New Holland Christian, Same Title Drive
April 1, 2017
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
HOLLAND – The Holland Christian baseball team doesn’t want to reflect too much on the accomplishments of last year.
While they included winning the program’s first Division 2 championship last spring, it’s a new season with a fresh cast of experienced and youthful players.
“Last year was great, and it was a special season for sure, but a lot of people keep referring to it,” Maroons coach Jim Caserta said. “We want to use that as confidence, but at the same time this team hasn’t done anything yet so we have to make our own team and develop as this year’s team. We’re trying to compete every day, not worry about a state championship.”
Holland Christian went 36-6 last year and capped the season with an 8-5 win over Linden in the Division 2 Final.
The Maroons graduated six seniors, including the talented battery of pitcher Mike Mokma, now playing at Michigan State, and catcher David Williams, now at Xavier.
The cupboard, however, isn’t bare. Nine seniors are back, as well as a few underclassmen who were key components to last year’s success.
“Several guys contributed to last year’s success and we’re excited about that,” Caserta said. “This year is a totally different team. It’s a different year, and the guys we have now haven’t been in this leadership position yet, so we’re going to be expecting them to step up and get the job done and really come through when needed. It will be exciting to see what kind of mark this group leaves in our program as well.”
Senior pitcher Jack Huisman is one of several key starters back. He understands the hurdles that come with being reigning champions.
“The target on our back is pretty big and obviously people know we won the state championship last year,” said Huisman, who has signed with Western Michigan. “This is a new year, and there are different guys that are going to have to step up. The biggest thing for us is to not dwell on the past. We have to keep looking forward and keep playing one game at a time, and see where that leads us.”
Caserta said coming off an MHSAA-championship season can be looked upon in a couple different ways.
“It’s a little bit of a two-edged sword,” he said. “It does give our team motivation to come back from, but on the other end everybody you play is going to be ready for you. We try to make that into a positive because that keeps us sharp. We have to be ready to play every time.”
Other key returnees include seniors Coby Curtiss (SS), Brady Brower (2B), Christian Koele (OF), Spencer Brewer (Pitcher) and Sam Wierda (OF).
Sophomore pitcher Chris Mokma provided significant contributions as a freshman.
“I think we have a good potential,” Curtiss said. “We have some young guys who are getting better, and every guy will have to play their role and play their best to have another shot at a title.
“Winning a state title was our goal last year, and it’s our goal this year, but we know how hard it is and how hard we have to work. We’ve been working for it in the offseason again.”
Holland Christian hopes to rely on its pitching, a staple of last year’s team.
“We have good depth this year in our pitching, but may not be at the same individual level with a couple guys so they all need to contribute,” Caserta said. “We won’t have one or two guys to turn to all the time. We’ll do it a little differently than last year.”
The biggest question mark hinges on the Maroons’ ability to score runs.
“A lot of guys batted down in the order a little but have to be the main guys this year,” Caserta said. “We’re unproven offensively, and when we get in pressure situations we will have to count on those guys this year.”
The Maroons mirrored last year’s club in terms of resiliency in only the second game of the season.
They trailed 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs before rallying for a 4-3 win over Rockford.
“Just like last year, we always fought and found a way to win,” Curtiss said. “I think we have a little bit of that in us again this year. If we’re down, we’re always going to fight to come back.”
Although Caserta doesn’t want to make a habit of late-inning comebacks, he said it was a good early sign of the team’s attitude.
“I felt good about the result and how we hung in there at the end,” he said. “Those aren’t games you’re going to win all the time, but our guys didn’t give up, and in a clutch situation we were able to get a couple key hits. We did some really good things, and I give them credit for competing and coming back. It’s encouraging to see that we kept plugging away.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Holland Christian’s Coby Curtiss follows one of his three hits during last season’s Division 2 Final into left field. (Middle) This season’s Maroons are a mix of veterans and newcomers, with some key players back from last season’s championship team.
MMA Helps 3-Sporter Shine at BCC
May 3, 2019
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
BROOKLYN – When Khol Partridge gets some time away from the football field, basketball court and baseball diamond, he knows exactly where he’s going – to relax with some Mixed Martial Arts.
Partridge is winding down his days as a three-sport athlete at Brooklyn Columbia Central, a Class B school in southeast Michigan’s Irish Hills area. His father Rodney owns Pure Combat, a gym in Cement City that challenges Khol as an athlete, both mentally and physically, in a different way than high school sports do. But, combined, Khol said, it’s made him a stronger athlete and more of a leader.
