Performance: Cass Tech's Rodney Hall
December 1, 2016
Rodney Hall
Detroit Cass Tech senior – Football
A year ago, Hall’s junior season ended on the Ford Field sideline, watching Cass Tech fall 41-27 to Romeo in the Division 1 Final after he suffered a lower leg injury two weeks before. But he came back this season fueled by championship motivation, and made it pay off. Hall threw for 220 yards and an MHSAA Finals record-tying five touchdown passes to lead the Technicians to a 49-20 win over Detroit Catholic Central in the Division 1 Final on Saturday and earn the Michigan National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Hall started a pair of playoff games as a freshman before taking over the varsity fulltime in 2014 and leading Cass Tech to a 12-1 record. The Technicians were a combined 36-3 under him the last three seasons and scored a program-record 619 points (44.2 per game) this fall. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound signal-caller completed 10 of 18 passes in the Final and also ran for 58 yards on only seven carries. He finished this season 142 of 238 passing for 2,535 yards and 28 touchdowns, after a junior season when he threw for 2,232 yards and 20 touchdowns and ran for 1,053 yards and 14 scores.
After admitting Saturday to being a little timid to run at the start of the fall, and with a steel plate still in his ankle, Hall ran for a combined 253 yards and three touchdowns over his final three playoff games. He has committed to sign to play football at Northern Illinois University but said he’s unsure which course of study he’ll pursue. MLive-Detroit reported Hall carries a 3.4 grade-point average in its feature on the Technicians standout as one of 10 finalists for MLive’s High School Football Player of the Year award.
Coach Thomas Wilcher said: Let's say it like this: He lost one game his first year, two games his second year, zero games his third year. That's enough said. ... I think the most important thing about Rodney Hall is you have to look at his stats. He has phenomenal stats. He has a phenomenal win-loss record. I haven't been around anything like that before. I just look at his game – (he's) the gamer. He's always bringing back a victory. We went down to the wire several times, and it was all about him. And I just told him this week, 'Look, I don't need you to run the ball. All I want you to do is throw the ball. You should throw the ball for over 300 yards.’ That’s it. And I told him, just stick with the game plan; no running. And I just kept telling the offensive coordinator, don't let him run. Let him throw it. That's it."
Performance Point: “Just to be able to make it back to this point and play in this game, I was just excited to come play, and glad we won,” Hall said. “The offense was clicking, and guys were open. They did the rest. I just put it to them. … (At last season’s Final) I was crying. I was hurt that I couldn't be out there to help my teammates. I wanted (this year) bad. We made history at Cass because I think we’re the first team to go 14-0 and win the state championship. We just wanted to win this game because we’ve been losing ever since we came into high school. We have a lot of wins, but we’ve been coming up short for the last three years – and it’s great to come out with the championship this year.”
Learning to run again: “I came in (to this season), I was a little timid to run, actually. I didn't want to get hurt again and miss this opportunity. Coach, he's been pressing me to run all year, and when I finally do, I get positive yards.”
Star among the stars: “Quarterback is simple. You just have to keep everybody on the right track and make sure teammates don’t get down when we get behind. The last two weeks we’ve been losing, and I just remind my guys, ‘Come on, we can win this. We’re going to go back and score.’ Just remind them to keep scoring, remind the defense we’re going to keep getting stops, and just keep everybody’s heads up.”
Pass is present: “This year, I’ve been a way better passer. Because all offseason, I haven’t been able to run. I’ve just been working the pocket, making sure I’m looking at everything, making sure I’m reading the defense better. And I’ve had a better passing year this year, I believe.”
Leaving a legacy: “I just can’t believe it’s over with. I just want people to know I was a guy to go out there and give it all I’ve got. Just sell out for the team, and that’s what you should do – and you’ll end up a champion.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2016-17 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom or protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2016-17 honorees:
Nov. 24: Ally Cummings, Novi volleyball – Read
Nov. 17: Chloe Idoni, Fenton volleyball – Read
Nov. 10: Adelyn Ackley, Hart cross country – Read
Nov. 3: Casey Kirkbride, Mattawan soccer – Read
Oct. 27: Colton Yesney, Negaunee cross country – Read
Oct. 20: Varun Shanker, Midland Dow tennis – Read
Oct. 13: Anne Forsyth, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country – Read
Oct. 6: Shuaib Aljabaly, Coldwater cross country – Read
Sept. 29: Taylor Seaman, Brighton swimming & diving – Read
Sept. 22: Maggie Farrell, Battle Creek Lakeview cross country – Read
Sept. 15: Franki Strefling, Buchanan volleyball – Read
Sept. 8: Noah Jacobs, Corunna cross country – Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Detroit Cass Tech's Rodney Hall prepares to unload a pass during Saturday's Division 1 Final at Ford Field. (Middle) Hall hurdles a would-be Detroit Catholic Central tackler.
