Shores' QB Stands Tall During 2-0 Start
September 6, 2017
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Muskegon Mona Shores certainly has a scary offense, with Division I college receiving prospects on the edges, two powerful running backs and a much-improved offensive line.
If only the Sailors had a taller quarterback.
If seventh-year Mona Shores coach Matt Koziak had a nickel for every time he’s heard some variation of that statement, he’d be an extremely wealthy man.
“People who say things like that don’t know Tristan Robbins,” Koziak said of his 5-foot-10, 173-pound senior quarterback in his second year as the starter. “He is tough, he is fearless and he is a leader – the guys rally around him. We are very happy with our quarterback.”
Robbins has come up big in two impressive wins – completing 7 of 11 passes for 137 yards and rushing for another 47 yards in a 41-23 win over Canton at the University of Michigan on Aug. 26, then turning around and completing 7 of 13 passes for 129 yards, with 90 yards rushing, in a come-from-behind, 42-20 win at Zeeland West last week.
Robbins has the chance to prove the doubters wrong again this Friday, in the first of two blockbuster home games on the Mona Shores schedule this fall.
Rockford, the perennial Ottawa-Kent Conference Red powerhouse, comes to the lakeshore this week, led by 6-5 senior quarterback Jason Whittaker, who has committed to continue his career at Northwestern University. On Oct. 13, the Sailors welcome cross-town rival Muskegon, the winningest program in state history, which features a Division I quarterback of its own in 6-2 senior La’darius Jefferson, who has verbally committed to sign with Central Florida.
Robbins is ready to rise to the challenge.
“I just go out there and do what I can with what I’ve been given,” said Robbins, the middle child and only son of Brent and Jane Robbins. “Our offense has been doing great so far. Now we get a home game and it should be a huge crowd, and that will just add to the excitement.”
Robbins was thrust into the starting role in last year’s opening game as a junior after senior starter Drew Switzer broke his collarbone in the preseason scrimmage. Robbins threw four interceptions as the Sailors struggled to a 1-3 start, which ultimately kept them out of the playoffs for the first time in three years. But since that rough beginning, Robbins has thrown 13 TD passes without a single interception, leading Shores to six wins in its last seven games.
“He has grown more and more comfortable in his role,” explains Koziak, who led Shores to the Division 2 championship game in 2015. “We rely on our quarterbacks to make a lot of reads, before the play and during the play, and he’s done a great job.”
Robbins follows in the footsteps of two standout, pro-style quarterbacks in Tyree Jackson (6-7), who is now the starting quarterback at the University of Buffalo, and Tyler Trovinger (6-1), the starting shortstop on the Oakland University baseball team.
Koziak said Robbins makes up for his lack of size with a series of intangibles.
• First, Robbins is a 4.0 student whose intelligence pays dividends in a complicated offense.
Lining up almost exclusively in the pistol formation, Robbins triggers an offense which features a pair of Division I prospects at wideout in junior Damari Roberson (6-2, 190) and senior Keyshawn Summerville (6-0, 175). Charles Allen and Ke’Sean Sandifer are dangerous in the slot and senior Dee Davis and junior Sincere Dent have been a potent 1-2 punch in the backfield.
Who gets the ball on any given play depends largely on the position of the defense, explains Koziak, and the responsibility of reading the defense falls largely on Robbins.
• Second, he possesses incredible leadership skills.
Understand that Robbins is far from a prima donna quarterback; he’s a wrestler in the winter and played rugby for the first time last spring (“I loved it,” Robbins explained). He regularly inspires his teammates by lowering his shoulder and “laying it out” for his team.
• Third, and perhaps most importantly, what he lacks in size and/or pure athletic ability, he makes up for in an underrated category: grit.
Robbins’ true grit was on display at a critical moment of the Sailors’ victory at Zeeland West on Friday. Holding a slim 21-20 lead midway through the third quarter, Shores faced a crucial 4th-and-4 situation at the Zeeland West 16-yard line. After a timeout, Shores ran its outside veer, where Robbins had the ball with the choice of handing off to Dent, pitching wide to Allen or keeping it himself.
