Dread Not: Jacobs Directing Dexter Rise
September 28, 2018
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
DEXTER – Dexter has long had outstanding football facilities, a large fan base and the support of school officials. What it hasn’t had in recent years is a winning football team.
With each passing week, however, it looks like that is about the change.
The Dreadnaughts enter tonight’s game at Tecumseh with a 3-2 record and legitimate chance to make a run at the MHSAA football playoffs over the next few weeks. What’s remarkable is Dexter is seeking its first appearance in the tournament, which began in 1975.
“The previous coaches were good guys,” said superintendent Chris Timmis. “They tried hard to get things going. Sometimes it’s about timing.”
The timing right now has a lot to do with the arrival of head coach Phil Jacobs. The Adrian native spent nearly two decades on the Maples staff, including 11 seasons as head coach. He stepped down as the head coach after the 2014 season and spent two seasons as an assistant at Siena Heights University, before he was brought into the Dexter fold by Timmis, his former boss at Adrian.
“It took a lot of persuasion,” Timmis said.
Jacobs called it a “full-court press” to lure him back. Whatever it was, it looks like a successful move for Dexter.
“I was confident it would be,” Timmis said. “What I knew about Phil from when I was superintendent and principal at Adrian was he is a fantastic teacher. When we were working on a lot of academic improvement, Phil had a model classroom. I knew what he could bring to us was a lot more than just a football coach.”
Dexter was looking to hire a football coach a couple of years ago when Timmis made a short list of coaches from across the state that had rebuilt programs. Jacobs was on the list but wasn’t interested in coaching himself. Dexter made a hire, but it was short-lived. That coach left after only a short time on the job.
Timmis called up Jacobs.
“I told him I wanted to talk to him again,” he said. “I think it was meant to be.”
Jacobs came on board in late April and started working with the Dreadnaughts players, getting them into the weight room in particular. Dexter went 0-9 in 2017, but as the season went on, Jacobs and others saw progress.
“He was putting the pieces together,” Timmis said.
Dexter began this season with a 41-game losing streak and lost the season opener. In Week 2, however, Dexter pulled out a 36-22 win over Ypsilanti Community to break the streak. The next week the Dreadnaughts won again, this time a 37-14 win over Ann Arbor Huron. In Week 5, they topped Adrian, 42-30, as junior receiver Antwan Ficklen caught six passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns to lead Dexter to the win. Sophomore quarterback Colin Parachek threw for more than 300 yards and ran for a couple of touchdowns.
The Dreadnaughts aren’t just winning – they are exciting. Through five games, Dexter is averaging 30.8 points per game.
That Adrian win leaves Dexter with regular-season games against Tecumseh (2-3), Pinckney (1-4), Ypsilanti Lincoln (4-1) and Whitehall (3-2). Win three, and the team is automatically in the playoffs.
Jacobs points to three differences with this season’s Dexter team. For one, the players’ commitment to the weight room is paying off.
“We are stronger. With strength comes confidence,” Jacobs said. “We are nowhere near where we want to be or can be, but we are headed in the right direction.”
Another difference is the players’ football knowledge is growing. With each week of practice, each week of repetition, Jacobs said the players are learning more about the game.
“Our football I.Q. is so much better than last year,” Jacobs said. “Last year, we were yelling things from the sidelines on every play, ‘get here,’ ‘get there.’ This year, we aren’t doing that as much. Our kids are learning. They speak our terms now.”
Lastly, Jacobs said having enough numbers so that his players are starting on only one side of the ball has paid huge dividends.
“In the third and fourth quarters, they are fresh,” he said. “They are learning one position. Plus, when you get your athletes playing on only one side of the ball, it frees them up to play special teams. You find creative ways to get your best kids on the field.”
Dexter’s most recent winning season was a 5-4 finish in 2010. The Dreadnaughts have had two winning seasons total during their players’ lifetimes.
“It’s great to see the kids believe in themselves,” Timmis said. “The whole community is feeling it right now.”
Dexter athletic director Mike Bavineau said the school and community are excited about the football team. There’s a buzz in the halls and at the Dexter field on Friday nights.
“The kids are excited, everyone is excited,” he said. “When you can win a little bit, it breeds confidence.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Dexter coach Phil Jacobs gives his players some pointers on the sideline. (Middle) Quarterback Colin Parachek works to elude a pair of Ann Arbor Huron defenders. (Below) Students fill the stands to support the Dreadnaughts. (Photos by Terry Jacoby.)
1st & Goal: 2024 Playoffs Week 1 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 1, 2024
Tonight, the 50th MHSAA Football Playoffs begin. And while we’ll always focus on how they finish, how the stage is set at the start makes them perhaps most meaningful to the thousands who have earned this experience over the last half-century.
