Grace-ful Run Into Swan Valley History
November 16, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Alex Grace knew there would be high expectations when he joined Saginaw Swan Valley’s varsity football team this fall as a sophomore.
But he also spent all last season – and most of his life – learning how to fulfill them from one of the Vikings’ best.
Grace watched proudly from the sideline last fall as his older brother Johnathan ran for 1,790 yards and 21 touchdowns. And then, taking Johnathan’s spot this fall, Alex tried to do the same in the same way.
Running with a similar physical style, Grace has helped the Vikings into their third MHSAA Semifinal in seven seasons; Swan Valley takes on Detroit Country Day in one of two Division 4 semis Saturday. He has rushed 256 times for 2,091 yards and 27 touchdowns. With 109 yards and three more touchdowns, he’ll make the MHSAA record book in both categories.
“I was expected to come in and be as good or better than him. I put it behind me,” Alex Grace said. “I just do the best I can, and see what happens.”
So far, this week's Second Half High 5 honoree been making school history and blowing those expectations away.
There are some definite similarities between the brothers. Swan Valley coach Ken Bourbina said Alex is simply carrying on the family tradition.
Like Jonathan, Alex is fast – he can run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. That’s a tick or two slower than his incredibly speedy brother, but Alex said his speed carries longer – he can beat Jonathan in a 200.
They certainly share similar styles. Jonathan liked to take defenders on, and Alex already is 6-foot and 185 pounds, with a penchant for running over instead of around.
“They both have the ability to turn it on, the ability to lower a shoulder. It’s a good mix,” Bourbina said. “There’s a few differences, but they have the same type (of style). His brother worked extremely hard for us, and (Alex) has just followed in his brother’s footsteps.”
And it’s no doubt helped to run in the footsteps of some of the same blockers. Like any respectful back, Grace is the first to thank his guys up front – tackles Tyler Branch and Anthony Martin, guards Mike Sielinski and Mitch Temple and center Brad Boehler, plus tight end Alex Dils. Branch, Sielinski and fullback Jaime Jimenez are all seniors who also blocked last season for Jonathan.
They’ve given Alex their endorsement. He said they too sense the similarities between the brothers.
“I try to run (tacklers) over. It makes me feel powerful,” Grace said. “I try to keep the runs straight ahead, get the most yards I can. I try to be just like him.”
Johnathan Grace, a redshirt freshman this fall at Michigan Tech, did his part as well to prepare his younger brother for the next level. He took Alex under his wing in the weight room over the summer and guided him through agility work, and that time together brought the brothers even closer.
Johnathan was listening to Swan Valley’s District Final game on the radio two weeks ago when Alex surpassed his yardage total from 2011.
“He was proud of me. He called me,” Alex Grace said. “He said congratulations … and he knew I could do it.”
PHOTO: Swan Valley sophomore Alex Grace (35) runs for some of his 127 yards against Freeland earlier this season. (Click to see more from the Regional Final at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Belleville Finds Championship Formula, Completes 1st Finals Run
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
November 27, 2021
DETROIT – Belleville’s football team found Ford Field after a series of near-misses in recent seasons. The Tigers found it much to their liking, too.
Belleville put its speed, athleticism and depth of talent on full display in a 55-33 runaway victory over Rochester Adams in the MHSAA Division 1 title game Saturday. The fast track and climate-controlled environment were ideal for the Tigers in their first-ever Finals appearance.
Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood passed for 284 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, three of the scores to senior Jeremiah Caldwell as the Tigers (13-1) came within a point of tying a record for most scored in a Finals game.
“You get a bunch of athletes on a fast track and without the elements, you know, it was going to be some opportunities for Bryce …,” said Belleville coach Jermain Crowell, the former Detroit Cass Tech assistant, who is now 72-10 in seven years with the Tigers program.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Underwood, who is only 14 years old, finished 12-of-21 passing. He capped Belleville’s scoring with a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter when he delivered a forceful stiff-arm in the backfield to a would-be tackler.
The 6-3, 175-pound Caldwell was on the receiving end of only four passes, but the playmaker converted them into a whopping 204 yards. Underwood connected with the lanky, speedy senior on scoring strikes of 56, 64 and 72 yards, all in the first half, as Belleville entered the locker room with a 21-20 edge.
“I would say I wasn’t that nervous, I just knew that I had to come out and execute our plan and finish the football game,” Underwood said.
Belleville took control in the third quarter, when the Tigers converted two Adams turnovers into touchdowns – one on a blocked punt and the other on a fumble recovery. They led 35-20 entering the fourth quarter, and that margin never dipped below 14 points the rest of the way.
Six different players scored TDs for Belleville, illustrating Crowell’s point in the postgame press conference that it was a team effort. The Tigers had no turnovers.
“It was the team. I mean, to be honest with you, it was the team,” said Crowell, whose squads lost semifinal heartbreakers to eventual 2020 state champ West Bloomfield (35-34 in double-overtime) and Brighton in 2019 (22-19). The Tigers also lost in the 2018 semifinals to eventual state champ Clinton Township Chippewa Valley.
“All the other years, it was always about this individual guy, that individual guy, that individual guy, and it’s not high school football. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. It’s not supposed to be that way.”
Even though Belleville’s defense surrendered 33 points, the Tigers made enough plays on that side of the ball and they did it with several players contributing.
Seniors Cameron Dyson and JaShawn Greene led Belleville’s defense with eight tackles apiece. Greene also had a forced fumble and sack, while Caldwell picked off a pass.
As much as Crowell stressed “team,” it was hard to ignore the individual talents of Underwood and Caldwell.
“I feel like it’s amazing because he’s so young,” Caldwell said about Underwood. “Once he gets to my age as a senior, it’s going to be, like, ‘Wow!’ Like, he’s doing this as a freshman now, so when he becomes a senior, it’s going to be mind-boggling.”
Said Adams coach Tony Patritto about Underwood: “His resume was pretty strong before he even got to Belleville. He can really sling it and, you know, his receivers made some big plays and a lot of yards after the catch. A lot of that’s on us.”
Adams (13-1), which went unscathed through the rugged Oakland Activities Association as well as a challenging playoff road, made some plays on Saturday, too.
Senior QB Parker Picot completed 8 of 21 passes for three TDs, four of his completions going to 6-6, 215-pound sophomore Brady Prieskorn for 117 yards and two scores.
Like Underwood, Picot was recognized at a young age for his athletic talents. He committed to University of Alabama for baseball as a freshman, but he also poured everything he had into this football season.
“Well, when it’s football season, it’s football season and this year we definitely had something special,” Picot said. “All of us players were all, you know, some of the best friends. At the start, every day (of) summer workouts, we knew we had something special and it was going to be really fun this year and I think we really held onto (it).”
Adams was seeking its first state title since 2003, which was Patritto’s first season at the helm, when the Highlanders captured the Division 2 championship.
On Saturday, it was Belleville’s time.
“I mean, it means a lot, especially to the community of Belleville,” said Caldwell, whose receiving TDs and receiving yards ties him for second in both categories in Finals history.
“It’s a new Belleville this year, so everything that happened in the past years was not happening this year. We all came together and made a change as a whole.”
PHOTOS (Top) Belleville’s Jeremiah Caldwell (2) prepares to make his move as Rochester Adams’ Marco Dicresce (4) looks to make a stop. (Middle) The Tigers’ Davieon Pitchford (20) attempts to run past Adams’ Parker Picot (11). (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)