Port Huron Scores with 'Victory Day'
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
August 14, 2018
PORT HURON – The first touchdown of the football season has already been scored at Port Huron High School’s Memorial Stadium.
In fact, nearly 60 were scored two weeks before the Big Reds are set to take the field in Week 1 against Flint Carman-Ainsworth, and it will be tough to find any that mean more this season.
Port Huron hosted its fourth annual “Victory Day” this past Friday, giving special needs students in the community a chance to experience a Friday night atmosphere in the stadium.
“You have kids from all around that have special needs and they give them one day, and to see them smile and see their faces, to me it’s priceless,” said Aaron Sigafoose, whose 6-year-old son Wesley participated. “To me, it’s priceless as a parent. It’s really cool.”
Wesley was one of a record 67 participants who pre-registered for the event. Individuals ages 5 to 26 are eligible to sign up, but Port Huron football coach Ryan Mullins said his program wouldn’t turn anyone away.
Each participant is matched with a varsity football player or cheerleader as a mentor, runs through the band onto the field after being announced as part of the starting lineup, and participates in one offensive play which ends in a touchdown.
As Wesley and his fellow participants made their way to the goal line, the junior varsity football team provided a skeleton offense around each ball carrier, and the freshman team served as the defense. An announcer boomed and the crowd roared during each run, and when a touchdown was scored, everyone celebrated like it was a game-winner.
“It was awesome,” said Port Huron sophomore Jace Mullins, Ryan Mullins' oldest son, after helping his buddy Ranger score a touchdown. “Just working with them for the hour we had with them, it was just awesome. It was a blessing. It was fun.
“I think it means a lot. … Just for him to know what it’s like to score, to reach the end zone especially in this stadium, it’s awesome.”
Victory Day was started at Trenton in 2010 by coach Aaron Segedi, a former teammate of Ryan Mullins at Saginaw Valley State University. Segedi was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and as he battled the disease, his sister Rhonda donated 70 percent of her liver to him. Inspired by his sister’s selflessness, Segedi vowed to make his community a better place and started Victory Day. The event has spread, not only to Port Huron and other parts of Michigan, but into Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota and New Jersey, according to the Victory Day website. This year’s Victory Day in Trenton will be Sept. 15.
Port Huron High School counselor Tracey Hopp – Ranger’s mother – brought the idea to Mullins, who didn’t hesitate to start one at their school. That first year, Segedi came to Port Huron to help the Big Reds get the event off the ground.
“Aaron actually goes across the United States and does it,” Mullins said. “He does it at the university level, he does it at the high school level, and along the way he’s been able to get sponsorships to help with uniforms and the medal, so there’s really no cost to participate.”
While the event is meant to bring joy to special needs students in the community, Mullins said his players look forward to it just as much.
“The guys who have done it already, they’re looking to see the player they were paired up with last year,” Mullins said. “We give them a little background information about the player, and they want to know that stuff. We really try to make that connection. They’re taking them through the locker room, playing catch with them, there’s agility bags. There’s a lot of things going on just to try to make a connection and make a friend with them.”
Seeing the joy on the faces of the participants also helps the players appreciate the opportunity they have to play each week.
“Some of us play for kids like that,” Port Huron sophomore Noah Kindle said. “Just seeing them after the game, giving them a hug, things like that.”
Kindle said he’s looked forward to this part of being a varsity football player at Port Huron, and he’s excited to get to work with Wesley Sigafoose at Victory Day for the next two years. Wesley showed his appreciation immediately after scoring, turning and giving Kindle a hug after he crossed the goal line.
While the players certainly get a lot out of the event, they also know that this one time, the Memorial Stadium bleachers aren’t filled to see them, and they’re perfectly fine with that.
“This event, it’s not about us; it’s not about the Port Huron Big Reds,” Jace Mullins said. “It’s about the kids, it’s about the participants – just for them to get this experience.”
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) A Port Huron “Victory Day” participant runs toward the end zone while Port Huron players give chase Friday. (Middle) A Big Reds cheerleader carries her partner and the ball toward the goal line as defenders pursue. (Below) A participant looks back to see Port Huron teammates charging down the field with him. (Photos by Jeremiah May.)
