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Marine City Focused on Comeback Quest

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

October 11, 2016

Ryan Alexander was in a familiar place this past Thursday.

The Marine City senior running back was at East China Stadium, the junior varsity team on the field in front of him playing against Warren Woods-Tower and a group of junior program football players behind him, preparing to get onto the big field and play at halftime.

He and his Mariners teammates were coming off a win against archrival St. Clair, and had just finished their last practice in preparation for a Week 7 game against Warren Woods-Tower, one they would also win.

All of that is familiar for Alexander and the Mariners. The start of the season, however, was far from it. 

“It was different than anything I’ve ever experienced,” Alexander said of Marine City’s first 0-4 start since 1971. “I’ve been on varsity for three years now, and to start 0-4, it was the first time I’ve ever felt anything like that since I’ve been in the program, since I’ve been in Marine City.

“It was a new feeling, but it was also a sense of motivation. It pushed me harder knowing that we had something to prove and that everyone was doubting us because we were 0-4. It’s hard to go through, but I think it made us a better team.”

Alexander and his teammates are on the road back, sitting at 3-4 and eyeing two more wins which could possibly preserve the school’s streak of qualifying for the postseason, which started in 1998. He said getting there would show those junior program players that by coming together as a team, you can accomplish anything.

The Mariners have already shown their coach plenty.

“I wondered, because our program has had so much success, what would happen if we had a bad start like this, how would that team be and how difficult would it be to coach,” Marine City coach Ron Glodich, who is in his fifth season as head coach after serving as a longtime assistant in the program. “What I found is these kids are incredible. Their perseverance and their work ethic has not changed. Nobody has quit, even though I challenge them week in and week out, nobody has quit. The bigger the challenge I give them, the bigger they step up.”

‘We live football’

Football in Marine City has a bit of a “Friday Night Lights” feel to it.

The town with a population of a little more than 4,000 essentially shuts down on game nights to support its team. Not long ago, it moved trick-or-treating because it conflicted with a Friday night playoff game. When the team went to Ford Field for MHSAA championship games in 2007, 2011 and 2013, it filled its entire side of the lower bowl with fans clad in orange and black.

“It’s a football crazy town,” Alexander said. “We live football.”

Kids grow up wanting to be Mariners as much as they grow up wanting to be Wolverines or Spartans, and you can’t even go to a JV game without seeing groups of them playing a side game of touch – or tackle – at East China Stadium.

“They were always winning, ever since I’ve been a kid and ever since my parents have been around,” senior lineman Andrew Steinmetz said. “It’s a great feeling to grow up here, live here and then play here.”

Always winning isn’t hyperbole, especially for someone Steinmetz’s age. The playoff streak is only scratching the surface of the Mariners’ success in the past few decades.

The program won MHSAA championships in 2007 and 2013, and – prior to this year – had lost more than two games in a season only three times since 1992.

From 2006 through 2009, Marine City had three undefeated regular seasons, and in the only exception, it went 13-1 with a Division 4 championship. The Mariners’ last losing season came in 1982.

There have been stars who went onto play Division I college football – Brendon Kay, a 2008 graduate went to Cincinnati and was the Most Valuable Player of the Belk Bowl, and Anthony Scarcelli, who was the Associated Press Division 3-4 Player of the Year in 2011 and is currently a senior on Central Michigan University’s football team – but most of Marine City’s success has come thanks to players who don’t have a recruiting site ranking.

“When you mention the name Marine City outside the area, it’s common for someone to say, ‘Oh, you’ve got a great football program,’” Glodich said. “And we’re proud of that. It’s been a long time since we built it, and a lot of people are proud of it in the area and they come out to support it. It’s nice that that’s linked to the town, and that people believe we have a great football program. And I believe we do.”

In Marine City, even 8-1 teams catch flack. At 0-4, the loud minority of the fan base gets more vocal.

“As any coach who doesn’t win, there are critics out there,” Glodich said. “I happened to get a letter and I shared it with the kids. I told them, ‘We’re all in this together. You’re being criticized in the stands, I’m being criticized, so understand that we’re all in this together and it’s all about getting better.’

