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'Oakridge Family' True in Name & Purpose
October 3, 2018
By Tom Kendra
Special for Second Half
Every football team talks about being a family.
But at Muskegon Oakridge, it’s more than just a motto.
Three of the Oakridge varsity coaches have sons on the team, including head coach Cary Harger with two-way starting senior lineman Cole Harger.
“It does make it extra special, being a senior and playing for my dad,” said Cole Harger of the Eagles’ high-flying start, which has them 6-0 and ranked No. 3 in Division 5 in the latest Associated Press poll.
“The family thing is real out here. This is such a tight-knit community, and we’re just together all the time. We know each other so well and know how to push each other.”
Oakridge faces its toughest test of the season Friday when it hosts conference rival Montague (5-1), which comes in riding a five-game winning streak and ranked No. 10 in Division 5.
Oakridge has been the dominant team for almost 40 years in the West Michigan Conference, a league which has put 14 teams in MHSAA state championship games and celebrated nine Finals winners. Oakridge has made it five times, winning titles in 1997, 2005 and 2008.
Early on in that stretch, the Eagles’ main league rival was North Muskegon, and later Ravenna. In the 2000s, the most competitive rivalries shifted north to the White Lake area in Whitehall and Montague, particularly Montague.
Oakridge is 7-4 against Montague over the past 11 years, with many of those games classic back-and-forth battles that came down to the final minutes (and sometimes, seconds). But the only game that anyone at Oakridge seems to remember is from a year ago, when host Montague pounded Oakridge 40-0 – the most lopsided conference loss in school history.
“We have waited 51 weeks for the opportunity to erase that memory,” said senior linebacker Jaden Parker, whose father, Tim, is the Oakridge defensive coordinator. “We got shell-shocked last year and didn’t fight back. This year we have more seniors, and we won’t let that happen again.”
This year’s matchup features two of Michigan’s top running backs. Montague senior Bryce Stark, a returning Associated Press all-stater, has gained 542 yards on 74 carries (7.3 per carry), despite being slowed early in the year with a knee injury. Oakridge counters with battering ram junior fullback Leroy Quinn (6-1, 216), the leading rusher in the Greater Muskegon area with 111 carries for 1,119 yards (10.1 average) and 19 touchdowns.
Coach Harger is quick to point out that Stark is just one of many weapons on this Montague team who worries his team.
“The first thing that strikes you about Montague is their athleticism and the number of quality athletes we have to focus on,” said Harger, a 1990 Oakridge graduate. “But they are also big up front, so you have to be concerned with that, as well. We need to play our best game.”
The final father-son connection on the Oakridge varsity staff is offensive coordinator Nate Danicek and his son, Jacob, a sophomore who starts at safety and plays slot receiver on offense when the Eagles break out of their full-house backfield and go with a spread look.
But the Oakridge football family goes far beyond just the coaching staff – it’s a way of life.
After a long practice Tuesday evening, Coach Harger and Coach Parker (whose fathers coached them on an Oakridge youth football team almost 40 years ago) went down the varsity roster and quickly pointed out all of the players whose fathers also played varsity football at Oakridge.
On that list is senior starting quarterback Koleman Wall (6-3, 197), whose father, Scott Wall, was the starting fullback on the 1990 team, the first Oakridge team to reach the MHSAA title game. Other father-son duos are starting running back and linebacker Blake Masterman (father Dan Masterman), starting center Mavrick McLouth (Dude McLouth), Jacob Barber (Nate Barber) and Sander Brott (David Brott).
Sander Brott is also a third-generation Eagle, as his grandfather, Mark Fazakerley, played on the first Oakridge varsity team in 1966.
“We are doing our best to carry on the tradition that Jack Schugars started out here,” said Coach Parker, referencing Schugars, who had a 262-78 record in 31 seasons at Oakridge from 1979 to 2010. “It’s a point of pride that these are all Oakridge kids. We don’t have schools of choice, so almost every one of these kids has been playing together since the youth leagues.”
The Oakridge youth league still boasts more than 150 players and is the starting point for one of the state’s most consistent programs.
With its six consecutive wins to open the season, Oakridge has qualified for the playoffs for the 15th straight year and 23rd of the past 24. Many believe this team could be good enough to get all the way to Ford Field for the first time since 2008.
