Sailors Eye 'Their Turn' after QB Moves On
August 25, 2015
By Dean Holzwarth
Special for Second Half
CUTLERVILLE – With the 2015 season opener against Grand Rapids Christian a few days away, South Christian football coach Mark Tamminga said quarterback isn’t a position that's stressing him out.
That statement might be a bit surprising considering Tamminga graduated this spring one of the most prolific passers in Michigan High School Athletic Association history.
Jon Wassink capped a banner high school career last fall by guiding the Sailors to a Division 4 championship with a dramatic 28-27 win over Lansing Sexton.
Wassink, a three-year starter, took his talents to Western Michigan University, but not before finishing second all-time in the MHSAA record book for career passing yards with 8,124.
In fact, Wassink’s name appears in the MHSAA record book 17 times despite playing only three varsity seasons. He’s third in career passing attempts (884), second in completions (584) and fifth in touchdown passes (76).
“We’re never going to replace a Jon Wassink; there’s no doubt about that,” Tamminga said after practice last week. “But I have two kids right now fighting for the quarterback position, and whichever one gets the job is going to be a very good high school quarterback. Maybe an all-conference quarterback, I’m not sure, but the quarterback position right now is pretty far down on my worry list.
“We have other things to worry about. Our line, our receivers, but we’re going to be fine with our quarterback. We’re going to score some points.”
Besides Wassink, the Sailors graduated a bevy of talent from a senior class that won 12 straight games after an 0-2 start to win their second MHSAA Final in three seasons.
Eighteen starters are gone, leaving behind a young team stacked with juniors and sophomores.
The only remaining starters are seniors Ezinga, Niewiek, John Masselink (TE/S) and Dylan Brink (RB/LB).
“We lost a great senior class, all the way down,” Tamminga said. “They were such great leaders, and the kids rallied around them. I told this year’s group that it’s their turn. They have to step up. You can win games with underclassmen, but to win consistently you have to have senior leadership, and that’s what I need from those guys. So far they have shown that, and we’re pretty proud of them.”
The person attempting to fill the void left by Wassink was yet to be determined at the start of this week. Junior Eric Dykstra and sophomore Andrew Haan are vying for the starting position.
Dykstra is the frontrunner, but recently suffered a wrist injury. That allowed Haan to take a majority of reps in practice and during the Sailors’ preseason scrimmage.
Tamminga said both have the potential to step in and lead this year’s squad.
“I would say Eric has the upper hand if healthy, but it is so close,” he said. “We don’t lose a beat with Andrew in there either. Both of them realize they have big shoes to fill, but what is so great is they don’t feel they have to be the next Jonny Wassink. They are going to be them, and they are going to be very good high school quarterbacks.”
South Christian also will miss Wassink’s ability to run the ball. He rushed for 3,252 yards and 50 touchdowns in three seasons.
“He definitely made big plays with his arm and his legs, which I think is going to hurt us the most,” Sailors’ right guard Josh Ezinga said. “He was such a two-dimensional player that defenses had to either prepare for him running-wise or passing-wise.
“And even though as a lineman you try not to miss a block, it happens once in a while, and he would just make a play and make you look like you’re the best in the world because he would make people miss.”
The absence of Wassink will be felt from a leadership standpoint as well. He wasn’t only a playmaker, he was there to help the younger players improve.
“Obviously Jon was a great player, but he also was a great leader,” senior wide receiver Jake Niewiek said. “He helped me a lot when I was getting started with the offense. Being a receiver in the system was a little complicated, but he really took us under his wing and showed us what we had to do.”
But Tamminga said adjustments have been made to atone for Wassink not being on the field in 2015.
“We basically had it pretty easy when he was here, and now we have to step up and coach to our strengths,” he said. “You have to coach differently because Jonny was like having another coach on the field. These kids are not going to be able to do the things that Jonny did. We have to adjust as coaches to compensate for that.”
The key losses by the Sailors have other teams chomping at the bit to dethrone the two-time Ottawa-Kent Gold champions.
But while others may deem this a down year, South Christian hopes to maintain the same tradition of winning to which it has become accustomed.
