'Sailor Salute' Honors Those Who Serve
September 5, 2016
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
It’s hard to believe a game with the magnitude of Zeeland West at Muskegon Mona Shores could be anti-climactic.
But that was certainly the case on a special night Thursday at Sailor Stadium in Muskegon, where the real story unfolded before the opening kickoff.
The “Sailor Salute” was a massive tribute to all of those who serve their country and their community, combining the magic of a high school football game with military responder vehicles, a U.S. Army Lakota Helicopter, 300 motorcycles, 1,500 students and community members decked out in red, white and blue singing “God Bless America” and the national anthem on the field and then two flyovers by the Hooligan Formation Flying Flight Team.
And that was all before the game began.
“We have done a military appreciation night for quite a few years now, but this year we decided to try and step it up a little bit,” said Mona Shores athletic director Ryan Portenga, explaining a pre-game event which drew national television exposure. “These people that serve our country and our communities deserve it. So we just kept bringing in more groups and ended up with huge, patriotic community event.”
The pre-game festivities went off pretty much without a hitch, helped by sunny skies and ideal temperatures in the low 70s.
The football game capped off a day where Mona Shores also hosted volleyball, soccer and tennis competitions. School officials opened the gates to the stadium at 5 p.m. to allow time for fans to walk around the north side of the track and explore and get pictures with 10 different military and emergency responder vehicles.
Around 6:30 p.m., an estimated 300 riders from different motorcycle groups who support military veterans roared into the stadium and filled the south side of the track. At 6:50 p.m., the community choir joined the marching band on the field for two emotional songs, timing things perfectly as the four military planes flew by in their precise formation, white smoke trailing them, just as the giant choir sang “home of the brave” with a booming crescendo.
Having to compete against a pre-game show to end all pre-game shows, the game itself certainly held up its end of the bargain – continuing the excitement for more than 4,000 fans in a classic matchup of the wing-T system and precision execution of Zeeland West against the speed and athletic ability of Mona Shores.
Zeeland West put on a power blocking and running clinic and jumped out to a 24-14 halftime lead. Mona Shores fought back valiantly in the second half, sparked by a 95-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Tristan Robbins to junior wideout Keyshawn Summerville late in the third quarter, then taking its first lead, 28-24, on a 14-yard run by bruising running back Marcus Collins on its next possession.
But that’s when the Dux did what they do best, churning out a 16-play, 73-yard drive – using up more than 7 minutes off the clock – before senior Drake Fincannon scored what proved to be the winning touchdown on a 1-yard plunge with 1:50 remaining.
Perhaps inspired by the pre-game festivities, the Sailors did not quit. Shores marched down to the 10-yard line, and Summerville made an amazing one-handed catch in the back of the end zone on fourth down, but was unable to get a foot down in-bounds.
“Tonight was a terrific game from both teams,” said veteran Zeeland West coach John Shillito. “We’re happy to be part of something so good. I compliment Mona Shores for doing it in such a classy way where it didn’t interfere with the football game at all.”
In terms of an early-season, nonconference matchup, high school games don’t get much bigger.
Zeeland West is the defending Division 4 champion, with that latest title its third in the past five years and fourth overall since its first year of football in 2005 – all under Shillito, who previously took Muskegon Orchard View (1995 and 1999) and East Kentwood (2002) to MHSAA championship games.
Mona Shores, meanwhile, is emerging as a new football force after years of struggle. The Sailors made the playoffs for the first time in school history in 2013, then followed that up with a run to Ford Field and a Division 2 runner-up finish in 2014. Shores registered its first 9-0 regular season last year, before falling to rival Muskegon, the winningest program in state history, in the District Finals.
Shores graduated 21 of 22 starters off its 2015 team, but has proven in a big opening win over Holland West Ottawa and its hard-fought loss to Zeeland West that it’s a program that isn’t going anywhere. The tough schedule continues this week with a trip to Rockford before Ottawa-Kent Conference Black play begins.
The victory moves Zeeland West to 2-0, after winning a grueling defensive battle, 14-9, over visiting Cedar Springs in Week 1. The Dux, who compete in the O-K Green, play another blockbuster nonconference game this week at defending Division 5 champion Grand Rapids West Catholic in not only a battle of unbeatens, but also defending title winners.
