Playing 'Goodrich Football' at its Finest, Martians Make Title Dream Come True
By
Brad Emons
Special for MHSAA.com
November 29, 2024
DETROIT – Over his 32 years as head football coach at Goodrich, Tom Alward had come close once but was never able to hoist a state championship trophy.
But that all ended Friday as his Martians invaded Ford Field and rolled to a 35-6 victory over Niles in the Division 4 Final.
After falling 22-0 to Grand Rapids South Christian in the 2022 D4 championship game, Goodrich put on an impressive display in all three phases – offense, defense and special teams – to finish a 13-1 season and earn its first Finals title.
“I never gave up on a dream, and these guys are the ones that made it come true,” Alward said. “We tell the guys we want to get better every year. And I’ve had 32 of them get better. It’s been a great ride.”
To show how dominant the Martians were, Goodrich outgained the Vikings 424-96 in total yards.
And it all started up front.
“That’s Goodrich football,” Alward said. “That’s the way we play, that’s the way we coach it and we teach it, and what these guys bought into. We need to own the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and when we do, good things happen.”
Goodrich showed great balance offensively as junior quarterback Tanner Mazich was 6 of 9 passing for 168 yards and a touchdown, while senior running back Chase Burnett rushed for 157 yards on 28 carries and a pair of TDs. Junior Jakoby Lagat contributed 76 yards on 12 carries along with another TD run.
It was all Goodrich in the opening half – and then some.
The Martians took a 7-0 lead with a 10-play, 68-yard drive resulting in a Mazich 21-yard TD strike to senior Max Macklem with 4:38 to go in the first period.
“It’s amazing when you have five or seconds to get open,” Macklem said. “He just gives me time back there. I find open grass and just throw the ball.”
Burnett then scored on a 1-yard TD run with 9:49 remaining in the second quarter as the Martians marched 74 yards on 11 plays to make it 14-0.
“I just always follow my blockers,” said the 6-foot, 200-pound Burnett. “I’m not going to go down with one tackle. I’m going to bounce off them, keep following them and run through tackles.”
Goodrich’s Zaiden Hall then came up with an interception at his own 49 with 6:27 to go in the half to set up Burnett’s six-yard TD run just 78 seconds later for a 21-0 advantage following Landon Williams’ third straight PAT. (A 41-yard pass from Mazich to Macklem set up the score).
“We liked the matchups with Max (Macklem) and we took shots, and that’s what happened – it worked,” Mazich said.
Goodrich was poised to go up four scores at the end of the half as Mazich hit Lagat on a 34-yard pass to put the ball on the Vikings’ 11.
But the Martians – out of timeouts – couldn’t spike the ball in time before the half ended following a five-yard run by Burnett down to the Niles 1 as the score remained 21-0.
The Vikings, making their first Finals appearance, had only 34 yards of first-half offense while Mazich himself was 4 of 5 passing for 130.
Goodrich got the ball to start the second half, and the Martians used 7:50 to score on a 16-play, 73-yard drive culminating in a Colton Burnett one-yard TD run to go up by 28 points. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Lagat scored a 12-yard run as the Martians pushed the lead to 35.
Niles, a winner of 12 straight after losing its season opener 30-7 to St. Joseph, couldn’t find any bargains offensively against the Martians’ suffocating defense. If there was any consolation for the Vikings, it came with 1:02 remaining when Peyton Gordon rushed 35 yards for the game’s final score.
Meanwhile, with his ability to make throws on the run and extend plays, Mazich proved to be a major thorn in Niles’ side.
“We had a great season. I’m proud of these guys,” Niles fourth-year coach Scot Shaw said. “They (Goodrich) are good; they obviously have to be to be here. (Mazich) did what he did and did well. We couldn’t stay in front of receivers, and we couldn’t have an edge on that kid. They controlled both lines of scrimmage, and they’re well-coached, played hard. I don’t know if we got caught by surprise ... take nothing away from them, but we didn’t play real well. But that’s part of it. Probably because they played better than we did.”
Shaw said Goodrich’s team speed was somewhat deceiving.
“They’re quick,” he said. “They probably didn’t look that quick on film. Their alignment really didn’t surprise us because they had shown that, but I think they were stronger and faster than probably we gave them credit for.”
Goodrich’s first championship run began during the offseason.
“I believed in these guys all season; they’re an incredible group,” Alward said. “They started workouts at 5:30 in the morning on January 8 of this year. And these guys, along with many others, didn’t miss workouts. They’ve worked that hard to get to this point. They deserve all the success that they have achieved. I can’t tell you how proud I am of them, how physical they play and just how much they embrace what we’re trying to do. And that’s gotten us to where we are right now.”
It was only two years ago when Mazich, then a freshman, was serving as a scout team quarterback during the Martians’ 2022 tournament run.
“I got to experience it,” the 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior said. “I just remember how disappointed everyone was with the loss and obviously we got our butts kicked pretty good, but I think it helped us win this game today. They came out strong and owned us the whole game, and that’s what we had to do this game and we did. Obviously Max Macklem is a great receiver, and we have three great running backs. It’s kind of hard to stop the offense with a bunch of weapons like that.”
