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Back from Brink, Concord Surges On
By
Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
September 9, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
CONCORD – Two years ago this week, Concord head football coach Max Clark and the school district faced a difficult decision.
Clark pushed for the school to forfeit varsity games until it had enough healthy players to fill a team. Concord had started the season with 16 players, but injuries had the Yellow Jackets down to nine by Week 3, and pulling up kids from the junior varsity wasn't an option for Clark.
“We had the same argument almost every year,” Clark said. “Do we shut down a couple of varsity games? We even talked about trying to play some 8-man varsity games so we could keep a JV intact.
“In 2014, I got backing from the superintendent and my administration, and I said we just have to do this. If we bring up JV kids, we're just doing the same old stuff. They are going to get hurt, they are going to get discouraged, and we're going to lose kids.
“We took a beating and took our lumps, but we wanted to make sure to keep that JV team intact, which is this year's seniors. They needed to develop that mentality on how to win and be a team, and if we would have just stripped them, we would have been right back where we had been.”
Concord forfeited two games before it was able to field a team for Week 5, and it finished the season 1-8 for the second year in a row and third time in four years.
Since then, it has been a rags-to-riches story. That junior varsity team is now the senior class on the varsity – a varsity that went 7-2 during the regular season last year, lost in a MHSAA Division 7 Pre-District game, and has started the season 2-0 this year.
Already, Concord is gaining attention. The Jackson Citizen Patriot ranked Concord No. 1 in its area “Power Poll,” ahead of No. 2 Grass Lake, No. 3 Jackson Lumen Christi and No. 4 Jackson.
It is uncharted territory for Concord, which has had just two winning seasons since 2001.
“It's a whole new challenge,” Clark said. “Everyone is loving up this No. 1 power-ranking thing, which I don't think I've ever seen before at Concord, but it's just press.
“I tell the team, 'If you are focused on the little things, bad things happen when they're big.' One of their biggest strengths is their confidence, and as long as they continue to work hard, they can relish in that No. 1 and enjoy it. They've never had it here before, and the community is treating them in a phenomenal way. We had an amazing crowd last week at Homer.”
Turning it around
Clark is one of those “glass half-full” kind of guys, although, in reality, he might just feel the glass is always filled to the brim. He grew up in Concord and played on the 2001 team that advanced to the Division 7 Semifinals before losing to Detroit St. Martin dePorres.
To him, coaching is more than a job. It is who he is in a lot of ways.
“I'm 32 years old, and for 17 of my 32 years, I've been a part of this program, whether as a player or a coach or in some capacity,” he said. “A big part of who I am as a person is from what I learned from Coach (Clint) Alexander and the guys that taught us what we know back in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“I just try to carry that on and bring a lot of that tradition back. I know how important it was to me and helping me become a teacher and a coach and be a good father and a good husband. That's the mentality we're trying to bring to these buys here so they can carry on that legacy.”
Clark is in his fourth season as the head coach, and for the first two of those years, he was not a teacher at the school. It certainly did not help him recruit the hallways for players, and even though he was a local guy, that identity might not have been strong with the younger players.
He landed a teaching job last year. He teaches history and social studies, and it has strengthened his connection with the student body. He also preached a positive attitude, not only to his players, but to the community.
“Maybe it's my personality or my mentality, but I try really hard to be positive all the time,” he said. “I remember my first year. It didn't matter if I was at the hardware store downtown or wherever, if somebody asked me about our numbers, I always told them, 'We're going to have the biggest team we've ever had.'
“Maybe that was the greatest lie I ever told, but the point was that it was about marketing and creating a positive aura around our program, rather than in the past, how there had always been that negativity surrounding the program. We wanted to change that mentality. It's changing, but it's still in the beginning.”
Clark said the first big step was the season finale in 2014 – the season during which the two games were forfeited. Concord blasted Bellevue 62-20 to avoid a winless season. Those tied the most points Concord had scored in a game dating back to 1950 and were more than the combined point total from 2005 and 2006.
“Bellevue had beat us two years before, and I think that made our players believe in our new offense,” Clark said. “That one win really carried us into the offseason.”