But no matter what happens the rest of the way, it’s unlikely that either team or its fans will be part of another event quite like the Sailor Salute.
“It was an awesome community atmosphere, and on top of that, a great football game,” Mona Shores coach Matt Koziak said afterward. “If you love high school football and the United States of America, this was the place to be.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Mona Shores logo on the field was painted red, white and blue as part of the Sailor Salute tribute to those who serve the country and the community Sept. 1 at Mona Shores High School. (Middle above) More than 300 motorcycle riders who support veterans roared into Sailor Stadium shortly before kickoff as part of the Sailor Salute. (Middle below) A giant choir of 1,500 students and community members from both Mona Shores and Zeeland West sing “God Bless America” and the national anthem as part of the tribute. (Below) The Hooligan Formation Flying Flight Team flies high over Sailor Stadium at the conclusion of the national anthem. (Photos courtesy of Mona Shores High School.)
Portland Makes Right Moves for March
November 29, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Dylan Carroll and Adam Goodman knew the request was coming long before coach John Novara asked them to make a big change for their senior seasons on the Portland football team.
The writing was on the scale, so to say. At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Carroll was among the three most sizable players on the Raiders’ roster this fall. And Goodman, at a solid 6-0, 200, wasn't far behind.
Still, it’s fair to assume not a lot of players want to trade in the opportunity to carry the ball for a jersey in the 50s. But Novara had no choice but to ask; he needed two new guards, and the best fits were tight end Carroll and the fullback, Goodman.
“At first, it was block, block, block. But after that, you get to pancake guys when you pull. Especially in this offense, guard is one of the best positions that we run,” Goodman said. “At first, it wasn't so exciting. But after that, it’s the best position. I would've played it all four years if I’d had the chance.”
Their one season on the line helped the Raiders produce unprecedented results.
Portland gets a Second Half High 5 this week after finishing a 13-1 season with its first trip to the MHSAA Finals – and first championship, thanks to a 12-9 win over Grand Rapids West Catholic.
The Raiders won in the same way they've made the playoffs every season over the last decade – with a mix of physical play up front, tough running and stout defense. That style often has been made possible by big bodies up front – a standout or two like alum and recently-graduated Eastern Michigan University 300-pounder Bridger Buche have been more the usual than occasional for Portland of late.
Not this season. For the Raiders to win again like they always have, it took the sacrifices of a couple smaller but just as tough seniors to be the catalysts.
“I think that was one of the keys to our success, offensively,” Novara said. “They graciously moved there. Without them moving to guards, I don’t know that we could've done this.”
Portland scored 500 points this season, likely its most ever (Michigan-football.com records date back to 1950). No other Raiders team had scored even 400.
Carroll and Goodman also were two of only three Portland players who pulled double duty, with Carroll also a starting defensive end and Goodman a starting linebacker. They helped key a defense that gave up just 13 points per game.
That defense gave up more than 14 points only once during the regular season – in a 41-32 loss to 2011 Division 5 runner-up Lansing Catholic. It gave up more than 20 twice in the playoffs, but hung on when it counted in a 45-28 win over reigning champion Flint Powers Catholic in the Regional Final and then the next week in a 28-23 nail-biter against Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard.
Portland scored all of its points of the MHSAA Final during the game's first 15 minutes. But the defense came up with three interceptions and two turnovers on downs, plus blocked a field goal attempt. The Raiders ended West Catholic’s final drive with a fourth-down stop on their 12-yard-line.
“The defense had been there all season, and we were just happy to make that one last play to win a state championship,” Goodman said.
And if he and Carroll’s moves to the offensive line hadn't been worth it completely before, they certainly became so that afternoon. As Carroll said after, he and most of his teammates are three-sport athletes who grew up together in their small town midway between Lansing and Grand Rapids. A position change hardly qualified as a sacrifice for an opportunity like this.
“I wasn't going to go out without a state championship this year. Our seniors deserved it,” Carroll said.
“We kept our mouths shut. We did whatever was best for the team, and we still worked as hard as we could this summer. It was well worth it.”
PHOTO: Portland linemen Adam Goodman (52) and Dylan Carroll (54) lead the way for teammate Auston Brandt during Saturday's Division 5 Final at Ford Field. (Click for more from Terry McNamara Photography.)