Performance: GR Catholic Central's Nolan Fugate
October 13, 2017
Nolan Fugate
Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior – Football
Fugate, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound running back, ran 37 times for 477 yards and five touchdowns in GRCC’s 57-50 win over Comstock Park on Oct. 6. His rushing yardage ranked fourth-most in MHSAA history for one game and second-most in the state since 1990, earning Fugate the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Also the leading rusher on last season’s team that won the Division 4 championship, Fugate has carried the ball 111 times for 1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns this fall – averaging 10 yards per carry. He's amassed those numbers despite limited attempts in four running clock games this fall. After coming up for the playoffs but seeing little action as a sophomore, and then moving into a prominent role the last two seasons, Fugate is fourth in GRCC history with 335 career carries, second with 2,537 career yards, tied for second with 27 career rushing touchdowns and fifth with a career average of 7.6 yards per carry. And like any good back, he knows to credit those clearing the way – Fugate follows an outstanding line led by 6-5, 270-pound Jalen Mayfield, who has committed to sign with University of Michigan.
Fugate also ran track last season for the first time in high school and plans to do so again this spring. He hopes to return to the basketball program as well – he played subvarsity his first two years before taking last season off. He’s aiming to continue his football career after high school and has interest from many of the state’s top Division II programs plus a few at the Division I mid-major and NAIA levels. Fugate is planning to study business and carries a 3.2 grade-point average. Wherever he goes, that program will get a proven winner – GRCC is 7-0 this fall heading into tonight’s Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue title-deciding matchup with reigning Division 5 champion Grand Rapids West Catholic, and the Cougars are 21-2 with Fugate on the roster.
Coach Todd Kolster said: "I think the world of Nolan. He is a very self-motivated young man. He is very mentally tough and has worked extremely hard to help lead our team. He is a great teammate and a high-character person. He's is a great competitor. ... He is one of the best tailbacks in the state of Michigan; he rushed for over 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns a year ago. He could have very gaudy statistics and surpassed those totals already if I played him in those other (running clock) weeks."
Performance Point: “We had a good gameplan coming in, and I think we executed really well and our line blocked really well and it was just a good night offensively,” Fugate said of the Comstock Park win. “I knew I was having a pretty good night. I knew I had some big runs, and I was just following my blocks, but I didn’t know the exact yards I had. I was actually pretty surprised (at the yardage total). I had some big runs the first possession, and I could see our offensive line executing their blocks well so I was figuring I would have a pretty big night. The first play we had the ball in the second half, I broke a 72-yard run. That was my favorite run because I broke out into the open and I just ran past everyone and I could hear the crowd screaming.”
Following Jalen: “He’s my best friend too, and it’s pretty special. You don’t get a chance to run behind the best lineman in the state very often, so I’m pretty fortunate. We shared a moment when we talked about how good of a night it was, and it was just a really special night overall.”
Great expectations: “We’ve just been listening to the coaching staff, and whatever they’ve asked we’ve been executing to the best of our ability. And we’ve been staying focused throughout the week trying to have the best practices we could have. We realize the expectations are high, so we just have to stay focused on each game and play united and just get better each day. You’ve just got to worry about one thing at a time and for that (opponent), and you can’t look ahead to the playoffs. … We knew the expectations were high, but I had faith. We definitely had more talent last year, but I feel like we’ve executed a lot better this year up to this point. I knew we could be special, and if we just keep working out each day and bringing it every day I think it will turn out really well.”
Running like “All Day” Adrian: “My favorite running back is probably (the Phoenix Cardinals’) Adrian Peterson, so growing up I always watched him. He’s a strong, explosive, physical runner. I like how he runs downhill and he’s always physical, and when he gets an opening he’s very explosive.”
Hooping like a football player: “A kid I grew up with (point guard Austin Braun) has been talking to me about (playing basketball). I was thinking about it, and I think I’m just going to do it. I think our team will do really well this year, so it would be fun to be a part of it. I’ll probably play really physical. I’ll probably be like the sixth man, bring intensity and defense and rebounding. That’ll probably be my job."