1st & Goal: 2024 Week 6 Preview
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 3, 2024
If Week 5 could be considered something of a bridge week for several football conferences across the state, this one likely will be the eventual decider as championships are wrapped up over the final month of the regular season.
Several matchups, including three pitting undefeated teams detailed below, have the potential to set off league title celebrations that are almost always the primary goal when teams kick off every season.
All games listed below are tonight unless noted, with results posting as they are reported all weekend on the MHSAA Scores page. Updated standings also are available by clicking the schools on the score list, and every division’s playoff points summary updates as well as scores are received.
Bay & Thumb
Almont (5-0) at Armada (5-0) WATCH
Armada has not given up a point in its four Blue Water Area Conference wins, and after opening with a 28-27 victory over a Marine City team that has since averaged 52 points per game. The Tigers will face their toughest offensive challenge since that win over the Mariners, as Almont is averaging nearly 42 points per game – and also giving up just under nine per contest. The last three meetings between these two have been decided by seven points or fewer, with Almont last year’s victor 13-12.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Corunna (5-0) at Goodrich (4-1) WATCH, East Lansing (3-2) at Davison (4-1), Grand Blanc (4-1) at Lapeer (4-1), Marysville (4-1) at Marine City (4-1).
Greater Detroit
Troy (3-2) at Birmingham Seaholm (5-0) WATCH
Seaholm has dominated since moving back into the Oakland Activities Association Blue in 2022, with a combined 22-5 record overall over the last three seasons and eight straight league wins as the Maples pursue a repeat title. They have won three straight over Troy, but the Colts avenged a 2023 loss to Oak Park last week 31-6 and have gotten a few looks at top competition with defeats to powerful Lake Orion and Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Clinton Township Clintondale (4-1) at Clawson (3-2) WATCH, Rochester Adams (4-1) at Oxford (3-2) WATCH, Lake Orion (4-1) at West Bloomfield (2-3) WATCH. SATURDAY Warren Michigan Collegiate (4-1) at Detroit Voyageur College Prep (4-1).
Mid-Michigan
Pewamo-Westphalia (5-0) at Fowler (5-0) WATCH
These two began their annual series in 1966, and according to Michigan-Football.com P-W leads it 30-28 – with wins last year (27-14) and eight of the last nine. This could again eventually decide the Central Michigan Athletic Conference title, especially with Fowler already having handed Saranac its lone loss. The Eagles also opened the season by handing Hudson what remains the Tigers’ lone defeat, and P-W opened by dealing North Muskegon what remains its only loss this fall. Neither Fowler nor the Pirates have given up a point since Week 2.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Pinconning (4-1) at Harrison (5-0) WATCH, Napoleon (3-2) at Leslie (5-0) WATCH, Mason (4-1) at St. Johns (5-0) WATCH, Grand Ledge (4-1) at Lansing Everett (4-1) WATCH.
Northern Lower Peninsula
Petoskey (5-0) at Cadillac (3-2) WATCH
The next two weeks will make or break Petoskey’s Big North Conference title hopes, and potentially Cadillac’s as well. The Northmen and Marquette lead the league with 3-0 starts, while Cadillac is 3-1, and Petoskey faces Marquette next week – meaning a Cadillac win in this matchup and a Petoskey win over the Sentinels would open up the possibility of a three-team title share (with Escanaba also involved in this mix). The Northmen have given up just 37 points total this fall and defeated Escanaba in Week 3. Cadillac fell to Midland and then Escanaba to open this season, by seven points apiece, before winning three straight.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Traverse City St. Francis (4-1) at Cheboygan (3-2) WATCH, East Jordan (3-2) at Mancelona (3-2), Midland (4-1) at Traverse City Central (2-3) WATCH. SATURDAY Kingsley (3-2) at Benzie Central (2-3) WATCH.
