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Constantine Comeback Gets Running Start
By
Wes Morgan
Special for MHSAA.com
September 6, 2018
Shawn Griffith is fully aware of the fact he’s now coached fathers and sons, uncles and nephews during his tenure at Constantine High School.
That doesn’t make him old, he says; it just means he’s “seasoned.”
It also means he’s now been around long enough to experience both the highs and lows of coaching. Traditionally one of the state’s small-school powerhouses, Constantine lost its way in 2017 with a 3-6 record — Griffith’s first losing season since taking over the program in 2007 and the school’s first sub-.500 season in 26 years.
With a pair of Division 6 championship game appearances (2011 and 2012) and a 114-36 overall record to his credit, last autumn’s fall from grace, though somewhat expected, he said, was a reminder that high school sports still have a cyclical nature.
Attrition, inexperience, lower participation numbers, defensive struggles and fractured team chemistry all attributed to the disappointing season. Still, the Falcons were four points away from five wins, which likely would have been enough to qualify for the playoffs. With a 5-4 regular-season record back in 2013, Constantine went on to advance to the Regional Finals, underscoring Griffith’s mantra of improving each week and what can be accomplished by doing so.
“We knew last year we were going to go through some growing pains,” Griffith said. “I think the 3-6 thing really helped these guys focus in the offseason, and they have done a great job coming together.”
Now the Falcons, 2-0 this year after blowout victories against Gobles (56-0) and Quincy (42-7), are out to reclaim their seat at the table, with expectations just as high as they’ve always been. A few players only need to look at their family trees to be reminded of what’s possible.
Senior fullback Brendon Schragg in particular has a bloodline that traces back to the most memorable year in Constantine football history, as his uncles literally carried the Falcons to their only MHSAA football championship.
With Griffith then serving as offensive coordinator in 2004 — just the second season after he transitioned the offense from an I-Formation to the Wing-T — senior twins Jim and Mike Schragg lined up in the backfield for the Falcons and combined for nearly 3,800 rushing yards, fueling the team’s title run and 13-1 record.
Mike Schragg, a tailback, rushed for more than 100 yards in the championship game against Suttons Bay, a 34-13 Constantine victory. But it was fullback Jim Schragg’s legendary effort that put him atop the MHSAA record book list for yards in a Final after he went for 307, including an 89-yard run.
“We were loaded with backs,” Jim Schragg said. “It’s a fun offense to run. Some parents get ticked off that we don’t throw it enough, but you have three bad things that can happen with a pass and not too many bad things can happen with a run.
“It’s cool to have your name there with the record and all that. But the state championship is more important to me than the record and running for over 300 yards. The state finals was the whole goal for our senior class. It was state championship or bust. That was what every single kid played for on that team.”
Some things haven’t changed. Though going from a three-win season to a state title is extremely unlikely, Brendon Schragg and his teammates believe they can put together a pretty special year.
“They were superstars to me,” Schragg, who rushed for 575 yards and five touchdowns as a junior, said of his uncles. “I always had the dream that if you go to state, I want to go to state. That’s been a goal since I was 4 years old.
“In my opinion, come Week 5 when we start our (Southwestern Athletic Conference) games, I think we are going to come out and compete. There isn’t a doubt in my mind we can’t win a league title. I ask myself a question every day, ‘Why not us?’”
Brendon Schragg is a three-year starter and one of three returning backs this season. The Falcons haven’t needed complete games out of the trio in the victories so far this year, but Schragg has 145 yards and two TDs on 14 carries. He and teammates Hunter Lindbert and Josh Lawson will probably split the load the rest of the season. Lindbert has compiled 188 yards and 4 TDs on 14 carries, and Lawson has 235 yards and two TDs on 18 carries.
Of course, none of it would be possible without the big guys up front.
“We’re just more physical in the trenches this year,” Schragg said of linemen such as Trenton Stears, Marquise Wykle, Matt Hutton and Austin Loose. “Hutton, our center, both his uncles played on the state championship team, believe it or not.”
Part of Griffith’s job is to both encourage his players to shoot for the moon and to make sure they also have their feet firmly planted on the ground. He certainly understands there are challenges ahead with teams like Kalamazoo United, Watervliet and Schoolcraft.
“We look a lot better,” he said. “But we’re certainly not naïve; we see some pretty darn good football teams on our schedule here coming up. I think our guys have done a real good job of not blowing this out of proportion. It is what it is; it’s a good start. They have done a good job of concentrating and preparing week to week.”
Wes Morgan has reported for the Kalamazoo Gazette, ESPN and ESPNChicago.com, 247Sports and Blue & Gold Illustrated over the last 12 years and is the publisher of JoeInsider.com. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Constantine defensive players motion for a turnover during their win over Gobles in Week 1. (Middle) Brendon Schragg, far left, breaks through the Gobles defense. (Photos courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)
![Grand Rapids South Christian’s Jake Vermaas (2) tries to pull away from the grasp of Goodrich’s Owen Deciechi during Friday’s Division 4 Final.](/sites/default/files/2022-11/221125_D4_2H.jpg)
South Christian 2022 Finishes Best in Division 4, Best in Sailors' History
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
November 25, 2022
DETROIT – Grand Rapids South Christian’s football team wasn’t perfect Friday night at Ford Field, and it didn’t have to be. Now, the Sailors’ season as a whole – that was flawless.
