Playmakers Make Way for GRCC Repeat
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
January 23, 2021
DETROIT – Frankenmuth came into Saturday’s Division 5 Football Final with staggering defensive numbers.
The Eagles had held opponents to 6.8 points and 27 yards rushing per game, and 1.1 yards per carry. Just three opponents had scored in double digits, and Frankenmuth had won each of those games comfortably.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central was well aware of those numbers – so much so that coach Todd Kolster recited them off the top of his head after the game. But the Cougars were also aware of the playmakers they had on offense, and the opportunities they would have to make plays.
Behind a six-touchdown performance from junior quarterback Joey Silveri, Catholic Central did just that, claiming a 48-21 victory against the Eagles at Ford Field. It’s the second-straight title for the Cougars, and fourth in five years. The previous three came in Division 4.
“They are a great defense; they don’t give up a lot of rush yards,” Silveri said. “We knew going into this game that we were going to have to win our matchups one on one to make some big plays, and I was very confident in our guys.”
It was the second-straight year that Silveri accounted for six touchdowns in the Finals, as he did the same against Detroit Country Day in 2019. On Saturday, he threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more. He finished the night with 172 yards on 9 of 15 passing, and 104 yards on the ground.
“I love playing in big games,” Silveri said. “It’s what you play for; it’s a lot of fun. All the preparation we did through this week, it all paid off. When you play a defense that’s basically man-on-man coverage, they bring a lot of pressure, it leaves a lot of chances for big plays, and we took advantage of that tonight.”
Silveri and the Cougars (11-0) wasted little time spreading the field and putting their athletes in space to keep Frankenmuth’s aggressive defense off balance. He hit senior running back Nick Hollern for a 30-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage, and each of the first two drives ended with touchdown passes to the Cougars’ Division I-bound receivers – an 11-yard pass to junior tight end Nolan Ziegler (Notre Dame) and a 13-yard pass to senior receiver Jace Williams (Miami of Ohio).
The Cougars built a 28-7 lead by the half and went up 35-7 early in the third quarter.
“I thought our guys really came out aggressive, and that was the big thing for us,” Kolster said. “We knew they were a heck of a football team, they’re very physical, they play hard, so we had to be able to match that intensity and get some matchups early. We were able to do that, and we were able to continue to go.”
The hill was too high to climb for Frankenmuth (11-1), which was making its first Finals appearance. The Eagles have been a near-constant playoff presence, making it in each of the past 10 years and qualifying for seven Semifinals since 1987. This year’s group was able to take a big step, even if it wasn’t the final one.
“Today, leaving town was amazing,” Frankenmuth coach Phil Martin said. “Our community rallied around this team. It was a sendoff like no other. I want to say it was probably close to 14 miles long with people lined up showing support for this team. The community was outstanding. They stepped up and supported us for this state championship with contributions for buses and meals. It’s just been awesome.”
While Frankenmuth finally broke through this season, Grand Rapids Catholic Central has entered elite territory, with five titles since 2010 and its recent dominant stretch. With key players like Silveri and Ziegler coming back, it might not be over – although Silveri wasn’t quite ready to think beyond Saturday’s accomplishment.
“I’m just trying to enjoy tonight – enjoy the win,” he said. “We’ll worry about next season when we get there, and hopefully we’ll win another one.”
Ziegler had a pair of touchdown catches on the night, adding a 35-yarder early in the second quarter. Silveri’s rushing touchdowns came on runs of two, one and 12 yards. Hollern, who had 192 yards rushing, added a one-yard touchdown. Ziegler and Dan Mikolay each had seven tackles to lead the Catholic Central defense.
Daniel Barger, Davin Reif and Konnor Roche had touchdown runs of four, seven and four yards, respectively, for the Eagles. Cole Lindow led the team with 99 yards rushing, while Reif had 85. Ben Reinert led the Frankenmuth defense with 12 tackles, while Dalton DeBeau had eight.
