Clutch Cass City Keeps Finding Last-Second Ways to Win During 13-1 Start

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

February 8, 2023

Aaron Fernald isn’t going to complain about his Cass City boys basketball team’s 13-1 start.

Bay & ThumbHe’s happy that his players are finding ways to win games against solid competition.

But, with six of those wins having been decided during the final seconds, he wouldn’t mind if his team didn’t make it so stressful.

“I think the kids get more confident as you win those games, but as a coach, I don’t know if I get more confident,” Fernald said with a laugh. “We do practice situations, we get the clock out, and we’ve been doing that almost every week since the beginning of the season. But I really don’t have a great answer on all of it.”

There may not be an answer to why it’s happening, but the results are eye-opening.

It started Dec. 13, when junior Carter Patrick hit a 3-pointer with just under four seconds to play, giving the Red Hawks a 45-42 win against Millington.

Late 3s to win games are fun, and when they happen in December are typically a footnote to a season, and not the start of a trend. This, however, was the latter.

On Dec. 20, Patrick again scored the go-ahead points with a pair of free throws in the final seconds of a 55-54 win against Saginaw Nouvel.

Patrick struck again Jan. 4, hitting a go-ahead basket with five seconds to play in a 51-50 win against Saginaw Valley Lutheran.

Michael Ferland brings the ball up court. On Jan. 18, Mike Fernald hit a buzzer-beater after a save under the basket by Tyler Cumper in a 47-45 win against Caro.

Trent Patrick had the most dramatic one nine days later, on Jan. 27, when he hit a 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt to defeat Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker 44-43.

Then Feb. 1, Carter Patrick again hit a game-winner, this time on a backdoor cut in the final seconds of a 46-45 victory against Bad Axe.

“I like to think it’s really good, because we’re figuring out how to win in key moments,” Carter Patrick said. “But we need to start getting a lead so we don’t have this pressure in games. I do think it’s preparing us for (the postseason) a lot, actually. If we get the ball at the end of a game, any game, I think the other team might get nervous themselves knowing that we’ve done this.”

Whether or not that’s the case, it’s pretty clear that Cass City won’t be nervous.

“The first couple, I was really nervous down the stretch,” Michael Fernald said. “A lot of other teammates were, too. But I think we’ve all got a lot more comfortable in those situations.”

Having three players who have scored game-winning baskets is a luxury for Cass City. But it goes well beyond that.

“We’ve got a team that kind of keeps hanging around and making a play,” Aaron Fernald said. “To get a buzzer-beater, we’ve had other guys not mentioned much that made plays to get us to that point. It’s kind of been a team effort that’s come from a lot of different people.”

Coming into the season, Aaron Fernald admitted he didn’t think this team could get to this point. He did think there would be improvement from recent years, however, as there were some key players back including Carter Patrick and Michael Fernald, who were each entering their third year on the varsity team.

Laker fans watch as Trent Patrick sends up his game-winning shot Jan. 27.Both of them, however, did think special things were on the horizon.

“This summer, I did,” Patrick said. “We were at team camp, and I thought this would be a better year for us. We had a really good chemistry, and we got along. We have a lot more fun together.”

That chemistry has been built over the course of several years, as many of the Red Hawks’ players have been playing together since they were kids.

The trust built through that, Patrick said, has helped in those clutch moments.

“We’ve all been friends for a really long time,” he said. “We’ve played a lot with each other, and I think we’ve gained a lot of trust. And if we miss the shot, nobody is going to get mad at each other.”

That group of friends has created some incredible memories already this season, the type that get talked about in town for years. But they’re looking for more – the type of memories that get put up on banners.

“It’s been special, but we haven’t really accomplished anything yet,” Michael Fernald said. “It would make it way more special if we can win some accolades along with it.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Cass City’s Carter Patrick, right, looks for an open teammate during a matchup with Laker. (Middle) Michael Fernald brings the ball up court. (Below) Laker fans watch as Trent Patrick sends up his game-winning shot Jan. 27. (Photos by Tom Greene/Huron Daily Tribune.)