The Eagles have an experienced backfield led by Quinn, but also featuring speedy senior Masterman (359 yards) and multi-talented senior Jalen Hughes (315 yards). Wall provides a fourth running threat and has been efficient through the air, completing 28-of-43 passes for 516 yards and 10 touchdowns, with just one interception.
The defense is led by senior tackle Brandon Wilde (5-9, 212), who has 38 tackles on the season with half of those tackles in the backfield for negative yardage, including six sacks. Masterman leads the team with 40 tackles, and senior cornerback Jaxon Fri has three interceptions.
Oakridge could possibly play Montague a second time in the playoffs. Montague has traditionally been a Division 6 playoff team, but with its enrollment up 36 students from last year to 445, it could end up with Oakridge in Division 5.
Another possible Eagles rematch down the road is with top-ranked Saginaw Swan Valley, which beat Oakridge in last year’s MHSAA Regional Final, 48-14.
The “Oakridge family” isn’t looking near that far ahead, but is focused on proving itself after last year’s lopsided loss at Montague.
“The way we played in that game last year was our biggest motivation all offseason,” said Cole Harger. “That wasn’t Oakridge football. I think one of our biggest strengths this year is our togetherness as a team, and we have the opportunity to prove that on Friday night.”
Tom 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) Senior Cole Harger and Oakridge coach Cary Harger are one of three sets of fathers and sons on the varsity this season. (Middle) Harger (66), a two-way starting lineman, lines up his block during a Week 2 win over North Muskegon. (Below) Harger, with Jacob Danicek (middle) and Jaden Parker, whose fathers also are on the coaching staff. (Photos by Sherry Wahr.)
![Muskegon's Jakob Price (20) finds room to run in his team's win over DeWitt.](/sites/default/files/2022-11/221121_1st%26Goal_2H.png)
1st & Goal: 2022 11-Player Semifinals Review
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 21, 2022
This season's 11-Player Football Finals field is set. And it's fair to expect phenomenal after how this weekend's Semifinals played out.
Both Division 1 games went to overtime. The Division 5 and Division 8 Semifinals produced Ford Field matchups of undefeated contenders. Three reigning champions advanced, as did two teams that won Semifinals for the first time and two more that won their first during the lifetimes of the players on their rosters this fall.
And that's just a sample of what's to come, as we'll preview all eight matchups Wednesday. For today, we're taking a glance back at all 16 games from a snowy, stormy and mostly frigid but forever memorable Friday and Saturday.
Division 1
SEMIFINAL Belleville 29, Detroit Cass Tech 28 (OT) Arguably the game of the weekend was played Friday night as Belleville took an early 14-0 lead, got behind 21-14, scored with 1:04 left in regulation to force overtime, then answered Cass Tech’s overtime touchdown with a score and game-winning 2-point conversion. The reigning Division 1 champion Tigers improved to 13-0, while the Technicians finished 9-4. Click for more from MLive-Detroit.
Belleville sophomore Bryce Underwood with the game-winning 2-point conversion in OT as the Tigers beat Cass Tech 29-28 in the Division 1 Semifinal. Powered by @LTUAthletics @BryceUnderwoo16 | @BellevilleFB | @BHSBelleville pic.twitter.com/nweEl5iffn
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 19, 2022
SEMIFINAL Caledonia 21, Clarkston 0 An anticipated offense back-and-forth turned into one of the most impressive defensive performances in the state this season as Caledonia shut out a Clarkston offense averaging nearly 41 points per game. The Fighting Scots (12-1) will be playing in their first Final since winning the Division 3 title in 2005. Clarkston finished 10-3. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.
Caledonia celebrates after beating Clarkston 21-0 in the Division 1 Semifinal. Powered by @USNRecruiter pic.twitter.com/YM6zg2PTl9
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 19, 2022
Division 2
SEMIFINAL Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 20, Dexter 17 (2OT) A Forest Hills Central defense that has been a big part of the story all season showed well again as the Rangers (13-0) advanced to their first Final since 1994. Quarterback Mason McDonald certainly did his part as well, and especially at crunch time, with a game-tying touchdown pass on the last play of regulation and the game-winning scoring run. Dexter finished its first Semifinal season at 12-1. Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.
