White Pigeon Building On 2018 Surge
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
September 10, 2019
There won’t be any halftime ceremonies years from now celebrating the White Pigeon football team’s accomplishments in 2018. There’s no engraved award to display in the trophy case.
But the Chiefs’ 7-3 season certainly rejuvenated the program and its supporters.
That it will spark prolonged success remains to be seen, admitted second-year head coach Shawn Strawser, who isn’t interested in making bold predictions. What he can say with certainty is his players are committed, disciplined, physical and hungry for another taste.
Leading up to last fall, White Pigeon had just one winning season (5-4 in 2014) since its last playoff appearance in 2009, a year that resulted in a 9-2 mark with a Division 7 Pre-District win over Decatur. Last year, the schedule paired the Chiefs with what would turn out to be the top two teams in the Southwest 10 Conference during the first three weeks of the season. Losses to Centreville (22-12) and Cassopolis (28-12) sandwiched a 38-8 victory over Marcellus. But White Pigeon went on to win its final six regular-season games to qualify for the postseason, a march which included the program’s first win over Mendon in 20 years (although the Hornets got revenge in the Division 8 Pre-District round with an 8-6 win over White Pigeon).
It all happened quickly from Strawser’s perspective. When Joseph Morsaw resigned as the head coach at the end of 2017, administrators turned to Strawser and Mike Gropp — a duo with past varsity experience who had spent recent years guiding the middle school program. Strawser was just about to leave for a vacation in St. Lucia and needed to think about whether he wanted to deal with everything that comes with the top spot at the varsity level.
“I called Mike and I was like, ‘We’re going to have to do this, aren’t we?’” Strawser said. “Mike was like, ‘Yep.’
“We had a nice group of seniors. I had actually coached those kids when they were in Rocket. I knew them all real well.”
Strawser also knew he needed to do a little recruiting, starting with then-junior Stone Kemp, who turned his focus as a freshman and sophomore to leading a Bible study after school rather than playing football.
“He’s very persuasive, and so he got me back into it,” said Kemp, who finished with 398 rushing yards on 82 carries (4.9 per carry) and seven touchdowns as the Chiefs’ second back behind senior Carlos Castro in 2018. “I decided it would be a good place to be, and I think that’s where God wanted me.”
The benefits were twofold, Strawser said. It was obvious what Kemp brought to the team in terms of production, but Strawser noticed the positive impact Kemp had on his teammates as well.
“He’s a great athlete and an even better kid,” Strawser explained. “He is truly an all-around football player. Last year he played defensive end and outside linebacker. We stuck him out to cover one-on-one. This year we moved him back to safety. He has great hands and can pretty much do anything we ask him to do. He’s such a versatile player. He picked it up pretty fast for being out a couple years. He popped right back in like he didn’t miss a beat.”
To open the 2019 season, Kemp rushed for three touchdowns and returned the opening kickoff for a score in a 54-0 White Pigeon victory over Bloomingdale. He caught a touchdown pass in Week 2 in the Chiefs’ 14-8 win at Decatur, which required a goal-line stand during the final minute.
“It has been very enjoyable,” Strawser said of the program’s turnaround. “That was the whole point. On the bubble wasn’t good enough. We really wanted these kids to buy in, believe what we were doing and reap the rewards of their hard work. We preached every day mental toughness.
“Each time we had a successful game the confidence just grew. It has been a real fun ride. They were eager to do well. It paid off. We haven’t earned anything or proved anything this year yet, so we just have to keep grinding away.”
Though the Chiefs lost a ton of talent to graduation, people familiar with the program believed they could fill those voids. With 19 players on the roster, including three sophomores, the Chiefs have been able to do that, including a great effort from an offensive line that consists of a mix of experience and youth.
Captain and three-year starter Kobie DeBruine, a tackle who can play guard, sets the tone for a group that includes capable tight ends Dominick Pant – who has packed on 20 pounds of muscle since last season – and Chris Bontrager, guards Beau Freedline and Luke Gropp, and sophomore center Lane Esarey.
“That was the biggest question mark going into this season is that we were pretty young on the offensive line,” said Strawser, whose son, Lincoln Strawser, is back as a senior to guide the offense at quarterback. “They really got to work and made a lot of improvement from the scrimmage to Week 1.”
