Long Losing Streak Becoming Distant Memory as Adrian Football Re-Emerges
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
October 10, 2023
It’s hard to point to one particular move that led to the resurgence of the Adrian High School football program, but there’s no doubt the Maples are back.
Just a few years ago, they were in the throngs of a 30-game losing streak, had a difficult time fielding a junior varsity team and the school’s administration conducted a survey about possibly leaving the Southeastern Conference.
Now, Adrian is 6-1, finished just a game out of first place in the SEC White and is primed for a Division 4 playoff run.
“There are a lot of really good things going on with the football program, the school and athletic program,” said second-year varsity football coach Joel Przygodski. “We have great kids who love to work hard. I’m glad to see them being successful because they work so hard.”
Przygodski is part of an overhaul at Adrian, which has seen a new superintendent, high school principal and athletic director over the last couple of years.
“The leadership is all in line with a similar point of view about how high school athletics should be a positive experience for kids,” Przygodski said. “It’s really fun to be a part of a school district like Adrian when everybody is rowing in the same direction.”
Historically, Adrian has had success on the football field. From 1999 to 2011, the Maples missed the playoffs just twice. Then came a series of 2-7 and 3-6 years, but a bounce-back 7-5 in 2016.
The program took a downturn after that.
Adrian didn’t win a game during the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons. The Maples lost 30 straight in all before defeating Brooklyn Columbia Central in Week 2 of the 2021 season. Those losses included the Maples forfeiting a 2020 playoff game – when almost all teams made the postseason due to COVID-19 – due to a lack of available players.
Przygodski was one of the Adrian assistants during the playoff years, then left to become an assistant coach at Saline. He remained a teacher in the district, however.
When the Adrian head coaching job opened after the 2021 season, Przygodski didn’t hesitate to throw his name into the candidate pool.
“I taught the same kids who are playing now in middle school, so it’s not like I had to meet these kids for the first time,” he said. “It was more of a re-introduction to them. They only knew me as Mr. P, not as Coach P.
“The kids wanted to win, they wanted that discipline and structure, and they just hadn’t had it for one reason or another.”
Chad O’Brien, in his third year as the Adrian athletic director, is pleased with the progress of the athletic program. The baseball team won an SEC title last year, and the basketball team has had success as well.
“I think we have a lot of good people in good positions right now, and that makes a huge difference,” he said. “The continuity of the staff is huge. We have everyone on the same page. We discuss it as a group. We interact a ton. We aren’t separated. Everyone is moving in the same direction.
“There are still things that need to be addressed, but it’s definitely different than it was two years ago.”
The biggest turnaround has been in the football program. With some of the same players who were part of the 30-game losing streak, the Maples went 5-5 last year and are 6-1 this fall.
The Maples opened the season with four straight wins before falling 28-18 to Chelsea, the only blemish on a great season so far. They followed up the loss to the Bulldogs with back-to-back conference wins over Jackson and Pinckney to finish 4-1 in the SEC White. They have two nonleague games left to get ready for the postseason.
Quarterback Sean Parker is the unquestioned leader of the team. A four-year starter, Parker has thrown for 1,147 yards and 13 touchdowns this season while completing 65 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 356 yards.
“He’s one of the smartest kids I’ve ever coached,” Przygodski said. “He has 4.1 GPA. He’s a very intelligent young man who works very hard. He’s kind of a silent leader, but a fun kid to be around. He’s gotten better each and every day.”
Chase Henline is the rushing leader with 780 yards and eight touchdowns. Five Maples have more than 100 yards receiving and are in double digits for catches.
Parker is one of 15 seniors.
“The majority of them have played all four years, and a handful of them are four-year starters,” Przygodski said. “When you have kids who have been battle-tested and have endured some of the things they did as freshmen and sophomores, then having a pretty decent year as juniors, it sets the stage for a pretty good senior campaign with everything falling in line.”
