Midland Boys Hoops Earns 'Football' Buzz
March 21, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
MIDLAND — Payton DeWildt is accustomed to pep rallies at school.
Just not during basketball season.
"It's just not something they do," the Midland High senior said. "Only when we play Dow, our crosstown rival."
And only in football.
"Midland High is known as a football school," said DeWildt, the quarterback on the Chemics' football team last fall. "When I was a freshman (on the varsity basketball team), the seniors were good. I said we've got to keep this winning tradition going and make Midland a basketball school, also."
In four seasons of basketball, DeWildt has known nothing but success, a concept that was foreign to a generation of hoopsters at Midland. The Chemics have won District championships in three of his four years after going 13 years without a title.
What sets this year's team apart is that it also added a Regional championship to the mix, the first for the Chemics since winning back-to-back titles in 1978 and 1979.
Suddenly, basketball is a big deal at Midland, worthy of the treatment usually reserved for the football team. A pep assembly will be part of the pregame hype at Midland before the Chemics face Macomb Dakota at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Grand Blanc in the MHSAA Class A Quarterfinals.
"There's quite a buzz," said 14-year coach Eric Krause. "It was really nice to see the people very excited. In the past football has been there, but it was really cool to see guys getting recognized. You like to see the efforts being rewarded, so it's really exciting. It's nice to see some of the older members of the community who will come to games, no matter what your record, and to see the excitement in their faces."
For the players, there is a sense that they are making history.
"Definitely," DeWildt said. "We just won the first Regional Final since 1979. We're trying to make it one more game. We just want to prove we're one of the best teams to come through Midland High, so we want to make it as far as we can."
If Midland can topple second-ranked Dakota (25-0), the Chemics (17-6) will reach the MHSAA Semifinals for only the second time in school history. The Chemics reached the semis in 1970, losing 82-71 to Detroit Pershing. Midland made the Quarterfinals two more times in the '70s, losing 72-53 to Flint Northern in 1978 and 66-58 to Saginaw in 1979.
A major reason why the Chemics haven't lasted to the final week of the postseason is geography. They not only play in one of the toughest leagues in the state, but they have had to go head-to-head with Saginaw Valley League rivals in the tournament. In the last three seasons, the Chemics lost in the 2013 Regional Semifinals to a Saginaw team that made the MHSAA Semifinals, in the 2014 District Semifinals to a Mount Pleasant team that made the MHSAA Semifinals, and in the 2015 Regional championship game to a Saginaw Arthur Hill team that was the MHSAA runner-up.
It's tough to go deep into the tournament when so many nearby schools are capable of going all the way to the Breslin Center. The Valley has had 12 schools combine to make the MHSAA Class A Quarterfinals 137 times. Five Valley schools — all from Flint or Saginaw — have combined for 22 MHSAA Class A championships.
"You had to play in a league that is arguably the best public school league, some years, in the nation in the 1990s before I got into it," Krause said. "I don't mean to take anything away from what we're doing, but Flint isn't Flint anymore — not the way it was. Dave MacDonald is a good friend of mine who coached Midland Dow for over 30 years. He'd be over .500 most years, some years with 12 or 13 wins. The amount of pros he coached against, people just don't understand.
"I believe the Valley is one of the best leagues in the state. The difference is it used to be one of the best leagues in the nation."
To reach the Quarterfinals, Midland had to take down one of the two elite Saginaw programs for the first time in the postseason since beating Arthur Hill in the 1971 District Final.
The Chemics split their regular-season series with Saginaw, each winning on its own home court, so what happened when the teams met for the Regional championship shouldn't come as a huge surprise. On a night in which the tension was felt on the court and in the stands, Midland knocked off Saginaw, 60-56.
Midland held a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter before Saginaw rallied to grab a four-point lead. Midland finished the game on a 12-4 run.
"It was the best game I've ever played in my life, the most exciting game," said senior Matt Jarema, another four-year varsity player. "I can probably say that most of my teammates all said it was the most exciting game they ever played; it was something. We knew we were bigger and stronger than them. We knew we could beat them. That's what we came in and did."