“The linebacker went right for (Dent) and I saw a little room and thought I could get it, so I kept it myself,” explained Robbins. “I was able to get around the corner and make it to the end zone.”
After opening the season with a 340-mile roundtrip to Ann Arbor and 88 miles back-and-forth to Zeeland last Friday, the unbeaten Sailors are expecting a packed house for their showdown with Rockford. This will be the fourth straight season the teams have played; the Rams hold a 2-1 edge in the recent series and won last year 37-23.
Adding to the excitement (and certainly the crowd size), Friday’s game will be the second “Sailor Salute” – a massive tribute to all of those who serve the country and their communities, complete with military responder vehicles, a U.S. Army Lakota Helicopter, 300 motorcycles, elementary students singing the national anthem on the field and even a pre-game performance by a U.S. Army rock band.
Robbins can’t wait to do his “small” part on what could be another huge night for the new-look Mona Shores football program, which made the playoffs for the first time since 2013 but has returned twice and posted four straight winning seasons.
“We do so much work and so much conditioning when no one else is around, which is no fun while you’re doing it, but it pays off on Friday nights,” said Robbins. “I can’t wait for Friday night.”
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) Muskegon Mona Shores quarterback Tristan Robbins finds a crease during his team’s Week 1 win over Canton. (Middle) Robbins drops back to pass during that victory. (Photos courtesy of Muskegon Mona Shores High School.)
1st & Goal: 2025 8-Player Finals Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 21, 2025
The competition truly will be superior again at Saturday’s 8-Player Football Finals at Northern Michigan University’s Superior Dome.
Three of four teams playing in the two championship games are undefeated – and the one loss among the four came when two played each other during the final week of the regular season.
Blanchard Montabella and Martin will kick off at 11 a.m., and Felch North Dickinson and Portland St. Patrick follow at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and are good for both games, and may be purchased online through NMU or at the door – click for details.
Both games will be broadcast by the NFHS Network:
Audio of both games will be streamed live on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a look at all four finalists:
Division 1
BLANCHARD MONTABELLA
Record/Rank: 11-1, No. 2
Coach: Tim Webb, sixth season (32-23)
League finish: First in Mid-State Activities Conference Blue
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 32-28 over No. 3 Norway in Semifinal, 26-0 (Regional Final) and 36-26 over No. 9 Merrill, 64-26 (Regional Semifinal) and 54-18 over Breckenridge.
Players to watch: RB/DB Austin Jensen, 5-10/155, jr. (828 yards/14 TDs rushing, 681 yards/6 TDs receiving); QB Gabe Kauffman, 5-9/160, jr. (1,215 yards/14 TDs passing, 481 yards/9 TDs rushing); RB/LB Brady Kieff, 5-10/160, sr. (1,561/19 TDs rushing); DL Cody Omo, 6-0/160, sr. (95 tackles, 12 sacks).
Outlook: Montabella’s longest playoff run has included its first Regional title and second-straight league championship, The Norway win – during which the Mustangs came back from a 20-point deficit – was Montabella’s only single-digit win, with the lone defeat to Division 2 finalist Portland St. Patrick. Kieff missed all of last season but has led a rushing attack that averages nearly 300 yards and five touchdowns per game. Omo made the all-state second team last season. Junior linebacker Mason Bogart always seems to be around the ball and has 145 tackles.
MARTIN
Record/Rank: 12-0, No. 1
Coach: Brad Blauvelt, eighth season (78-14)
League finish: First in Southwest Michigan 8-Man Football League Red
Championship history: Three MHSAA Finals titles (most recent 2023).
Best wins: 20-8 over No. 5 Kingston in Semifinal, 36-20 over No. 10 Climax-Scotts in Regional Final, 48-26 over Division 2 No. 6 Grand Rapids Sacred Heart, 52-6 over Gobles, 58-20 over Bridgman.
