Muskegon Catholic Central Repeats in D8
November 28, 2014
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
DETROIT — It certainly wasn't nerves.
Tommy Scott had already played in an MHSAA championship game, winning the Division 8 title with Muskegon Catholic Central last season. Scott, like the Crusaders' other veterans, said he was more at ease this season, knowing what to expect on the big stage at Ford Field.
So, why was Scott throwing up as he came off the field in the second quarter of the Crusaders' 31-6 victory over Munising?
"Thanksgiving food," he said.
Something he ate Thursday didn't agree with him for the early game the following morning, but it was Munising feeling queasy once Scott started feeling better.
"I felt sick in the first half," he said. "I wouldn't let that stop me in my last game in the state championship. I wasn't coming out. After I vomited, I felt way better."
Coach Steve Czerwon quickly added, "After he saw his dad screaming at him to get back in, I think he felt better, too."
Scott said he felt fine early in the game, well enough to bust off a momentum-altering 99-yard kickoff return just 13 seconds after Munising had taken a 6-0 lead. But he started to feel sick shortly after that, finally finding relief when he threw up.
Held to 14 yards on seven carries in the first half, Scott finished with 21 carries for 92 yards and three second-half touchdowns on the ground in addition to the record-breaking kick return. The previous record was a 97-yard return by Zeeland West's Brad Mesbergen in the 2011 Division 4 final.
"We knew coming in, we had to stop Scott and their quarterback," Munising senior Andy Cooper said. "We knew their quarterback was a little bit injured. He toughed it out today and played a heck of a game. Tommy, we saw he got sick a little bit on the sidelines. He came back in and was running the ball on us; he was tough."
Crusaders quarterback Nick Holt has been playing at less-than-optimal health the second half of the season after spraining his ankle, an injury he aggravated in the semifinals. Holt finished with 13 carries for 61 yards and was 2 for 6 passing for 41 yards.
"You know it's going to be your last game," Holt said. "You're never going to be able to put on your pads again or your helmet again. Just to have a group of guys around me that are there for me saying, 'You're going to be all right, you're going to be all right.' I couldn't have gotten through without them."
The Crusaders trailed for the first time all season when Cooper made a leaping catch in double coverage at the 50-yard line and sprinted to the end zone on third-and-seven to complete a 74-yard scoring pass from Austin Kelto with 10:14 left in the first quarter. Cooper's extra point was blocked.
It turned out that MCC would trail for only 13 seconds all season, as Scott turned on the jets and out-sprinted the last player back, Cooper, who won four events in last season's MHSAA Division 3 Upper Peninsula track and field meet.
"It was huge to get the momentum right back after they took the momentum in the first three plays," Scott said. "Making a big play like that can change a game."
Munising also allowed a 99-yard kick return by Beal City's Chase Rollin in a 10-7 semifinal victory after scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter.
"We were all excited after that touchdown," Cooper said. "Everyone was: the fans, the sidelines, the coaches. Then it seemed like deja vu, because it happened last week, the exact same thing. We score and they returned the next kickoff on us. We got through it and still kept our heads in the game."
The Mustangs were still in the hunt by halftime, trailing only 10-6. Seymour booted a 25-yard field goal with 2:37 left in the first half to cap an 18-play, 64-yard drive that consumed 9:16 off the clock.
MCC had a chance to extend its lead before halftime, but Blake Sanford had the ball punched out by Cooper at the 7-yard line after making a 29-yard catch. Kelto recovered the fumble, but a roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Crusaders new life at the 21. On the next play, Ben Stasewich tipped a pass by Holt, and Ian McInnis intercepted it with 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Crusaders controlled the game with their ground attack.
They scored on their first three possessions of the half, with Scott scoring on runs of 1, 30 and 9 yards.
"We got a little bit tired in the second half," Munising coach Jeff Seaberg said. "Just not as many subs to put in. They started to grind on us and impose their running game on us a little bit. We weren't able to stop them. Once it got out of hand, it's a little bit too much to get back into it against them. They're a heck of a football team. We have a heck of a football team. They were just a little bit too much for us today."
Any conversation about the greatest high school football programs in Michigan must now include Muskegon Catholic Central.
With their 10th MHSAA title, the Crusaders joined five other elite programs who have reached double digits. Farmington Hills Harrison leads the way with 13, followed by now-closed Detroit St. Martin dePorres (12), East Grand Rapids and Mendon (11 each), and Detroit Catholic Central (10).
The only other time the Crusaders repeated was in 1991.
"To be able to say we won back-to-back, we're never going to be forgotten," Holt said. "Everyone is going to remember the 2013-14 team. Not only is it back-to-back, but we had such a big class. We had 18 starters last year, and this year it's just about everyone. This class is always going to be remembered. It's an honor and a blessing."
The Crusaders held Munising to 39 yards on 30 carries. Jaeden MacPherson had two sacks for minus-19 yards.
Muskegon Catholic Central ran for 198 yards on 48 carries.
