MCC Follows 'Big #77' in 3-Peat Attempt
November 4, 2015
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Jacob Holt will be in the middle of the action, guaranteed, when two great football traditions collide Saturday afternoon in Beal City.
Holt is a four-year starter up front for Muskegon Catholic Central, which ventures toward the middle of the mitten to Beal City in its quest for a third consecutive MHSAA Division 8 championship.
“We know we have to play our best or it will be our last game,” said Holt (6-foot, 245), a senior guard and defensive end for the Crusaders, who were ranked No. 1 in Division 8 in the final Associated Press state poll. “This is a completely different team than the past two years, but our motivation is to uphold the MCC tradition.”
Holt brings a wealth of size, talent and, perhaps most importantly, experience into Saturday’s showdown. He has started nearly 48 games for MCC over the past four years – leading his team to the Semifinals in 2012, starting all 14 games each of the next two years for back-to-back championship teams, and all nine games this year for the 7-2 Crusaders.
Holt is a force on an offensive line which is very good, but not quite the wrecking machine of a year ago.
MCC lost three players off last year’s offensive line who earned some form of all-state recognition – Jaeden MacPherson (now at Ferris State), Michael Caughey (Benedictine in Atchison, Kan.) and Lamar Jordan (St. Francis in Joliet, Ill.).
The new line showed its youth in this season’s opening game at perennial Division 5 powerhouse Muskegon Oakridge. The Eagles rolled to a 31-0 halftime lead and, eventually, a 45-26 victory, snapping MCC’s 26-game winning streak.
Since that game, the Crusaders’ line has come of age behind Holt, who will likely go down as one of the best pulling guards to ever play for veteran MCC line coach and defensive coordinator Mike Ribecky.
“Jacob is just really coordinated and skilled for his size,” said third-year MCC coach Steve Czerwon, whose team has won seven of its last eight games, with its only loss during that stretch coming Week 8 at Detroit Country Day, the top-ranked team in Division 4. “We try to take advantage of that in different ways. We pull him quite a bit and he has played about 20 snaps this season at fullback.”
In his normal position at guard, Holt anchors the strong right side of the Crusaders’ line, which also includes monstrous junior tackle Brock Johnson (6-1, 280) and senior tight end Nate Jones, who made his 50th consecutive varsity start in last week’s 49-7 win over visiting Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart.
Also missing off those back-to-back championship winners is quarterback Nick Holt, Jacob’s older brother and the unquestioned leader of those powerhouse teams. The Holts also made up the battery of MCC’s MHSAA championship baseball team this spring, with Nick on the pitcher’s mound and Jacob at catcher.
“It’s been weird not having him around this fall,” said Jacob of his older brother, who is now a freshman at Hope College, where he is a pitcher on the baseball team. “I miss riding home with him after every game and every practice and just going over everything. We still text all the time, but it’s not the same.”
Nick Holt had to make a difficult choice between playing baseball or football in college, and Jacob will soon face the same agonizing decision. Among the schools pursuing him in football are Saginaw Valley State, Wayne State, Northwood, Mount Union (Ohio) and Hope, while he is actively being recruited in baseball by Kalamazoo College, Aquinas College and Hope.
Stepping into Nick Holt’s big shoes at the quarterback spot is senior Christian Martinez, who has assumed a more traditional ball distribution role – getting the ball to junior running backs Logan Helton and LaTommy Scott, as well as his favorite aerial target in junior Walker Christoffersen.
Holt gives much of the credit for his success to his parents, Mike and Cathi Holt, who raised their two sons to be both competitive and humble in everything they do.
“My dad has been my coach ever since I was a little kid,” said Jacob, 17, who has a 3.88 GPA and scored a 27 on his ACT. “He taught me how to be a man. The big thing with him was, win or lose, we weren’t going to be poor sports.”
Mike Holt, now in his 16th year as a science teacher at MCC, has influenced more than just his two sons for the Crusaders’ football program. Holt is the Crusaders’ middle school head football coach and, along with former MCC great and Northern Illinois Hall of Famer Frank Lewandoski, has played a big part in the development of the program’s players for the past six years.
This fall, the school district took it a step further with the formation of the Muskegon Catholic Central Youth Football Club, which was organized by current MCC School Board President Andy Riegler, who quarterbacked the Crusaders to a Class C championship in 1990. Czerwon called the club’s first season “hugely successful.”
Those kinds of efforts at the lower levels help explain MCC’s continued success, despite steadily declining enrollment over the past 35 years.
“We’re blessed to have quality coaches at the middle school and the youth levels, who really care about the kids,” said Czerwon, who boasts a gaudy 33-4 record in his three years as head coach.
MCC first broke through in the football playoffs as a Class B school, winning MHSAA titles in 1980 and 1982. The Crusaders won three Class C championships in the 1990s and have won five titles in either Division 7 or Division 8 during the first 15 seasons the 2000s.
