No Mercy Needed as Ogemaw Surges
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2020
Soccer games in Michigan have long consisted of two 40-minute halves.
Not so until recently for games involving Ogemaw Heights. Historically the contest was often over at halftime due the MHSAA 8-goal differential rule. Sadly, the Falcons had become quite accustomed to getting back on the bus after the first 40 minutes.
Jack Vliet, the Falcons’ first-year athletic director, and Tom Zaske, the fourth-year boys soccer coach, are way too familiar with the rule widely known as a “mercy.” They were well aware of the program’s suffering before they got officially involved.
Zaske’s first experiences came as a father of a freshman soccer player, and then as the JV coach. Vliet’s a first awareness was from being a member of the community.
“It’s been a tough road for the soccer program,” Vliet said. “The adversity these kids have faced ... and now they’re coming out on top.
“They’re adjusting on the fly,” he continued. “What a great job the coaches have done, and now we’re experiencing community buy-in.”
Now, the Falcons have the potential to win their third District title in the last four years on Saturday. They are facing Clare, a team they have defeated 8-0 and 7-0 this year. The game is at Clare, and the winner advances to play Elk Rapids in a Regional Semifinal on Oct. 28.
Elk Rapids, which is headed for its third-straight Regional appearance, has a storied past with multiple MHSAA Finals runs and two Division 4 championships. The Elks possess the number one Michigan Power Rating (MPR) in D3 this year. They are 17-2-4 and won the Lake Michigan conference title again this year. They also have taken on strong D1 and D2 teams, including this year’s Big North Conference champion Traverse City West and runner-up Petoskey. The Elks picked up a 4-0 win over Petoskey after a 0-0 tie with the Northmen the first time they met.
Ogemaw’s history of mercy losses was the greatest when the Falcons were in the Big North. Now the Falcons play in the Northern Michigan Soccer League. No mercy losses this year. In fact, they suffered only one defeat, 2-1, at the hands of McBain Northern Michigan Christian. The Falcons erased the memory of the league loss with a 4-0 win over NMC earlier this month, and they have eight mercy wins this season.
Despite having the most wins in school history and a record of 16-1-2, Ogemaw hasn’t cracked the rankings yet. They are 13th in the MPR index used to determine seeding of the top two teams at the District level. The index is based on a team's success and strength of schedule, according to results posted to the MHSAA Website and including games against other MHSAA Tournament teams.
Zaske has his players fearing not what may be ahead. He’ll be thrilled if Ogemaw gets an opportunity to take on Elk Rapids next week. Elk Rapids’ past is what Vliet wants in Ogemaw’s future.
“We believe it doesn’t matter who you play,” Zaske stressed. “We tell the kids ‘if you can play your game, you can compete with anybody.’
“We’re going to prepare that way,” he continued. “We’ll try to play our game better than they (Elks) can defend it.”
Zaske’s four-years stint with the Falcons’ varsity was preceded by a couple of years with the JV team. He’s also been involved as a coach of his players during youth league seasons.
He immediately began to create a winning culture with the goal of someday winning an MHSAA Finals championship.
“We set out to get rid of the stigma of getting on the bus and only playing 40 minutes,” Zaske said. “Those kids were so used to it. It was a culture change.
“I keep kids focused on playing our game and playing our game well,” he continued.
Senior leadership has been a key to the Falcons’ success this year. Senior goalie and captain Jake Bonus has nine shutouts, bolstered by the midfield and a strong defense led by Joe Mulky.
Jack Juarez, a senior and three-year starter, led the team in assists the past three seasons. He has scored 13 goals and recorded 19 assists this fall. Senior Lucas Courtemanche is the leading goal scorer, with 21. Wyatt Veltman, another senior, is next with 20 goals, followed by junior Isaac Divine with 17.
If Ogemaw doesn’t get to the Finals this year, the Falcons will strive for them again next fall. The program’s development may be ahead of schedule.
“The kids really worked hard all summer, and we had things to look forward to,” Zaske noted. “I think we’re in a better place than I thought we’d be in four years.
“The kids see what hard work, teamwork does,” he continued. “It takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight. They know they need to put in the time and put in the effort. There’s a goal in mind.”