Last year, Concord defeated Union City in Week 2 to end a 27-game losing streak against the Chargers. It was the springboard for the turnaround season.
“That was a big deal for the community and the kids, and I think that really tripped the trigger and made them believe,” Clark said.
Senior running back Tony Brooks, Jr., said the victory was a huge confidence boost.
“It made everyone know that we could win,” he said.
History of futility
Concord football has a resume filled with futility. Since 1950, it has a record of 216-363-13.
It has never won a Big Eight Conference title, and the league has been in existence since 1973.
It has an all-time losing record against every member of the Big Eight, and most of those records aren't even close.
It went three consecutive seasons without a win twice and endured losing streaks of 35 and 30 games.
Yet, the school has enjoyed much athletic success in sports like basketball, golf, volleyball and track & field. The boys basketball team won 10 consecutive District titles under coach Bob Urschalitz during the 1980s. But at least one person thinks that might have hindered the football program.
The last time Concord won a conference championship in football was 1964 as a member of the Cascades Conference. Kilbourn Snow was a member of that team, and he has stayed in the community and followed all the teams throughout the years.
“He told his basketball players that if they wanted to play basketball, they couldn't play football,” Snow said. “I remember coming to games back then and all of the basketball players were out for golf, and he was the golf coach, too. We had a golf team that could have probably been a good football team, and they were all sitting on the sidelines. From there, it all went downhill.”
Snow has a lot of praise for Clark and said Clark reminds him of his old coach from the 1960s, Van Green.
“He has the same rapport with his players and the same kind of determination,” Snow said. “He is very focused on the legacy of Concord football. They are getting the young kids involved, and on the night the little kids are playing, they run through the varsity and JV players, and the players all stop and clap for them.
“Max has re-instilled that football culture back in the school.”
Another win to build upon
Brooks, who rushed for 129 yards, gained 71 as a receiver and scored three touchdowns last week in an exciting overtime victory against rival Homer, was on the junior varsity two years ago when the varsity had to forfeit two games.
“We would go against them in practice, and we would keep up with them,” he said. “It was frustrating because they only had 13 or 14 guys, and if one person gets hurt, it's going to hurt you.”
The Homer game, much like the Union City game last year, might be a springboard to success, and it gave the Yellow Jackets possession of the Little Brown Jug – the prize in the rivalry.
“It was phenomenal, it felt really good and I was pretty emotional afterwards, I'm not going to lie,” Clark said. “We needed to get over that hump, so I think this momentum will carry us a little bit. That's the goal, anyway.
“We don't want to get lackadaisical at practice because we won. Great teams practice harder after they win.”
This year's team faced a big challenge from the start. Last year's quarterback, Chase Hinkle, was a senior and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Big Eight Conference. Jacob Randall is the new starter, and Austin Hoxie is the backup.
“Chase was a great quarterback, and he did great things for us,” Clark said. “He worked hard in the offseason, so we had designed a lot of stuff that we did around him and his abilities, and we've done the same thing with our new guys.
“Jacob is a good runner and has a lot of ability. He has an amazing arm, and he throws a 90 mph fastball in baseball. But we have depth there. In our first game, Jacob had an asthma attack and had to go out, and Austin went in and goes 5-for-9 and throws a touchdown pass.”
Concord runs a spread-power no-huddle offense with Clark calling all the plays from the sidelines.
“I've never seen anyone use my system; I just holler out plays,” he said. “We have the ability to change the numbers and letter that we use to call the same stuff. It works for us.
“We've been pretty run-heavy the first two weeks. We have phenomenal running backs. We have great receivers, and we can pass when we need to, but I guess if we don't need to pass, we won't. There is that old-school mentality that three things can happen when you pass, and two of them are bad. So I like to keep it on the ground.”
Concord connection
The players say a brotherhood has developed on the team. That often is seen on winning teams, and Concord does not appear to be an exception to the rule.
“This has been great because the team has such a strong connection,” senior Bradley Hawkins said.
One of the players who can attest to the connection is senior strong safety Montez Brewer, who came to Concord two years ago when Albion closed its high school. All the Albion students were spilled into nearby schools such as Concord, Marshall, Homer, Springport and Parma Western.