“In the summertime, I’m in the gym every day,” Partridge said. “It makes you such a better athlete. It improves your attitude, your mindset, your balance, everything about being an athlete.”
Partridge mainly does the Jiu Jitsu form of MMA, not the type that puts him into a ring with another striker, or fighter. But, it’s still intense.
“My dad puts me through all kinds of crazy workouts,” he said. “You get yourself into tough spots in MMA and it makes you have to find a way out of it. That’s one way it helps you in other sports.”
Partridge has been in more than a few tight spots for the Golden Eagles over the last few seasons but has usually found a way to success. The CC football team has gone 23-9 over the last three seasons, making three consecutive playoff appearances. He led the Lenawee County Athletic Association this past season by completing 154-of-257 passes for 2,317 yards and 26 touchdowns. He threw just four interceptions all season. He also ran for 511 yards and nine touchdowns.
CC football coach Josh Kubiak called Partridge an “amazing athlete” and “amazing individual.”
“I could go on about Khol for a long time and tell you about all his stats and achievements,” Kubiak wrote in an e-mail. “In my opinion the best quality Khol has is his leadership skills. I remember back to when he was a freshman on our playoff team. He was the last player on the field after our loss hugging seniors and then came up to me and said, ‘We will be back.’”
The Golden Eagles won their first league football title since 1982 with Partridge at quarterback this past season. He finished with 4,800 career passing yards and a number of CC football records.
“He has the special talent to get other student athletes to follow him, and he gets the best out of them,” Kubiak said. “He always finds the positive out of the worst situations.”
It’s no surprise that Partridge chose the quarterback position – or, rather, it chose him.
“I was a quarterback since I was really little. I don’t know, maybe it was just because I wanted to be a leader. I’ve always had that mindset. I wanted to be the smartest player on the field, to know what everyone else was doing. My dad always taught me to be a leader, to be the best leader I could be.
“My biggest goal has always been just to be a leader. Leadership is a full-time job. You just have to step up at important times, to be an inspiration to others in the huddle or know when to get after someone and when to just give them a high-five and say, ‘It’s all right. Keep your head up.’”
Partridge got a few looks from colleges and was close to trying to walk on at a Division I school out west. Ultimately, he decided to stay a little closer to home and committed to Ohio’s University of Findlay, a perennial football powerhouse in Division II.
“I got a lot of looks, but nothing seemed to pan out. Then, the Findlay coach hit me up on Twitter,” Partridge said. “They contacted me, so saw tape and I went to visit. They have a great campus. I even did some research, and I know there is a Mixed Martial Arts gym not far from campus.”
In basketball, Partridge was the team’s top scorer in 2018-19, made 48 3-pointers and finished his career with more than 750 points over parts of four seasons. In baseball, he’s one of the team leaders in hitting and is enjoying another season of success.
“I fell in love with football early on in life,” he said. “I always played baseball, too. Me and my buddy, Chase Tompkins, we’ve always played baseball together. I didn’t start playing basketball until later, probably seventh grade.
“If it’s football season, then football is my favorite sport. If it’s baseball season, then baseball is my favorite sport.”
In baseball, Partridge is a middle infielder. When Tompkins pitches, Partridge plays shortstop; otherwise he plays second base.
“We are a really good double-play combination,” he said. “I think last year we turned like 20 double plays together. It’s crazy. We’ve played together a long time. We’ve kind of always been that duo.”
This season, Partridge’s goal is to hit .500.
“The season is going great,” he said. “I’m hitting fairly well, not as well as I want to be hitting, but I’m working hard. Baseball is so mental. You have to be mentally right to play the game.”
Partridge is quick to credit his parents, Rodney and Terri, for his success.
“My dad has been the biggest influence in my life,” he said. “He’s always been someone to look up to. And my mom is the best ever. She keeps my head in line. I’m so blessed to have two parents I can look up to.”
Khol Partridge is excited for the next chapter in life, although he still has some work to do this spring with the CC baseball team. He’s entertaining the idea of trying to walk-on with the Findlay baseball team.
“I definitely think I can,” he said. “Sports are a big part of my life. They always have been. Sports teaches you so much about different aspects in life.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Columbia Central’s Khol Partridge unleashes a pass this past fall. (Middle) Partridge, far right, with father Rodney (far left) and renowned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor Marcelo Garcia. (Photos courtesy of the Partridge family.)