Przygodski is an Ann Arbor native who was head coach at his alma mater – Ann Arbor Huron – for four years before coming to Adrian in 2010. He served time as an assistant with the Maples under Phil Jacobs and was in Milan for a year. He then worked under Joe Palka at Saline for four years.
“I learned a lifetime of football working for Joe for those four years,” he said. “I think the biggest thing I got from him is how he organized. Everything was down to the details. If you put our practice plan and their practice plan next to each other, it would probably look similar. That’s probably the thing I learned the most.”
Przygodski isn’t worried about an encore just yet, but praised Adrian for its facilities and strength and conditioning program under Toby Ernst, now in his second year.
“They check all of the boxes of what you need to be competitive and successful in high school sports,” Przygodski said. “The community support has been phenomenal. It’s a place where you can compete and win.”
O’Brien said Adrian will continue to move forward with its athletic program.
“We’ve always had good kids here. We just had to have the right people directing them,” O’Brien said. “The biggest thing is we are going to do what’s right for kids, do what’s right for our district and do what’s right for our league. Every decision we make, we make sure we are following that.”
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) Adrian’s Carson DeKeyser (7) and Thomas Dayharsh celebrate a touchdown during Friday’s 34-0 win over Pinckney. (Middle) Maples quarterback Sean Parker rolls right behind the protection of Antonio Brown. (Photos by Deloris Clark-Osborne.)
1st & Goal: 2023 8-Player Finals Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 17, 2023
Northern Michigan University on Saturday will host two recent 8-player football champions looking to build on their recent success – and two more contenders hoping to celebrate at Superior Dome for the first time.
Martin in Division 1 will be seeking its second-straight title against Indian River Inland Lakes, which will be appearing in its first MHSAA Final in either football format.
Adrian Lenawee Christian in Division 2 will attempt to win a third title in four seasons, while Marion is making its first championship game trip in more than three decades and after a series of just-misses the last few years.
Martin and Inland Lakes kick off at 11 a.m., and Lenawee Christian and Marion follow at 2 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online through NMU or at the door – click for details – and both games will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv. Audio of both games will be streamed live on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a look at all four finalists:
Division 1
MARTIN
Record/Rank: 10-2, No. 9
Coach: Brad Blauvelt, sixth season (56-11)
League finish: Tied for second in Southwest Michigan 8-Man Football League White
Championship history: 8-Player Division 1 champion 2022, 11-Player Class D champion 1987.
Best wins: 42-34 over No. 5 Kingston in Semifinal, 28-6 over No. 10 Gobles in Regional Final, 44-18 (Regional Semifinal) and 28-14 over Marcellus.
Players to watch: QB/DB Gavin Meyers, 6-2/170 jr. (1,058 yards/11 TDs passing, 1,171 yards/11 TDs rushing); RB/LB Haylen Buell, 5-8/150 soph. (967 yards/13 TDs rushing), WR/DB Taegan Harris, 5-10/150 sr. (538 yards/6 TDs receiving); TE/LB Abe Dykstra, 5-10/195 sr. (199 yards/3 TDs receiving).
Outlook: Martin graduated three all-staters including its two main offensive contributors and still finds itself back where it defeated Merrill 74-24 to finish last season. Meyers has stepped nicely into the dual-threat quarterback role after all-stater J.R. Hildebrand graduated, and he has the Clippers averaging 38.5 points per game. The team’s only losses came to undefeated Bridgman and Gobles, and Martin avenged the latter in the Regional Final. Dykstra was the team’s second-leading tackler in last season’s Final, and Buell also was a top contributor on that side of the ball before taking on a large share of the rushing load this fall.
INDIAN RIVER INLAND LAKES
Record/Rank: 11-1, No. 6
Coach: Travis Meyer, fifth season (35-17)
League finish: First in Ski Valley Conference
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Best wins: 12-0 over No. 2 Pickford in Semifinal, 40-36 over No. 3 St. Ignace in Regional Final, 22-6 over No. 7 Alcona in Regional Semifinal, 54-46 over Division 2 No. 10 Lake Linden-Hubbell.
