Kemp Proud to Keep Troy Athens Tradition
August 29, 2019
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
TROY – Jason Kemp has never needed the tradition of Troy Athens soccer explained to him, because he’s been able to experience the sights and sounds of the program his entire life.
Living less than a mile from the school, Kemp, now a senior goalkeeper for the RedHawks, has heard the cheers and seen the lights of the stadium from his house numerous times growing up.
“I’ve grown up watching playoff games and watching league games,” Kemp said. “I can hear the crowd and the goals from my house. My whole childhood has been Athens soccer. Now I’m a captain on the team and get to play in front of large crowds that support us. It’s kind of a dream come true for me.”
Kemp won’t be hearing cheers this year from his house, mainly because he’ll be on the field as a big reason why Athens is producing the positive crowd noise.
Kemp certainly generated a lot of cheers last year for the Athens faithful.
After splitting time as the starting keeper as a sophomore, Kemp was dominant in his first full year as the starter last fall, recording 16 shutouts and allowing just four goals in being named first team all-state by the coaches association.
Kemp is back for his senior season to anchor the net for an Athens team with understandably high expectations.
The RedHawks started the season ranked No. 15 nationally by Top Drawer Soccer and feature a senior-laden roster that has grown up playing travel ball together in the community, which Kemp said gives the team an even bigger advantage to go along with its talent.
“I’ve been playing with most of these guys my whole life,” Kemp said. “I always have thought that was cool growing up playing travel with these guys and now adding high school to it. I feel like it gives us an advantage. A lot of teams, they only have trained a couple of times in the summer before they even start with their high school teams. For us at Athens, a lot of us have been playing together since early middle school years or even elementary school years. It adds a cool twist to our team because we’ve been playing together so long.”
Big reasons for the 16 shutouts Kemp recorded last year were Athens’ stout defenders and organized system, but make no mistake about it: Kemp was also a vital component.
“He’s able to catch balls instead of punch them or tip them,” Athens head coach Todd Heugh said. “He’s got shot-stopping ability and quite honestly, he’s got the confidence of all his teammates. They think he’s good and in turn, I think that helps the way we defend and I think the way he goalkeeps a little bit too.”
Despite putting up terrific numbers as a junior, there is one area Kemp said he has worked on improving going into his senior year.
“Last year, I was very timid on set pieces, especially corner kicks,” said Kemp, who sports a 4.0 grade-point average and took five Advanced Placement classes during his junior year. “A lot of teams would curl a ball in the box, and I would rely on my defenders to clear that away. Now that I’m a little bigger, a little stronger and worked out a lot over the summer, those set pieces don’t really bother me anymore. I don’t have a problem coming out and jumping with a forward and getting hit around a little bit. I’ve grown out of that struggle.”
Athens won Class A titles in 1983, 1984 and 1989, and claimed Division 1 in 1997. Heugh was a senior on the 1989 team.
But a fifth championship has proven elusive. Athens also finished runner-up in 1986 and 2016, when it lost the Final in a shootout to East Kentwood
And the RedHawks still feel a stinging loss from last year’s tournament – they entered unbeaten and ranked No. 1, but were upset in the District Final by Utica Ford, 1-0.
While October is still a few weeks away, Kemp said there’s “a lot of fire in our bellies” among the seniors to try and bring Athens its first title in 30 years.
“This is it,” he said. “This is our last season and a lot of us have been dreaming of this moment for our whole lives. We really want to make this year count as well as we can in the postseason.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Troy Athens keeper Jason Kemp provides skillful play and leadership from the net. (Middle) Kemp dives to thwart an opponent’s shot. (Photos courtesy of the Troy Athens boys soccer program.)
Late Strikes Net Skyline 2nd Finals Win
November 3, 2018
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
NOVI – On a sunny, albeit chilly, fall Saturday afternoon, lightning still managed to strike at Novi High School during the Division 1 boys soccer championship game.
But instead of from the sky above, it came on the field from Ann Arbor Skyline.
In a game seemingly destined for overtime and a shootout, Skyline unexpectedly struck quickly, scoring two goals in a span of 58 seconds late in the second half to earn a 2-0 win over East Kentwood.
It was the second Division 1 title since 2015 for Skyline, and the first time in six MHSAA Finals appearances since 2007 that East Kentwood didn’t take home the championship trophy.
The game was scoreless until there was 9:42 left, when Skyline junior Jamie Balms sent in a service to the top portion of the box.
Sophomore Gabe Kellman flicked it with his foot deeper into the box to junior Chris Emerson, who with his back to the goal did a mini bicycle kick and flicked a shot with his right leg into the goal to make it 1-0 Skyline.
“I turned my back and hit it,” Emerson said. “It was crazy. I couldn’t even explain it.”
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to add an insurance goal.
Just 58 seconds later, junior Oskar Shiomi-Jensen sent a cross into the box, and junior Bryce Schaner headed it into the goal to make it 2-0 Skyline.
“We knew it was going to be a set piece or some sort of breakdown,” Skyline head coach Chris Morgan said. “We just told them before the game started and throughout the game. We said to ‘trust, trust, trust.’ And we got it. That was all it was.”
It was a stunning offensive outburst after a game that mostly featured stout defensive play and few quality scoring chances.
That was expected going in, since Skyline had allowed just 11 goals on the season, while East Kentwood entered with five consecutive shutouts.
Skyline remained firm defensively despite dealing with a rash of injuries throughout the year that cost the Eagles six starters.
But ultimately, Skyline’s depth on the backline showed through.
“They did an outstanding job,” Morgan said. “We didn’t make any subs in the back throughout the whole tournament. Hats off to those boys.”
For East Kentwood, it was definitely a strange feeling taking home the runner-up trophy.
The Falcons had won all five of their championship matches since 2007, the last a shootout win over Troy Athens in the 2016 Final.
“We fell asleep on a set piece, and obviously Skyline is very good on set pieces, so you have to give them credit,” East Kentwood head coach John Conlon said. “Soccer is a game of inches, and they won the inches when it mattered.”
Conlon also praised the Skyline defense, which he knew would be a challenge before the game – and it played out that way.
“It’s hard to generate much against their team,” Conlon said. “It was a heavyweight bout, and two guys are trying to land punches. They finally landed a punch, and we couldn’t get one off.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Skyline’s Jamie Palms leads his team across the field in celebration of their Division 1 championship win. (Middle) Skyline’s Gabe Kellman (16) and East Kentwood’s Samuel Olson work to gain possession Saturday.