopkins ^, 527, 5-2, 66.286
174. Almont, 524, 6-1, 71.571
175. Newaygo, 523, 6-1, 66.000
176. Standish-Sterling Central *, 520, 6-1, 72.571
177. Olivet, 505, 6-1, 63.571
178. Ida ^, 504, 5-2, 60.143
179. Detroit University Prep ^, 501, 5-2, 52.714
180. Menominee, 501, 7-0, 86.857
181. Muskegon Oakridge, 496, 6-1, 67.143
182. Grayling, 494, 6-1, 63.286
183. Reed City, 490, 7-0, 83.429
184. Riverview Gabriel Richard ^, 490, 5-2, 56.857
185. Dundee ^, 489, 5-2, 45.857
186. Lansing Catholic, 480, 4-3, 50.429
187. Clare ^, 451, 5-2, 51.857
188. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 445, 6-1, 76.286
189. Jackson Lumen Christi, 441, 7-0, 93.714
190. Kingsley ^, 439, 5-2, 48.286
191. Houghton, 437, 4-3, 34.196
192. Roscommon, 431, 4-3, 36.286
193. Millington ^, 430, 5-2, 59.571
194. Warren Michigan Collegiate ^, 428, 5-2, 57.143
195. Kalkaska ^, 425, 5-2, 49.429
196. Madison Heights Madison, 424, 7-0, 86.857
197. Sanford Meridian, 423, 6-1, 61.143
198. Michigan Center, 416, 6-1, 56.714
199. Negaunee, 416, 6-1, 52.286
200. Hanover-Horton, 412, 4-3, 35.857
201. Montrose Hill-McCloy, 411, 7-0, 82.286
202. Lakeview ^, 409, 5-2, 56.429
203. Grass Lake, 402, 6-1, 64.714
204. Shelby, 401, 7-0, 76.571
205. Elk Rapids ^, 400, 5-2, 57.143
206. Ithaca, 399, 7-0, 80 .000
207. Manchester, 398, 6-1, 61.429
208. Hillsdale, 397, 4-3, 47.429
209. Niles Brandywine, 397, 7-0, 79.286
210. Jonesville, 389, 6-1, 66.000
211. Grandville Calvin Christian, 388, 4-3, 47.143
212. Maple City Glen Lake, 388, 7-0, 72.000
213. Watervliet, 387, 7-0, 62.857
214. Vassar, 385, 4-3, 36.429
215. Boyne City, 383, 6-1, 62.571
216. Clinton, 383, 7-0, 76.571
217. Byron Area, 380, 6-1, 58.000
218. Constantine ^, 379, 5-2, 46.857
219. Adrian Madison, 374, 4-3, 35.000
220. Burton Bendle ^, 374, 5-2, 51.476
221. Montague ^, 373, 5-2, 58.714
222. St. Charles, 367, 4-3, 36.000
223. Quincy, 361, 4-3, 32.571
224. Hartford, 351, 4-3, 39.000
225. Cass City, 350, 4-3, 35.714
226. Indian River Inland Lakes ^, 348, 5-2, 40.333
227. Schoolcraft, 346, 6-1, 70.429
228. Flint Beecher ^, 345, 5-2, 55.286
229. Reese, 337, 6-1, 58.000
230. Saginaw Nouvel, 333, 6-1, 73.429
231. Marlette, 332, 7-0, 69.714
232. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 331, 6-1, 68.000
233. McBain, 326, 4-3, 38.571
234. Bath, 325, 4-3, 38.000
235. Hesperia, 324, 4-3, 38.714
236. Carson City-Crystal, 323, 7-0, 74.286
237. Bridgman, 320, 4-3, 39.000
238. Lake City, 314, 6-1, 55.714
239. Whittemore-Prescott ^, 309, 5-2, 49.571
240. Springport ^, 308, 5-2, 47.286
241. Lawton, 307, 7-0, 60.571
242. Southfield Christian, 306, 6-1, 55.571
243. East Jordan, 302, 4-3, 33.857
244. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker ^, 301, 5-2, 51.714
245. Ishpeming, 301, 7-0, 67.857 &