“The good news is, I’m at the point in my career where I know that this staff does a great job. So when you get letters like that, you chuckle and say, ‘OK, this person is venting, but they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.’ And I would tell that person if they ever had the guts to look me in the eye, I would tell them, ‘You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.’”

Glodich’s players said they were able to shut out the outside noise, for the most part, and anything that did enter their brains was used as motivation. Alexander said it went in one ear and out the other, because practicing with a clear mind was much more necessary than reacting to insults.

Even better, however, was the fact there was much more support than derision. Marine City may be football crazy and unaccustomed to waking up on a Saturday after a loss, but its love for football goes beyond a stunning win-loss record.

“The parents and the past players, they really had our backs,” senior lineman Tom Kaminski said. “(Former player) Ethan Cleve made a nice Facebook message on the Marine City football fans page, and (former player) Jarrett Mathison was saying, ‘Don’t worry about it, it will get better.’”

Writing the final chapter

The message within the team was similar to Mathison’s, but the players knew they were the ones who would have to make things better. 

“A lot of it came from themselves,” Glodich said. “After that fourth loss, we challenged them and said you guys make a decision of how you want to move forward. That’s where your senior leadership and the guys that really care about the program, they kind of step forward and they rally the troops. We challenged them come Monday, and they responded to the challenge.”

The change could be seen in practice, and it translated into a 37-29 win against Madison Heights Madison in Week 5. That was followed by a 27-6 win against St. Clair in Week 6 and most recently a 49-31 win against Warren Woods-Tower in Week 7.

“We just had to put our heads down and keep fighting for it, because we knew we were better than what we were,” Kaminski said. “It’s big on your shoulders, because everyone’s used to 9-0 teams here, so that was a big wake-up call, but I think we’ve got it.”

As stated above, while this is a position Glodich never wanted to be in, he said he’s always wondered what would happen if a Marine City team had a start like this one. He’s wondered how the players would react. He’s wondered how difficult it would be to coach a team that no longer held its playoff destiny in its own hands before the midpoint of the season. 

“I’m amazed that these kids are working this hard – I don’t know if any other team that was 0-4 is working as hard as we do,” Glodich said. “It’s just a credit to these kids and their background; they’re not afraid to work. The kids that come to school here in this community are not afraid to work, and that’s why I’m one of the luckiest guys in the state to be able to coach in this community.”

The 0-4 start may have put the Mariners on the brink of playoff extinction, but their opponents in weeks 1-4 could wind up helping push them over the top when it comes to playoff selection, should Marine City get to 5-4. 

Algonac, Port Huron Northern, Detroit Loyola and Marysville were a combined 25-3 through seven weeks, with one of those losses a Northern defeat against Marysville. 

The Mariners are taking the one-game-at-a-time approach to the end of the season, but they know that can help. They know they can do something special to close it out, and accomplish something no Marine City team has done before – rebound from a start that could cause some to pack it in.

Glodich said he can’t look past the next game, but admits he and his coaches have talked to the players about writing the final chapter in their book, and how they want their story to end.

Alexander has already started writing in his head.

“It would mean the world (to finish 5-4) especially because it’s my senior year and I’d love to end on a high note,” he said. “I’d love to be the team that started 0-4, won the last five games and then proved what we have in the playoffs. We have a good team, we have a good shot.

“We just want to get to 5-4. We don’t really focus on anything else (in terms of playoff points). If we get there, it doesn’t matter, we’ll be happy.”

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) Marine City's MJ Frank cuts through an opening against Marysville this season. (Middle) A group of Mariners surround and take down a Port Huron Northern ball carrier. (Photos courtesy of the Marine City football program.)

Martin's Haylen Buell charges into an opening during his team's win over Gobles.

1st & Goal: 2023 Playoff Week 2 Review

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 6, 2023

This weekend’s 8-Player Regional Finals and 11-Player District Finals featured more rematches from the regular season that crop up when the best teams must face off again but with the winner moving on and the loser this time putting away the pads until next fall.

MI Student AidAnd as we see just about every season, those matchups during the second week of this MHSAA Playoffs showed how much can change between the first meeting to the last – even if, in some cases, only a few weeks have passed between those two games.

