Kearsley Welcomes Dawn of Exciting Era
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 9, 2019
Austin Lewis remembers going to Flint Kearsley football games as a kid and the excitement in the crowd. He also remembers that excitement being short-lived.
“It was fun and upbeat during the first half,” said Lewis, now a senior linebacker and tight end at Kearsley. “But toward the end, people were leaving because we weren’t winning.”
These days, people aren’t leaving, as the Hornets have given their fans more to cheer about than they’ve enjoyed in a long time.
With its 27-7 win against Holly this past Friday, Kearsley improved to 5-1, ensuring its first winning season since 2003. One more win, and the Hornets will clinch their first playoff berth since 1998.
“It just feels great,” junior running back and defensive tackle Isaiah Stiverson said. “We’ve all been together since middle school, and everyone in the community, they knew our group would be the one to change it and turn it around. It just feels good.”
Many of the juniors and seniors on this season’s team combined to go unbeaten as a junior varsity team in 2017. The juniors also were undefeated in middle school.
This group came together at the same time new coach Kaleb Forr arrived at Kearsley. A Davison native who had previously coached at Holland Christian, Forr brought with him new schemes, including a more wide-open offense. Now that he’s in Year 3, he’s also provided the program with consistency.
“I think the thing that Kearsley had struggled with even before I got there, it seemed like every couple years a new coach would come through,” Forr said. “It’s tough to kind of build on that. They gave me a shot when I was young – I was 26 when I got the job. They wanted to try to hire somebody that could be around for a while and try to build something consistent. That’s what has been great – the kids, the whole community, the staff, the administration has really bought into the mindset we’ve tried to bring in.”
One of Forr’s greatest challenges early ended up a blessing in disguise. He was hired in June of 2017, which didn’t give him much time to put together a staff for the upcoming season. But Madison Heights Lamphere coach Jeff Glynn, who Forr did not know at the time, reached out to congratulate him and gave him some advice.
“I told him it’s been a struggle trying to find guys that know what we’re trying to do and know the system,” Forr said. “He suggested something since we had six coaches on the varsity staff and couldn’t put together a JV staff – to have the varsity staff coach the varsity and JV that year. That’s actually the group of kids we have right now.”
While that was a lot of work, it allowed Forr to get acquainted with all the players in his program right away. It also allowed them to get acquainted with him.
“It was big,” junior quarterback Braylon Silvas said. “We were new to our offense – we went from a wing offense to a spread. Practicing with the varsity showed me what I needed to do. It helped me pick up on the speed of the game and how I needed to prepare.”
In 2018, many of those JV players moved up to the varsity level, and while they were 3-6, Forr said he could see signs of things moving in the right direction. The numbers agreed with him, as the Hornets were outscored by a total of 17 points on the season despite the six losses.
“Last year was definitely a year where we saw some things that made us think, ‘Man, we could be pretty good,’” Forr said. “A few plays where things didn’t go our way, and that’s what determines the outcome. We were competitive against teams in our league that we haven’t been in the past.”
Players and coaches alike say this year’s team put in the necessary work in the offseason to capitalize on the talent and momentum of the program. But there’s more to the success than that.
“I really think the key is that we’re acting more as a family,” Silvas said. “We really came together this year, and we’re doing really great things. Everybody has bought in. The family – everybody emphasizes that.”
With everyone in the locker room bought in, players knew they needed to get everyone in the community to buy in, as well. Through six games, it appears that has happened.
“It’s different, because at Kearsley, we haven’t had a winning season in a while,” Lewis said. “It feels good to have the community finally on our side, to have people finally believe in us, and to show people what we’re capable of.”
A main goal for this year’s team was to gain respect for the program. The five wins are a nice start, but there’s still plenty of work to be done. The Hornets play a Linden team in Week 7 that is tougher than its 2-4 record would indicate. The Eagles haven’t lost a game by more than eight points, and that includes defeats against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, Goodrich and Fenton – teams with a combined three losses between them.
A Flint Metro League crossover game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent awaits in Week 8, while Royal Oak is the Week 9 opponent. The focus for now is clearly on Linden, but a single win from the final three games would qualify Kearsley for the postseason. Players couldn’t hold back their excitement at the thought of ending a 21-year playoff drought.
“It would just mean so much,” Lewis said. “Honestly, to me, it would set like a milestone. It was something I wanted to do since I started playing for Kearsley.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Sunlight reflects off a Flint Kearsley team huddle early this season. (Middle) The Hornets defense lines up to stop Bay City Western during a 41-21 opening-night win. (Photos courtesy of the Kearsley football program.)
Inspired by Past, Kingsley Adds to Tradition with 1st Championship since 2005
By
Scott DeCamp
Special for MHSAA.com
November 25, 2023
DETROIT – When Kingsley head football coach Tim Wooer was presented the MHSAA Division 6 championship trophy Saturday night at Ford Field, he turned, raised it over his head, and acknowledged the roaring throng of orange-clad Stags fans in the stands.
Community, tradition, and history mean everything to the 1998 Kingsley alumnus.
