Preview: New 8-Player Champion Shall Reign
November 18, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A first-time MHSAA 8-player football champion will be crowned Friday at Greenville's Legacy Field, and for the first time that champion won’t hail from Michigan’s thumb region.
This season’s title will be decided by the Upper Peninsula’s Cedarville and Lawrence, from the southwest corner of the Lower Peninsula, after thumb teams Carsonville-Port Sanilac, Deckerville and Peck claimed the first three MHSAA titles for the 8-player format.
Tickets for the 8-player Final cost $8. Can’t make the trip? Watch the game live on FoxSportsDetroit.com, with live audio streaming on MHSAANetwork.com. The game will be broadcast on delay on Fox Sports Detroit at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and again on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. The on-demand video will be available shortly after the game’s conclusion at MHSAA.TV.
Here’s a look at the finalists:
CEDARVILLE
Record: 11-1
Coach: Scott Barr, seventh season (62-14)
League finish: Second in Bridge Football Alliance
Championship history: Has never appeared in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 57-14 and 39-0 (Regional Semifinal) over Bellaire, 28-0 over Rapid River in Regional Final, 36-20 over Deckerville in Semifinal.
Players to watch: QB/CB Joey Duncan, 6-1/170, sr., (57-100, 1,002 yards, 19 TDs passing; 959 yards, 15 TDs rushing); FB/LB/K Mike Bailey, 5-11/190, sr. (1,281 yards, 11 TDs rushing); SE/CB Brad Causley, 6-3/180, sr. (677 yards, 11 TDs receiving, 2 kickoff return TDs, 4 punt return TDs); SE/LB Mike Haske, 6-1/180, jr.; C/DE Brett Masuga, 6-5/240, sr.; OG/DE Blake Melvin, 6-0/230, sr.
Outlook: Including 11-player football, Cedarville made the playoffs 10 straight seasons before breaking through to the Semifinals during this 11th consecutive run. But Duncan and Causley in particular have plenty of crunch time experience; they were the leading scores for Cedarville in its Class D Basketball Semifinal in March. The defense has been especially impressive, considering also in context of the high-scoring 8-player game; the Trojans didn’t give up a point until the fourth game of the regular season and then not in the playoffs until last week’s Semifinal. Causley is dangerous whenever he touches the ball – in addition to his 17 combined receiving and special teams touchdowns, he’s also brought back two interceptions for scores. Melvin, a two-way all-league selection in 2013, had 19 tackles in the Semifinal. Cedarville’s lone loss came Week 6 to rival Rapid River, 20-19, and the Trojans avenged with a 28-0 win in the Regional Final.
LAWRENCE
Record: 12-0
Coach: Cody Caswell, fifth season (24-27)
League finish: Does not play in a conference.
Championship history: Class D 11-player champion 1997, Class D runner-up 1990.
Best wins: 52-20 over Deckerville, 40-19 and 50-14 (Regional Final) over Battle Creek St. Philip, 50-6 over Portland St. Patrick in Regional Semifinal, 66-40 over Peck in Semifinal.
Players to watch: QB/FS/K/P Derek Gribler, 5-9/170, sr. (114-180, 2,343 yards, 41 TDs passing; 1,601 yards, 21 TDs rushing); WR/CB Mike Cammire, 6-0/185, sr. (1,179 yards, 25 TDs receiving); RB/CB Hunter Coombs, 5-10/165, jr. (663 yards, 12 TDs rushing, 7 TDs receiving); WR/CB Jacob Alburtus, 5-8/145, jr. (442 yards, 6 TDs receiving); OL/LB Jimmy Phelps, 6-0/200, sr.; C/DL Jared Frank, 5-11/225, sr.
Outlook: Lawrence’s ascension to 8-player elite has been speedy; the Tigers were 0-9 and 1-8 in 11-player in 2011 and 2012, respectively, made the switch and advanced to the Semifinals in 8-player in 2013. Only St. Philip in their first meeting and reigning champion Peck in the Semifinal came within 32 of beating Lawrence this season. Gribler’s Semifinal performance was simply incredible – six passing touchdowns and three rushing – and Cammire has been the team’s top target during both seasons of 8-player. St. Philip in that first meeting also was the only team to keep Lawrence under 50 points. And don’t forget about the defense; the Tigers have five shutouts, and only Peck scored more than 20 points against them this fall.
Kzoo Rivals Unite to 'Crush Cancer'
September 14, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Kalamazoo football players clad in pink and teal took to Loy Norrix’s football field Friday for one of southwest Michigan’s most anticipated annual rivalry games – but also, with the help of some notable alumni, to continue to spread the word about cancer awareness.
Kalamazoo Central downed Loy Norrix 41-13 in the Cross-town Crush Cancer game, Central wearing pink jerseys symbolic of breast cancer awareness and Loy Norrix in teal signifying ovarian cancer awareness.
The jerseys were provided in large part by a donation by former Loy Norrix stars Tico and Todd “T.J.” Duckett, who served as "ambassadors" for the evening along with another past Loy Norrix star, Little John Flowers, past Kalamazoo Central football standout Duane Young and past Central baseball standout Kevan Hess. Both Duckett brothers, Flowers and Young starred at Michigan State before spending time in the NFL, Young and T.J. Duckett playing professionally for six seasons each. Hess was drafted by the Tigers out of Western Michigan University in 2009 and played three seasons in Detroit’s minor league system.
The teal jerseys had particular meaning for Tico and T.J. Duckett, as their mother Jackie Barham died after a fight with ovarian cancer.
“We chose a time such as this because of the anticipated large attendance and the potential for the greatest impact amongst our alma mater’s community members,” said the Duckett brothers in a statement leading up to the game. “Our own mother, Jackie Barham, would have celebrated more birthdays, if there was a cure for cancer. This is just one way that we can honor her memory.”
The jerseys featured the teams’ mascot names and also the Kalamazoo cityscape. Junior varsity players from both schools wore T-shirts with their dates of graduation and the cityscape as well as organizers set a theme of the entire community standing together for a common fight against cancer. The event was organized by a Kalamazoo Central parent committee headed by Terri Benton-Ollie together with administrators and other supporters representing both school communities.
Students from both schools were joined on the field at halftime by 50 cancer survivors from the community, and funds raised will be donated to the West Michigan Cancer Center.
“We know that we must ‘tackle’ so many of our societal ills,” Benton-Ollie said. “Tragedy can be a disastrous one-moment incident or a phenomenon that must be reversed or a disease that lurks amongst us. Let’s create a ripple effect of continuous gestures and action that work in favor of the greater good and crush cancer.”
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PHOTOS: (Top) Former NFL player Duane Young speaks to the crowd during halftime of the "Crush Cancer" game. (Middle) Supporters and teams wore pink and blue signifying, respectively, breast and ovarian cancer awareness; the game's ambassadors were (from left) T.J. Duckett, Kevan Hess, Duane Young, Little John Flowers and Tico Duckett. (Photos by Walter Hall.)