'Next Up' Help P-W to Next Championship
November 25, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – The Pewamo-Westphalia football program finished a second straight season hoisting a championship trophy at Ford Field on Saturday, thanks to the “next man up” … and the next man … and the next man after that.
It was easy to credit the Pirates’ first MHSAA football title ever, won last year, on the state’s all-time second leading rusher Jared Smith. But he graduated in the spring.
They got back to Ford Field in large part on the running and passing skills of senior quarterback Jimmy Lehman. And then Lehman potentially broke his left hand in the second quarter and didn’t play the final two.
In both instances, and a few more this fall, someone stepped right in. This time, the Pirates weathered the loss of Lehman and stood strong as Saugatuck’s offense caught stride to close with a 21-0 win that proved once more P-W’s teams of the last two seasons were even better than the sum of some truly elite parts.
“We had a lot of people that just really felt like they had to step up,” Lehman said. “We lost our first game (28-21 to Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central) and that was some of the adversity we had to go through all year – how were we going to respond from that? We just made sure we took every day and made it the best we could, and just improve from there.”
That loss to the Falcons was P-W’s only defeat of the last two seasons, and they improved to 40-3 over the last three years after also finishing Division 7 runner-up in 2015.
The “next man up” success sort of began in last season’s championship game, when Smith served as a tremendous decoy running for 48 of his 8,182 career yards while Lehman and others starred in a 28-14 win over Detroit Loyola.
Lehman took the reins fulltime this fall and threw for 1,627 yards and 20 touchdowns, running for 728 yards and 16 scores – and while starting as a forceful 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end as well.
His late first quarter touchdown run from 12 yards out said it all as Lehman broke two tackles and dragged three more defenders into the end zone. He stayed in the game at first after injuring the hand on P-W’s final possession of the first half, throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to senior Peyton Heckman to finish his day.
The Pirates threw only one pass during a scoreless second half. Junior Noah Spitzley stepped in and helped that effort on the defensive side, tying for third on the team with six tackles.
“It says a lot about the other guys on the team, the other guys in the program that are just continually working and waiting for an opportunity,” P-W coach Jeremy Miller said. “Cameron Wirth started for us all year at fullback and linebacker, and we lost him on the opening kickoff of the Semifinal. Justin Pohl, who hadn’t played a whole lot, stepped in and did a great job at fullback for us today. So we always have the ‘next man up’ mentality, and these guys are constantly ready. And I think it says a lot about them.”
Saugatuck’s run this fall said plenty as well. The Indians this spring graduated Blake Dunn, the eighth-leading rusher in MHSAA career history. But they made it to Ford Field for the first time since finishing Division 8 runner-up in 2010, ironically after seeing perfect seasons end against P-W in District Finals the last two years in losses of 10 and six points.
“It’s been our dream forever to get here, and the first thing yesterday when we first walked in here, it was amazing – it just opened up,” Saugatuck senior linebacker Reece Schreckengust said. “It’s a great stadium, a great atmosphere. Losing hurts, but to get all the way here, it was a great season. I’m proud of every one of my teammates, my coaches, and myself and everyone else in our community for getting here. … To go out at Ford Field is probably the second best, besides winning it.”
After struggling during the first half, Saugatuck (10-4) took its shots at making it close during the second.
The Indians drove to P-W’s 18-yard line on their second possession of the third quarter, but sophomore linebacker Jacob Pung ended that rally with an interception at the 11.
Saugatuck then drove to the Pirates’ 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter, before having first and second-down runs stopped for a one-yard loss and no gain, respectively, seeing a third-down pass fall incomplete and getting sacked on fourth down for a 16-yard loss by Spitzley and senior Damon Schneider.
Total, P-W (13-1) held Saugatuck to 147 yards of offense. The shutout was the Pirates’ second of the playoffs and sixth this season, not including a 2-0 forfeit win in Week 7.
“They’re just a big, physical, fast team,” Saugatuck senior quarterback Jackson Shriver said. “That’s what makes a great defense. They follow their system and play hard. They have a great team, and it was hard to play against them.”
Saugatuck’s defense deserved praise as well. The Pirates’ 21 points were their fewest since that opening-night loss.
“We had our moments when we could’ve come back, and unfortunately it didn’t happen,” Indians coach Bill Dunn said. “To hold a team like that to 21 is a good credit. A couple of those came off miscues either offensively, or a turnover. Our defense was exceptional considering the opponent. They were just a little bit better today.”
Senior Bryce Thelen added 92 yards rushing on 14 carries and scored P-W’s first touchdown midway through the first quarter. Schneider paced the defense with eight tackles including two sacks.
Schreckengust, who will graduate as Saugatuck’s career tackles record holder, had nine more, as did senior Connor Carper.
“They always play hard, and so respectful,” Thelen said of what’s become an annual meeting between the programs. “It’s always a hard-nosed game, always close, always super physical. They’re just fun games to play in that come down to a couple plays throughout the game that tilt the game one way or the other.”
The MHSAA Playoffs are sponsored by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) P-W quarterback Jimmy Lehman charges upfield during the Division 7 championship game. (Middle) Bryce Thelen eludes the grasp of a Saugatuck defender.