Highlights of the Forest Hills Central vs. Dexter - Division 2 @MHSAA Football Semifinal
📹WXMI-TV@fhcsportsreport | @Coachtimrogers | @rheathorntontv pic.twitter.com/kvWJDKNiYV
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
SEMIFINAL Warren De La Salle Collegiate 43, Birmingham Groves 15 The reigning champion Pilots (12-1) once again followed quarterback Brady Drogosh, who scored four touchdowns, while the defense took care of their side with a ninth-straight game of allowing 18 or fewer points. Groves finished 9-4, an excellent comeback from finishing 2-7 last season. Click for more from the Macomb Daily.
Here are the highlights of our Anvil Award candidate and Illinois commit Mason Muragin (@MMuragin) from De La Salle in their Division 2 Semifinal win over Groves. Delivered by @hungryhowies @DLSFootball_MI | @DLSBroZone | @DeLaSalleAD | @illinifootball pic.twitter.com/5SHl6ZW46B
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
Division 3
SEMIFINAL Muskegon 49, DeWitt 21 After two seasons away, Muskegon (11-2) will return to Ford Field for the fifth time in seven years. Quarterback M’Khi Guy showed the way scoring six touchdowns on the ground and throwing for a seventh. DeWitt, last season’s Division 3 runner-up, finished 9-4. Click for more from the Muskegon Chronicle.
Highlights of the Muskegon vs. DeWitt - Division 3 @MHSAA Football Semifinal
📹WXMI-TV@MuskCoFootball | @OnMuskegon | @jhutt5 pic.twitter.com/uEEO12WBWV
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
SEMIFINAL Detroit Martin Luther King 52, Mason 17 The reigning champion Crusaders (9-3) also are headed back to the Finals, for the sixth time in eight seasons after shutting down a Mason offense averaging 45 points per game. Dante Moore also offered a few more highlights as his career draws to a close, throwing four touchdown passes. Mason finished a second-straight Semifinal run at 12-1. Click for more from the Detroit Free Press.
Our Mr. Football candidate and Oregon commit Dante Moore from Detroit King threw 4 TDs in their 52-17 win over Mason in the Division 3 Semifinal. Delivered by @hungryhowies @dantemoore05 | @oregonfootball | @DetKingFootball | @TheRealSterl | @J2Croft pic.twitter.com/FtdAA3fLdD
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
Division 4
SEMIFINAL Grand Rapids South Christian 26, Edwardsburg 20 The Sailors improved to 13-0 and earned their first Finals trip since 2014 by handing Edwardsburg its first loss since the season opener. The Eddies (11-2) pulled within a score late, but South Christian held them off the rest of the way. Click for more from FOX 17.
Highlights of the South Christian vs. Edwardsburg - Division 4 @MHSAA Football Semifinal
📹WXMI-TV@RemiMonaghan | @sailorsports | @SCsailorFB pic.twitter.com/sWAUcleWm4
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 21, 2022
SEMIFINAL Goodrich 51, Riverview 26 The Martians (12-1) are headed to the season’s final weekend for the first time after piling up their second-most points in a game this season and handing Riverview (12-1) its lone defeat. Jace Simerson ran for five touchdowns to lead the way. Click for more from the Flint Journal.
Goodrich senior @JaceSimerson scored five rushing touchdowns in their Division 4 Semifinal win over Riverview. Powered by @LTUAthletics pic.twitter.com/RZtyS9m6cp
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
Division 5
SEMIFINAL Gladwin 28, Grand Rapids Catholic Central 21 Arguably the stunner of the playoffs goes to the Flying G’s, which is saying a lot since they remain undefeated at 13-0 but also ended Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s three-season Finals streak a win short of extending it to four. The Cougars (11-2) pulled within the final margin late and had the ball, but a Gladwin interception sealed the program’s first trip to the Finals. Click for more from the Bay City Times.
Here are the highlights of Gladwin's win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central in the Division 5 @MHSAA Football Semifinal
📹https://t.co/duQnD6Kq0j@GladwinFootball pic.twitter.com/9MxZdN3gEF
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
SEMIFINAL Frankenmuth 38, Detroit Country Day 0 The Eagles (13-0) earned their second trip to Ford Field in three seasons with arguably the finest defensive effort of a season full of them as they didn’t allow a first down while posting their fifth shutout. Aidan Hoard threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third score. Country Day finished 8-4. Click for more from the Saginaw News.