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2017-18 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2017-18 honorees:
October 5: Marissa Ackerman, Munising tennis - Read
September 28: Minh Le, Portage Central soccer - Read
September 21: Olivia Theis, Lansing Catholic cross country - Read
September 14: Maddy Chinn, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep volleyball - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Nolan Fugate runs away from the Comstock Park defense during last week’s 57-50 win. (Middle) Fugate prepares to take on a Comstock Park defender. (Photos by Murray Sports Photography.)
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep Welcomes Frantic Fun of 1st Trip to Football Finals
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 29, 2024
Betty Wroubel has never been so happy to have a bit of chaos and unfamiliar busyness descend upon her and the athletic department at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep this week.
An administrator at the school for 45 years — dating back to the days when it was known as Pontiac Catholic — Wroubel and her colleagues always wondered what things would be like if the football program ever made a state championship game.
This week, all that dreaming turned into reality as the Fighting Irish advanced to Saturday’s Division 5 Final against Frankenmuth. As expected, it’s been frantic.
Phone calls and emails from alumni and other school officials have come in droves, hoping there is room on the sideline for them even when there are limited spots available.
“I think the most difficult part has been telling people no,” said Notre Dame Prep associate athletic director Aaron Crouse.
There have been several phone calls placed to fellow administrators or other coaches who have been there to inquire about all the little things not normally thought about.
Should we have the team go down Friday to check out those games in order to get more familiar with the environment?
Is it best to gather up a bus to transport students down, or just send the link to tickets and tell everyone they are on their own?
Of course, trying to figure out such logistics has been a labor of love.
“They are good problems to have,” Wroubel said. “I’ll take these problems. It’s exciting and worth it.”
While the athletic administrators have felt the energy in their offices, the same can’t quite be said for the Notre Dame Prep team itself.
There were no classes during the week due to Thanksgiving break, so the buzz of making a football Final for the first time wasn’t really felt in the hallways.
The advantage to that though is that the Notre Dame Prep players have pretty much been able to focus on football, and given the season the Fighting Irish have had, they don’t really need any more perks to be at their best.
Notre Dame Prep enters with an 11-1 record, its only loss coming in the regular-season finale against Hudsonville Unity Christian.
The Fighting Irish recorded wins over perennial powers Jackson Lumen Christi and Grand Rapids Catholic Central, and bigger Oakland Activities Association schools such as Troy and Ferndale.
In his 11th year leading the program, Pat Fox also will coach in a Final for the first time after more than three decades in that role on a high school sideline.
Fox has several mentors who have helped guide him along the way, including former Rockford and current Newaygo head coach Ralph Munger, former Chelsea head coach Brad Bush and former Saginaw Arthur Hill head coach Jim Eurick.
Fox had planned on chatting more with Munger and Bush this week about the logistics of making a Final.
Regarding his team, Fox said getting this far is especially rewarding since he has been in the same building with many of his players for over a decade and has watched them grow up.
“My quarterback, I remember seeing him in the building when he was a little toddler,” Fox said.
That quarterback is junior Sam Stowe, who Fox credited with sticking with the program and waiting for his turn instead of trying to transfer for more playing time as a freshman or sophomore.
Stowe and Notre Dame Prep have been rewarded greatly for that patience, as he has thrown for more than 2,500 yards and 38 touchdowns, and has a completion percentage of 72 percent going into Saturday.
The Fighting Irish also have a core of six players who have been starters the past three years: WR/LB Billy Collins, DL/RB Drew Heimbuch, WR/LB Mike Wiebelhaus, WR/DB Joey Decasas, OL/LB Luca Gasperoni and OL/DL Jake Gartin.
Fox also said junior LB Brody Sink has developed into a Division I college prospect with his play this year.
“They’ve been through a lot of wars and have been great,” Fox said. “We have really good team speed.”
Wroubel and Crouse said they and other school officials “saw this coming” with how the program was trending up and being built right over the years. But the reality of what was happening didn’t fully set in until the fourth quarter of a Semifinal win over Flat Rock.
“Administrators were crying out there,” Wroubel said.
Come Saturday, the Notre Dame Prep community hopes there will be more tears in celebration of the program’s first state championship.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Notre Dame Prep quarterback Sam Stowe (15) takes a snap against Detroit Central during a 49-14 Week 1 win. (Middle) The Fighting Irish, including Drew Heimbuch (5), line up before a game. (Photos courtesy of the Pontiac Notre Dame Prep athletic department.)