“It wasn't a fast connection when I came over, but sports helped a lot,” Brewer said. “Sports helps everyone get closer.
“It's hard that Albion doesn't have a school, but this is a positive thing because we can still do what we love to do – play football. At Albion, there was a point in time when we couldn't even play football because everyone was moving, but now we can play, and we still stay in contact.”
That Concord connection is one of the backbones of the football program.
“I think the biggest mentality is that it's an attitude, and me bringing it every day and keeping the intensity up,” Clark said. “You can't ever have days when you just stop when it's hot. You have to go hard every single day, but at the same time it's making sure the kids love being here.
“You're taking care of them. It's not the old school anymore where the kids show up and work hard because they're afraid. They show up and work hard because they love their coaches and we love them. Love is a lot more powerful, and that's what I learned as a player. We loved each other like brothers as a team, we loved our coaches and they loved us, and then you're willing to work a lot harder.”
Clark knows the job isn't done, but he is changing the football culture. He said last year he learned a hard lesson himself in the playoffs – a game Concord lost at Dansville 28-6.
“I learned something about myself,” he said. “I didn't do a good enough job of re-evaluating our goals after we made the playoffs because all year we talked about just making the playoffs. I think overall there was a little bit of an exhale and excitement that we made it. It was almost like we lost our hunger, and as a coach I learned a lot from that situation. I had never been in that situation as a coach.
“Now, I preach that it's our expectation. Never again will Concord football be happy just to make the playoffs. Our goals this year were one, to win our rivalry games, and we got that do that in Week 1 and Week 2. Now, we have to make the playoffs and win the first Big Eight Conference championship for Concord.
“We want to be the best team to ever play here.”
While that might be a lofty goal, there is another that Clark plans to accomplish and will have more control in doing so.
“If you look at the history of the football program, we've had good coaches come and go,” he said. “Go all the way back to the 70s and Coach (Glen) Stevenson, and they won. In the 60s, they won a lot. In the 80s, they had a couple of years when they won games, and then Coach Alexander came in the 1990s and early 2000s and left.
“I am not going to sit here and say that I'm at the level that they were at – someday, hopefully, I can be compared to those guys – but there a difference between me and those other guys: I'm not going anywhere. My kids go here, I live a block from the school. I love it here. There's nowhere for me to go.”
Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Tony Brooks, Jr., runs for some of his 166 yards against Homer during Concord's victory last week. (Middle top) Nick Stump jumps to block off a potential pass. (Middle below) Concord players celebrate earning the Big Brown Jug awarded annually to the winner of the Concord/Homer game. (Below) Brooks works to break free; his grandfather Gary also was a standout for the school. (Photos by Kilbourn Snow.)
![Muskegon Heights Academy football](/sites/default/files/2021-11/211105_footbal_2H.jpg)
1st & Goal: 2021 Playoff Week 2 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 4, 2021
It’s too early to say how much numbers are telling the story of this MHSAA Football Playoffs. But as we preview this weekend’s second rounds, we have a few interesting ones to share.
Just more than 20 percent of the 144 teams still playing – 29 total – have not tasted defeat this fall. Another 35 teams – or 24 percent – have suffered just a single loss.
What’s more, only 12 of this weekend’s 72 games – a mere 17 percent – feature matchups of those teams. And all 12 are among games noted below as we take a glance at 11-Player District Finals and 8-Player Regional Finals.
Click here for the full schedule for each division. More than 50 of the 72 playoff football games will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv, with the 11-player Division 3 matchup of River Rouge at Detroit Martin Luther King appearing on the Bally Sports Detroit PLUS channel tonight – click for more on how to watch. (Games below are Friday unless noted.)
