Beal City Primed to Make History Again
June 14, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – About three weeks into this season, Beal City coach Brad Antcliff began noticing strong similarities between this team and those that won MHSAA titles in 2009 and 2010.
It started with the speedy outfield of senior Joseph Rau, junior Carson Salisbury and freshman Chase Rollin – a pair of running backs and a tight end during football season – who range far and wide to take away what would be hits against many other defenses.
Of course, there are differences as well – but not in focus. These Aggies fully understand the historical significance of the opportunity at hand and how they can become part of the program's recent run of success.
Beal City earned another championship opportunity with a 15-0 Semifinal win over Maple City Glen Lake on Friday.
“It’s funny, because every spring our goal is to win the Highland (Conference) and make a long tournament run. And the kids understand that,” Antcliff said. “It’s great winning 35 games. Butt with our schedule, we want to play the Grosse Pointes, we want to play bigger schools. If we lose 10-12 games, we’re fine. It gets us ready for this.”
Beal City has lost only twice this season, against 35 wins. But consider the No. 3 Aggies ready for No. 1 University Liggett, their opponent in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. Final.
They sure appeared primed after the fifth inning Friday. Beal City, up 1-0, put up five more runs and then added nine in the sixth inning to end the game.
Senior Ryan Marshall gave up only two hits and struck out eight for the Aggies. He also scored two runs, drove in a third and had one of the team’s seven stolen bases.
Beal City had 10 hits, but only junior Ryan Tilmann had more than one; he finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, three RBI and two stolen bases.
Glen Lake, making its first Semifinal appearance since 2001, got three innings of one-run pitching and one of its two hits from sophomore Austin Odziana. The Lakers finished 28-8.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 1, New Lothrop 0
The top-ranked Knights didn’t score the game’s lone run until the sixth inning. But pitcher Connor Fannon needed only that one to get University Liggett back to the Final for the third straight season.
Fannon, a senior, gave up only two hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight.
He out-dueled also-solid Mitch Perizzolo, who gave up only five hits, didn’t walk a batter and stuck out four for New Lothrop. Perizzolo also had one of the Hornets’ two hits.
The Knights scored that lone run when shortstop Nicholas Azar hit a sacrifice fly to score centerfielder Mark Evan Auk from third base. Auk had reached on a bunt single. Catcher Nathan Gaggin was the only player, from either team, with more than a hit; he finished 2-for-3.
New Lothrop, making its first Semifinal appearance since 1998, finished 25-6. University Liggett improved to 30-4.
PHOTOS: (Top) Beal City junior Ryan Tilmann gets in safe under the throw in the Aggies' win over Maple City Glen Lake. (Middle) A University Liggett hitter drives a pitch in the Knights' Semifinal win over New Lothrop. (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Flashback 100: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run
November 8, 2024
The MHSAA 11-player Football Playoffs have awarded 332 Finals champions over their first 49 seasons, and the total will grow by eight later this month.
However, only 22 of those titles have been claimed by teams from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And of those, just one came in the state’s largest division.
That honor belongs to Escanaba, which won the Class A title in 1981, marking the first and only time a U.P. team has claimed the crown in either Division 1, Class A, or Class AA.
The 1981 Escanaba team, coached by the legendary Jerry Cvengros – who would later be inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame – was led by Kevin Tapani. A dynamic two-way player, Tapani starred at both quarterback and safety. The Eskymos finished the season undefeated at 12-0, outscoring opponents by a combined 345-67. They shut out six opponents and defeated Fraser 16-6 in the title game at the Pontiac Silverdome.
While Tapani excelled in football, his true passion was baseball. He was a standout in high school and went on to become a four-year starting pitcher at Central Michigan University. In 1986, Tapani was selected by the Oakland A’s in the second round of the MLB Draft. He went on to enjoy a successful 13-year career in the majors, earning a 143-125 record, with a 16-9 season in 1991 when he helped lead the Minnesota Twins to a World Series title.
In recognition of his athletic achievements, Tapani was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and named one of the Minnesota Twins' 50 all-time greatest players.
The 22 U.P. teams to win an MHSAA 11-player football championship:
1975 – Ishpeming – Class C
1975 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1976 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1979 – Ishpeming – Class C
1979 – Norway – Class D
1980 – Munising – Class C
1980 – Norway – Class D
1981 – Escanaba – Class A
1983 – St. Ignace – Class D
1992 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class DD
1993 – Kingsford – Class B
1993 – Iron Mountain – Class C
1997 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class D
1998 – Menominee – Class BB
2000 – Iron Mountain – Division 7
2002 – Negaunee – Division 6
2006 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Crysal Falls Forest Park – Division 8
2012 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2013 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2015 – Ishpeming – Division 7
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Nov. 1: Flashback 100: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Flashback 100: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba's 1981 Class A championship team, Tapani is in the second row, fourth from the right (#18). (Middle) Kevin Tapani from his Escanaba Wall of Fame Plaque. (Photos courtesy of Escanaba High School, and the MHSAA archives.)