Powers Writes End to Championship Story
November 2, 2013
By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half
TROY – When it comes to storybook endings, Flint Powers Catholic coach Tony Rowe has overseen one that is hard to beat.
With a 4-8 record at one point this season, Rowe and his Chargers were just hoping to climb to the .500 mark, let alone end up in the Lower Peninsula Division 3 championship game.
Not only did the Chargers right the ship, but they advanced to the Final in Troy where they defeated reigning champion Grand Rapids South Christian 1-0 after surviving overtime and prevailing 8-7 in a sudden-death penalty-kick shootout.
“It’s just unbelievable,” Rowe said. “It is a story book. We were 4-8 at one point this season. I told one of my friends that it was like a (ESPN) 30 for 30 feature. We just got on a roll at the right time and kept on rolling.”
Powers also played some air-tight defense in the title match. It survived heavy pressure from South Christian in the second half and overtime periods to get the game into a shootout, where anything can happen and did.
After 80 minutes of regulation and two 10-minute overtime sessions, the game went to a penalty kick best of five round. After both teams missed their first attempts, South Christian took a 1-0 lead on a made shot from Nick VanderHorst.
Powers then missed its second attempt and after two rounds trailed 1-0. Both teams scored in the next two rounds with Taylor Buist and Austin Clark scoring for South Christian and Alex Clark and Brad Tuttle scoring for Powers.
Heading into the fifth round, South Christian was up 3-2 and needed just one more made shot to end the match.
The Sailors, however, came up short on their fifth shot, and on its last attempt Christian Mansour scored for Powers to tie the goals at 3-3 and force the match into penalty kick sudden death. Both teams scored in the next four rounds and the shootout was tied 7-7 heading into the fifth sudden death round.
That’s when Powers goalkeeper Stephen Wilbur came up with a diving save.
“I just tried to stay composed when everything is going crazy,” Wilbur said. “I go into a corner and keep quiet and try to keep focused.”
Wilbur’s save set the table for Powers sophomore Erich Ruth to win the game. Ruth stepped up to the ball and delivered as he sent a shot into the net.
“When I stepped up to the ball, I kept my eyes on one post the whole time,” Ruth said. “Then I shot it the other way. I just tried to keep my composure.”
After Ruth’s shot went in the Chargers erupted on to the field, their storybook finish complete.
“It’s just crazy,” Wilbur said. “It’s a dream come true.”
A dream the Chargers had to feel was far off when they were 4-8.
“We just kept working all season,” said Powers senior captain Charlie Emmert. “We went to practice every day and kept working. I told the guys the state finals are November 2 so keep your parking passes until November first.”
The Chargers also put in plenty of work on penalty kicks during their practices.
“We practice penalty kicks every day,” Emmert said. “Everyone practices them at the end of practice. That walk feels like a mile with everyone watching you take the kick.”
Powers had a couple of scoring opportunities during the first half. On its first opportunity, South Christian goalie Zac Medendorp used all of his 6-foot-7 frame when he made a diving stop and knocked a shot away.
South Christian (21-2-3) gained the momentum in the second half and applied heavy pressure on the offensive end. With seven minutes remaining in regulation, the Sailors came within inches of a go-ahead goal when VanderHorst whistled a shot that hit the crossbar dead on but bounced away.
The Sailors also carried the play in the two overtime sessions. Powers found it difficult to get the ball past midfield while coming under constant pressure from the South Christian offense.
“That’s the way it is; soccer can be a pretty cruel game at times,” South Christian coach Jason Boersma said. “These guys did everything they could. I thought the first half was evenly matched, but I thought we carried the play in the second half. They (Powers) didn’t get the ball over midfield much at all. We pressured them, and pressured them and pressured them but we could just not get one in the back of the net.
“Our guys feel like they won the game but lost the shootout. Give credit to Powers, they have a fantastic team and a fantastic program.”
The Chargers also had a defense that would bend but not break and a spirit that was the same.
“We played with all heart,” Mansour said. “We just never quit.”
Powers ended the season 14-8-2. The title was its first since winning in 1996.
“We didn’t think it was impossible to get to state,” Rowe said. “Anytime you play, you want to get to the state finals. These guys were just awesome.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Powers' Erich Ruth (8) unloads what will become the winning shot in the Chargers' 1-0 sudden-death shootout win. (Middle) Powers' Reed Macksood (22) works past a pair of South Christian defenders including David Hubbard (21). (Click to see more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
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.)