11-Player Division 1
Detroit Catholic Central (8-2) at West Bloomfield (9-1)
Both experienced an early fade from the statewide buzz after Week 1 losses – West Bloomfield to Rochester Adams and DCC to Clinton Township Chippewa Valley – but they’re right back where most expected after rising to Nos. 7 and 9, respectively, in Division 1 by the end of the regular season. Adams remains undefeated, and West Bloomfield went on to earn wins over Clarkston and Oxford, while DCC finished second in a Detroit Catholic League Central that has all four teams still alive in the playoffs. The Shamrocks have given up 9.4 points per game since that opening loss, and seven of West Bloomfield’s wins are by double digits.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Clinton Township Chippewa Valley (7-3) at Sterling Heights Stevenson (8-2), Brownstown Woodhaven (9-1) at Dearborn Fordson (8-2), Grandville (7-3) at Rockford (10-0).
11-Player Division 2
Bay City Western (8-2) at Traverse City Central (9-1)
The Warriors are scoring nearly 46 points per game, with their 459 total approaching how many they put on the scoreboard over the last three seasons combined. They fell just shy of claiming a share of a league championship, but a District title would be a program first since 2005. It would be even more well-deserved considering the opponent. Traverse City Central has been all but unstoppable since falling to DeWitt in Week 1, giving up 8.4 points per game over its nine wins with victories over playoff teams from all over the state – Marquette (60-28), Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (56-13) and Saginaw Heritage (49-7) – to go with another championship run through the Big North Conference.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Muskegon Mona Shores (8-2) at Caledonia (9-1), Roseville (6-4) at Port Huron Northern (8-2), East Lansing (7-3) at South Lyon (10-0).
11-Player Division 3
River Rouge (7-2) at Detroit Martin Luther King (9-1)
With a combined five MHSAA Finals appearances between them over the last five seasons, Rouge vs. King is a matchup that’s been highly-anticipated since the bracket came out two weeks ago. The Panthers won last season’s meeting 33-30 to clinch a Regional championship on the way to the finishing Division 3 runners-up at Ford Field. Rouge should be ready for the tests of another close game after concluding the regular season with a one-point victory over Southfield Arts & Technology and then coming back to defeat Harper Woods in overtime last week. King similarly has lessons from two one-score wins over Detroit Cass Tech to recall if this one stays tight, and opened the playoffs by handing Warren Fitzgerald just its second loss, 55-12.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Allen Park (8-2) at Gibraltar Carlson (9-1), Mount Pleasant (10-0) at DeWitt (9-1). SATURDAY Cedar Springs (8-2) at Muskegon (9-1).
11-Player Division 4
Grand Rapids Christian (7-3) at Hudsonville Unity Christian (10-0)
Seemingly with a little less fanfare, Hudsonville Unity Christian has been just as impressive as any of the Grand Rapids-area powers this fall, outscoring opponents by an average score of 56-11 despite a regular-season schedule that included six playoff teams. Grand Rapids Christian was one of them, and the Crusaders won their Week 2 matchup 58-21. But the Eagles are 7-1 since while navigating a similarly treacherous group of opponents, and they’ve given up only 18 points per game during that run.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Detroit Country Day (6-3) at Livonia Clarenceville (9-1), Freeland (9-1) at Lake Fenton (9-1). SATURDAY Croswell-Lexington (9-1) at St. Clair (8-2).
11-Player Division 5
Grand Rapids West Catholic (9-1) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (10-0)
West Catholic’s only loss came against Unity Christian (see above), and the Falcons are looking to make what would be the biggest splash so far in a playoffs already filling up with them. GRCC’s average margin of victory is 34 points – by an average score of 45-11 – with Division 3 hopeful Cedar Springs knocking that down a bit with its one-point loss in Week 8. But save for that 40-14 Unity loss, West Catholic has defeated its opponents on average 42-14. The Falcons’ wins over Muskegon Catholic Central in Week 2 and Comstock Park last week are the only losses those teams have suffered.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Muskegon Oakridge (8-2) at Howard City Tri County (9-1), Clare (7-3) at Kingsley (9-1), Kalamazoo United (7-3) at Berrien Springs (10-0).
