MCC Makes Most of 3-Peat Opportunity

November 27, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

DETROIT – Christian Martinez ran for 45 yards Friday morning according to the Division 8 championship game box score, but crisscrossed his backfield for at least a few hundred more just trying to stay on his feet. 

Muskegon Catholic Central’s senior quarterback didn’t find many opportunities to move forward during the day’s first MHSAA Final at Ford Field – but took advantage when a title-deciding opening finally came.

In a game surprisingly dominated by defense, Martinez scored the only points with 10:21 to play in a 7-0 victory over undefeated Waterford Our Lady that gave MCC its third straight championship.

The teams entered the Final averaging a combined 78 points this season. But four turnovers by the Lakers and a number of stops by both defenses kept the scoreboard blank for the first three quarters.

“I was wondering when we were finally going to bust loose and score,” Martinez said. “They were just well-coached. They read their keys well. They had a really good inside linebacker; he broke on the ball. And then they had some really big defensive linemen who stopped a lot of plays up front before they even started.”

Martinez was complimentary of the Lakers’ defense for good reason. Both defenses shined – Our Lady held MCC to 215 yards and allowed only five third-down conversions in 12 tries. The Crusaders held the Lakers to 241 yards, but intercepted four passes and allowed Our Lady only four first downs on 12 third-down attempts.

Our Lady hadn’t been shut out since 2011. MCC had been held to single digits only one other time over the last three seasons – by Division 4 semifinalist Detroit Country Day in Week 8 of this fall.

All of the offense MCC could muster came together as the third quarter turned into the fourth. Our Lady looked to have another stop in hand with the Crusaders facing 3rd-and-4, but Martinez followed his blockers for a 14-yard gain down to the Lakers' 32-yard line. Senior Walker Christoffersen followed with a 24-yard run to the 8. Martinez then watched towering offensive tackle Jacob Holt block two defenders to set the edge, and followed for an 8-yard scoring run.

MCC (11-2) entered this season on a 26-game winning streak and abruptly lost in Week 1 to Muskegon Oakridge. After two seasons of complete dominance, three games this fall were decided by 14 points or fewer – which may have paid off when it mattered most.

“I was extremely happy that we were able to gut it out,” MCC coach Steve Czerwon said. “We’ve been in quite a few close games this year, maybe some more than past years. A lot of grit, a lot of integrity out of these guys.”

And a great strategy on his staff's part. The Crusaders played with four defensive backs deep to try to contain an Our Lady offense keyed by senior quarterback Clay Senerius, who had thrown for 2,913 yards and 34 touchdowns entering the day.

Christoffersen had two interceptions, including one in the end zone as Our Lady drove for a tying score with 3:21 to play. Senerius still finished 17 of 27 passing for 193 yards, but the Lakers had difficulty stringing enough positive plays together to get other drives rolling.

Our Lady did try a field goal midway through the first quarter but missed left from 35 yards out. The Lakers gained first downs on two fourth-down conversions, but their one failed fourth-down attempt came later in the first quarter when an incomplete pass ended a drive at MCC’s 16-yard line.

“The play at the end (of the game) is the one everyone is going to remember, but we had our shots there in the first half,” Our Lady coach Josh Sawicki said. “We’ve been aggressive all year. We’ve gone for it on fourth down all year. We don’t change our strategy and who we are and what we do just because of the big stage.

“Most of the time we come up with those big plays on fourth down. That’s when we bear down. It just didn’t go our way today.”

Our Lady, back in a Final for the first time since 2002, allowed only one opponent this season to come within 25 points. The Lakers (13-1) finished with their most wins and points (542) in school history.

Clay’s brother Devin, also a senior, caught six passes for 72 yards, and senior linebacker Ryan Kostich and junior defensive back Isaac Oliver led the team with seven tackles apiece.

Holt had 6.5 tackles and senior linebacker Nathan Jones and junior linebacker Andrew Schulte both had six for MCC. Christoffersen ran for 113 yards to go with his interceptions.

“We’ve had really good coaching. We had good players run routes on us, really good teaching throughout the week, and it resulted in a really good play I made in the state championship,” Christoffersen said. “I knew that was a really big play, and I was really happy I could make a play for my team.” 

Click for the full box score.

The MHSAA Football Finals are sponsored by the Michigan National Guard.

PHOTOS: (Top) Muskegon Catholic Central’s Walker Christoffersen snags one of his two interceptions in the Division 8 Final. (Middle) MCC quarterback Christian Martinez works to break away from an Our Lady defender.

Back to Building Boys Into Men, Munger Bringing Newfound Success to Newaygo

By Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com

November 6, 2024

NEWAYGO – After a long, physical practice Tuesday, as the light rain started to intensify, Newaygo coach Ralph Munger decided to squeeze in a quick game of “Simon Says.”