Tom 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.
PHOTO: (Top) Ogemaw Heights’ Trevor Brown (27) maintains control of the ball against Tawas this season. (Photo by Mike Juarez.)
Byron Center Savoring Every Day as Program-Best Playoff Run Grows
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
October 23, 2024
BYRON CENTER – Almost every day during the last few weeks, Byron Center boys soccer coach Chad Bays has been asking his players the same thing in an attempt to inspire them.
“The postseason is a new experience, and every time after we survive a game I say, ‘Boys, guess what we get to do that other teams don’t?’” Bays said. “And they yell, ‘Practice!’ Because we don’t want this to be our last practice. We try to build that excitement.”
It’s likely that the question was repeated Tuesday night following a thrilling 2-1 win over Grand Haven in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal. A penalty shootout was needed to decide the winner.
This is the farthest a Byron Center boys soccer team has advanced in MHSAA Tournament, and it’s come on the heels of the program’s first Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship.
“We’re trying to make history, but taking it one game at a time,” Bulldogs senior keeper Luke Philo said before the Regional Semifinal. “We want to go as far as we can with this group. I’m not ready to be done playing soccer with this group of boys.”
A number of factors contributed to this year’s success.
The program made strides last fall under Bays in his first season at the helm after a stint as the junior varsity coach.
Byron Center finished third in the conference in 2023 – its highest finish in league play – and with a young team.
As this year began, Bays noticed something early on that gave him hope for continued improvement.
“We had tryouts, and for the first time ever, I had a complete team all make the fitness test requirements,” he said. “They came in fit and they came in ready, which was very exciting because we could just hit the ground running.
“I've just really been happy with the amount of growth I've seen in the guys and the amount of work they’ve put in in the offseason, individually.”
Philo said the team was determined to be in the best condition possible before the season started.
“We were always on the field in the offseason running,” he said. “While travel teams practiced, we were on the outside running. Trying to get to that next level. A lot of the guys were in the gym lifting weights and putting on pounds. Just always running trying to get in shape for the season.”
Byron Center has a strength and conditioning program, Bulldog Power. It has become instrumental in the team’s development.
“A lot of guys got bigger and stronger,” Bays said. “Bulldog Power does a great job, and the guys were really committed. We were young last year with a lot of sophomores, and we were getting pushed off the ball. They committed themselves to not letting that happen this year. Their offseason work has really shown.”
Junior midfielder Kaleb Smith, the team’s leading scorer, said there also were high expectations for this season. And the team delivered with an outright title, losing only one O-K Green game and tying another in back-to-back early-October games.
“We always looked at it as if we treat each game like the state championship, then we will continue our season,” Smith said. “And our goals were set pretty high because we knew that we were good enough, and we wanted it. Everyone puts the effort in on and off the field and just works well together.
“Winning the conference was really fun, and this has been a blast. I love all my teammates because they play their hearts out, and it's awesome to be around that.”
Team chemistry has been another important aspect. It’s a tight-knit group that has formed a brotherhood.
“This has been the most fun I've had with soccer in my life for sure,” said Philo, who also was on Byron Center’s Division 2 championship hockey team last winter.
“It’s been a riot, and I love my team. It’s like a family to me, just hanging out with a bunch of my brothers all the time. We love being around each other and it’s so much fun, but we still get results and get the job done.”
Byron Center improved to 17-4-1 on Tuesday and already has established a school record for wins in a season.
Last week, the Bulldogs won a District crown for only the second time in school history.
“We were all hoping we could have this type of success, and I was confident in our coaching staff,” Philo said. “I felt like we had the pieces the last two years but just couldn't figure everything out.
“I had a feeling that we had something special, but we just had to figure out how we were going to play with each other.”
The bond among them has translated to the field, according to Bays.
“They play so well together,” he said. “We defend well and build from the back well. That allows (us) opportunities. We do a pretty darn good job in all three phases of the game.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Byron Center players raise their District trophy in celebration last week. (Middle) The Bulldogs take a team photo in front of their net. (Photos courtesy of the Byron Center athletic department.)