Players to watch: QB/S Haylen Buell, 5-10/175, sr. (1,528 yards/32 TDs rushing, 866 yards/13 TDs passing); WR/DB Weson Elkins, 6-0/170, sr. (408 yards/6 TDs receiving); RB/OLB Seth Toris, 5-3/155, jr. (1,331 yards/10 TDs rushing); OL/DL Peyton Schuring-Harris, 6-3/280, sr. (Statistics through Regional Finals.)
Outlook: Martin is back at Superior Dome after most recently winning back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. Buell as a sophomore was among the team’s leading rushers and receivers in the 2023 title game, and he earned an all-state honorable mention last year at linebacker. The Clippers’ closest game this season was the Semifinal win; no other opponent has come closer than two touchdowns. Senior Bryer Watson also has been among offensive leaders, with 562 yards and nine touchdowns rushing and 379 yards and five TDs receiving heading into the Semifinal.
Division 2
FELCH NORTH DICKINSON
Record/Rank: 12-0, No. 7
Coach: Mike Christian, 10th season (37-59)
League finish: First in Great Lakes Eight Conference Central
Championship history: 11-Player Class D runner-up 1998.
Best wins: 44-28 over No. 2 Onekama in Semifinal, 32-12 (Regional Final) and 38-34 over Lake Linden-Hubbell, 40-22 over St. Ignace in Regional Semifinal.
Players to watch: TE/DE Trenton Kramer, 6-4/190, jr. (1,062 yards/18 TDs receiving); FB/LB Jason Graham, 5-8/160, jr. (1,207 yards/17 TDs rushing); QB/DB Brady Jungwirth, 5-10/155, sr. (1,888 yards/28 TDs passing); HB/LB Tyler Fleming, 5-3/110, sr. (612 yards/6 TDs rushing). (Statistics through Regional Final.)
Outlook: North Dickinson has gone from not having a team two years ago to reaching its first championship game in nearly three decades. The Nordics have played only one single-digit game this fall, defeating Lake Linden-Hubbell by four in their season opener before winning the rematch two weeks ago by 20. North Dickinson missed the playoffs last season but did win their final five games, giving them a current 17-game unbeaten streak. Jungwirth’s ability to throw gives the Nordics more balance than most, and Kramer was averaging 19.3 yards per catch heading into last week.
PORTLAND ST. PATRICK
Record/Rank: 12-0, No. 3
Coach: Patrick Russman, 19th season (138-61)
League finish: First in MSAC Red
Championship history: 11-Player Class D champion 1992, five runner-up finishes.
Best wins: 36-15 over No. 4 Deckerville in Semifinal, 51-22 over No. 1 Mendon in Regional Final, 14-7 over No. 9 Morrice, 42-16 over Division 1 No. 2 Blanchard Montabella, 62-12 over Division 1 No. 9 Merrill.
Players to watch: QB/DB Jerryd Scheurer, 5-1/165, jr. (572 yards/10 TDs passing, 306 yards/11 TDs rushing, 32 tackles/7 interceptions); RB/DB Brady Leonard, 6-0/185, sr. (1,263 yards/17 TDs rushing, 55 tackles/10 interceptions); RB/DB Hudson King, 5-8/160, sr. (932 yards/16 TDs rushing); OL/LB Augustus Teachworth, 6-3/190, sr. (85 tackles)
Outlook: St. Patrick most recently finished Division 2 runner-up in 2017, 2019 and 2020 and will make this trip to Superior Dome after navigating arguably the toughest playoff path of any team in 8-player. After defeating Division 1 finalist Montabella in Week 9, the Shamrocks opened the postseason with a 62-16 win over Marion before taking on Mendon and Deckerville, and Morrice is the only opponent this fall to get closer than 21 points. It’s easy to point to the powerful offense, but the defense has given up only 10.2 points per game and been opportunistic with 24 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.
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