QBs Shine as West Catholic Earns 3-Peat
November 28, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – Grand Rapids West Catholic might have won its third straight Division 5 championship Saturday night with either sophomore Gaetano Vallone or junior David Fox playing every snap at quarterback.
But it was impossible to argue the duo’s effectiveness as they worked together to keep the Falcons ahead of a River Rouge comeback attempt led by another quarterback putting up near-record numbers.
Fox, the starter when the season began, and Vallone – who took over when Fox was lost with a shoulder injury in Week 3 – combined for 288 yards rushing and 106 passing as West Catholic held on for a third straight Finals win, 40-34, despite the heroics of Panthers senior signal-caller Antoine Burgess.
“We’re both athletic, we’re both physical and I guess Coach (Dan) Rohn says we’re playmakers, so we’re playmakers,” Vallone said. “It definitely helped because we’re both gamers, and that’s what it takes. With two of us back there … it really can spread things out and get them confused.”
The Finals appearance was West Catholic's fifth straight, but Vallone was among players who had significant impacts for the first time this fall.
Fox ran for 152 yards and three touchdowns from his “scat” quarterback position, while Vallone ran for 115 yards and threw for 84 and a score despite being limited by an ankle injury sustained during last weekend’s Semifinal win over Lansing Catholic.
Fox’s third touchdown run just 16 seconds into the second half gave West Catholic (12-2) a seemingly comfortable 21-6 lead.
But that would’ve counted River Rouge out far too early.
Burgess brought the Panthers back within seven with a 63-yard touchdown pass to senior Aaron Vinson with 3:56 left in the third quarter, then responded to Vallone’s 9-yard scoring pass with a 1-yard touchdown run 1:06 into the fourth.
The teams traded scores four more times, the last a 2-yard run by Burgess with four seconds to play. An onside kick was covered by the Falcons, denying Burgess one last chance at another deep toss to tie the score.
“I just told (my teammates) not to give up yet and play hard. It wasn’t over,” Burgess said. “Like I saw yesterday, King came back and won the (Division 2) game. I told them we could do that too. I continue to fight no matter what.”
A few more key plays figured into the final score, notably a tackle for a safety by West Catholic senior Conner Nemmers with 7:15 to play, followed by a 31-yard field goal by sophomore Liam Putz that made the Falcons’ lead 12 with 4:13 left in regulation. And while it didn’t lead to a score directly, Fox’s 22-yard pass to senior Billy Kral on a fake punt helped the Falcons drain a few more seconds off the clock – and ended up setting up the safety when Fox drilled a 53-yard punt to the River Rouge 3-yard line five plays later.
For the game, Burgess threw for 354 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 70 yards and two scores – missing the MHSAA Finals record for total yardage by only two and approaching the record of 383 passing yards set by Detroit Martin Luther King’s Armani Posey in the Division 2 Final on Friday.
But Burgess and his teammates made it a memorable night for a community that had six straight sub-.500 seasons before coach Corey Parker took over in 2009. The Panthers set a record for wins this fall in making the Finals for the first time and finishing 12-2.
“I think we’ve arrived, to a certain extent, in reference to the way my kids handled things,” said Parker, who has led his teams to a combined 40-7 record over the last four seasons. “To watch them manage this process, it tells me a lot about my guys and what we’ve developed as far as a foundation.
“Most press writers thought they were going to bail us out 50-something to zip. But my guys looked at that opportunity and said hey, let’s see how good they really are.”
Burgess completed 13 of 19 passes, with Vinson grabbing four for 162 yards, sophomore Giovanni Turner catching four for 95 and a score and senior Ashawnti Howard pulling in three for 84 yards and a touchdown. Junior Aaron Hall caught West Catholic’s lone touchdown pass, and junior Sam Neville had the team’s final points on a 3-yard run with 1:27 to play.
Fox, also a safety, led the Falcons with eight tackles, and senior lineman Carl Myers had seven. Sophomore safety Reggie Pearson had 10 for River Rouge, and senior defensive end Jamal Bonner also had seven.
West Catholic defeated three top-10 teams and a fourth that earned an honorable mention in the final statewide media poll to get back to Detroit, before downing River Rouge, another honorable mention. Not bad for a team that started 1-2, lost a starting quarterback and had another on a sore ankle the last two weeks.
“We had a small senior class, and I think a lot of people doubted this group since they came in as one of our smallest classes in history. But for them to be here four years is pretty remarkable,” Rohn said. “All along we knew we had a tough early schedule. … We just said, let’s just stick to our guns. We’ve been 1-3 and 1-4 in recent years and we’ve still been able to make it back down here. So the kids buy into the scheme, continue to work hard and believe in the coaches. Because a lot of people would quit at 1-2. Not this group, not this community.”
The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) West Catholic’s David Fox (4) and Gaetano Vallone (6) celebrate a touchdown during Saturday’s Final. (Middle) River Rouge quarterback Antoine Burgess breaks away from a tackle.
Inspired by Past, Kingsley Adds to Tradition with 1st Championship since 2005
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
November 25, 2023
DETROIT – When Kingsley head football coach Tim Wooer was presented the MHSAA Division 6 championship trophy Saturday night at Ford Field, he turned, raised it over his head, and acknowledged the roaring throng of orange-clad Stags fans in the stands.