Boyd Finds Nothing but Net as Old Redford Earns Championship Day Debut

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 14, 2024

EAST LANSING — The day before his team’s Division 3 Semifinal against Riverview Gabriel Richard, Detroit Old Redford head coach Ray Reeves said he installed a new play for his team to run.

Lo and behold, Old Redford found itself running that play Thursday at its most important moment of the season.

The Ravens were trailing by a point with two seconds remaining in regulation and set to inbound the ball from underneath their basket. 

The play was called “one,” mainly because it was one of five new plays Reeves said were installed.

“I was watching Auburn play and I saw (head coach) Bruce Pearl run it,” Reeves said. “I took it from him.”

That play ended up earning Old Redford a chance to finish this season “one” in the state, as senior Justin Austin inbounded the ball into the near corner on the left side of the floor to junior Arkell Boyd, who drained a heavily-contested 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give the Ravens a 43-41 win over Gabriel Richard. 

Old Redford will meet Niles Brandywine at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in a matchup of teams making their first appearance in an MHSAA Final in this sport.

The Ravens’ Ja'Quan Stennis gets a hand up high as Gabriel Richard’s Nick Sobush (1) works to get off a shot. “When that particular play came at the end of the game, I knew what to do,” said Boyd, who was mobbed by teammates on the floor after the shot went in.

The win continued a magical journey for Old Redford, which earned a one-point win over 2023 champion Flint Beecher in the Quarterfinal and a two-point victory over Detroit Loyola in a Regional Final.

Expanding on his team’s run this season, Reeves said the pivotal moment came during a trip to Indiana earlier in the year that produced some roster attrition.

“We went to Indiana with 14 players and came back with nine,” Reeves said.

The roster cut came after what Reeves said were issues with overbearing parents, which he said produced a team meeting that lasted from 10 p.m. until roughly 7 a.m. the next morning in Indiana.

“We knew it had to change,” Reeves said. “You think as an adult it would sometimes get better because you are dealing with adults. But I realized it was getting worse and it was killing my team. We came together that night, and we haven’t looked back.”

Trailing 37-32 with 4:42 remaining, Gabriel Richard mounted a charge, going on a 7-0 run to take a 39-37 lead with 2:01 left following a 3-point play by junior Nick Sobush. 

Old Redford tied the game at 39-39 with 33.8 seconds remaining on a steal and layup by junior Kason Mayes, but Gabriel Richard regained the lead at 41-39 with 14.3 seconds left with a layup by junior Luke Westerdale. 

Following a timeout, Old Redford put the ball in the hands of Mayes, who was fouled on a layup attempt with 3.3 seconds to go. 

Mayes made the first free throw and missed the second to make it 41-40 Gabriel Richard. But Old Redford got the ball back when the rebound went off a Gabriel Richard player, which set up Boyd’s heroics. 

Mayes scored 16 points, and Boyd added 15 for Old Redford (21-7).

Junior Charles Kage had 15 points and nine rebounds, and Sobush added 13 points for Gabriel Richard (23-4). 

“It’s tough to swallow,” Gabriel Richard head coach Kris Daiek said. “I thought our kids played hard. But hey, it happens. It’s March Madness.”

The good news for Gabriel Richard is that all six players who saw minutes Thursday are expected back to help the program expand on what was its first Semifinal appearance since 1989. 

“This is an educational moment for my kids,” Daiek said. “It stinks now. I give credit to Old Redford. It was a great battle all the way down the stretch. This will build character and make us a little bit tougher.”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Teammates pile onto Detroit Old Redford’s Arkell Boyd after his game-winning basket Thursday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Ravens’ Ja'Quan Stennis gets a hand up high as Gabriel Richard’s Nick Sobush (1) works to get off a shot. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)