11-Player Division 6
Millington (10-0) at Lansing Catholic (9-1), Saturday
The Cardinals lost a close District Final a year ago and are seeking their first title at this level of the playoffs since winning back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. They boast a defense that hasn’t given up a point in two weeks and allows only 8.6 per game on average. Millington should get a test from a Cougars offense scoring 35 points per game, including the just seven scored during a Week 9 loss to Division 7 contender Pewamo-Westphalia. Lansing Catholic bounced back last week to defeat Durand 37-6, and the Cougars have some high-pressure experience having reached the Semifinals last season and won Division 5 in 2019. Alex Watters as a sophomore was among stars on the championship team and is approaching 1,000 yards receiving as well as leading the team in rushing touchdowns.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Montague (7-3) at Reed City (9-1), Calumet (8-2) at Negaunee (8-2). SATURDAY Michigan Center (9-1) at Constantine (10-0).
11-Player Division 7
New Lothrop (7-3) at Pewamo-Westphalia (10-0)
Just to get it out of the way, New Lothrop has its most losses in a season since 2009 – and that fact means very little in this matchup. The Hornets came back off last season’s Division 7 championship with a loaded nonleague schedule to go with an improved conference, and those three defeats came against teams – Jackson Lumen Christi, Montrose and Frankenmuth – which are a combined 26-4 after New Lothrop handed the Rams a loss in their rematch last week. Pewamo-Westphalia’s run has looked similar with four league champions filling its nonleague slate including last week’s playoff opener opponent Ithaca. Fun fact to remember: When P-W defeated New Lothrop in the 2017 and 2019 playoffs, it went on to win the Division 7 title, and New Lothrop did the same after defeating P-W in 2018.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (9-1) at Jackson Lumen Christi (9-1), Detroit Loyola (5-4) at Detroit Central (10-0). SATURDAY Charlevoix (8-1) at Ishpeming Westwood (9-1).
11-Player Division 8
Addison (9-1) at Hudson (10-0)
Addison entered the postseason No. 3 in Division 8 playoff points, with Hudson holding down the top spot – and all four teams in the District ranking among the top 14. Hudson has shut out four of its last five opponents and is giving up just 6.2 points per game, with wins over larger foes Ida, Clinton and Ithaca highlighting a resume that includes the Tigers’ first perfect regular season since 2011. Addison has its winningest season since 2006, with an offense averaging nearly 42 points per game leading a charge that’s included victories over larger Michigan Center and reigning champion Centreville in last week’s District Semifinal.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Sand Creek (7-3) at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (9-1), Fowler (7-3) at Breckenridge (8-2), Iron Mountain (7-3) at Beal City (9-1).
8-Player Division 1
Indian River Inland Lakes (10-0) at Suttons Bay (10-0)
Suttons Bay’s only two losses over the last three seasons have come in Division 1 championship games, but this may be as titanic a matchup as the Norsemen have faced short of the Finals during that run. These two were supposed to meet in a Semifinal last season that was unable to be played, and that just adds another wrinkle to the anticipation. Inland Lakes averages 58 points per game, and Suttons Bay gives up 8.8. Somewhere in the middle, the winner will not only earn a Regional title but is assured to host next week’s Semifinal as well.
Other Regional Finals FRIDAY Rudyard (8-2) at Newberry (8-2), Mendon (8-2) at Martin (10-0), Britton Deerfield (9-1) at Adrian Lenawee Christian (10-0).
8-Player Division 2
Kinde North Huron (10-0) at Au Gres-Sims (10-0)
Just when it looks like Inland Lakes’ offense can’t be matched this season (see above), here come the Wolverines averaging 61 points per game with a season-low of 48 against a Hillman team still alive on the other side of the bracket. It’s been a great comeback story after Au Gres-Sims won just a game a year ago and three in 2019, and it can add another highlight by avenging last season’s 66-12 playoff loss to North Huron. That’s of course easier written than done, as the Warriors haven’t slowed since reaching last season’s Semifinals and even avenged one of their two 2020 defeats.
Other Regional Finals FRIDAY Colon (9-1) at Morrice (10-0), Crystal Falls Forest Park (8-2) at Powers North Central (10-0), Hillman (7-3) at Marion (9-1).
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PHOTO Muskegon Heights Academy, here against Muskegon Catholic Central, will face Carson City-Crystal on Friday for a Division 8 District championship. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)