8-player alone featured five rematches (of eight games total) – and three were won by the team that lost the first time, Martin enjoying the greatest reversal in flipping a 37-point defeat. The 11-player series saw its share of rematches as well – with a classic nearly stealing the thunder of another massive showdown in Division 1.

Of course, several individuals stood out over the weekend’s 72 games – but a couple require special recognition. Braylon Isom tied and reset the 11-player career receiving touchdowns record with his 49th and 50th in Saginaw Heritage’s 35-13 win over Midland Dow in Division 1. About a 1½-hour drive east, in Division 8, Ubly kicker Brett Mueller set the career extra points record with five more for 209 total as his team downed Harbor Beach 35-14.

See below for more of the most notable as we neared the halfway point of this postseason:

11-Player Division 1

HEADLINER Belleville 65, Saline 14 The growing legends of Belleville and quarterback Bryce Underwood added another chapter with the team’s 36th-straight win. Underwood was nearly perfect throwing the ball as the Tigers (11-0) also held Saline (9-2) to well below its 45 points-per-game average heading into the day. Click for more from the Ann Arbor News.

District Digest Clarkston 38, Lake Orion 37 Clarkston (6-5) dealt Lake Orion (10-1) the latter’s only loss of the season, doing so by avenging a 42-21 defeat by the Dragons in Week 7 and this time coming back from two touchdowns down with five minutes to play. Southfield Arts & Technology 36, Detroit Cass Tech 25 The Warriors (10-1) claimed their first District title since 2016, adding to a 29-27 win over Cass Tech from Week 1 and avenging last season’s District Final loss to the Technicians (7-4). Northville 24, Detroit Catholic Central 17 This also was a rematch of a 2022 District Final, with Northville (10-1) avenging last season’s 42-17 loss to the Shamrocks (8-3) to earn a rematch this week with Belleville. The Tigers dealt the Mustangs their only defeat this fall, in Week 9.

11-Player Division 2

HEADLINER Byron Center 31, Caledonia 28 A back-and-forth game during the second half went Byron Center’s way permanently on the final play as the Bulldogs (10-1) scored the go-ahead touchdown to clinch their first District title since 2016. Caledonia ended 8-3 and are a combined 30-7 over the last three seasons after reaching the Division 1 Final a year ago. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.

District Digest Muskegon 42, Muskegon Mona Shores 28 The Big Reds (9-2) secured their 11th District championship over the last 12 seasons, adding to a Week 4 win over the rival Sailors (7-4). Roseville 24, Grosse Pointe South 17 A program that won its first District title in 2021 now has its second in three seasons, Roseville (8-3) earning it by avenging a 16-7 Week 5 loss to the eventual MAC White champion.  Grosse Pointe South (9-2) capped its winningest season since 1987. Waterford Mott 34, Birmingham Seaholm 21 Mott (9-2) tied its school record for wins, per Michigan-Football.com, by also claiming a second District title in program history and second over the last three seasons. Seaholm finished 9-2, continuing a rise from 1-8 two seasons ago.

11-Player Division 3

HEADLINER Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 45, Mount Pleasant 21 Forest Hills Central (10-1) took a massive step as it continues to build on last season’s Division 2 runner-up finish, as these two ended the regular season fourth and second, respectively, in Division 3 playoff-point average. The Oilers finished 9-2, their only other loss in their season opener. Click for more from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun.

District Digest Zeeland West 46, Coopersville 32 After ending the regular season with three close losses, West (8-3) has bounced back with a repeat District championship and two of its five highest-scoring games this fall. Coopersville (8-3) ended its winningest season since 2007, and its three defeats were by a combined 18 points. Walled Lake Western 50, Auburn Hills Avondale 22 In clinching its first District title since 2019, Western (10-1) earned a rematch with the lone opponent it lost to this season, Mason. Avondale finished 9-2, its best since 2012. River Rouge 49, Riverview 27 The Panthers (7-4) ran their winning streak to six games with their first District title since 2020, and earned a rematch with Detroit Martin Luther King, which ended Rouge’s season in a playoff opener a year ago. Riverview saw an eight-game winning streak come to an end in finishing 9-2.