Grisdale to be Honored for 40 Seasons on Call for Cheboygan Football
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 13, 2024
When Jason Friday was in high school, there were two types of football fans in Cheboygan.
Folks either went to watch the Cheboygan Chiefs play under the lights, or they listened to the game on the radio called by play-by-play announcer Mike Grisdale.
Well, not much has changed. Friday, a 1992 Cheboygan grad, is now the school’s athletic director. And Grisdale is in the middle of his 40th season on the air.
What is changing tonight, though, is Cheboygan will officially dedicate the stadium press box to Grisdale in a special pregame ceremony before the Chiefs (1-1) take on Elk Rapids (1-1).
Former Cheboygan coaches, Grisdale’s family and people who have worked with him on the radio over the years will be on hand for the ceremony.
“We were able to get Dan Miller, George Blaha, Ken Kal and Dan Dickerson — radio broadcasters for all four Detroit sports — to record statements that we will play over the public address system,” said Friday. “Mike will be presented a smaller version of the plaque that we will be hanging in the press box, and he will have a chance to talk.”
Naming the press box after Grisdale has been in the works for more than a year, Friday noted. Grisdale first learned of the plan when he was interviewing Friday during halftime of a football game last year.
“Jason surprised me on the air,” Grisdale recalled. “I was shocked, but honored and thankful.”
Grisdale, a 1979 Cheboygan grad, is humbled noting there are so many people who contribute to the radio broadcasts and football program. He remembers listening with his father to Jorden James and Bob Martin call Chiefs games when some of the older kids from the neighborhood were playing high school football.
“I have just been so fortunate to do it for this long and have become the go-to guy for historical information and perspective,” Grisdale said.
Grisdale, who has also done nearly 1,000 Chiefs basketball games on the air, along with some hockey and soccer, said his interest in sports goes back to his childhood.
Grisdale grew up in Cheboygan with three brothers in a neighborhood full of kids. Sports were a big part of their lives — collecting baseball cards, listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio, and playing basketball, kickball and wiffle ball.
Grisdale, who also hosts a Saturday morning radio show from a local restaurant called “Coaches Corner,” vividly recalls trying to keep a scorebook while listening to high school basketball games on WCBY radio and dreaming of becoming the next Blaha, or Ernie Harrell, Bob Ufer, or Bruce Martin - four legendary broadcasters of Michigan professional and college sports.
While at Central Michigan University earning a broadcasting degree, Grisdale got extensive of on-air experience on student stations. He worked on Cheboygan radio stations during summers.
Some of his fondest memories of Chiefs broadcasts have come from the locations where they’ve played.
“I have enjoyed having the opportunity to cover games at places like the Pontiac Silverdome, Palace of Auburn Hills, Crisler Arena and the Breslin Center,” Grisdale said. “You remember the exciting moments and big games”
The 40 years on the air, along with earlier turns covering Marshall and Albion football and basketball games, are really just a blur to the highly-revered radio personality.
“The seasons just seemed to run together,” Grisdale said. “There were many, many times when the weather and the long road trips took their toll.”
Grisdale played football at Cheboygan High School and was an offensive end and a defensive safety on a 9-0 squad his senior year in 1978. He caught three touchdown passes that season. He also held for extra points, collecting snaps from his brother Mark, the Chiefs’ long-snapper.
Mike Grisdale doesn’t hesitate to point out the best player he covered was fullback Shannon Scarborough from the 1991 team that reached the Silverdome – “The all-stater was strong and fast and played both ways,” he noted. But Grisdale has loved all the players and teams over the years. “I do it because I enjoy promoting the kids, keeping the traditions alive, seeing the community come together, good sportsmanship, and being part of a team.”
Friday, who also has broadcast multiple games alongside Grisdale over the years, has enjoyed Grisdale’s efforts to promote every player.
“Kids always love to hear their name on the radio,” Friday said. “What I think he does better than anyone is to make sure the offensive and defensive linemen are consistently mentioned — those boys in the trenches often get overlooked, but not with Mike on the call.”
When Cheboygan installed NFHS Network cameras, the athletic department sought to successfully connect Grisdale’s radio broadcast through the video feed.
“That has been a huge bonus and something that many community members have told me they appreciate,” Friday said.
Grisdale, who also works part-time for Black Diamond Broadcasting in its Cheboygan studios and serves Mackinaw Health System based in St. Ignace as its marketing director, has no plans to end his broadcasting career.
“As long as our local radio station can keep the tradition alive and I am still around, it would be my privilege to keep it going,” Grisdale said.
Cheboygan High School games are carried on WCBY (Cheboygan) 1240 AM, 100.7 FM and 98.1 FM, and streaming at BigCountryGold.com.
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. 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) Mike Grisdale, right, and partner Nate King broadcast a Cheboygan game from Central Michigan University. (Middle) The Cheboygan stadium press box will be dedicated to the longtime broadcaster. (Below) Grisdale is on the call for another Chiefs game. (Photos provided by Grisdale and the Cheboygan athletic department.)