The impetus for this year's Regional championship run was a tough loss to Arthur Hill in last year's Regional Final. Midland was within four points early in the fourth quarter before current University of Texas freshman Eric Davis scored 12 points in the final period to lead the Lumberjacks to a 66-52 victory. Arthur Hill went on to play for the Class A title.
"Ever since last year after that Regional Final loss against Arthur Hill, we knew this year we would win the Regionals and we'd be in the Quarterfinals," Jarema said. "Playing against Saginaw and Arthur Hill, they prepare us for pressure like no other. They get up on you. We believe their pressure is some of the best pressure we'll have to face each year to prepare us for this moment now."
Midland has won four postseason games but, much like its regular season, nothing has been easy. Three of the four games have been decided by four points or fewer.
The Chemics opened the postseason by beating Mount Pleasant, 49-48, taking the lead for good on Martin Money's layup with 34 seconds left. After a 58-37 rout of Saginaw Heritage in the District Final, the Chemics overcame adversity to edge Traverse City West, 61-59, in the Regional Semifinal at Gaylord. Center Kyle Johnson was nearly late for that game because of a flat tire, Krause was dealing with a flooded basement before leaving for the game, and West's cheering section dwarfed Midland's because of the travel. Then came the four-point victory over long-time nemesis Saginaw in the Regional Final.
And now a team that has lost six games is within one victory of playing in the Breslin Center.
"We're a very odd team," Krause said. "We know we can play with very elite teams, but we honestly can lose to a lot of teams that are levels below that elite level. We can lose to a lot of teams. Usually when you have teams go this far, that's not the case. We have a strange quality where if things aren't going well, we have to be ready for a close game. Sometimes that makes you not panic when the game is close, because you figure you're going to win the game. We're kind of an interesting team that way."
DeWildt returned from a shoulder injury for the postseason opener to lead Midland's tournament run. He is the only Chemics player averaging in double figures during the tournament, scoring 16.8 points per game.
The scoring is balanced after that, with Virgil Walker averaging 8.8 points, Garrett Willis and Johnson 7.3 apiece, and Jarema 7.0.
Bill Khan served as a sportswriter at The Flint Journal from 1981-2011 and currently contributes to the State Champs! Sports Network. 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: Midland’s Virgil Walker drives past a Saginaw Arthur Hill player this season. (Middle) Payton DeWildt lines up for a free throw. (Photos courtesy of the Midland athletic department.)
E-TC's Witt Bulldozing Path from Small Town to Football's Biggest Stage
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
June 28, 2024
Ewen-Trout Creek graduate Jake Witt is playing for a spot on the Indianapolis Colts’ 53-man roster. The memories of high school sports, and the impact they’ve had on his journey to the NFL, have stuck with him through his college days and even now as a professional.
The 300-plus receiving yards he went for in a game against the eventual 8-player state champion back in 2017.
The regular-season basketball game where 3,276 fans turned out to watch his Panthers play just a few months later.
The teamwork prep sports taught him. The family atmosphere he got to be a part of on the high school football team.
“Football was definitely the sport I felt the most family-type feeling with it,” Witt said earlier this week after fishing on Erickson Lake while back in the Upper Peninsula before training camp begins next month. “That’s what drew me back to wanting to play football in college, was my opportunity in high school to play and getting that feeling with the guys and that family-oriented feel.”
Witt played two years of high school football. He lined up exclusively at wide receiver for Ewen-Trout Creek as a junior and then was more of a blocking tight end when E-TC and Ontonagon joined forces as a co-op program when he was a senior.
He ultimately decided to play basketball first in college, at Michigan Tech. But two of his three finalists were football opportunities.
“Obviously playing basketball from second grade on, people would probably assume that I would want to play basketball in college,” Witt said. “I think that just goes to show that football in those two years had a big impact and obviously it led me to where I am when I played at Northern and where I am today.”
Witt played only one year of basketball at Tech. He transferred to Northern Michigan University to attend as a student only before being talked into playing football.
He was initially a tight end there before moving to tackle because of injuries during a game against Ferris State. He dominated, not allowing a sack or even a quarterback pressure against what was considered the best Division II defensive line in the country.