With a current enrollment of 177 students, MCC is a Class D school in size, but the standards and expectations for the football program have remained as high as ever.
Many of those young kids aspire to someday be like Jacob Holt, big No. 77, who sets a great example for them both on and off the field.
Holt will need to be at his best against a Beal City program that knows all about physical football and playing in November.
While the Crusaders boast 10 MHSAA titles in the playoff era, Beal City has the edge over MCC and every other team in the state with 33 playoff appearances. Farmington Hills Harrison is second with 32, followed by Crystal Falls Forest Park and Fowler with 31. Muskegon Catholic is eighth with 27 playoff appearances.
Beal City (9-1), which was ranked sixth in the final AP Division 8 poll with its only loss coming Week 5 against Evart, will seek to avenge a 35-12 loss to MCC in the 2013 Division 8 championship game at Ford Field in Detroit.
While the two schools are known for football success, their biggest rivalry in recent years has been on the baseball diamond. Beal City knocked off MCC in Division 4 Regional Finals in 2013 and 2014, with the Crusaders getting the upper hand this past spring.
On Saturday, the two schools will meet on the gridiron for a Division 8 District championship.
“We’ve gotten to know Beal City really well,” said Holt, an all-Lakes 8 Conference lineman the past two years. “It’s a chance for us to show how far we’ve come this year. We lost 18 seniors last year, so it hasn’t always been smooth, but I think we’re playing our best right now.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Jacob Holt recovers a fumble during MCC's dramatic, come-from-behind, 29-26 victory over host Fruitport on Oct. 2. (Middle) Holt shows his athletic ability, leaping high and nearly blocking this punt in a 49-14 victory over visiting Fremont at Kehren Stadium. (Below) Mike Holt, a Muskegon Catholic Central teacher and middle school football coach, is flanked by his sons, junior Jacob (77) and senior Nicholas (3), after MCC defeated Munising last year for its second consecutive MHSAA Division 8 championship. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)
Drive Complete: 2015 Finals in Review
December 2, 2015
Those who watched the MHSAA Football Finals in person, online or on TV on Fox Sports Detroit probably didn’t leave their seats much over Thanksgiving weekend.
Five of eight 11-player Finals were decided by seven points or fewer. Two more were still in question into the fourth quarter. And if you missed the ends of the Division 2 or Division 5 games, get to MHSAA.tv the next time you have a few hours to spare.
Second Half covered all nine championship games including the 8-player Final on Nov. 20, with quick recaps and links to those stories below followed by notations of performances entered into the MHSAA record book and a report on some of the biggest and best stories to emerge from the 2015 Finals.
Finals in Review
Division 1: Romeo 41, Detroit Cass Tech 27
Romeo earned its first championship in its first trip to the MHSAA Finals, completing a playoff run that included victories over recent winners Cass Tech, Detroit Catholic Central and Clarkston. Despite a heroic performance by Technicians back-up quarterback Aaron Jackson, the Bulldogs marched for six touchdowns to remain a few steps ahead throughout. Click to read more.
Division 2: Detroit Martin Luther King 40, Lowell 38
For the second time in MHSAA Football Finals history, a game was decided on the final play of regulation – and in this case King’s final-second touchdown earned national buzz. Quarterback Armani Posey put up a record-setting passing performance, capped by a 40-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Corley on the final play that gave the Crusaders their second title. Click to read more.
Division 3: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s 29, Chelsea 12
The Eaglets won their second straight Division 3 title, this time over first-time finalist Chelsea. St. Mary’s had two runners each gain more than 100 yards and quarterback Brendan Tabone hooked up with receiver K.J. Hamler for a pair of highlight-reel scoring plays. Click to read more.
Division 4: Zeeland West 40, Flint Powers Catholic 14
The Dux won their fourth MHSAA title over the last decade and second in three seasons with the same rushing attack that has brought them great success throughout the run. West ran for 318 yards and scored four of the game’s first five touchdowns in what would be Powers coach Bob Buckel’s final game (he resigned Monday). Click to read more.
Division 5: Grand Rapids West Catholic 40, River Rouge 34
Once of the most offense-driven Finals in MHSAA football history ended with West Catholic winning its third straight championship – but not without repeated comeback attempts by River Rouge and near record-setting quarterback Antoine Burgess. The Falcons defeated three top-10 and two honorable mention teams on the way to the title, while River Rouge was playing in its first football championship game. Click to read more.
Division 6: Ithaca 27, Clinton 20
The Yellowjackets finished their fifth perfect season over the last six and earned another championship after falling in last season’s Final to break a 69-game winning streak. Ithaca won this time against an undefeated Clinton team that also had fallen to the Yellowjackets in the 2013 championship game. Ithaca featured 17 seniors, many of whom had played prominent roles in 2014 as well. Click to read more.