Haisenleder Provides Lift-Off as Revitalized Cardinal Mooney Continues Rise
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 9, 2022
Brendan Haisenleder understands the specialness of his senior football season, which came to an end Friday with a 42-21 Division 8 District Final loss to Clarkston Everest Collegiate.
He is well aware that what he accomplished at Marine City Cardinal Mooney was extraordinary.
But when asked to recap it, none of the personal milestones came up.
“It’s really awesome seeing the program and how it used to be a couple years ago and how it’s turned around,” Haisenleder said. “Just seeing the growth as a program, going from having a roster of 15 kids and now we’re at 30. It’s really awesome, and I’m really proud of how far the Mooney program has come.”
He’s certainly not wrong. Mooney was 8-3 this season, winning a playoff game for the first time since 2011 when the team was playing in the 8-player format. The first-round victory against Marlette was the first 11-player playoff win for the Cardinals since 2005.
They won the Detroit Catholic League Intersectional 2, and the 15 wins over the past two seasons were more than the previous six seasons combined.
“I think that one big thing is the work in the offseason that all of the kids put in and all of the coaches,” Haisenleder said.
“We were getting a lot of stuff we needed to get done going into the season, we took everything very seriously, and we played very hard and physical on gamedays.”
But it’s undeniable that Haisenleder was at the heart of it, and his statistics tell quite a bit of the story.
He rushed for 2,302 yards, easily setting a new Mooney season record, and scored 30 offensive touchdowns. On defense, he recorded 148 tackles and five interceptions.
Mike McAndrews, Mooney’s director of admissions and boys basketball coach, didn’t mince words when he tweeted about Haisenleder’s status in Mooney history.
“The best football player to ever wear a Mooney uniform,” McAndrews wrote, tagging Haisenleder. “He took this program to new heights. He will be playing on Saturdays next year and will make a college coach very happy.”
Haisenleder wouldn’t say that he was surprised by his success this season. But he did admit that he exceeded his own very high expectations. By Week 4, he already had eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark.
“When I play, I have a lot of confidence,” he said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself that I have to put the work in so I can do the best I can to help my team. One of the goals I had was to become the single-season rushing leader at our school. … My offensive line did a great job.”
Haisenleder’s success has led to college interest. He has six offers to play at the next level, four from NAIA schools and two from Division III.
At 5-foot-8, 190 pounds, he knows he’s fighting an uphill battle in that regard, but it’s made him even more driven to succeed.
“There kind of is a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “Seeing guys that are very similar to me getting offers, and I think, ‘Man I’m right there.’”
The best football player to ever wear a Mooney uniform @BHaisenleder. He took this program to new heights. He will be playing on Saturdays next year and will make a college coach very happy. pic.twitter.com/vIaOWdhDVg
— Mike McAndrews (@CM_hoopsCoach) November 5, 2022
Haisenleder’s football idol is Barry Sanders, who he was able to meet at an event in October. The size is an immediate comparison to make, and it’s easy to see how any athlete – even if they were born six years after Sanders retired – could be engrossed by Sanders highlights. But it’s Sanders’ humility that Haisenleder most wants to emulate.
“One of my favorite things about him was how humble he was,” Haisenleder said. “When he would score, he would just hand the ball to the ref and act like he’d been there before. That’s another thing I take very big pride in.”
Haisenleder said he will now take more time to figure out what his next step will be, although things won’t really slow down much for him. Conditioning for basketball already has started.
He’s a guard on the Cardinals’ basketball team, and an outfielder on the baseball team. While football became his main focus as he neared high school, he said he loves all three.
It helps that all three teams are seeing quite a bit of success at Mooney, and that many of Haisenleder’s teammates overlap on all three.
“It is cool at a small school that a lot of the same guys play the same sports,” he said. “There’s a really big brotherhood between the same guys. The family never really changes that much, and we’re really growing in chemistry with one another.”
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) Cardinal Mooney’s Brendan Haisenleder finishes one of his 30 touchdowns this fall. (Middle) Haisenleder works to break a tackle during a Week 8 win over Whitmore Lake. (Photos by Lindsey VanTiem.)