Whiteford Scores 1st Title with Epic Offense
November 24, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – Next time, no one will leave Ottawa Lake Whiteford out of the conversation.
It wasn’t like the Bobcats felt overlooked. But coming into this season’s Division 8 playoffs, it was pretty easy to pencil in four-time reigning champion Muskegon Catholic Central to win again.
Then, when the Crusaders lost to 12-time champion Mendon in the Regional Finals, the Hornets assumed the status as favorites – while on the other side of the bracket, reigning runner-up Whiteford continued building a run historic both locally and statewide.
“Everybody kinda knew Muskegon (CC) was the favorite going in, and Mendon beating them, that was a big win,” Bobcats senior lineman Lucas Tesznar said. “But we knew what we had. We knew we were talented. We just had to play our game every game, and good things would happen.”
And they experienced the best Friday – the first MHSAA football championship in school history, with a 42-21 win over previously-undefeated Saginaw Nouvel to kick off the weekend at Ford Field.
Last year’s trip to the Division 8 Final was Whiteford’s first appearance in an MHSAA title game in this sport.
The Bobcats lost to MCC 35-6, but a year later left the field having scored 737 points this fall – tied for second most in one season with Beal City’s 2013 team – to average 52.6 per game, tied with the Aggies for ninth-most all-time.
Whiteford finished 14-0, winning all of its games by at least 16 points. It’s 27-1 over the last two seasons and 37-4 over the last three.
“Four years ago if you would’ve told me we were going to be in back-to-back states, and win it my senior year, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Tesznar said. “It wasn’t just us. It was the whole community. Everybody around us just pushed us to get better, and the support was non-stop. It was just amazing.”
Whiteford put nonstop pressure on Nouvel, starting with the opening kickoff – an onside bouncer recovered by Bobcats senior quarterback Thomas Eitniear, the first successful onside kick to open an MHSAA Final since Spring Lake succeeded against Jackson Lumen Christi in the 2000 Division 5 game.
Two plays later, Eitniear ran 37 yards to put his team on the board. By the end of the first quarter, junior Logan Murphy had added two running scores to push the Bobcats’ advantage to 20-0. Eitniear ran for another four minutes into the second quarter to make the score 28-0 and give Whiteford all of the offense it would need for the day.
The Bobcats gained 484 yards, with Eitniear running 10 times for 129 and three touchdowns and throwing for 143 on 7 of 11 passing. Murphy had 126 yards rushing and three scores as well.
They succeeded behind an all-senior line anchored by the 6-foot-5, 285-pound Tesznar. He was joined up front by Jordan Book, Jacob Lewis, Alex Kohler, Jarret Atherton and tight end Matthew Taylor.
“We work every day in practice, just to get better each and every day. But I’m not surprised … our o-line has worked as hard as they can all year,” Eitniear said. “That whole offense is all based on them. All of that is all them.”
Nouvel had a tougher time stopping the Bobcats’ attacking defense, which had 11 tackles for losses including four sacks by junior Ian Slick and two by Taylor. Whiteford didn’t allow more than 22 points in a game this season, an impressive feat that got lost a little behind all of the accomplishments on offense.
Senior Tate Hausbeck threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 11 of 26 passing for Nouvel (13-1), with senior Ken Kujawa catching both scoring tosses. Junior Joshua Kuligowski added a score on the ground. Senior Alex Wrobel led Nouvel with 14 tackles, and Kujawa had 10.
“All the looks we had out there were pretty much what we planned for. When you’re playing against a good football team, you’ve got to make some plays, try to find a way to make plays,” Nouvel coach Mike Boyd said. “I thought at times we moved the ball extremely well. I think probably when we reflect on things, we’ll see some opportunities that got away from us. They got a lot of pressure on Tate, and if we had more from a protection standpoint we might have had some big plays out there.”
Whiteford coach Jason Mensing talked after of the support his program has received from various groups in the community since he and his staff took over six years ago – and how all of it has made a difference as the Bobcats have continued to rise.
On their way back to Detroit, they found what they needed to climb one step more and finish as the last Division 8 team standing.
“The chemistry this year was just so amazing. Everybody got along with each other, and it was just a family. I think that’s what put us over the top,” Tesznar said. “We put Whiteford on the map, and it’s amazing. I think we all wanted a little revenge on Muskegon, but this feels just as good winning the state title.”
The MHSAA Playoffs are sponsored by the Michigan Army National Guard.