Now the Chiefs are after their first playoff victory since 2009 and fourth since 1990.
“We’re just looking for big things this year,” Kemp said. “This year I know it’s my last year to do it, so I just want to make the most out of every opportunity I get. I kind of like how people underrate us because it gives us a chance to show what we’ve got.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) White Pigeon defenders track down a ball carrier during their Week 1 win over Bloomingdale. (Middle) Stone Kemp breaks away on a long run. (Photos by John Gentry.)
Bark River-Harris Making Good on Preseason Possibilities, Showing Postseason Potential
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
October 24, 2025
HARRIS – The Bark River-Harris Broncos have certainly made some noise throughout this football season.
BR-H, which improved to 6-1 with a convincing 44-7 victory over West Iron County last Friday, hopes to make a deep run in the Division 8 playoffs.
“So far, so good,” coach Caleb Adams said. “At the beginning of this season we thought we had a special team, and everything has gone according to plan.”
The Broncos are 6-1 and last week clinched the outright championship in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Iron.
Among this year’s highlights are a pair of victories over Iron Mountain, something no other BR-H team had been able to accomplish.
The Broncos earned a 30-22 overtime win inside the yellow walls at Mountaineer Stadium on Sept. 5, then beat Iron Mountain 38-14 at home Oct. 10.
“We were 0-17 against them until that point,” Adams said. “It was like getting a monkey off our back. We had an opportunity to beat them and thought we could do it. There’s something about those yellow walls.”
Junior running back Gionni McDonough had similar thoughts.
“After our win up there, it was pretty crazy,” he said. “It was a great feeling to win up there. Although, we had beaten them in jayvee ball. We felt we had a shot at them.”
The Broncos next must turn their attention to tonight’s regular-season finale against Houghton. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Gremlins (2-6) are led by speedy senior running back/nickel back Brayden Goudge, who shows a quick first step, and junior quarterback Alex Hebert. Two weeks ago, Goudge scored on a 37-yard interception return and ran for two touchdowns in a 34-22 loss at Gladstone.
“(Goudge) is very fast,” Adams said. “He’s one guy we have to pay attention to. If we win Friday, we’ll probably be able to host two (playoff) games.”
Junior QB Dane Schmitt believes the Broncos have to attack the middle in tonight’s game.
“That’s the type of team they are,” he said. “We're a pretty deep team. We have more jayvee kids coming up, and they’re getting better.”
The Broncos were 3-0 following a 42-14 triumph at West Iron Sept. 12.
They made the long trip to Auburndale, Wis., the following week. That contest, however, was cancelled by lightning.
BR-H then traveled to Gaylord to face undefeated Division 7 contender Pewamo-Westphalia, where it dropped a 49-0 decision Sept. 26.
That game was scoreless after the first quarter before two Broncos’ offensive linemen were injured.
“We wanted to see how we ranked with one of the best teams in the state,” Adams said. “After the injuries, everything kind of got away from us. The way they performed and their communication on the field kind of showed our kids what it takes to perform at that level.”
The Broncos responded the following weekend with a 44-16 victory at L’Anse.
“They’re a physical team,” McDonough said. “If we see them in the playoffs, we would have to be able to match their intensity.
A rematch with L’Anse in the postseason opener is possible, based on the current playoff rankings.
“If we play our game, we should beat them,” Schmitt said. “Although, they have some fast kids. We just have to play our style of defense and do our job.”
Junior lineman Sean Burton is among the Broncos’ leaders in the trenches.
“I honestly love it,” he said. “I like to be physical. The game with Pewamo-Westphalia was a big learning experience. Defensively, they play at a much faster pace than we’re used to. They’re very physical. It's a big difference from playing in the U.P. They’re a bigger school, and all their players are fast. We were pretty fired up after the first quarter, but it was hard to adapt after that.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Gionni McDonough (9) breaks outside trying to elude the tackle of Ethan Davis (22) during Bark River-Harris' win over Iron Mountain on Oct. 10. (Middle) BR-H's Gabe Spear (4) hauls in pass as Brayden Kassin (2) tries to break it up. (Photos by Terry Raiche.)