No Damper on this Rivalry

October 20, 2011

FREELAND – The Ovid-Elsie and Ithaca boys soccer teams play each other at least twice a season as members of the Tri-Valley Conference, and often again during the postseason. Usually those games are meaningful – both regularly are among the best in their league as well as district title contenders.

But a gesture brought on by Wednesday’s seemingly statewide downpour likely will become one of the most memorable moments of this rivalry.

Ovid-Elsie jumped to 6-0 lead by halftime of the team’s Division 3 district semifinal at Freeland. With winds blowing rain sideways and 30-40 mph, chances of an Ithaca comeback were slim.

The Yellowjackets had another bad turn when one of their defenders was injured running down an Ovid-Elsie breakaway early in the second half. Play stopped, and the Marauders’ defenders stood together to block each other from the rain and wind.

Soon, they were joined by two Ithaca forwards. Then midfielders from both sides joined. Eventually, all 21 players still on the field, aside from the one who was injured, formed a tight huddle near Ovid-Elsie’s net. The huddle was completed when Marauders goalkeeper Thomas Powers slid in among the mass of legs and emerged in the middle of the group.

“One of my players told me they were just playing rock, paper, scissors in there,” Ovid-Elsie coach Craig Thelen said.

“Both teams respect each other, play hard against each other. We split this season, and we split wins almost every season.”

Separated by 25 miles, the Ovid-Elsie and Ithaca players know each other only through soccer, Thelen said. But the rivalry, while physical, is friendly. That mutual respect likely grew Thursday.

As the person who submitted this photo wrote, “Like they say, ‘It's not whether you win or lose, it is how you play the game.’ This is how we should play a little more often.”

Ovid-Elsie eventually won 8-2, and faces Alma in the district final at 6 p.m. Saturday, also in Freeland.
 

Wagner Transforming Kalkaska Into Lake Michigan Conference Challenger

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

October 6, 2023

Figuratively speaking, there is a new boys soccer sheriff in the Lake Michigan Conference. And Kalkaska is making big changes in the league’s competitiveness and results.

Northern Lower PeninsulaThe Blazers are 11-5-4 overall and have shown to be a formidable challenger for perennial champion Elk Rapids.

They are coached by a sheriff, literally — actually the undersheriff of Kalkaska County. David Wagner II took over the Blazers program four years ago, inheriting a team that went winless the year before.

This week they almost stopped Elk Rapids from clinching its 17th title in the league’s 21 years of existence. The Blazers ended up falling only 1-0 to the Elks after suffering a 2-1 loss earlier in the season, giving up two penalty kick goals.

The challenge by the new sheriff is welcomed by the league, especially Nate Plum, now in is 16th season at the helm of Elk Rapids. When Plum first took over the Elks, they usually played conference games with their junior varsity squad and the varsity team took on as many strong nonconference teams as they could schedule.

The Blazers had been an easy win for Lake Michigan Conference teams, often the victim of the MHSAA goal-differential rule.

All that has changed with Kalkaska producing high scorers like Cooper Swikoski last year and Wagner taking over, Plum noted.

“You can see kids that have been in that program the last four years and they get on the ball and they can move it, putting you in difficult spots,” Plum said. “They have been dangerous this year.

“They have been consistently harder to play,” he continued. “Dave sees the game the right way at the high school level as another avenue besides school to teach boys lessons — he’s a class act.”

Kalkaska earned two wins in Wagner’s first season, which was also his son Tripp’s first in high school soccer. The Blazers earned four wins the next year and 10 last fall.

Coach Wagner points more to life’s lessons than wins though and keeps soccer in perspective as just a game as he faces the challenges in his professional life.

Wagner came to Northern Michigan in 2002 as a deputy in Kalkaska County. He worked as a corrections officer, road patrol deputy, Traverse Narcotics Team officer, member of the emergency response team, road patrol sergeant and dispatch sergeant before being named undersheriff in 2018.

“To be honest with you, I don’t even look at our record – I don’t get hung up on it,” Wagner said. “I think boys soccer is very important, but from my line of work it’s a boys soccer game.