Football is the only MHSAA-sponsored head-to-head sport for which teams must qualify for the opportunity to continue into the postseason. Making the playoffs for many can rank right up there with winning a league championship, and potentially higher when schools reach them for the first time, or first time in a long time.
No teams accomplished that feat this fall after Perry and Hart made their playoff debuts in 2023. But of the 601 varsities that took the field during the regular season, only seven haven’t made the MHSAA Playoffs at least once. At the same time, 682 schools have made at least one postseason appearance, including several which have since shut their doors or merged with other schools. When Beal City and Crystal Falls Forest Park take the field this weekend, they’ll do so after qualifying for the playoffs for an MHSAA-record 39th time, not counting COVID-shortened 2020 when all but a few teams made the field.
Tournaments begin with District Semifinals in 11-player and Regional Semifinals in 8-player. Tickets to both cost $7, and nearly 120 of the 144 games to be played will be streamed live on the NFHS Network. See below for some of the matchups that most pop off the page this first round, and come back to MHSAA.com all weekend for scores and updated pairings.
11-Player Division 1
Oxford (6-3) at Davison (7-2)
Oxford is coming off winning arguably the most powerful league in the state – the Oakland Activities Association Red, which includes Clarkston, Lake Orion, Rochester Adams and West Bloomfield – and a District title claimed over the next two weeks would be the program’s first since 2001. But in terms of depth of talent, the Saginaw Valley Red may not be far behind its OAA counterpart, and Davison’s only losses this season were by six points two weeks ago to champion Grand Blanc and in a season opener to Division 2 contender Warren De La Salle Collegiate.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY East Kentwood (5-4) at Hudsonville (8-1), Clarkston (6-3) at Lake Orion (6-3), Saline (6-3) at Northville (6-3), Romeo (4-5) at Utica Eisenhower (7-2).
11-Player Division 2
Grand Rapids Northview (9-0) at Byron Center (8-1)
Northview packing up the bus for a road game explains plenty of what Byron Center has seen on its schedule this season, with its only loss by two points in Week 4 to quite possibly the Division 2 favorite Muskegon Mona Shores. But Northview has seen its share of competition as well in finishing a regular season undefeated for the first time since 1970 (according to Michigan-Football.com). The Wildcats will find out how all of that transfers as they pursue more program history – their first playoff win.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Portage Northern (5-4) at Portage Central (6-3), Milford (7-2) at East Lansing (6-3), Warren Mott (7-2) at Birmingham Seaholm (6-3), Roseville (7-2) at Grosse Pointe South (9-0).
11-Player Division 3
Riverview (8-1) at Trenton (6-3)
Trenton has to be one of the most intriguing three-losses teams in the state. The Trojans opened this season with losses to Brownstown Woodhaven and Southgate Anderson – the latter would end up second in the Downriver League – but Trenton went on to defeat eventual league champion Gibraltar Carlson in Week 6 and another co-runner-up Allen Park in Week 7 before suffering a one-point loss to Southeastern Conference White champ Chelsea in Week 8. Riverview, meanwhile, hits the road with its only loss to Huron League champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, potentially the favorite in Division 7 this month. That defeat also was the only game over the last seven in which the Pirates didn’t score at least 43 points.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Cedar Springs (7-2) at Lowell (7-2), Zeeland East (5-4) at Zeeland West (8-1), Linden (4-5) at Fenton (7-2), Garden City (7-2) at Walled Lake Western (9-0).
11-Player Division 4
Paw Paw (8-1) at Niles (8-1)
This is a rare repeat from a Week 9 regular-season game, won by Niles 21-0 to take the Wolverine Conference championship outright. The shutout was the Vikings’ second in a row and fifth this season and lowered their points allowed average this fall to 6.3 per game. But all is not lost for Paw Paw; prior to the shutout the Red Wolves were averaging 38.1 points per game, and they no doubt would savor an opportunity to avenge such a recent disappointment.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Edwardsburg (6-3) at Battle Creek Harper Creek (8-1), Ortonville Brandon (6-3) at Goodrich (8-1), Harper Woods (6-3) at Redford Union (8-1), Croswell-Lexington (6-3) at Marysville (8-1).
