Russell Drives West Catholic to Repeat
November 29, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – Travis Russell had faced this situation plenty over the last three years – first at the end of the 2012 Division 5 Final, then while lying in bed at night before games over the last two seasons.
As a sophomore quarterback that season, attempting to lead Grand Rapids West Catholic on a go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, Russell was the listener – to his then-senior receivers and linemen offering encouragement – as the Falcons came up 12 yards short of overtaking Portland for an MHSAA title.
On Saturday, in the last of his three championship game appearances and final of 42 high school games, Russell entered the huddle as leader – encouraging teammates who stood 64 yards and three points from the school’s second straight title.
He told them, “This is what we live for, guys. We worked so hard all season for this moment. It’s going to pay off. Give everything you have, and it’s going to be fine.”
More than six minutes and 17 plays later, Russell ran three yards through the middle of Lansing Catholic’s defense to give West Catholic a 24-20 lead it would defend over the final minute to claim the school’s third MHSAA championship in five seasons and first perfect season since 1976.
“Definitely I lived it in the past; sometimes the night before games I’d think about it,” Russell said of the failed final possession in 2012, which stalled at Portland's 12-yard line as the Falcons lost 12-9. “Today, it wasn’t on my mind at all. Really, all I thought about was what can we do for each other right now to get it done.”
Russell ran for 134 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 203 and another score as the Falcons opened with a 17-0 lead, allowed the previously-undefeated Cougars to score 20 unanswered points, and then went back ahead late with Russell either running or throwing on all 17 plays of the final drive.
Lansing Catholic (13-1) completed a pass to its 32-yard line to begin its last-ditch possession to retake the lead, but senior Brett Wildman came down with an interception on the next play to effectively end the game.
Grand Rapids West Catholic (14-0) rarely trailed this season in outscoring its opponents on average 41-14. The Falcons fell behind last week early in its Semifinal against Menominee, also its opponent in the 2013 Final (a 27-14 win), but had never trailed in the fourth quarter this fall.
But after scoring on three of its first four possessions, West Catholic didn’t again for more than 24 minutes while Lansing Catholic scored on three of its next four after Russell’s 8-yard scoring run with 1:43 to go in the first half.
Cougars junior quarterback Tony Poljan – who also ran for a 7-yard score and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to senior Zac Baker during the comeback – gave Lansing Catholic a 20-17 lead with a 22-yard scoring pass to junior running back Tony Palmer with 7:38 to play.
“We talk all the time (about) don’t get rattled, stay focused, teams are going to make plays,” West Catholic coach Dan Rohn said. “This is state championship football; you don’t get here with a bad football team. We had to make adjustments, they made some big plays and we were a little down on ourselves. But we stayed focused and made sure when we got the ball back that we chipped away a little bit.
“We have 24 seniors, and we need those kids to stay focused and play like leaders down the stretch. You don’t get to this level without those kind of kids and that kind of effort.”
That’s something Lansing Catholic has known as well in making the Finals twice over the last four seasons. In 2011, the Cougars were led by another sizable quarterback in Cooper Rush (now starting at Central Michigan University) but fell to Flint Powers Catholic 56-26 in that championship game. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Poljan had never played quarterback before last season; he finished the Final with 60 yards rushing and a touchdown and 269 passing with two scores – giving him 2,806 yards and 34 touchdowns passing and 1,013 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing for the season.
“(He’s a) tremendous athlete that’s worked really hard to get where he’s at,” Lansing Catholic coach Jim Ahern said. “When we had to get some yards today, he got yards. He threw the ball well.
“I’m real proud of him. He’s worked for everything he’s got.”
Palmer was Poljan’s main target, catching eight passes, while senior lineman Ian Gorgenson paced the Cougars’ defense with 13 tackles. Senior running back Nick Buursma also ran for a score for West Catholic, and senior Charlie O’Connor had 111 receiving yards and caught the lone scoring toss from Russell. Wildman had a team-high 10 tackles and a sack in addition to his rally-stopping interception.
Lansing Catholic hadn’t scored fewer than 21 points since opening night 2013 and hadn’t given up more than 22 since West Catholic put up 38 on the Cougars in last season’s District Final. Ahern believed the teams were similar – similar offensive styles, standout quarterbacks who can run and pass. But Lansing Catholic just couldn’t stop what it knew was coming in crunch time.
“It just shows the growth and resilience of this team. We’ve been in every situation that is possible, and it’s just a credit to the guys,” Russell said. “Being able to fight, to dig deep and find something that Coach can’t really tell us to have. You can’t teach the will power guys had at practice, that was able to help us get it done today.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids West Catholic celebrates its second straight MHSAA Division 5 championship Saturday at Ford Field. (Middle) West Catholic’s Brett Wildman (2) works with a teammate to bring down Lansing Catholic’s Tony Poljan. (Click for action photos and team photos from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
FALCONS FIRST TD - Grand Rapids West Catholic led 10-0 after the first quarter, its touchdown coming on an 87-yard pitch and catch from Travis Russell to Charlie O'Connor.
COUGARS BACK IN THE GAME - Late in the third quarter, Lansing Catholic tightened things up with a 96-yard drive, capped by a 41-yard pass from Tony Poljan to Zac Baker.