Barger’s touchdown was set up by an Ashton Benkert fumble recovery, with the ball sprung loose by Ethan Jacobs. That made the score 14-7 late in the first quarter, but Catholic Central scored the game’s next 21 points to pull away.
“I can’t ask any more of our kids; they came out and fought hard,” Martin said. “We got a little behind early. Field position kind of put us in a bind, and we didn’t convert a couple first downs early, and they were able to take advantage of that field position. We made a couple pretty good adjustments at half, but it just wasn’t enough.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s Joey Silveri (6) makes a move upfield as Michael Carter gives chase. (Middle) Frankenmuth quarterback Davin Reif (4) unloads a pass as GRCC’s Ryan Beggs (59) works to break free of Zach Adkins’ block. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
1st & Goal: 2021 8-Player Finals Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 17, 2021
Saturday’s 8-Player Football Finals would struggle to feel more familiar.
After a year away, the Division 1 and 2 championship games will be returning to Superior Dome at Northern Michigan University. Three of four finalists will be playing for titles for the second-straight season – Adrian Lenawee Christian and Powers North Central are returning champions, and Suttons Bay a returning runner-up – while Colon also will play again on the final day after making the Finals in 2019.
Lenawee Christian (12-0) and Suttons Bay (12-0) will kick off the day in Division 1 at 11 a.m., followed by North Central (12-0) and Colon (11-1) approximately 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv, and replayed on Bally Sports Detroit’s primary channel Nov. 25 beginning at 7 p.m. Audio of both games will be streamed live on MHSAANetwork.com.
Below is a look at all four finalists. Team “rankings” are based on their playoff-point averages heading into the postseason. Statistics are through Semifinals unless noted.
Division 1
ADRIAN LENAWEE CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 12-0, No. 1
Coach: Bill Wilharms, ninth season (69-24)
League finish: First in Southern Central Athletic Association A
Championship history: 8-Player Division 1 champion 2020.
Best wins: 36-14 over No. 3 Martin in Semifinals, 41-0 (Regional Final) and 41-20 over No. 6 Britton Deerfield, 47-21 over Division 2 No. 7 Colon.
Players to watch: QB/CB Ashur Bryja, 5-8/150 sr. (1,862 yards/27 TDs passing, 681 yards/15 TDs rushing); RB/DB/K/P Clay Ayers, 5-10/170, sr. (816 yards/16 TDs rushing, 395 yards/5 TDs receiving); WR/LB Elliott Addleman, 6-5/195, sr. (777 yards/12 TDs receiving). OG/DL Jacobus Kegerreis, 5-9/185, sr.
Outlook: Lenawee Christian has yet to lose an 8-player game since switching from 11-player, building a combined 23-0 record over the last two seasons that includes a 47-0 win over Suttons Bay in last season’s Division 1 Final. The closest an opponent has come over those two seasons is 16 points. The Cougars graduated last season’s standout running back and quarterback and haven’t missed a beat, outscoring their opponents by an average score of 51-8. The offense is easy to praise and understandably so, but the defense deserves substantial credit – through the Regional Final, Lenawee Christian was allowing 2.6 yards per rush and teams to complete only 31 percent of their pass attempts. Kegerreis and Ayers were all-state first team selections as juniors, Ayers as a kicker.
SUTTONS BAY
Record/rank: 12-0, No. 2
Coach: Garrick Opie, fourth season (43-4)
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Championship history: 8-player Division 1 runner-up 2019 and 2020, 11-player Division 6 runner-up 2004.
Best wins: 42-36 (OT) over No. 12 Rudyard in Semifinal, 53-18 over No. 4 Indian River Inland Lakes in Regional Final, 49-8 (Regional Semifinal) and 48-18 over No. 16 Mesick, 46-0 over No. 7 Munising, 45-0 over Division 2 No. 3 Marion.