“I think there are different expectations for us from the public and the media, but I think all the pieces of the puzzle are there and we can still be a great team this year,” Ezinga said. “I definitely think we can win with sophomores and juniors, and they realize they have to go hard every single play.”
Niewiek agreed that this year’s team can still be a formidable challenger.
“Practices have been great and everyone has been working their butts off,” he said. “We obviously have lower expectations than last year, but we hope to surprise some people. We want to keep the bar set high.”
Tamminga said the first goal is to get to six wins, which won’t be easy with three straight playoff teams on the schedule to open the season.
“We want to make the playoffs,” he said. “Just make the playoffs, but what worries me is if we don’t have three good games and go 0-3. I still believe we can go 6-3 and make the playoffs. They have to believe it, and that’s the challenge ahead of us right now.”
Dean Holzwarth covered primarily high school sports for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years and more recently served as sports editor of the Ionia Sentinel and as a sports photojournalist for WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) South Christian’s Jake Niewiek celebrates a turnover during last season’s Division 4 Final at Ford Field. (Middle) The Sailors’ Jake Elzinga works to stay in front of a Sexton ball carrier; both he and Niewiek return this fall.
Drive for Detroit: Week 6 Preview
October 3, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We’ve begun the second half of the football regular season, and predictably every week will include increasingly important games as league titles and playoff qualifiers are determined.
We’ve highlighted a number of matchups below that could end up deciding league title races. Meanwhile, four teams qualified last week for the 11-player playoffs after starting 5-0 with eight-game schedules. Another 64 can join the field with a win this weekend.
A total of 28 games will be streamed live tonight on MHSAA.tv, including eight highlighted below. Click for the full schedule.
"Drive for Detroit" is sponsored by MI Student Aid.
Bay & Thumb
Goodrich (4-1) at Lake Fenton (3-2)
The winner earns a share of the inaugural Flint Metro League Lower division championship. Both joined the league this fall after previously playing in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Goodrich won that league’s final title in 2018 after Lake Fenton was the champ in 2016 and 2017. Don’t be shocked if this is close. The Martians have hung on after opening this season with a one-point loss to Flint Powers, claiming wins over Linden and Ortonville Brandon by a touchdown or less. Lake Fenton similarly knows how to navigate a close game. The Blue Devils opened with losses to Cadillac by 10 and Ida by six, but won their next three games by six, two and one point.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Sanford Meridian (4-1) at Beaverton (5-0), Lapeer (4-1) at Grand Blanc (4-1), Essexville Garber (4-1) at Frankenmuth (5-0), North Branch (4-1) at Richmond (5-0).
Greater Detroit
Belleville (5-0) at Dearborn Fordson (5-0)
The annual meeting between these two – most recently in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East – eventually has decided three straight league titles, and there’s a chance that will be the case again when all is said and done this fall. These two and Livonia Franklin are all undefeated and tied for first in the East. Belleville is seeking its third straight league title, and hence third straight win over Fordson after prevailing 29-26 a year ago. Both are piling up points again, each averaging more than 40 per game.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Oak Park (4-1) at Birmingham Seaholm (4-1), Detroit Martin Luther King (3-2) at Detroit Denby (5-0), Southfield Arts & Technology (3-2) at Clarkston (2-3), Hartland (3-2) at Plymouth (5-0).
Mid-Michigan
Midland (5-0) at Mount Pleasant (5-0)
The winner will move into first place alone in the Saginaw Valley League Red. The reigning champion Oilers have won 19 of their last 20 games going back to midway through 2017 and last season beat Midland 40-20 in the game that eventually decided the league title. This time they couldn’t be much more numerically even – the Oilers have scored 200 points and given up 38, and the Chemics have a 203-39 combined scoring margin. Midland also has beaten the only other team in the league with an overall winning record, Saginaw Heritage (3-2).
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Mason (5-0) at Fowlerville (5-0), Holt (3-2) at East Lansing (4-1), Remus Chippewa Hills (2-3) at Central Montcalm (5-0), New Lothrop (5-0) at Durand (3-2).