West MichiganWithin a few minutes, players were laughing, making fun of each other for clapping their hands when Munger didn’t say the magic words (and doing five push-ups as punishment) – and learning mental focus in the process.

“He’s an old-style coach,” said Newaygo senior Henry Wood, a senior captain and two-way starter. “But he has a crazy passion for the sport, and his football IQ is insane.”

Simon Says is just one of proven techniques the longtime coach is using to teach and motivate his players at Newaygo, which is 8-2 and hosting Central Montcalm on Friday for a Division 6 District championship in just his second year as coach.

Munger, 72, is having a ball at his latest coaching stop and is up to 11 wins over his two years at Newaygo, a small, rural school northwest of Grand Rapids – after winning 80 games in 11 years at Frankenmuth and 255 games over 28 years at Rockford, the latter tenure including five Finals appearances and three titles. He entered this season the sixth-winningest coach in state football history, and heading into this weekend his career record is 343-117.

“We’re making strides, and things are starting to click,” said Munger, who was an all-state football player in his own right at Frankenmuth in the late 1960s. “I feel pretty good, and I thank God every day that he has allowed me to coach again.”

Senior tight end Henry Wood (84) works to get past an outstretched defender. Newaygo knocked off traditional Division 6 power Montague, 30-17, last week for the school’s first playoff win since 2018.

The Lions are doing it with Munger’s beloved power game, led by senior quarterback Blake Kerr (55-of-99 passing for 805 yards and 10 TDs), junior running back Porter Slominski (130 rushes for 934 yards and 13 TDs) and senior running back Ethan Reyburn (104 rushes for 673 yards and 8 TDs).

Kerr, who has good size at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, has thrown primarily to his two fellow senior captains in split end Hunter Yearsovich (18 catches for 255 yards and 3 TDs) and Wood (9 catches for 140 yards and 3 TDs).

Luis Ceja Alvarez (5-10, 155), is a crafty, undersized linebacker who leads the defense with 34 solo tackles and 52 assists. Fellow linebacker Xavier Stroud has 17 solos and 32 assists.

Yearsovich, a team leader and two-way starter with a 4.4 GPA, said he and his senior teammates had an immediate connection with their Hall of Fame coach.

“I’ll never forget when we met him in the gym last year because he talked to us like we were men,” said Yearsovich. “With him, we don’t ever have the mentality that we’re going to lose, no matter who we’re playing. It hasn’t always been like that around here.”

As the Lions broke into groups in the middle of Tuesday’s practice, Munger headed off with the defensive backs.

The joy of hands-on coaching was apparent as he schooled them on back-pedaling and cutting on what could be a muddy playing surface Friday night, and then concentrating and catching a wet ball.

Munger, who had quadruple-bypass, open-heart surgery in the summer of 2019 and has undergone three separate spine surgeries, is thankful to still be able to stalk the sidelines with a whistle around his neck. He endured one long autumn away from coaching, during the COVID year of 2020, which is when he knew he wasn’t done.

“I was going stir crazy,” said Munger with a grin. “I needed my football fix, anywhere.”

Munger, play sheet in hand, has led the Lions to an 8-2 record. That led him to tiny Mancelona High School, which is near his cabin in northern Michigan, where he helped coach the offensive and defensive lines in 2021 and 2022. He then in 2023 pursued and landed the Newaygo head coaching job, which is a 30-minute drive from his home in Rockford.

He led Newaygo to a fairly typical 3-6 record last year. But with a full year of his coaching under their belts, the Lions are enjoying a breakthrough fall.

Newaygo finished the regular season 7-2, with the only losses coming against Reed City and Big Rapids, who are both still alive in the playoffs. One of the wins came against this week’s playoff opponent, Central Montcalm, 21-12, in Week 2.

Another victory over CM would earn the Lions yet another home game, against the winner of Ovid-Elsie at Lansing Catholic, this time for a Regional championship. Newaygo has never won a football Regional title, and 2012 was the only year it won more than one playoff game, losing to Grand Rapids West Catholic in a Division 5 Regional Final.

Munger said, at this point in his life, his only goals are to bring some positive energy to Newaygo and help his players make the transition from boys to men – the same thing he has been doing for almost 50 years.

“I am enjoying myself, very much so,” said Munger, who is a member of six Halls of Fame for his coaching achievements. “I find it fun getting after all the challenges out here. That’s what drives me.

“That’s the calling that the Good Lord has given me.”

Tom KendraTom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Newaygo varsity football coach Ralph Munger, right, talks things over with his senior quarterback Blake Kerr during a 53-26 win over Lake Odessa Lakewood on Oct. 18 at Central Michigan’s Kelly-Shorts Stadium. (Middle) Senior tight end Henry Wood (84) works to get past an outstretched defender. (Below) Munger, play sheet in hand, has led the Lions to an 8-2 record. (Photos by Tashina Kerr.)