Pickford Shines in Superior Dome Return
November 23, 2019
By Ryan Stieg
Special for Second Half
MARQUETTE – A year ago, the Pickford football team was left heartbroken at the Superior Dome as it fell in the 8-player Division 1 championship game.
On Saturday, the Panthers exited the stadium in jubilation as they finished the job this time, downing Portland St. Patrick 48-15 in the Division 2 Final.
Pickford used its large offensive line and talented rushing game to take over in the second quarter. From then on, the Panthers never looked back as they outgained the Shamrocks 285-18 on the ground and 437-143 in total yards on the way to their first title in the sport.
“Our staple for the whole year has been our offensive line, and we knew if we stuck with it and do what we did best, we’d force them to do what they didn’t want to do,” Pickford head coach Josh Rader said. “We controlled the line of scrimmage, I think, on both sides of the ball. And when you’re able to do that, you’re going to win the majority of the games.
“We came up short last year and after that game, you get that empty feeling in your stomach. A lot of them were juniors, and we only had two seniors on the team last year. So they had a goal to get back here to be able to play in this game and win it. So we had some unfinished business, and we found a way to come back here and finish it.”
Pickford quarterback Jimmy Storey agreed with his coach, saying that a championship was on the team’s mind from the start of the season, but took a lot of work.
“It’s all those extra reps,” he said. “Coming out the first day of practice, we set our goals and said we want a state championship this year. We’ve been working toward that in every practice, every game and every play. We just came out wanting it.”
While Pickford (12-1) looked sharp from start to finish on Dome’s turf, the stadium continues to be an unlucky place for the Shamrocks as two years ago they were run over by Crystal Falls Forest Park. This time against the Panthers, the Shamrocks were hit hard early and struggled to get anything going offensively after the first quarter.
“We had some trouble just slowing them down,” St. Patrick head coach Patrick Russman said. “They are great up front, and we knew that. We needed a couple big plays here or there to keep us going along with it. We had a couple chances in there in the passing game. Some we made, and some we didn’t. We just needed a few more points on the board to make it interesting. I credit the kids, and I credit their kids. Credit our kids for fighting all the way through. Two really good football teams on the field today.
“Statistically, if you looked at it, we probably shouldn’t be here. Our kids are such great football players that it’s fun to watch them play week-in and week-out. Just the time and heart they put into it and how they treat other people, those are the great things we get out of this group.”
The first quarter started off pretty even. After forcing a St. Patrick punt, Pickford scored on its opening possession. A couple of first-down runs by Storey got the ball up to the Shamrocks’ 31-yard line before Matt Bush busted up the middle for a touchdown. Storey ran in the 2-point conversion, and the Panthers led 8-0.
St. Patrick (12-1) answered. A long kickoff return from John Schneider brought the ball to the Pickford 7, and a couple of plays later Ned Smith plunged into the end zone on a one-yard run. The Shamrocks got the conversion on a pass from Connor Cross to Tyler Coyne, and the game was tied at 8-8 going into the second quarter.
From that point on, it was almost all Panthers. On the ensuing possession, Pickford quickly marched downfield. On 4th down on the St. Patrick 25, Nick Edington made a nice overhead catch in the end zone. Stephen Lamothe got the conversion for the Panthers to give them a 16-8 lead.
After almost picking off a Shamrocks pass, the Panthers scored again on their next offensive chance, first using their running game to get into St. Patrick territory. Storey capped off the drive with his first rushing touchdown, a two-yard run, and he then hooked up with Micah Bailey for the conversion. Pickford now held a 24-8 advantage with 5:09 left in the second quarter.
The Panthers added one more touchdown before the half, another two-yard run from Storey, and picked up the conversion. St. Patrick had a chance to go into the break with a little momentum as a 39-yard pass from Cross to Schneider took the team to the Pickford 21. But the Shamrocks couldn’t capitalize.
Things got worse for St. Patrick during the second half. Pickford used a combination of running and passing to get the ball to the Shamrocks’ 3, and Storey got his third touchdown run of the game. The Panthers got the conversion on a pass to Luke Batho and led 40-8 with 8:44 left in the third quarter. Pickford locked down the win with 5:20 left when Storey found Batho down the Shamrocks’ sideline for a 55-yard touchdown. The conversion put Pickford up 48-8.
St. Patrick did get on the board one more time as Cross hit Coyne over the middle with a 76-yard touchdown pass with seven seconds remaining.
PHOTOS: (Top) Pickford celebrates its first football championship Saturday at the Superior Dome. (Middle) The Panthers’ Matt Bush (32) breaks into the open while Portland St. Patrick defenders chase. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)
Martin Seizes Long-Awaited Opportunity with 1st Finals Win Since 1987
By
Jason Juno
Special for MHSAA.com
November 19, 2022
MARQUETTE – When their playoff run ends, teams can normally find some consolation if their loss comes to the eventual state champion.