Players to watch: RB/DB Hugh Periard, 6-0/175, sr. (1,028 yards/19 TDs rushing); RB/DB Shawn Bramer, 6-2/200, jr. (1,725 yards/24 TDs rushing, 892 yards/8 TDs receiving); QB/DB Dylan Barnowski, 6-0/155, jr. (1,570 yards/24 TDs passing); OL/DL Cameron Alberts, 6-1/290, sr.
Outlook: Suttons Bay will be playing in the Division 1 championship game for the third-consecutive season, and its only losses over the last two seasons have been in those previous two Finals. The Norseman are coming off their closest game over the last two years, with a late hook-and-ladder play helping to save the day in last week’s overtime win over Rudyard. But even counting the 36 points scored by the Bulldogs, Suttons Bay’s defense is again imposing giving up 12 points per game and no more than 18 to any other opponent. The Norseman had intercepted 12 passes this season heading into the Semifinal; meanwhile, Suttons Bay has thrown for 26 touchdowns with only one interception. Senior tight end Brayden Opie is the most sizable target at 6-3 and has caught seven touchdown passes.
Division 2
COLON
Record/rank: 11-1, No. 7
Coach: Robbie Hattan, sixth season (48-17)
League finish: Second in Southern Central Athletic Association A
Championship history: 8-player Division 1 champion 2019.
Best wins: 42-6 over No. 4 Au Gres-Sims in Semifinal, 29-22 over No. 1 Morrice in Regional Final, 35-13 over No. 6 Portland St. Patrick in Regional Semifinal, 44-24 over No. 12 Climax-Scotts.
Players to watch: QB/DB Simon Vinson, 6-3/185, jr. (1,212 yards/24 TDs rushing, 2,253 yards/37 TDs passing); RB/LB Kaleb Johnson, 5-8/160, sr. (727 yards/10 TDs rushing, 377 yards/3 TDs receiving); WR/DB Justin Wickey, 5-11/160, jr. (1,454 yards/21 TDs receiving).
Outlook: Colon’s first three playoff wins have doubled as the lone losses this season for those opponents, and the Magi face one more opportunity against an undefeated foe Saturday. Their only loss was to Division 1 unbeaten Lenawee Christian, and otherwise only Morrice has come closer than 12 points. Vinson earned an all-state honorable mention last season and has put up passing numbers that rank among the best in MHSAA 8-player history – his 2,253 yards and 37 touchdowns both rank fourth for a single season in their respective categories. Senior Kody Dovey joins Vinson, Johnson and Wickey among two-way starters and has 544 yards and eight touchdowns receiving.
POWERS NORTH CENTRAL
Record/rank: 12-0, No. 2
Coach: Leo Gorzinski, fourth season (41-3)
League finish: First in Great Lakes Eight Conference West
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2020).
Best wins: 73-8 over No. 3 Marion in Semifinal, 65-8 (Regional Final) and 42-0 over T-No. 9 Crystal Falls Forest Park, 64-14 over No. 11 Pellston in Regional Semifinal, 65-0 over T-No. 9 Lake Linden-Hubbell.
Players to watch: QB/LB Luke Gorzinski, 5-9/175, jr. (1,009 yards/17 TDs rushing, 926 yards/12 TDs passing); RB/DT Wyatt Raab, 5-7/170, sr. (925 yards/23 TDs rushing, 3 TDs receiving); RB/LB Alex Naser, 5-8/155, sr. (159 yards, 3 TDs receiving); OT/DE Lane Nehring, 6-0/280, sr.
Outlook: North Central dominated Division 2 in winning the championship last season, and has been even better this fall. Last week’s Semifinal win over Marion pushed the Jets’ average score this season to 62-4, and only Pellston three weeks ago has put up more than eight points on a defense that starts six seniors. The playmakers will be plenty familiar to anyone who watched last season’s championship games. Luke Gorzinski made the all-state first team last season and set a record for total offense in an 8-Player Final with 455 yards passing and rushing combined – also running for four touchdowns and throwing for three more – and Raab scored four times as the Jets set an 8-Player Finals record for scoring in the 70-48 win over Portland St. Patrick.
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