All of those things were recognized and on display during and after Kingsley’s 38-24 victory over Almont, which secured the Stags their second Finals championship and first since 2005.
Kingsley senior Eli Graves made history in his own right. He rushed for 210 yards and four touchdowns, plus he accounted for three two-point conversions, for a total of 30 points to tie the all-division 11-player Finals record for points in a game by one player.
“We have the best O-line in D6, so it’s pretty easy to run behind those guys,” Graves said. “When they get the job done, it makes my job easy. And I’ve just got a coach that trusts me with the ball.”
Wooer believes in his players, present and past. They share a special bond, which was apparent during the postgame press conference after Kingsley put a memorable finish on its 12-2 season.
Graves was one of four Stags players Wooer brought to the postgame press conference. Wooer also brought assistant coach Connor Schueller, a fullback on the 2021 team, whose mother Trina Schueller died from COVID-19 in October 2021.
“I think the reason I’ve got him in here tonight is because sometimes as a coach – and this is true of (the late) Justin Hansen, too – there’s a shift of where you’re supposed to be the role model,” an emotional Wooer said, pausing to collect himself. “You’re supposed to be the role model for players, you’re supposed to teach them everything.
“And then there comes a time when your players teach you about life. And Justin Hansen did that for sure, and so did Connor Schueller. Two pretty important people in our lives in our community.”
Hansen was a captain on Kingsley’s 2002 conference championship team. He was a special-ops Marine, who was killed in action in July 2012.
On Saturday, Wooer wore a red T-shirt with the letters “USA” on the front and the name “Hansen” on the back.
“It’s truly taken me about 10 to 11 years to be able to talk about it. But I can remember as I driving out of town that evening, crying and sobbing and being angry and having all these emotions, I wanted to make sure that he was always remembered,” Wooer said, his eyes welling up before a momentary pause to compose himself. “So he was here today, and he was remembered.”
Graves put on a performance that will not soon be forgotten. The wiry 6-foot-3, 175-pounder scored on TD runs of 3, 30, 5, and 6 yards.
Graves tacked on a pair of two-point conversion runs, and he hauled in a two-point conversion pass with some fine footwork along the sideline.
“He’s a good player downhill. Not much to say about it,” Almont senior Ayden Ferqueron said. “The wing-T is hard to stop. When you’ve got a running back that goes downhill and able to follow his blocks, see holes, and hit them (it’s tough to stop).”
Kingsley outgained Almont in total yards (371-191), holding a big advantage in rushing yardage (331-174) and an edge in its timely passing game (66-17).
Stags junior tight end Chase Bott caught a 35-yard TD pass from senior Gavyn Merchant, and senior Skylar Workman ran in the two-point conversion for a 30-17 lead eight seconds into the fourth quarter.
Almont hung around throughout the game, pulling within 30-24 on senior Cole Walton’s 35-yard TD pass from senior Chase Davedowski and sophomore Sean O’Neil’s PAT with 7:55 remaining.
But every time the Raiders pulled within striking distance, the Stags had an answer and it usually came from Graves, who put it away with his final TD run with 2:19 left.
Almont, which was making its first Finals appearance since 2019 and looking for its first title, finished with a 12-2 record.
“Nothing that we didn’t prepare for. They were just more physical off the ball than us,” Almont coach James Leusby said. “Defensively-wise, we got pushed back a little and hadn’t faced that all year, so hats (off) to them.”
Almont senior Chase Battani scored on a 65-yard TD sprint, while Ferqueron ran for a 2-yard score. Ferqueron and Battani led all defensive players in the game with 15 and 13 stops, respectively.
Graves said he wore jersey No. 2 for his brother, Owen Graves, who was part of Kingsley’s 2020 team that had to forfeit in the playoffs because of COVID.
Eli Graves said he did not get the chance to see his brother after the game, but added he’ll probably brag to him about his performance once he sees him. He knows his brother is proud.
“He never got to finish his senior season because they had to forfeit due to COVID, so we always play our hardest for that team because they didn’t get a chance to do this,” Graves said.
Wooer was the architect who helped build Kingsley into the program it has become. His 2005 team defeated Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 31-21, for the Stags’ first championship.
Wooer left Kingsley and coached at Traverse City West for a decade before he returned to his alma mater in 2018.
For coaches, comparing state-title teams is like comparing one’s children. You love them all the same.
“They’re both fun,” Wooer said with a chuckle when asked to compare Kingsley’s two title winners. “I would say, people have asked me that question in terms of, ‘Which team was better? How were they similar? How were they different?’
“I think the one characteristic when you get a team of this caliber is the character and the morals and the ethics and just the leadership. When I was 24 years old, it was all about having the biggest, fastest, strongest kids. And the longer I coach, the more I understand that having guys like this lead your team is the magic potion.”
PHOTOS (Top) Kingsley’s Chase Bott (84) makes his move toward the goalline while Chase Battani works to wrap him up Saturday at Ford Field. (Middle) Eli Graves (2) follows teammate James Pearson upfield. (Below) Max Goethals (11) pulls in a pass for the Stags. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)