He stayed at tackle for what was left of that season and then all of his final year at Northern. Despite his limited time at the position, he had the attention of NFL scouts and entered the draft. The attention reached a fever pitch during his pro day at Central Michigan when he wowed with his athleticism. His 9.92 Relative Athletic Score, a way to measure players’ athletic testing while accounting for their size, was one of the best for an offensive tackle prospect since it began being used in 1987.
He was drafted with the 236th pick, in the seventh round, by the Colts in 2023.
His first training camp was cut short due to a hip injury, and he was then placed on season-ending injured reserve. But he’s back healthy and ready to go. He practiced at second-string left tackle during the offseason camp this spring and now hopes to earn a spot on the 53-man roster with training camp set to begin in a month.
“I want to go into training camp, play well and then play well enough to where they can’t release me off the 53,” Witt said. “The next goal is to play in a game. And I think that will start with special teams, that will start with field goal. And then from there, obviously, everybody is one week of great practice away from playing with the offense, one injury away from playing in a game with the offense.”
Those who watched him during his high school days in the U.P. likely wouldn’t be at all surprised to see that happen.
Witt is still the only receiver to go for 300 or more receiving yards in 8-player football in state history, according to the MHSAA record book. And he did it twice, a 325-yard game against Eben Junction Superior Central as a junior and the 305-yard performance against Crystal Falls Forest Park as a senior.
The Ontonagon co-op team had mostly stucsk to running the ball that season, but looked for Witt through the air against the eventual state champion Trojans.
“I think it was 345 (yards), I think they sent in the wrong number,” Witt said. “That was one game where we switched things up with our offensive attack and threw the ball a lot more, and it ended up paying off for us very well. We were down big at halftime, and we pushed back and we were in a battle with them in the second half. It was a great game. We didn’t end up winning, but it was a lot of fun.”
He enjoyed both years of high school football – even while mostly blocking on the line as a senior despite having shown previously to be a more-than-capable receiver.
“A lot of the offense wasn’t focused on me anymore, which was great,” Witt said. “It made me a much more well-rounded football player. It made me a much better athlete, it gave me a better perception on things as a football player versus just being a receiver. I think both years were great for different reasons.”
Witt said every sport he played in high school was beneficial to him going forward. Basketball, for example, taught him teamwork and coordination.
“And just relationship building is huge; for me, it helped me move on to the professional football level,” he said.
No high school game was quite as memorable for him as that regular-season basketball game at Michigan Tech on a chilly Wednesday night in Houghton.
Ewen-Trout Creek and Dollar Bay were tied atop the U.P. small-school poll. With that type of matchup, and the chance for fans in the Copper Country to see the 6-7 Witt and his above-the-rim play that’s pretty unique in the U.P., the game was moved from Dollar Bay’s tiny gym to Michigan Tech. (He wasn’t quite 300 pounds like he is now, but he was close – and he came into that game averaging 27 points and 16 rebounds per game with no one able to match his size and strength.)
They expected a crowd; they got 3,276. The latest arriving fans had to sit on the floor on the baseline.
“You don’t see that very much in Division 4 basketball even in the playoffs,” Witt said. “Just having that atmosphere, and especially having it between two of the best U.P. teams at the time, and having the storyline that was behind the game was great – and one of the most memorable events to this day still for me.”
Witt is looking forward to the challenge of training camp and achieving his goals in Indianapolis. But he’s not rushing away a U.P. summer.
He helped out at last week’s U.P. Football All-Star game. He was happy to provide insight for any players headed off to play college ball, and they helped the Marquette County Habitat for Humanity with the finishing touches on one of their houses.
Over the next month, he’ll still be training, going over the playbook and doing position skill work. As happy as he was to help out last week, he’s happy to be on the lake again, too, fishing like a normal Yooper.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do, that and train,” Witt said. “Just trying to destress before I get back into it.”
PHOTOS (Top) At left, Jake Witt played for Ewen-Trout Creek during a 2018 basketball game at Michigan Tech, and at right Witt takes a photo with area youth baseball players last summer. (Middle) Witt, right, umpires a baseball game last summer. (Below) Witt warms up during the Indianapolis Colts’ rookie camp in May 2023. (Photos by Jason Juno.)