Watch the game in its entirety and order DVDs by Clicking Here, and watch the postgame press conference by Clicking Here.
Low-Scoring Rematch Goes to Clarkston
By
Tom Markowski
Special for Second Half
November 25, 2017
DETROIT – The final score of the Clarkston-West Bloomfield Division 1 Final might cause many football purists to cringe and scoff in disbelief.
But Clarkston coach Kurt Richardson offered no apologies.
Richardson and his staff should be applauded for the job they did this season. Clarkston may not have been loaded with star power this season, but won its third Michigan High School Athletic Association title by defeating West Bloomfield, 3-2, in the Division 1 final on Saturday at Ford Field.
Clarkston (12-2) also won titles in 2013 and 2014. This was West Bloomfield’s first Finals appearance; the Lakers opened this season 0-2 but rebounded to finish 11-3.
The teams combined for the second-lowest points total in Finals history. In 1987, Ann Arbor Pioneer defeated Detroit Catholic Central, 3-0, in the Class A Final.
The teams also tied a Finals record for the most punts (14), and Clarkston tied the record for most punts (8) by one team.
Clarkston (12-2) finished third in the Oakland Activities Association Red this fall behind West Bloomfield and Rochester Adams, which tied for the division title. West Bloomfield soundly defeated Clarkston, 37-16, in the fourth game of the season, and the Lakers were a sensible pick to win again.
“That’s what these kids have been about all season,” Richardson said. “(They) find a way to win.
“We always talk about turning a negative into a positive. When we got beat by Adams (21-14 on Oct. 6), we changed our run game. When we were (5-2, after Week 8), I reamed the coaches. I thought we were doing a shoddy job. We changed our run game. We became a more power running team.”
Clarkston was never a team that wowed with statistics this season. The Wolves relied on their running game, a strong defense and a good kicking game.
Against West Bloomfield – a team with no fewer than 10 players who have either committed to or received a scholarship offer from a Division I college program – Richardson wanted to shorten the game and win the turnover battle.
In its first game against West Bloomfield, Clarkston committed four turnovers. On Saturday, the Wolves had a 3-0 edge.
“We knew they were going to blitz more,” West Bloomfield coach Ron Bellamy said. “Defensively, they we’re going to grind it. We had too many penalties (11 for 105 yards). Clarkston was going to shorten the game. Our special teams weren’t special today.”
The first half, and much of the second, was filled with mishaps.
Clarkston, on its second possession, gave up a safety when a fourth-down snap flew over the punter’s head and over the end line.
The Lakers failed to convert a first down on the ensuing possession and their punt went 19 yards, giving Clarkston the ball on West Bloomfield’s 33.
The Wolves did nothing with that gift and lost 10 yards in three plays, and when they punted it went just three yards.
West Bloomfield pieced together the best drive of the half as the Lakers gained three first downs and had a 1st-and-goal at the 5-yard line. But on the next play, Zach Scott grabbed an interception in the end zone.
The longest play of the half was a 35-yard pass from West Bloomfield quarterback Bryce Veasley to A.J. Abbott that gave the Lakers a first down at its 47. On the next play, Cody Hughes recovered a fumble for Clarkston.
Finally, with time running out in the first half, Wolves quarterback Nathan Uballe completed a 15-yard pass to Conner Heaton, and 13 yards was tacked onto that gain as West Bloomfield was called for roughing the passer. With six seconds left, Clarkston opted for a field goal try and Roemer converted from 30 yards out to give the Wolves a 3-2 halftime lead.
That was it for the scoring. Clarkston did its best to work the clock in the second half with its run game, and not make the big mistake.
Clarkston gained 117 yards, 84 on the ground. Its main ball carrier was junior Jacob Billette, who was in the lineup because Clarkston’s best running back, senior Josh Cantu, suffered a knee injury in the Semifinal and was unavailable. Billette rushed for 69 yards on 14 carries.
“We needed someone to run up the middle,” Richardson said. “Billette is a wrestler. He’s a tough kid. He was the answer.”
West Bloomfield had none for Clarkston’s defense. Veasley came in with nearly 3,300 yards and 24 touchdowns passing. On Saturday, he was 15 of 32 for 214 yards and two interceptions, and he was sacked twice.
“We didn’t make enough plays that needed to be made,” Veasley said. “Every time we made a big play, we had a penalty.”
Clarkston blanketed West Bloomfield’s receivers; all are expected to play at a major university. Michael Fluegel, who doubles as a running back and defensive back for Clarkston, said it was a challenge to go against such a talented group.
“All their receivers are really good,” he said. “You just have to make plays. You have to stay with them.”
For Richardson, this was the unlikeliest of titles. His other title teams had some of the state’s top players, like quarterback D.J. Zezula (Wayne State), who threw two touchdown passes in the 2013 Final and passed for one touchdown and ran for another in the 2014 championship game.
“This is very special,” Richardson said. “This team doesn’t have 5-star kids. We don’t have 4-star kids. We’re unselfish. The kids played with a chip on their shoulder. Nobody picked us to win today.”
The MHSAA Playoffs are sponsored by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Clarkston senior Michael Fluegel (30) wraps up West Bloomfield’s Collin Heard during the Division 1 Final. (Middle) Lakers receiver AJ Abbott stretches for a grab over a defender.