Community, tradition, and history mean everything to the 1998 Kingsley alumnus.
All of those things were recognized and on display during and after Kingsley’s 38-24 victory over Almont, which secured the Stags their second Finals championship and first since 2005.
Kingsley senior Eli Graves made history in his own right. He rushed for 210 yards and four touchdowns, plus he accounted for three two-point conversions, for a total of 30 points to tie the all-division 11-player Finals record for points in a game by one player.
“We have the best O-line in D6, so it’s pretty easy to run behind those guys,” Graves said. “When they get the job done, it makes my job easy. And I’ve just got a coach that trusts me with the ball.”
Wooer believes in his players, present and past. They share a special bond, which was apparent during the postgame press conference after Kingsley put a memorable finish on its 12-2 season.
Graves was one of four Stags players Wooer brought to the postgame press conference. Wooer also brought assistant coach Connor Schueller, a fullback on the 2021 team, whose mother Trina Schueller died from COVID-19 in October 2021.
“I think the reason I’ve got him in here tonight is because sometimes as a coach – and this is true of (the late) Justin Hansen, too – there’s a shift of where you’re supposed to be the role model,” an emotional Wooer said, pausing to collect himself. “You’re supposed to be the role model for players, you’re supposed to teach them everything.
“And then there comes a time when your players teach you about life. And Justin Hansen did that for sure, and so did Connor Schueller. Two pretty important people in our lives in our community.”
Hansen was a captain on Kingsley’s 2002 conference championship team. He was a special-ops Marine, who was killed in action in July 2012.
On Saturday, Wooer wore a red T-shirt with the letters “USA” on the front and the name “Hansen” on the back.
“It’s truly taken me about 10 to 11 years to be able to talk about it. But I can remember as I driving out of town that evening, crying and sobbing and being angry and having all these emotions, I wanted to make sure that he was always remembered,” Wooer said, his eyes welling up before a momentary pause to compose himself. “So he was here today, and he was remembered.”
Graves put on a performance that will not soon be forgotten. The wiry 6-foot-3, 175-pounder scored on TD runs of 3, 30, 5, and 6 yards.
Graves tacked on a pair of two-point conversion runs, and he hauled in a two-point conversion pass with some fine footwork along the sideline.
“He’s a good player downhill. Not much to say about it,” Almont senior Ayden Ferqueron said. “The wing-T is hard to stop. When you’ve got a running back that goes downhill and able to follow his blocks, see holes, and hit them (it’s tough to stop).”
Kingsley outgained Almont in total yards (371-191), holding a big advantage in rushing yardage (331-174) and an edge in its timely passing game (66-17).
Stags junior tight end Chase Bott caught a 35-yard TD pass from senior Gavyn Merchant, and senior Skylar Workman ran in the two-point conversion for a 30-17 lead eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
Almont hung around throughout the game, pulling within 30-24 on senior Cole Walton’s 35-yard TD pass from senior Chase Davedowski and sophomore Sean O’Neil’s PAT with 7:55 remaining.
But every time the Raiders pulled within striking distance, the Stags had an answer and it usually came from Graves, who put it away with his final TD run with 2:19 left.
Almont, which was making its first Finals appearance since 2019 and looking for its first title, finished with a 12-2 record.
“Nothing that we didn’t prepare for. They were just more physical off the ball than us,” Almont coach James Leusby said. “Defensively-wise, we got pushed back a little and hadn’t faced that all year, so hats (off) to them.”
Almont senior Chase Battani scored on a 65-yard TD sprint, while Ferqueron ran for a 2-yard score. Ferqueron and Battani led all defensive players in the game with 15 and 13 stops, respectively.
Graves said he wore jersey No. 2 for his brother, Owen Graves, who was part of Kingsley’s 2020 team that had to forfeit in the playoffs because of COVID.
Eli Graves said he did not get the chance to see his brother after the game, but added he’ll probably brag to him about his performance once he sees him. He knows his brother is proud.
“He never got to finish his senior season because they had to forfeit due to COVID, so we always play our hardest for that team because they didn’t get a chance to do this,” Graves said.
Wooer was the architect who helped build Kingsley into the program it has become. His 2005 team defeated Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 31-21, for the Stags’ first championship.
Wooer left Kingsley and coached at Traverse City West for a decade before he returned to his alma mater in 2018.
For coaches, comparing state-title teams is like comparing one’s children. You love them all the same.
“They’re both fun,” Wooer said with a chuckle when asked to compare Kingsley’s two title winners. “I would say, people have asked me that question in terms of, ‘Which team was better? How were they similar? How were they different?’
“I think the one characteristic when you get a team of this caliber is the character and the morals and the ethics and just the leadership. When I was 24 years old, it was all about having the biggest, fastest, strongest kids. And the longer I coach, the more I understand that having guys like this lead your team is the magic potion.”
PHOTOS (Top) Kingsley’s Chase Bott (84) makes his move toward the goalline while Chase Battani works to wrap him up Saturday at Ford Field. (Middle) Eli Graves (2) follows teammate James Pearson upfield. (Below) Max Goethals (11) pulls in a pass for the Stags. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)