“I put in it in perspective,” he continued. “I am just trying to make these kids hopefully a little better adults.”

The Blazers have been led by strong defense, in particular in the middle of the field and at goal.  

Adam Williams in normally the first line of defense with Ryan Perry playing more back. And then stellar goalkeeper Kayden Dueweke-Gonzales wraps things up. He has four shutouts this season.

“The defenders can’t pile up stats,” Wagner pointed out. “They are our rock.”

The three seniors leading the defense are among the six Blazers seniors who started playing soccer around the age of 5 under Wagner, who was their youth coach in Kalkaska for nine years before taking over the high school program. The rest of the Blazers seniors started playing for Wagner at 10 years of age.

Wagner had hopes the boys would have a different coach in high school but found himself needing to step into the vacancy. His seniors all played their last game at home Thursday on Senior Night, earning a 2-2 tie with Grayling.

Senior Night provided Wagner a nice chance to go down memory road.

“I had to dig up some old pictures for Senior Night because they wanted to do the young pictures and the current pictures,” he said.

Jose Saez is leading the team scoring with 11 goals and two assists. Tripp Wagner is next with six goals and six assists. Cade Ponstien has eight goals and two assists.

“Kalkaska has guys on the field that make a difference,” Plum said. “They definitely started to compete at higher level last year and an even higher level this year making the game extra difficult, and it made the conference even better — we can only hope that continues.”

Wagner and his players meet with an official for the coin flip before playing Elk Rapids. Wagner, though, knows the Blazers will have to get stronger to wrestle the league crown away from the previous champions. The list includes Charlevoix and Harbors Springs along with Elks’ title accomplishments.

“We’re still not at the level of the Elks or the Traverse City teams,” Wagner acknowledged. “At least we’re in the running for competitiveness.”

Wagner grew up playing soccer in the Kalamazoo area and became a soccer referee while he was in college at Ferris State. He is viewed by many referees and former coaches as the best referee Northern Michigan has ever seen.

He started high school refereeing in Northern Michigan 20 years ago and achieved national referee certification in the United States Soccer Referee Association.

Wagner has noticed a lot more disparity among high school soccer teams in the north than the south of Michigan. For example, he had never refereed a game ending in a mercy before moving north.

He’s also noticed many of the same referees on the pitch today he worked with two decades ago.

“It’s aging,” he said with a laugh.  “But it is the coaches and parents’ fault. (Potential referees) stop and ask themselves, ‘Why would I want to go out there?’

“I have utmost respect for all the officials – even the ones I don’t agree with,” he continued. “At the end of the day, it is always about the kids.”

Jerry Grieve, a retired forester and veteran soccer referee, is one of many referees who recall working with Wagner as an official.  He is also the father of three former Kalkaska athletes and graduates — Abigail, 2005, Paul, 2007, and Alex, 2009. 

Grieve is extremely proud of Wagner’s affiliation and success with the Blazers.

“I first met Undersheriff Dave Wagner more than 20 years ago at a Cadillac/TC Central game, in which he was the center. “I have always thought he was the best soccer referee I have ever officiated with. 

“And in the past few years he has been the coach of the Kalkaska high school boys team and they are the highest-quality team I have yet to see from that school,” Grieve continued.  “But more importantly, as coach he has always treated referees with dignity and poise — which is a great teaching moment for his players.”

Kalkaska will now try to continue its growing success in the playoffs.

“It’s just one day at a time,” Wagner said of the Blazers’ motto. “We are not a soccer super powerhouse up here yet.

“I do like talking about giving credit to the team – they deserve it.”

The Blazers will travel to Cheboygan for the first round of the postseason. They will have to win that game and knock off the winner of Grayling/Boyne City in the second round to earn a possible rematch with Elk Rapids.  The Elk have a first-round bye as the top seed and then play the winner of Kingsford and Iron Mountain.

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Kalkaska coach David Wagner II stands among his many seniors last week. (Middle) Wagner and his players meet with an official for the coin flip before playing Elk Rapids. (Photos by Tom Spencer.)