Division 7: Ishpeming 22, Pewamo-Westphalia 16
Ishpeming played in its fourth straight Final and won its third title in that time, coming back from last season’s loss led by returning quarterback Ozzy Corp. The 6-foot-5 senior scored three touchdowns, and the Hematites held MHSAA single-season rushing record-holder Jared Smith to a still-impressive 149 yards and a score. Click to read more.
Division 8: Muskegon Catholic Central 7, Waterford Our Lady 0
These small-school powers played to a near stalemate to kick off the weekend, with MCC’s touchdown with 10:21 to play the difference in earning the Crusaders their third straight MHSAA championship. MCC’s defense also came up with the first shutout against Our Lady since 2011, slowing down one of the state’s most accomplished passing attacks this fall. Click to read more.
8-Player: Powers North Central 58, Battle Creek St. Philip 33
Undefeated St. Philip played North Central closer than any opponent this season, but the Jets took over during the second quarter on the way to their first MHSAA title in this sport and a 13-0 finish. Junior running back Bobby Kleiman scored six times – five rushing and one receiving – and another junior, quarterback Jason Whitens, capped a season that saw him throw 45 touchdown passes without an interception. Click to read more.
Records Report
A number of team and individual entries have been added to the MHSAA Football Finals record book, found by clicking here. A breakdown:
Detroit King’s Armani Posey set the MHSAA Finals record with 383 yards passing, and River Rouge’s Antoine Burgess ended up second after also breaking the previous record with 354 yards. Posey made the completions list with 19 in 27 attempts and tied the passing touchdowns record with five. Burgess missed setting the total offense yards record by only two, tallying 424 with 70 rushing as well, and Posey’s 403 total yards ranks fifth on that list.
Two more quarterbacks also made record lists. Cass Tech’s Aaron Jackson also completed 19 passes in 27 attempts. Ithaca’s Jake Smith made the total yardage list with 126 rushing and 180 passing for 306 total.
River Rouge receiver Aaron Vinson tied for ninth for receiving yardage, gaining 162 on four receptions.
Lowell kicker George Gonzales joined a host of others by making all five of his extra-point attempts.
River Rouge and Grand Rapids West Catholic combined for 929 total yards, the second-most by two teams combined in an MHSAA Final, and Ishpeming and Zeeland West became two of 22 teams that didn’t punt in a championship game.
North Central’s Bobby Kleiman became the first entry in 8-player for rushing yards (205) and touchdowns (five), and his 337 total yards rank fourth. Teammate Jason Whitens’ 294 total yards were the fifth-most in 8-player Finals history. Kleiman also became the first entry for total touchdowns in a game (six) and easily set the record for points scored with 46. North Central and Battle Creek St. Philip combined for a record 952 total yards.
Muskegon Catholic Central moved up to third with 14 MHSAA Finals appearances, only two fewer than record holders Farmington Hills Harrison and Detroit Catholic Central. Orchard Lake St. Mary’s moved up into a tie for fourth on that list with 13 appearances. MCC also moved into a tie for third with 11 titles, behind Harrison’s 13 and Detroit St. Martin dePorres’ 12.
Stories behind the scores
The Play: Corley’s touchdown will be talked about for years to come – and not just by people who saw it live. An MHSAA video shot on Instagram and then posted on Facebook has reached 179,500 fans and been viewed more than 75,000 times, and the Fox Sports Detroit clip can be watched by clicking here. Corley’s grab gave King its only lead of the game.
Filling the trophy case: Six of eight winners this weekend have made quite a home at Ford Field. Grand Rapids West Catholic and Muskegon Catholic Central both won their third straight championships and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s was a repeat winner. Ithaca won its fifth title in six seasons, Ishpeming its third in four years and Zeeland West its second over the last three.
Romeo’s run: Save for a three-point loss to Utica Eisenhower in Week 9, Romeo’s run to its first title was perfect – and regardless, incredibly difficult. First, the Bulldogs downed two-time reigning champion Clarkston (final record 7-3) in the Pre-District, then handed Lapeer (10-1) its only loss. Next was Detroit Catholic Central (9-3), the Division 1 runner-up from 2011-13, followed by undefeated Grand Ledge (12-1). Detroit Cass Tech (11-3) had lost only to King, twice, and was the champion in 2011 and 2012.
Bringing Mitchell to Detroit: Although St. Ignace’s run ended one win shy of reaching Ford Field, teammate Mitchell Snyder’s memory was everywhere during the Division 8 Final. The Saints, who lost to Muskegon Catholic Central in a Semifinal, had worn stickers on their helmets with the name and number of Snyder, who died in a car crash in October. MCC and Waterford Our Lady both wore the helmet sticks during their game at Ford Field, carrying Snyder’s memory to the final game of the season.
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top middle) River Rouge gets revved up in the Ford Field tunnel before entering the field. (Middle) Detroit King poses for a team photo while celebrating its championship. (Below) Powers North Central hoists its first football title trophy. (For more photos and video, click for the MHSAA Instagram feed.)