Southeast & Border
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central (5-0) at Riverview (5-0) WATCH
For the second straight week, Riverview is playing in a premier matchup – and thanks to last week’s 52-45 win over previously-undefeated Flat Rock. That’s left these two tied for first in the Huron League and with opposing strengths set to face off. Riverview has topped 35 points in all five of its games and 50 the last three weeks, while SMCC hasn’t given up a point since Week 2 and just 22 total this fall. Also of note, the Falcons follow this weekend with a home game against Flat Rock.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Dexter (5-0) at Ann Arbor Pioneer (4-1) WATCH, Adrian Madison (4-1) at Hudson (4-1) WATCH, Toledo St. Francis de Sales, Ohio (5-1) at Jackson Lumen Christi (4-1) WATCH, Battle Creek Harper Creek (4-1) at Parma Western (4-1).
Southwest Corridor
Edwardsburg (4-1) at Paw Paw (5-0) WATCH
The Eddies are bouncing back nicely from last year’s 5-5 finish, and this will be their first opportunity to avenge a 2023 loss – in fact, two – as they fell to Paw Paw 35-0 and then 16-7 in the playoffs last fall. Edwardsburg’s lone loss this season came Week 2, by just seven points, to still-undefeated St. Joseph. Paw Paw’s surge started a year ago and has simply continued, as the Red Wolves opened with solid nonleague wins over Big Rapids and Berrien Springs – and, like Edwardsburg – have yet to be challenged much in three Wolverine Conference games.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Constantine (5-0) at Kalamazoo United (4-1), Portage Northern (4-1) at St. Joseph (5-0) WATCH, Bronson (4-1) at Union City (5-0), Lawton (4-1) at Schoolcraft (4-1) WATCH.
Upper Peninsula
Escanaba (3-2) at Marquette (4-1)
This rivalry is getting a massive boost with Escanaba already guaranteeing its best finish since 2019. Escanaba also will be playing for its first win over Marquette since 2017 and coming off its best back-to-back offensive performances (combining for 107 points) in more than a decade. Marquette has continued to build after finishing 3-6 in 2022 and 5-4 last year, with four shutouts this season and its only stumble in a Saturday game downstate at Lowell.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Gwinn (2-3) at Iron Mountain (5-0) WATCH, Negaunee (4-1) at Ishpeming Westwood (2-3) WATCH, Calumet (2-3) at Houghton (2-3), West Iron County (2-3) at Manistique (2-3) WATCH.
West Michigan
Holland Christian (5-0) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (4-1)
Holland Christian is another of the best comeback stories in the state so far, with its five wins already the varsity’s most since 2018 and punctuated by last week’s 21-20 triumph over East Grand Rapids. That said, this will clearly be the Maroons’ most massive challenge yet. Grand Rapids Catholic Central’s loss to Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in Week 3 gains context by the week as undefeated NDP rumbles through its schedule.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Rockford (3-2) at Caledonia (4-1), Beal City (4-1) at Evart (4-1) WATCH, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (5-0) at Reed City (4-1) WATCH, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (4-1) at Zeeland West (4-1) WATCH.
8-Player
Bellevue (4-1) at Mendon (5-0) WATCH
While Mendon hasn’t navigated a sub-.500 season since 2006, it’s fair to call this the Hornets’ most powerful start – at least statistically – in some time. The Hornets have absolutely dominated, scoring 54 or more points every game, 60 or more in four, and giving up 34 points total with three shutouts. Their best win likely was 66-14 over Britton Deerfield, which hasn’t lost otherwise. Enter Bellevue, which jumped from 0-9 two years ago to 6-3 last season and sits a three-point loss in Week 2 to Adrian Lenawee Christian from being undefeated as well. The Broncos have given up just 57 points this season and are coming off back-to-back 60-plus scoring performances.
Keep an eye on these FRIDAY Norway (4-1) at Munising (5-0) WATCH, Grand Rapids Sacred Heart (5-0) at St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic (4-1), Marion (5-0) at Suttons Bay (4-1) WATCH.
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PHOTO Ishpeming's Grady Gauthier holds onto Indian River Inland Lakes' quarterback Aidan Fenstermaker's leg as he gets ready to dive into the end zone during Inland Lake's Week 5 win. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)