PHOTOS: (Top) A group of Muskegon Catholic Central defenders surround and take down Munising's Izaak Mahoski. (Middle) Munising's Austin Kelto (2) and David Harris (32) work to wrap up MCC's Tommy Scott. (Click for action photos and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
MUSTANGS LIGHT IT UP FIRST - On the third play of the Division 8 title game, Austin Kelto hits Andy Cooper, and Cooper converts into a 74-yard touchdown for Munising.
LONGEST KICK RETURN EVER IN A FINAL - On the kickoff following the Munising score, Muskegon Catholic Central's Tommy Scott goes coast-to-coast - 99 yards - for the longest kickoff return in an MHSAA Football Final. Scott ended up scoring four times and rushing for 96 yards.
Watch the game in its entirety and order DVDs by Clicking Here.
Harbor Springs Earning Historic Opportunities
October 5, 2018
By Chris Dobrowolski
Special for Second Half
HARBOR SPRINGS — This isn’t your brother’s Harbor Springs football team.
This year’s Rams are putting together a season on the gridiron that hasn’t been seen here in quite some time.
They are off to a 6-0 start, their best since 1999, and with that has come talk of ending some long, infamous streaks in the school’s football history.
“For me, as a player, honestly it’s been really cool because we’ve never been able to do this before,” said senior running back Jackson Wells. “Harbor Springs has been known for bad football in the past. Now, everyone is like, ‘Congratulations, how does it feel to be 6-0?’ We’re the first team to do this in decades, and it’s really cool.”
Even with three weeks to go in the regular season, Harbor Springs’ six wins have matched its most for a season since 2000. While their unblemished record has already earned the Rams a third trip to the postseason in the past four years, they aren’t satisfied by simply being a postseason participant.
There are bigger goals still to achieve, and longstanding barriers to break down.
Consider this: The last Harbor Springs team to capture a conference title was the 1987 squad that went 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the Ski Valley Conference to share the championship with Indian River Inland Lakes. Then there is the playoff drought, as the Rams are 0-5 all-time in the postseason.
“It’s a sticking point in everybody’s mind,” said senior tight end Brett Vandermus of trying to get a playoff win. “We clinched a spot, but now we’re worried about getting another win this week.”
On Friday, Harbor Springs faces Johannesburg-Lewiston in a matchup that could end the Rams’ 31-year conference title dry spell. The two teams square off in a battle of undefeated teams atop the Northern Michigan Football League Legacy division. The Cardinals come in having won five straight games, but must travel to Harbor Springs’ Ottawa Stadium. A Rams’ win would earn them a share of the championship.
“A conference title would be awesome,” said Vandermus. “I’ve had four older brothers play, and none of them (won a conference title). We just have a more solid roster than what’s been at Harbor’s disposal, and we have a lot of discipline.
“Hopefully it’s just packed, because normally we’re not used to coming out and having huge home crowds.”
Excitement definitely is building around school and across town for the Rams, who finished 4-5 a season ago as a young team.
“I wouldn’t say I expected this, but we had a really good summer and the guys worked really hard,” said head coach Rob Walker, who is in his eighth year.
The Rams have been motored by a quick, veteran backfield of Wells, Connor Williams and Jeep Damoose. That trio has been a three-headed monster in Harbor Springs’ wing-T offense, sharing the workload and limelight, while making it difficult for opponents to try and game plan to slow down all three. Jason Proctor, Matt Walker, Vandermus, and fellow tight end David Harrell are among the key cogs on the offensive line. Sophomore quarterback Grant Richardson has been a huge addition since the season began. The first-year signal caller has not only brought athleticism to the position, but he’s also injected an aerial aspect with seven touchdown passes to an offense that traditionally likes to establish the running game.
“He just keeps getting better and better,” Walker said of his quarterback. “There have been games where he’s the best athlete on the field.”
If there was a defining moment for Harbor Springs, it came in the second week of the season in a 14-7 victory over Frankfort — a team that has rightfully earned a reputation as a football powerhouse.
“I would say that was definitely an eye-opener for us to show we could beat a big-time team like that,” said Wells, who set the tone when he scored on a 75-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. “That was definitely a momentum booster right there. It showed we have the talent and that we can work as a team to beat some big-time teams in our area.”
This year it’s the Rams that are looking like one of those elite teams. It’s put them in a spot they’ve dreamed of but aren’t necessarily accustomed to — as the squad gunned for by every opponent.
“I feel like momentum is piling on, which is a motivator,” said Vandermus. “But at the same time, it puts a target on our backs for the other teams we have coming up.”
Chris Dobrowolski has covered northern Lower Peninsula sports since 1999 at the Ogemaw County Herald, Alpena News, Traverse City Record-Eagle and currently as sports editor at the Antrim Kalkaska Review since 2016. 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) Harbor Springs players salute the crowd after a victory this fall. (Middle) Grant Richardson takes off running against Newberry in Week 3. (Below) Center Matt Walker is set to snap the ball during a Week 1 win over East Jordan. (Photos courtesy of the Harbor Springs football program.)