Familiar Story Ends With Ishpeming Title
November 30, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – The knowledge gap covering 466 miles between Ishpeming and Detroit Loyola certainly was bridged when the two met in last season’s Division 7 Final.
Ishpeming – winner that day 20-14 – knew what Loyola had coming back this fall, and heard about a new quarterback coming in. The Hematites watched from afar as the Bulldogs continued to dominate against a beefed-up schedule – and laughed perhaps a little anxiously when 50-0 scores regularly showed up among the Friday night results.
Loyola finished the regular season ranked No. 2. Ishpeming was No. 1. Needless to say, the interest continued to intensify.
“We knew they were going to be in the Finals,” Ishpeming senior quarterback Alex Briones said. “Right when they were doing selection Sunday, we saw Loyola on the other side of the bracket and we kept them in the back of our heads. We knew we were probably going to meet up with them. But we had to take care of our business first.”
The Hematites did again Saturday, in much the same way but with a few twists as when they beat Loyola a year ago.
With similar toughness but a little different strategy, Ishpeming came away with its second straight MHSAA title and fourth overall by downing the Bulldogs 22-12.
“It was the same story. From what a lot of people said, we were still the underdog – and rightfully so,” Ishpeming coach Jeff Olson said. “They’re a good team, big and strong. I think it really came down to we made plays.”
Ishpeming displayed the same toughness as in 2012 in standing up against a much larger Bulldogs team that had beaten its previous playoff opponents by a combined score of 205-14.
But how the Hematites made the deciding plays this time was a little bit different. After running for 236 yards and throwing for only 29 in the 2012 win, Ishpeming managed only 146 yards on the ground – but got a key 76 through the air with Briones utilizing play-action to complete six passes including two for touchdowns against a defense stacked for the run.
The first scoring strike, 17 yards to junior Marcus Antilla, came three minutes after Loyola fumbled the opening kickoff. Briones completed a two-yard scoring strike to senior Mitch Laurin seconds into the second quarter and then scored on a two-yard run a little more than halfway through the third to push Ishpeming’s advantage to 22-0.
“Obviously this was a pretty big thing after last year, coming back to this. And when we turn the ball over like that on the opening kickoff, put them in scoring position and they capitalize … it makes it hard to climb out,” Loyola coach John Callahan said. “It’s not that we couldn’t have done it and shouldn’t have done it. It just wasn’t there.”
There was another unfortunate similarity to last season’s Final for Loyola that certainly played a part this time again. During the first series in 2012, the Bulldogs lost towering offensive tackle KaJohn Armstrong for the game with an injury. Saturday, they lost two-way starting guard Anthony Fitzpatrick, which added salt to the wounds of that fumble plus three interceptions.
Ishpeming hadn’t seen much passing during its regular season. But the Hematites were prepared for Loyola’s air game after getting tastes against Lake City and Harbor Beach the last two weeks, respectively.
They also hadn’t had to resort to the pass much themselves during a season that saw only Negaunee and Lake City get within 30 points before Saturday. But when called upon, Briones and his receivers were ready.
“Sometimes, we’re coming out and trying to pass the ball. We’ll incomplete one and Coach says, ‘That’s it. We’re not passing anymore,’” Briones said. “He’s a little stubborn on that subject, … but we were able to execute it today, so that was good.”
Briones also ran for 60 yards total, and senior fullback Adam Prisk ran for a game-high 77. All four Hematites ball carriers Saturday were seniors, as were four of five who caught passes and the team’s top five tacklers. Total, 16 Ishpeming contributors played their final high school game.
“Over the last two years, we’ve developed a brotherhood. We work together, hang out together, laugh together and we even pick on each other,” Prisk said. “That’s what brothers kinda do, and it’s one thing we’re going to miss.”
Bulldogs senior quarterback Garrett Schaller did throw for 201 yards and two scores, both to senior receiver Keith Graves. They are two of 10 seniors on their team, but Loyola should return a number of standouts in 2014 including leading rusher Marvin Campbell and some of its defensive leaders.
