Perry Eager to Begin Playoff Chase Again
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 7, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
PERRY – Swirling around in the back of his mind, Tanner Orweller sees what the most historic moment in Perry football history will look like.
The Ramblers, after coming so close so many seasons before, will make the playoffs for the first time. The entire town will turn out for the game – so many fans the bleachers won’t hold them all.
A motivating memory also replays frequently: Orweller, playing safety last fall as a sophomore on the varsity, biting on a pitch to the halfback against Maple Valley although his responsibility was to cover a receiver heading downfield.
That halfback threw a pass to the uncovered receiver, who ended up on the ground just short of the goalline. The Lions went on to defeat Perry by a point – 28-27 – and two weeks later the Rambers ended the season 5-4 and just short again of that elusive postseason berth.
“I know championships are not made in a matter of a year, or two years even,” said Orweller, also a Regional-qualifying wrestler during the winter. “You’ve got to train your whole life in order to be the best at what you do.
“There’s going to be failure in what you do, and you’ve got to know it’s not, ‘Oh no, I’m done.’ It’s, ‘Look, I’ve learned something from this. I know what I can do better. I’m going to practice those things I did wrong and make those mistakes go away so I can succeed next year.’”
Orweller and 19 teammates have been training most of their lives for the opportunity that began again Monday all over the state with the first practices of the 2017 football season.
Not counting schools playing varsity football for the first time this fall, there are 17 programs statewide that have never made the MHSAA Playoffs.
Of those 17, nine schools have existed since at least 1975, the first year football playoffs were conducted by the MHSAA.
And of those nine, Perry is one – and can make a great argument that none of the other 16 has come closer to earning another game more often.
From 1975-98, when playoff qualifiers were determined regionally by playoff-point average (based on success and strength of schedule), Perry enjoyed eight seasons of at least six wins – which would have been plenty under the current playoff format, which set an automatic qualifier at six victories when the 11-player field was expanded to 256 teams in 1999. The Ramblers had at least six wins four straight seasons from 1983-86, finishing the regular season 9-0 in 1984 but getting left out of the postseason. They then went 7-2 three times over four seasons from 1990-93, but couldn’t break through.
Perry entered the 2006 regular-season finale 5-3 and needing a win over Williamston to qualify for the first time – but lost 14-0. And then came last season and another 5-4 finish, the Ramblers’ best since that just-miss season a decade before but with a five-point loss to eventual Greater Lansing Activities Conference champion Lake Odessa Lakewood in Week 3 and then the one-point heartbreaker against the Lions a month later.
Telling that senior class that it wouldn’t have enough playoff points to make history was painful for then second-year coach Jeff Bott. And it was followed by a long offseason.
But Bott also saw the roots of a winner sinking in. An assistant at Perry for two years before taking over the program in 2015, Bott grew up in Haslett and never made the playoffs as a player – but was on the coaching staff as the program made the playoffs 12 times over 17 years with two trips to the MHSAA Finals.
He’s seen what it takes to become an annual playoff team. And he’s seen those steps taken, especially from an offseason training point of view, as the Ramblers have climbed back into the conversation.
“They playoffs weren’t something we talked about until we earned (it). I feel last year we earned the right to talk about it,” Bott said. “We aren’t there yet. But now, it’s time to finish. We just have to finish this year.”
Those finishing will mostly be new players. The roster has three seniors plus Orweller and two more juniors who were sophomores on varsity last season. The rest of their teammates are new to the top level.
But the other 13 juniors played together on junior varsity and led a team that finished 7-2, the latest strong run for a class that Orweller recalled finishing 6-1 in fourth grade – when he started having those playoff dreams for the first time.
If the Ramblers succeed in making the playoffs this season or next (or both), junior Drew Crim would be the first of his family including his dad Todd (a 1990 grad) and two uncles who preceded him to play in the postseason in a Perry uniform.
He’s seen success from a distance, cheering on cousin D.J. Zezula, who quarterbacked Clarkston to Division 1 titles in 2013 and 2014 before moving on to Wayne State University. Zezula has imparted on his cousin the importance of keeping his teammates working together and making sure they are accountable to each other on the field and off. Drew was another of the then-sophomores who came up to varsity in 2016. And Todd has pumped up his son’s confidence after watching he and his classmates grow up together.
“He says this year will be the greatest of probably all. We have a very athletic group of kids, and he thinks we will do great things – Yes, I agree,” Drew Crim said.
“I work with these guys, and I know their tenacity and drive to do better things.”
Bott, who teaches in Haslett and also coaches basketball at Perry, recalled how the Ramblers used to be known for having some sizable guys, but this year’s team has more athletes. He made a point when taking over the program to push for the addition of local Spartan Performance, which trains the team year-round with a focus on improving as a complete athlete instead of just hitting the weights.
That offseason dedication and continued improvement in a wide-open spread attack all contribute to Perry looking the part of a program on the rise.
Now the Ramblers hope to look the part of playoff team.
“This town loves football. Every Friday night there are 2,000 people here, three deep on the fence,” he said. “(Our players) are focused on giving something back here – for us, for them, but for this town. This program has been looked down on at times, and it hasn’t always been successful, but there have been great athletes and teams that came through in the 90s and we’re trying to get back to where it was.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me in town that this is the way it used to look.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Perry linemen work through a defensive drill during Monday's opening practice. (Middle) Ramblers coach Jeff Bott addresses his varsity and junior varsity players before those first drills of the 2017 season.