11-Player Division 4

HEADLINER Big Rapids 28, Whitehall 27 A final-seconds field-goal attempt block earned Big Rapids its first District title since 2003, as the Cardinals (10-1) also reached double-digit wins for the first time since that season. Whitehall (10-1) had entered the playoffs as one of only two undefeated teams in Division 4. Click for more from the Big Rapids Pioneer.

District Digest Niles 42, Paw Paw 13 Niles followed up its 56-18 Week 9 win over Paw Paw (9-2) that clinched the Wolverine Conference title with this victory to earn the Vikings (10-1) their first District championship. Haslett 30, Chelsea 22 The Vikings (8-3) went on the road and held on through the final play to clinch their first District title since 2005. Chelsea finished 9-2, nearly doubling its wins from a 5-5 run a year ago. Goodrich 21, Freeland 20 The reigning Division 4 runner-up followed up last season’s 10-9 District Final win over Freeland (9-2) as Easton Phipps scored the go-ahead touchdown for Goodrich (10-1) with 1:46 to play.

11-Player Division 5

HEADLINER Corunna 28, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 17 Corunna (11-0) downed an unbeaten opponent for the second-straight week, and in doing so set a program record for wins as Jaden Edington starred again on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame (9-1) had defeated its opponents by an average score of 54-10. Click for more from the Owosso Argus-Press.

District Digest Macomb Lutheran North 32, Marine City 30 Just 3-6 a year ago, Lutheran North (9-2) also set a program record for wins this weekend in winning its first District championship on a last-minute field goal. Marine City finished 9-2, its only other defeat coming in its season opener. Kingsford 19, Ogemaw Heights 14 Kingsford (10-1) finished its road trip with its first District championship since 2009 and after reaching 10 wins for the first time since 2004. Ogemaw Heights also finished 9-2, with its only other defeat coming in Week 1. Detroit Southeastern 26, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard 22 Southeastern’s most recent District title had come in 2018, in Division 8, and the Jungaleers improved to 8-3 after an 0-2 start this fall. Father Gabriel Richard finished 8-3, up from 3-6 a year ago and its first winning record since 2017.

11-Player Division 6

HEADLINER Gladstone 28, Negaunee 14 Gladstone (9-2) won a District title and reached nine wins both for the second-straight season, and also avenged last year’s 18-12 Regional loss to Negaunee as the Miners went on to finish Division 6 runner-up. Negaunee’s only other losses this fall were to Iron Mountain in Week 9 and Gladstone 42-14 to start the league schedule in Week 2. Click for more from the Escanaba Daily Press.

District Digest Midland Bullock Creek 49, Chesaning 22 The Lancers (8-3) won their first District championship since 2005 and equaled their most wins since 2007, and after winning four games each of the last three seasons. Chesaning finished 9-2, its winningest run since 2001. Almont 40, Warren Michigan Collegiate 38 (OT) Almont (10-1) delivered Michigan Collegiate its lone loss after the Cougars (10-1) had come back from an early deficit in seeking what would have been a fourth-straight District title. The Pirates had fallen to Collegiate in their only other meeting, a 2021 District Final. Detroit Edison 32, Ecorse 6 Edison (8-3) continued its record-setting season with its first District championship, continuing to bounce back from last year’s 2-7 finish. Ecorse finished 8-2, reaching that win total for the third-straight season.

11-Player Division 7

HEADLINER North Muskegon 27, Lawton 24 North Muskegon (11-0) trailed by three points heading into the fourth quarter, but found the end zone one more time to clinch its first District championship since 2006 and tie the program record for wins set in 1981 and also tied in 1986. Lawton finished 9-2 and is a combined 31-6 over the last three seasons. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.

District Digest Millington 21, Cass City 20 The Cardinals (11-0) repeated as District champions, scoring the game-tying touchdown and connecting on the winning extra point with 1:52 to play. Cass City finished 8-3, a solid jump after back-to-back 5-5 seasons. Jackson Lumen Christi 26, Napoleon 0 These two collided in the playoffs for the second straight season, and Lumen Christi (10-1) followed last year’s Semifinal win by ending Napoleon’s season this time at 9-2. Menominee 50, Charlevoix 14 Menominee’s best season since 2017 continued in a big way as the Maroons improved to 9-2 and ended Charlevoix’s winningest season since 1977 also at 9-2.