But that got a little old for Martin.
The Clippers fell to Adrian Lenawee Christian in Semifinals the past two seasons and then watched them go on to win two 8-Player Division 1 championships.
But this year was different; this was Martin’s year. The Clippers (11-2) took care of Lenawee Christian in the Regional round of the playoffs with a convincing 56-14 victory. And it was the Clippers lifting the Finals championship trophy at the Superior Dome on Saturday after a 74-24 victory over Merrill.
“This was our goal at the beginning of the year; it’s been our goal the last couple of years,” Martin coach Brad Blauvelt said.
The Clippers accomplished their mission with a star quarterback, JR Hildebrand, who ran for 191 yards and four touchdowns to lead the program to its first Finals title since his dad won one in 1987. They also made some big plays at big moments and relied on a stout run defense to contain Merrill, which made it closer than the score indicated.
“When I first found out what a state championship was, I knew that was our goal in the end,” said running back Karter Ribble, who rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns. “Then falling short the past couple years and then progressively getting better throughout the year, this year I knew it was coming. I knew we had what we needed to get to this moment.”
And what a moment it was for them.
The Clippers took a 20-0 lead thanks to a pair of touchdown runs by Hildebrand and another by Ribble.
“We have a very fast team, and we used that to our advantage,” Blauvelt said. “We got outside, broke a couple tackles. We started fast all year, and tonight wasn’t any different.”
Merrill hung around throughout the first half.
Vandals quarterback Joel Tack, who threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns, found Kaleb Walker for a 90-yard score late in the first quarter. It was 20-8 heading into the second.
Ribble ran 42 yards for a score 4 minutes, 14 seconds into the second quarter, to answer, and Hildebrand added a 10-yard TD run to put Martin ahead 34-8.
Merrill (12-1) struck with another big play, a 68-yard TD pass from Tack to Denver Coty that seemed likely to give the Vandals some momentum.
But Taegan Harris had other ideas.
The 5-foot-11, 155-pound junior ran the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown, and Martin’s lead was 40-16 with 1:35 left in the first half.
“That was huge,” Blauvelt said. “The game was kind of teeter tottering right there. I know we still had the lead, but we didn’t really feel comfortable after all that happened.”
Merrill turned it over on downs before the half was over, and Martin added a 25-yard field goal by James Blackburn for a 43-16 halftime lead.
Merrill coach Christian Wiley called the kick return a backbreaker.
“If we don’t give that up, we probably are able to do some different things,” he said. “Unfortunately, No. 1 (Harris), we knew he was a speed guy for them. He got the edge on us, and we got sucked down inside. Kicking it to the corner there, everybody drove down into that corner and he got around to the outside. That was a backbreaker for sure.”
Merrill scored first in the second half, and it was the play of the day. Walker made a spectacular one-handed catch and then ran free to the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown with 8:30 left in the third quarter.
“We felt confident we could shut them down in the run game,” Blauvelt said. “And then we knew they were gonna chuck it on us, which they did. And their quarterback can throw, and their kids can catch. That one throw across the middle was a phenomenal catch.”
But it was all Martin from there. Hildebrand ran 57 yards for a TD, Braeden Shanley rushed 37 yards for another, Ribble ran one in from two yards out and Gavin Meyers hit Sam Jager for a 75-yard touchdown pass to wrap it up.
“Hat’s off to Martin,” Wiley said. “They did a tremendous job. They lost the last two years to the team that went out and won the state championship. They were loaded coming back, and they were a good team.
“... I thought we did some good things. We shot ourselves in the foot. But when you lose to a team that is of that caliber, there’s no shame in that. We played our hearts out right to the very end.”
Martin outrushed Merrill 374-26, led by the 190 from Hildebrand.
“If he’s not the Player of the Year in 8-man football, I don’t know who is,” Wiley said. “He’s a legit college-level football player.”
A tough schedule helped Martin go back downstate with a championship trophy. The Clippers defeated Division 2 runner-up Mendon to start the year and lost a pair of games to unbeaten teams, Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian and Bridgman.
While it may not have prepared them for the awe of playing in the Superior Dome and the Final, it certainly helped them during their playoff run.
“Walking in the Dome the other day and seeing it for the first time, we knew it was a big moment,” Blauvelt said. “However, playing some good teams, quality competition throughout the year, got us ready. The last couple years, we’ve been undefeated going into playoffs and we had two losses this year. I think that totally helped us prevail, and the moment wasn’t as big as it could have been.”
And now they’re finally state champions. Nothing much bigger than that.
PHOTOS (Top) Martin’s Taegan Harris (1) celebrates a touchdown during his team’s Division 1 Final win. (Middle) Merrill quarterback Joel Tack finds running room. (Below) The Clippers’ Karter Ribble (22) gets some air while celebrating at the Superior Dome. (Photos by Cara Kamps.)