Frankenmuth celebrates after beating Country Day 38-0 in the Division 5 Semifinal on Saturday. Powered by @MIArmyGuard @FrankenmuthF | @FMuthAthletics pic.twitter.com/wdZyCSRggU
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 19, 2022
Division 6
SEMIFINAL Negaunee 13, Reed City 12 The Miners emerged from one of the snowiest Semifinals by twice coming back, the second time with the eventual game-winning touchdown run by Kai Lacar. The Negaunee (13-0) also reached its first Finals since 2002 by continuing a run of allowing no more than 15 points in a game this season, and even though Reed City (11-2) averaged 44 per game entering the day. Click for more from the Marquette Mining Journal.
Highlights of the Negaunee vs. Reed City - Division 6 @MHSAA Football Semifinal
📹 WJMN-TV pic.twitter.com/P6H47zX9lT
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
SEMIFINAL Grand Rapids West Catholic 33, Clinton 14 The Falcons are headed back to the Finals for the first time since 2017 by handing Clinton its only defeat and holding the Redwolves (12-1) to their fewest points scoring this fall. Tim Kloska ran for 349 yards and five more touchdowns for West Catholic (12-1). Click for more from FOX 17.
Highlights of the West Catholic vs. Clinton - Division 6 @MHSAA Football Semifinal
📹WXMI-TV@wcathleticspage | @CoachLGrove | @GRWCFootball | @jhutt5 pic.twitter.com/v1vBXkbjlv
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
Division 7
SEMIFINAL Traverse City St. Francis 53, New Lothrop 8 The Gladiators’ dominance seems to become more extraordinary every week as they’re 13-0 for the first time since 2009 and have now won their last two games by a combined 116-8. St. Francis led 20-0 after the first quarter in this one. New Lothrop finished 10-3. Click for more from the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Highlights of the Division 7 @MHSAA Semifinal between Traverse City St. Francis and New Lothrop
📹 WPBN-TV@TCSFFootball | @HarrisonBeeby pic.twitter.com/nBx0oMtUIN
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
SEMIFINAL Jackson Lumen Christi 20, Napoleon 7 The Titans (10-3) earned a rematch with one of the opponents that contributed to their 0-3 start this season. Lumen Christi relied on a steady defense that held Napoleon to its fewest points scored in a game this fall. Napoleon also finished its first Semifinal season at 12-1. Click for more from the Jackson Citizen Patriot.
Congratulations to Jackson Lumen Christi. 20-7 win over Napoleon on Saturday in the Division 7 @MHSAA Semifinal. First trip back to the State Finals since 2019. pic.twitter.com/ygnHI7SoeJ
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 20, 2022
Division 8
SEMIFINAL Ubly 41, Iron Mountain 14 The Bearcats have equaled St. Francis’ mastery so far, with this their closest game this season. Ubly (13-0) will return to Ford Field for the second time in three seasons after holding Iron Mountain to its fewest points since a Week 1 defeat to Negaunee and scoring the most the Mountaineers (11-2) gave up this season. Click for more from the Huron Daily Tribune.
Here are the highlights of Ubly's win over Iron Mountain in the Division 8 @MHSAA semifinal. 📹 https://t.co/duQnD6sOBJ pic.twitter.com/6TTWtadwg5
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 22, 2022
SEMIFINAL Ottawa Lake Whiteford 44, Clarkston Everest Collegiate 6 The Bobcats also are headed back to the Finals for the first time since 2017 after defeating Everest (9-4) in the playoffs for the second-straight season. Quarterback Shea Ruddy ran for four scores for Whiteford (13-0). Click for more from the Monroe News.
Ottawa Lake Whiteford senior quarterback Shea Ruddy (@shea_ruddy) had four touchdown runs in their win over Clarkston Everest in the Division 8 Semifinal. Powered by @LTUAthletics pic.twitter.com/DxBJniKJur
— STATE CHAMPS! Michigan (@statechampsmich) November 19, 2022
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PHOTO Muskegon's Jakob Price (20) finds room to run in his team's win over DeWitt. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)