“There’s no loser in this game. You’re either a winner, or you learn,” Loyola junior linebacker Darryl Clemons said. “We’ve just got to come back next year and do better.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Ishpeming quarterback Alex Briones attempts to leap two Detroit Loyola tacklers during Saturday's Final. (Middle) The Hematites pose with their trophy after winning Division 7 for the second straight season. (Click to see more from Terry McNamara Photography.)
Southfield's Marshall Has More History-Making in Mind as Senior Season Revs Up
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
August 31, 2023
SOUTHFIELD – No matter what Southfield Arts & Technology senior quarterback Isaiah Marshall accomplishes from here on out in football, he can claim one distinction not even many all-time greats have achieved.
When Marshall was in seventh grade, he got a college scholarship offer from a Power 5 college program.
Yes, you read that correctly. He was in seventh grade.
While University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was at the school to scout another player from Southfield A&T at the time, Marshall’s father Brian and uncle Aaron gave Harbaugh a tape of Isaiah’s highlights up through his seventh-grade year.
That was good enough for Harbaugh, who offered Marshall a scholarship then despite his youth.
“I was surprised because getting an offer wasn’t on my mind when I was in seventh grade,” Marshall said.
So, that was the beginning point of Marshall’s courtship to play college football. It hasn’t stopped since, and now the question is whether it will continue all the way up to signing day in December.
Starting his last year of high school, Marshall – also known as “Zeke” – has established himself as arguably the best quarterback in the history of any Southfield program, and certainly one of the best dual-threat signal callers in the state.
Marshall might be committed to Kansas and plans to enroll in January after this Southfield A&T semester is done, but odds are good that won’t stop other programs from continuing to pursue him, especially if he has the big senior season many expect.
“There are still some coaches that talk to the head coach of my school,” he said. “But I personally haven’t talked to any.”
Last year as a junior, Marshall threw for 2,571 yards and 27 touchdowns and ran for 1,065 yards and 18 scores as Southfield A&T finished 8-3 and won the Oakland Activities Association White championship.
Marshall’s coach is his uncle, Aaron Marshall, who obviously could see seeds of greatness being planted in his nephew from a young age.
“As he grew up and grew older and training him, he really kind of embraced everything,” Aaron Marshall said. “He was always a really good listener. He was always mild-mannered (and) had signs of someone who wanted to do something, not really being forced to do it. As a kid, you definitely saw some foreshadowing that he had something special because of his focus and attention at such a young age.”
His senior year got off to a great start Saturday, when he went 15 of 25 for 210 yards and three touchdowns passing and rushed for 80 yards and the game-winning score in a 29-27 Southfield A&T win over Detroit Cass Tech.
Marshall rushed for the clinching touchdown with 54 seconds remaining, a 16-yard scamper to the end zone on a 4th-and-5 play.
“If I have a hole, I’m going to take it,” Isaiah Marshall said. “Just like that last play when I scored, I told myself that if I had a hole, I was going to take it.”
While he is a major problem for defenses when he runs, Marshall is actually trying to improve his ability as a pocket passer this year as he prepares for college.
“Just staying in the pocket more, staying balanced, staying consistent and making great reads,” he said. “I’ve tried to do less (running) and try to get the ball to my receivers more. But at the end of the day, I’m going to try and do what I have to in order to help my team win.”
Marshall, the son of past Northwestern University player and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice standout Brian Marshall, has grown up around Southfield A&T football – Brian is among Aaron Marshall's assistants – and has seen many good teams and future college players come through the program.
But the Warriors have never advanced to a state championship game, and making program history is obviously a major motivation.
“We have 29 seniors, so I think that’s a big part of what we can do this year,” he said.
Given how he’s watched Isaiah grow up physically and in the game, Aaron Marshall knows if anyone can lead the Warriors to history, it’s his nephew.
“He’s even more vocal now as a senior,” he said. “Kids really latch on to him because of his work ethic. He wants the best for everybody, and he’s such a team guy. When he speaks, they really pay attention.”
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties
PHOTOS (Top) Isaiah Marshall (red jersey) is off to another fast start as a senior this fall for Southfield A&T. (Middle) Marshall (97) works with his offense during a practice earlier this month. (Photos by Ricardo Thornton/RT Studios.)