Millington Caps 1st Finals Trip with Decisive 'Forever' Championship
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 30, 2024
DETROIT – Dallas Walsh and his Millington teammates achieved a childhood dream Saturday at the Division 7 Football Final.
But for the sea of red in the Ford Field stands, and the few left watching at home, it was the fulfillment of a dream that started decades before the current Cardinals had taken a single snap.
A suffocating defense combined with a big day on the ground from Walsh gave the Cardinals a 24-0 victory against Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, bringing a first Finals trophy home to Millington.
“It’s definitely an amazing feeling,” Walsh said. “I’ve been playing with these guys since I was probably 8 years old. This is something we’ve all dreamt of, and it’s really an amazing experience. Our whole community backed us the whole way. I’m just so glad that we came out with the win.”
The Cardinals were making the first Finals appearance in program history, as they were 0-6 in Semifinal appearances prior to this season.
That just made getting over the hump that much more special.
“It means the world to us,” Millington coach Jason Germain said. “We were 0-6 going into the Semifinals, and we heard about that. These kids knew that. They fulfilled my dreams, and they fulfilled a lot of people in the community’s dreams. If you couldn’t tell, you’d think that was a Division 1 game out there with that many people in the crowd. It is truly, in small towns like Millington and Frankenmuth, that’s what we cling to. We don’t have a lot in our community, but we have our Friday nights and we have our football program. That’s what it really, truly means. We told our guys, pain is temporary, championships are forever, and that’s what they really bought into. And it’s a true testament to our community. I’m telling you, it’s going to be a good night in Millington tonight.”
That fun night will no doubt include tales of a monstrous defensive effort from the Cardinals, which included three forced turnovers and allowing just 3.2 yards per play.
SMCC came into Saturday’s Final averaging 36.3 points and 240.5 rushing yards per game, but wasn’t able to get anything going against a stout Millington front. The Falcons were held to 131 yards of total offense and 68 yards on the ground.
“They did to us what we’ve been doing to teams for 13 games, so I think that’s a testament to them,” SMCC coach Adam Kipf said. “... They brought it on every single play. I don’t think they lost any energy throughout the game, and they were physical. We’d seen that on tape. We figured they’d wear down a little bit, and they did not wear down.”
The Cardinals held SMCC to 2.3 yards per carry, and when quarterback Ian Jones did drop back to pass, he was often greeted with a defender in his face. Millington finished the game with four sacks, getting two apiece from Logan Myers and Brevin Hendricks, which resulted in 34 lost yards for the Falcons.
The Cardinals also forced three interceptions, with Truk Terbush picking off two and Owen Kreger snagging the other.
“We shut out (Pewamo-Westphalia); they’re a prolific offense. We held North Muskegon to 14 until the end of the game – our defense is outstanding, and that’s a credit to our defensive coordinator (Lenny Dantinne) and these guys buying in,” Germain said. “I can’t say enough about these guys and Coach Dantinne and all of our coaches for preparing these guys. You don’t just shut out a team like Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central unless you’re doing film study and working hard.”
Offensively, Walsh, who had a team-high eight tackles, rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, while Landon Russell had 67 yards on two carries, including a 64-yard TD run. Terbush finished 7-of-12 for 58 yards and a touchdown, and one interception.
Millington (13-0) had a significant field position advantage through most of the first half, and it was finally able to cash in on that late in the second quarter when Walsh opened the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown run.
The Cardinals put themselves right back into a dangerous position on the next play from scrimmage when Terbush intercepted a pass near midfield and returned it to the SMCC 15. The Falcons defense limited the damage, but Millington took a 10-0 lead with a 25-yard Larry Shoens field goal.
SMCC (13-1) was able to create a chance during the final seconds of the half, as Cole Reinhardt returned the ensuing kick 44 yards into Millington territory. But Kreger intercepted a pass in the endzone as time expired to preserve the Cardinals’ 10-point halftime lead.
That would have been enough, thanks to the outstanding effort of the Millington defense, but Landon Russell added a 64-yard TD run late in the third quarter on what was by far the game’s most explosive play. Russell’s run covered more ground than the SMCC offense had been able to gain up until that point (50 yards).
It’s a play that was supposed to go to Walsh, but he made the decision to switch with Russell after it was called.
“It was really, I told (Russell) I needed a breather, so I said, ‘Go get one,’” Walsh said.
That run capped a 95-yard drive for the Cardinals, as they started at their own 5-yard line, and opened the possession with a false start to fall back to the 2½.
“That was the turning point in the game for us,” Germain said. “They could have stopped us there, but our kids persevered and we just went old school football – flanker, double tight, and we just pounded the ball and scored on that. That was the huge part of the game for me, personally.”
The Cardinals tacked on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Terbush to Brevin Hendrick with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
SMCC was led by Lucas Linzell’s 12 tackles, while Brady Hines had eight, including 2.5 for loss. Jack Starner had one sack for the Falcons, and Drew Ferreira had an interception.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Kipf said. “They fought and they battled. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Millington’s Dallas Walsh (5) busts into a wide opening during Saturday’s Division 7 Final at Ford Field. (Middle) The Cardinals’ Brevin Hendricks (11) chases SMCC quarterback Ian Foster in the backfield. (Below) Millington coach Jason Germain holds up the championship trophy as he’s embraced by one of his players. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)