11-Player Division 5
Clare (7-2) at Ogemaw Heights (8-1)
These two shared the Jack Pine Conference Division 1 championship thanks to Ogemaw Heights’ 41-34 win over the Pioneers in Week 5 (and also Ogemaw’s 27-25 loss to Standish-Sterling in Week 7). In their first meeting, Ogemaw led by 15 at the end of the third quarter, Clare tied it up with 3:57 to play and Ogemaw scored the final go-ahead points on a fourth-down touchdowns with 1:08 left on the clock. Clare’s only loss since came last week to undefeated Petoskey, while the Falcons rebounded from their lone defeat with wins over playoff teams Harrison and Croswell-Lexington.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Dowagiac (6-3) at Berrien Springs (6-3), Flint Hamady (5-3) at Corunna (7-2), Whitmore Lake (7-2) at Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (5-4), Detroit Denby (6-3) at Flat Rock (7-2).
11-Player Division 6
Ovid-Elsie (7-2) at Almont (9-0)
These two have met in the playoffs three of the last four seasons, with Almont winning last year’s Semifinal matchup 45-21. The Raiders have had only one game closer than 14 points this fall – a 29-28 win over rival Armada in Week 6 – and last week’s 41-22 victory over Detroit Edison was especially notable as a potential spark for another run. Ovid-Elsie started this fall powerfully before running into still-undefeated Chesaning in Week 7 and then falling to Standish-Sterling last week, but the Marauders are playing for their third-straight eight-win season and between those defeats avenged a 2023 loss to New Lothrop.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Negaunee (6-3) at Boyne City (7-2), Constantine (6-3) at Parchment (7-2), Detroit Central (6-3) at Detroit Edison (6-3), Detroit Old Redford (8-1) at Detroit Pershing (7-2).
11-Player Division 7
Union City (8-1) at Hanover-Horton (8-1)
Union City not only won a third-straight Big 8 Conference title this season but also has its most wins since 2014, and despite falling to Buchanan 17-7 a week ago. Hanover-Horton is coming off a loss as well, 35-14 to Leslie in the Cascades Conference championship game, but also is at eight wins for the first time since 2014 and after winning the Cascades West championship. Both teams’ offenses were stopped last week, but Union City averaged nearly 39 points per game coming into Week 9 and the Comets were at just over 41.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Charlevoix (6-3) at Traverse City St. Francis (6-3), Harrison (7-2) at McBain (8-1), Napoleon (6-3) at Hudson (8-1), Ottawa Lake Whiteford (5-4) at Clinton (6-3).
11-Player Division 8
Ubly (6-3) at Harbor Beach (9-0)
On paper this might not seem too intriguing, but the storylines stack up nicely. Ubly is the reigning Division 8 champion but lost its first three games this fall including 45-6 to Harbor Beach in Week 3. However, the Bearcats have not lost again or even come close, winning their last six games by nearly 29 points per. That said, Harbor Beach has yet to cool down after escaping an opener with Cass City with a two-point victory. The Pirates are allowing just six points per game and scoring 46 as they passed 60 last year week for the second time this fall.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Frankfort (7-2) at Beal City (7-2), Saugatuck (6-3) at White Pigeon (8-1), Manchester (7-2) at Petersburg Summerfield (8-1), Bark River-Harris (5-4) at East Jordan (7-2).
8-Player Division 1
Martin (7-1) at Gobles (9-0)
Their Oct. 11 meeting was among the games of the year for all of 8-player football this regular season and decided a league title, and the magnitude of this rematch may eclipse it. Gobles won that Week 7 matchup 20-14, holding on to hand the two-time reigning Division 1 champion Clippers their only loss this fall. But surely Martin has noted a few times over the last three weeks that Gobles won last year’s regular-season game as well, 53-16, before Martin won the rematch 28-6 on the way to that repeat Finals championship.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Mendon (8-1) at Climax-Scotts (8-1), Fulton (8-1) at Kingston (7-2), Munising (6-3) at Pickford (9-0). SATURDAY Norway (7-2) at Ishpeming (6-2).
8-Player Division 2
Portland St. Patrick (8-1) at Morrice (8-1)
St. Patrick has won their last two meetings including 29-12 in Week 4 this fall, with that victory keyed in part by quarterback Brady Leonard – who has continued to put up big numbers. Morrice will attempt to slow him down with a defensive group that has given up only 26 points over five games since that loss to the Shamrocks, including a Week 5 shutout of Fulton – the lone team to defeat St. Patrick as all three shared the Mid-State Activities Conference Red title.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Marion (8-1) at Onekama (8-1), Burr Oak (7-2) at Pittsford (7-2), Mio (7-2) at Au Gres-Sims (8-1). SATURDAY Gaylord St. Mary (7-2) at Powers North Central (8-1).
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PHOTO Belleville's Bryce Underwood (19) prepares to take a snap during his team's regular-season win over Livonia Stevenson. (Photo by Douglas Bargerstock.)