11-Player Division 8

HEADLINER Ithaca 29, New Lothrop 28 Joe Dawe’s field goal with eight seconds to play sent Ithaca past New Lothrop (9-2) for a second-straight District championship after winning one in Division 7 a year ago. After not playing a single-digit game during the regular season, the Yellowjackets (11-0) have won both of their playoff games by a point. New Lothrop’s only other defeat this fall came by five, in Week 2 to Chesaning. Click for more from the Mount Pleasant Morning Sun.

District Digest Ubly 35, Harbor Beach 14 Ubly (11-0) claimed a fifth-straight District title and added to its 56-20 win over Harbor Beach (9-2) in Week 4. Ottawa Lake Whiteford 24, Hudson 14 Whiteford’s closest game since early September netted the Bobcats (11-0) their third District title in a row, and after Hudson (8-3) had won their last playoff meeting in a 2021 Semifinal. Clarkston Everest Collegiate 19, Marine City Cardinal Mooney 14 These two have met in league play and District Finals the last two seasons, and Everest (9-2) has won their last three matchups adding this to a 21-7 victory in Week 6. Cardinal Mooney ended 6-5 after bouncing back from an 0-2 start.

8-Player Division 1

HEADLINER Indian River Inland Lakes 40, St. Ignace 36 Inland Lakes (10-1) reached double-digit wins for the second time in three seasons and clinched a Regional title by avenging its lone loss of this fall. These two continued to match up about as closely as possible, with the Bulldogs claiming this meeting after St. Ignace won 30-28 in Week 4. The Saints ended their first season of 8-player at 9-2. Click for more from the Cheboygan Daily Tribune.

Regional Roundup Pickford 34, Norway 16 This was a rematch of Pickford’s 40-18 win in Week 7 and this time sent the Panthers (10-1) back to Semifinals for the first time since winning Division 2 in 2019. Norway’s 8-3 finish was its best since 2017. Kingston 26, Brown City 0 The Cardinals (9-2) have posted two of the most notable playoff victories to kick off any division, this one clinching a Regional title for the first time since 2019 but also avenging a 38-20 Week 3 loss to previously-undefeated Brown City (10-1). Martin 28, Gobles 6 Reigning Division 1 champion Martin (9-2) hurdled a major obstacle in Gobles (8-3), avenging a 53-16 loss to the Tigers from Week 4.

Freeland defenders attempt to gauge Goodrich's next move during Friday's Martians win.

8-Player Division 2

HEADLINER Adrian Lenawee Christian 56, Climax-Scotts 16 The dominance Lenawee Christian (11-0) is exhibiting this fall may eclipse its work from its undefeated championship seasons of 2020 and 2021. The Cougars opened up a 13-point lead by halftime and then extended it for their ninth win of at least 40 points this fall. Climax-Scotts (10-1) posted its best record in five seasons of 8-player. Click for more from the Battle Creek Enquirer.

Regional Roundup Lake Linden-Hubbell 37, Powers North Central 18 There will be a new Division 2 champion as Lake Linden-Hubbell (8-3) ended North Central’s three-year run in this elimination game. The win also finished a season sweep of the Jets (8-3), as the Lakes won their Week 5 meeting 28-25. Deckerville 34, Portland St. Patrick 32 Deckerville (9-2) built a lead early and held on late to clinch a first Regional title since 2017 and end the Shamrocks’ run at 9-2 – a mighty bounce-back from 3-6 in 2022. Marion 48, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart 6 Marion (10-0) claimed a fourth-straight Regional championship and will enter the Semifinals undefeated for the second-straight year, this win ending the strongest of Sacred Heart’s six seasons of 8-player at 9-2 – double the success of finishing 4-5 a year ago.

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PHOTOS (Top) Martin's Haylen Buell charges into an opening during his team's win over Gobles. (Middle) Freeland defenders attempt to gauge Goodrich's next move during Friday's Martians win. (Top photo by Gary Shook; middle photo by Terry Lyons.)