Even when they faced adversity, they never panicked. They moved on and kept making plays, all the way to a Division 4 championship and 14-0 record.
South Christian shut out Goodrich, 28-0, in the MHSAA Final to become the first group of Sailors in program history to finish a season unbeaten.
“I mean, it’s crazy. We’ve had a lot of great teams at South and just to imagine that we’re the only ones to be undefeated is a great feeling,” said South Christian senior quarterback and defensive back Jake DeHaan, whose squad became the fourth in program history to capture a state title and the first since 2014.
South Christian’s first Finals championship came in 2002, when now-coach Danny Brown was a Sailors player. This is Brown’s first state title as a coach.
South Christian, which made its eighth Finals appearance Friday, also won it all in 2012.
“I think I was more nervous as a coach. I think as a player, at least in my experience, I never really got that nervous,” Brown said. “It was another way to hang out with your friends and play the game you loved. But as a coach, you start thinking about all the what-ifs and things that can happen. You want the kids to win so bad that you kind of take on that pressure.”
It wasn’t easy against Goodrich (12-2), which was making its first Finals appearance, as South Christian scored 14 points in the second quarter and 14 in the fourth.
DeHaan, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound playmaker, finished 14-of-21 passing for 266 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He ran 12 times for a game-high 99 yards and one TD, plus he finished with four tackles and an interception. DeHaan’s signature moment was his 54-yard scoring run to give South Christian a 21-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
Junior Jake Vermaas, who fractured his collarbone in Week 3 and returned for the Sailors’ playoff opener, was the other “Jake” to make big plays. He made seven receptions for 152 yards and returned an interception 32 yards for a TD to put it away with 5:07 remaining in the game.
“It makes us that much better, right, to have all these playmakers. I mean, every guy can make a play and that’s what makes us so good,” Vermaas said. “We put in so much work to be that good and it shows, right? Fourteen-and-0.
“We’re the best – you can’t be better than that,” he added. “We were the best to do it at South Christian.”
Goodrich senior standout running back Jace Simerson finished with 91 yards on 20 carries. Martians senior quarterback Gavin Hart was 9-of-25 passing for 100 yards with two picks.
South Christian’s bevy of playmakers on offense and athletes with length on defense made it tough on opponents all season, and Friday was no different. Those strengths allowed the Sailors to overcome three turnovers.
“This is just one of those teams, and I know there’s a lot of them out there that no matter what the situation is, no matter what the moment is, there’s never a panic. They just continue to rise to the occasion,” Brown said.
“We felt that Week 6 with the (Grand Rapids) Catholic win, I think that kind of solidified – that was a back-and-forth game – that even when things get tight and there’s adversity, they can step up.”
That, the Sailors did.
In a scoreless game, DeHaan hit senior Nate Brinks on a 3-yard TD pass with 9:48 left in the first half. Four minutes later, he found sophomore Carson Vis on a 23-yard scoring strike.
Veteran Goodrich coach Tom Alward said he felt his team had opportunities to make plays, but the Martians just couldn’t capitalize. He attributed much of that to the Sailors.
“They’ve got athletes galore. They’ve got athletes at every position. I mean, it’s incredible,” Alward said. “You’re trying to match up. We thought we’ve got some athletes as well, but it’s tough to match up everybody.
“They do a good job. They sit there and they look, ‘Oh, that’s a linebacker.’ You run out of defensive backs against these guys. Plus, that quarterback, he’s a special young kid.”
DeHaan directed South Christian to this championship, helping the Sailors survive tests in the previous three rounds of the playoffs.
South Christian put away Hudsonville Unity Christian late, 35-20, in the District Final. In a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the Regional Final, the Sailors outlasted Whitehall, 28-21. In the icy Semifinal, South Christian held off Edwardsburg, 26-20.
“Our coaches stress (not to panic), which just helps us to keep persevering. And we knew that if we keep going and keep going that eventually our team’s going to come out on top and make plays when we need to make plays,” said DeHaan, who suffered a shoulder stinger late in the game but re-entered a play later.
It was a tough finish for Goodrich, which reeled off 12 straight wins to get to Ford Field after suffering a 27-2 season-opening loss to Frankenmuth, which is competing in the Division 5 Final on Saturday.
Alward said he loves every one of his teams, but this one will always have a special place in his heart.
“This team is exceptional – they’re exceptional,” the 30-year head coach said. “And not just football players, I’m talking about young men.”
PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids South Christian’s Jake Vermaas (2) tries to pull away from the grasp of Goodrich’s Owen Deciechi during Friday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Vermaas leaps over defender Gavin Valley (32). (Below) A Martians defender bats away a pass intended for the Sailors’ Carson Vis (13). (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)