PHOTOS (Top) Goodrich football coach Tom Alward hoists his football program’s first championship trophy as players rush to him Saturday at Ford Field. (Middle) The Martians’ Thomas Niles (15) works to pull away from a Niles defender. (Below) Jakoby Lagatt (24) enjoys a replay on the scoreboard. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Millington Caps 1st Finals Trip with Decisive 'Forever' Championship
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 30, 2024
DETROIT – Dallas Walsh and his Millington teammates achieved a childhood dream Saturday at the Division 7 Football Final.
But for the sea of red in the Ford Field stands, and the few left watching at home, it was the fulfillment of a dream that started decades before the current Cardinals had taken a single snap.
A suffocating defense combined with a big day on the ground from Walsh gave the Cardinals a 24-0 victory against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, bringing a first Finals trophy home to Millington.
“It’s definitely an amazing feeling,” Walsh said. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was probably 8 years old. This is something we’ve all dreamt of, and it’s really an amazing experience. Our whole community backed us the whole way. I’m just so glad that we came out with the win.”
The Cardinals were making the first Finals appearance in program history, as they were 0-6 in Semifinal appearances prior to this season.
That just made getting over the hump that much more special.
“It means the world to us,” Millington coach Jason Germain said. “We were 0-6 going into the Semifinals, and we heard about that. These kids knew that. They fulfilled my dreams, and they fulfilled a lot of people in the community’s dreams. If you couldn’t tell, you’d think that was a Division 1 game out there with that many people in the crowd. It is truly, in small towns like Millington and Frankenmuth, that’s what we cling to. We don’t have a lot in our community, but we have our Friday nights and we have our football program. That’s what it really, truly means. We told our guys, pain is temporary, championships are forever, and that’s what they really bought into. And it’s a true testament to our community. I’m telling you, it’s going to be a good night in Millington tonight.”
That fun night will no doubt include tales of a monstrous defensive effort from the Cardinals, which included three forced turnovers and allowing just 3.2 yards per play.
SMCC came into Saturday’s Final averaging 36.3 points and 240.5 rushing yards per game, but wasn’t able to get anything going against a stout Millington front. The Falcons were held to 131 yards of total offense and 68 yards on the ground.
“They did to us what we’ve been doing to teams for 13 games, so I think that’s a testament to them,” SMCC coach Adam Kipf said. “... They brought it on every single play. I don’t think they lost any energy throughout the game, and they were physical. We’d seen that on tape. We figured they’d wear down a little bit, and they did not wear down.”
The Cardinals held SMCC to 2.3 yards per carry, and when quarterback Ian Jones did drop back to pass, he was often greeted with a defender in his face. Millington finished the game with four sacks, getting two apiece from Logan Myers and Brevin Hendricks, which resulted in 34 lost yards for the Falcons.
The Cardinals also forced three interceptions, with Truk Terbush picking off two and Owen Kreger snagging the other.
“We shut out (Pewamo-Westphalia); they’re a prolific offense. We held North Muskegon to 14 until the end of the game – our defense is outstanding, and that’s a credit to our defensive coordinator (Lenny Dantinne) and these guys buying in,” Germain said. “I can’t say enough about these guys and Coach Dantinne and all of our coaches for preparing these guys. You don’t just shut out a team like Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central unless you’re doing film study and working hard.”
Offensively, Walsh, who had a team-high eight tackles, rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Landon Russell had 67 yards on two carries, including a 64-yard TD run. Terbush finished 7-of-12 for 58 yards and a touchdown, and one interception.
Millington (13-0) had a significant field position advantage through most of the first half, and it was finally able to cash in on that late in the second quarter when Walsh opened the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown run.
The Cardinals put themselves right back into a dangerous position on the next play from scrimmage when Terbush intercepted a pass near midfield and returned it to the SMCC 15. The Falcons defense limited the damage, but Millington took a 10-0 lead with a 25-yard Larry Shoens field goal.
SMCC (13-1) was able to create a chance during the final seconds of the half, as Cole Reinhardt returned the ensuing kick 44 yards into Millington territory. But Kreger intercepted a pass in the endzone as time expired to preserve the Cardinals’ 10-point halftime lead.
That would have been enough, thanks to the outstanding effort of the Millington defense, but Landon Russell added a 64-yard TD run late in the third quarter on what was by far the game’s most explosive play. Russell’s run covered more ground than the SMCC offense had been able to gain up until that point (50 yards).
It’s a play that was supposed to go to Walsh, but he made the decision to switch with Russell after it was called.
“It was really, I told (Russell) I needed a breather, so I said, ‘Go get one,’” Walsh said.
That run capped a 95-yard drive for the Cardinals, as they started at their own 5-yard line, and opened the possession with a false start to fall back to the 2½.
“That was the turning point in the game for us,” Germain said. “They could have stopped us there, but our kids persevered and we just went old school football – flanker, double tight, and we just pounded the ball and scored on that. That was the huge part of the game for me, personally.”
The Cardinals tacked on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Terbush to Brevin Hendrick with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
SMCC was led by Lucas Linzell’s 12 tackles, while Brady Hines had eight, including 2.5 for loss. Jack Starner had one sack for the Falcons, and Drew Ferreira had an interception.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Kipf said. “They fought and they battled. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Millington’s Dallas Walsh (5) busts into a wide opening during Saturday’s Division 7 Final at Ford Field. (Middle) The Cardinals’ Brevin Hendricks (11) chases SMCC quarterback Ian Foster in the backfield. (Below) Millington coach Jason Germain holds up the championship trophy as he’s embraced by one of his players. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)