Players to watch: QB/DB Aidan Fenstermaker, 5-9/160 jr. (1,695 yards/25 TDs rushing, 1,090 yards/14 TDs passing); RB/LB Payton Teuthorn, 6-0/190 sr. (219 yards/3 TDs rushing, 2 TDs receiving); TE/DB Jacob Willey, 6-0/200 sr. (514 yards/6 TDs receiving); RB/DB Andre Bradford, 5-10/180 soph. (400 yards/6 TDs rushing, 2 TDs receiving). (Only Fenstermaker’s stats include the Semifinal).
Outlook: Inland Lakes' two winningest seasons have come over the last three, and the Bulldogs’ only loss this fall was 30-28 to St. Ignace in Week 4 – with that defeat avenged in the Regional Final. The playoffs have included two of the most impressive defensive performances in either 8-player bracket, as Pickford averaged 47 points per game heading into their matchup and Alcona was averaging 52 ppg. Inland Lakes had 21 interceptions entering the Semifinals, with Fenstermaker snagging seven and sophomore Wyatt Hanel five. Willey earned an all-state honorable mention last season.
Division 2
ADRIAN LENAWEE CHRISTIAN
Record/Rank: 12-0, No. 1
Coach: Bill Wilharms, 10th season (91-24)
League finish: First in Southern Central Athletic Association East
Championship history: 8-Player Division 1 champion 2021 and 2020.
Best wins: 42-14 over Deckerville in Semifinal, 56-16 over Climax-Scotts in Regional Final, 48-28 over Kingston, 73-20 over Mendon.
Players to watch: WR/CB Jesse Miller, 6-0/175 sr. (537 yards/8 TDs receiving); QB/S Sam Lutz, 5-7/165 sr. (2,003 yards/32 TDs passing, 973 yards/27 TDs rushing); RB/CB Blake Drogowski, 6-0/175 sr. (502 yards/7 TDs rushing, 513 yards/8 TDs receiving); WR/LB Paul Towler, 6-2/185 sr. (550 yards/8 TDs receiving).
Outlook: This season’s Lenawee Christian run has been reminiscent of the undefeated seasons of 2020 and 2021, as the Cougars have defeated their opponents on average 54-10. Kingston at 20 points provided the closest challenge. Junior back-up quarterback Brenner Powers has run for 513 yards and seven scores and thrown for three more, and senior tight end Easton Boggs has been another significant target with a team-high 37 catches for 524 yards and seven touchdowns heading into last weekend. Lutz ran for three TDs and threw for three in the Semifinal win.
MARION
Record/Rank: 11-0, No. 2
Coach: Chad Grundy, 14th season (102-45)
League finish: First in West Michigan D League.
Championship history: 11-Player Class DD champion 1990.
Best wins: 42-36 over No. 10 Lake Linden-Hubbell in Semifinal, 48-6 over No. 4 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in Regional Final, 64-14 over Bay City All Saints in Regional Semifinal, 62-0 over Mesick.
Players to watch: QB/LB Collin McCrimmon, 5-8/180 soph. (1,006 yards/18 TDs passing, 679 yards/10 TDs rushing); RB/DB Gavin Prielipp, 5-10/180 sr. (964 yards/16 TDs rushing, 519 yards/10 TDs receiving); FB/LB Cole Meyer, 6-2/210 jr. (749 yards/9 TDs rushing, 289 yards/4 TDs receiving); C/NG Hayden Ostrowski, 5-10/240 sr.
Outlook: After running into eventual Division 2 champion Powers North Central in Semifinals the last three seasons, Marion broke through to take the next step this fall. The Eagles had four shutouts and gave up eight points total over their first five games and still haven’t given up more than 14 points in a game except once, in their Semifinal win. The offense, meanwhile, is averaging 55 points per game and gaining 9.8 yards per rush with McCrimmon keeping defenders on their toes with an incredible 32.5 yards per completion. Prielipp also has 10 interceptions to go with his offensive output.
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