PHOTOS: (Top) Whiteford's Logan Murphy rumbles into the end zone for one of his two touchdowns Friday. (Middle) Bradyn Clark-Gilmore holds on to a catch as Nouvel's Ken Kujawa wraps him up.
Sophomore QB Leads GRCC Title Surge
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 29, 2019
DETROIT – Joey Silveri and his Grand Rapids Catholic Central teammates wanted to prove Friday they had the talent to match up with Detroit Country Day.
It turns out, the Cougars had the talent to overwhelm the top-ranked football team in Division 4 as they cruised to a 44-0 victory in the Division 4 Final at Ford Field.
“Every week we get people telling us, ‘You guys are a good team, but we don’t really know how,’” the Catholic Central sophomore quarterback said. “’You guys don’t really have that good of players.’ To come out here against a great team like Country Day and prove everybody wrong is amazing.”
The win gave Catholic Central its fifth title and third in four years. In 2016 the Cougars also defeated Country Day. That one ended 10-7 – but this time, the result wasn’t in doubt by early in the second half.
“I can’t say that I saw 44-0 coming,” said Catholic Central coach Todd Kolster, who now has four titles to his credit. “I felt really good about our team. I felt really good about what we were doing. I felt really good about the character of the guys on our team. So, I felt like we could go out and get this.”
Silveri was the driving force, as he ran or threw for six total touchdowns, raising his season combined total to 54. He was 15-of-22 passing for 236 yards and rushed 18 times for 143 yards. The Cougars didn’t run a play that didn’t feature a Silveri run or throw until three plays into the third quarter. He either ran or threw on 39 of the Cougars’ first 40 plays.
“He’s a special kid – he's a special young man,” Kolster said. “I’m just really happy for him. I’m happy for our seniors. Joey has come in, and he’s adapted so well to our upperclassmen. They have so much respect for him because he’s such a hard worker. He’s a great character guy. He showed tonight why he is such a good player.”
Silveri was involved in three touchdowns in the first quarter, throwing a pair to Jace Williams (15 and 14 yards) and running for a 53-yard score. The 18 points were six more than Country Day had allowed in a game all season, as the Yellowjackets had cruised into the Finals at 13-0 and allowing 5.2 points per game.
“We saw a lot of one-on-one matchups and a lot of pressure coming,” Silveri said. “So, we knew if we got the ball out quick and gave our receivers a chance one-on-one, they would make plays.”
Williams certainly proved that point, as he tied a Finals record with three touchdown catches. He finished the night with four catches for 62 yards, adding a 23-yard touchdown reception to his two in the first quarter.
Each of his first two scores came on fade routes in which he won a fight for the ball with the defensive back.
“I feel like it set a tone for our offense and defense,” Williams said. “And our special teams were doing a good job today, too.”
Silveri also had a 23-yard touchdown pass to Drew Gommesen to give his team a 24-0 halftime lead, and his second touchdown run came from one yard out midway through the third quarter.
Not long after that run, the Cougars’ defense got in on the scoring, as Jake Passinault intercepted an attempted double pass and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown. That put the game in running clock, as the lead extended to 38-0.
The runback capped off an impressive day for the Catholic Central defense, which held the Yellowjackets to 18 yards rushing and 60 yards of total offense on 37 plays (1.6 per play). Country Day entered the game averaging 34.7 points per game and more than six yards per play.
“I just think you always have to be able to move the ball effectively, which we have been throughout the year,” Country Day coach Dan MacLean said. “We just didn’t. We just didn’t tonight. Credit to them, and it’s a disappointing finish for us. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”
Nolan Zeigler led the Catholic Central defense with 10 total tackles, while Brady Redmer had seven, including three for loss. Dan Southerington added an interception that set up the second Catholic Central score.
Country Day’s defense was led by Danny MacLean who had eight tackles, including one for loss. The Yellowjackets did have one bright spot on special teams, as they blocked all five of the Cougars’ extra point attempts.
“I’m proud of my guys as always,” MacLean said. “But it’s obvious we have work to do. We have work to do to get better. I think we will. We have a good group of kids. It was a good year. Disappointing finish, obviously. They had some good matchups tonight and they exploited them, so credit to them. But we’ll come back. We’ll come back. Country Day will come back.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Joey Silveri breaks away against Detroit Country Day on Saturday. (Middle) Jace Williams pulls in one of his three touchdown catches during the Division 4 Final while Country Day’s Luke Ammori attempts to dislodge the ball.