Northern Lower Peninsula
Johannesburg-Lewiston (5-0) at Charlevoix (4-1)
While this matchup means nothing toward a league title, it should serve as a measuring stick for some of the best small-school teams just south of the Mackinac Bridge. Both are undefeated in their leagues – Charlevoix in the Northern Michigan Football League Leaders and the Cardinals in the NMFL Legacy. The Rayders should have a little extra incentive as well as they continue their best season since 2016 and lost to Johannesburg-Lewiston by a combined 62-7 over the last two years.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Traverse City St. Francis (3-2) at Boyne City (2-3), Evart (3-2) at Houghton Lake (3-2), Oscoda (5-0) at Tawas (3-2), Frankfort (2-3) at Mancelona (3-2).
Southeast & Border
Hillsdale (5-0) at Blissfield (4-1)
This is another matchup of teams tied for first place in their league. Hillsdale is in a bit more familiar spot having shared the Lenawee County Athletic Association title last season with Brooklyn Columbia Central. But Blissfield already has beaten BCC (for the third straight season) and will try to continue its charge with a first win over the Hornets since 2016. Hillsdale won those last two meetings by 10 in 2018 and eight the year before.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Springport (3-2) at Jonesville (4-1), Sand Creek (4-1) at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (3-2), Riverview (3-2) at Carleton Airport (4-1), Britton Deerfield (3-2) at Clinton (5-0).
Southwest Corridor
Cassopolis (5-0) at White Pigeon (5-0)
The co-leaders in the Southwest 10 Conference have taken vastly different paths on the way. Cassopolis is the reigning league champion and has clinched the conference titles three of the last four seasons. The 11 points Decatur scored last week were the first the Rangers have given up this fall. White Pigeon made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2009, which also was its first winning season since 2014. But the Chiefs have been similarly stellar on defense giving up only 40 points over five games, and the opportunity to take the league lead by breaking a nine-game losing streak to Cassopolis should further feed the team’s motivation.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Schoolcraft (5-0) at Constantine (4-1), Gobles (3-2) at Lawton (5-0), Coldwater (4-1) at Marshall (3-2), St. Joseph (5-0) at Portage Central (3-2).
Upper Peninsula
Iron Mountain (5-0) at Calumet (5-0)
This is the first of four straight league games for both, and a title won’t be decided tonight. But this has been one of the most highly-anticipated matchups in the Upper Peninsula since Week 1. Calumet won last season’s Western Peninsula Athletic Conference Copper title, and steadily earned a share of first place so far this fall with wins over Ishpeming Westwood and Negaunee sticking out. The Mountaineers gave notice as contenders quickly with wins over Negaunee and Westwood as well the first two weeks, and they haven’t allowed a point over the last three. Last year’s meeting ended with a 24-0 Calumet win, but it’s fair to expect a closer and yet still low-scoring result in the rematch.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Escanaba (4-1) at Menominee (4-1), Ishpeming Westwood (3-2) at Hancock (4-1), Negaunee (3-2) at L'Anse (4-1). SATURDAY West Iron County (4-1) at Lake Linden-Hubbell (3-2).
West Michigan
Hudsonville (4-1) at Grandville (5-0)
These two and Rockford are off to 2-0 starts in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red. Hudsonville is a one-point Week 2 loss to Holt from undefeated and earned perhaps its best win so far last week, 28-16 over Jenison. Grandville hung on for a one-point win over East Kentwood last week, but its body of work continues to look better and better with Week 3 opponent Forest Hills Central a contender in the O-K White and Week 2 opponent East Lansing arguably the top team in the entire Lansing area this fall.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central (4-1) at Cedar Springs (4-1), Ravenna (4-1) at Montague (4-1), Allendale (3-2) at Grand Rapids Catholic Central (4-1), Ludington (4-1) at Muskegon Orchard View (5-0).
8-Player
Martin (5-0) at Bridgman (5-0)
Just about everything about this is new. These two are both unbeaten in the first-year Southwest Michigan 8-Man Football League, both playing their first season of 8-player. They did play each other in 11-player last year for the first time, at least as far back as Michigan-Football.com tracks for Bridgman (1957), with Martin a 13-8 winner. The Clippers were 11-player playoff qualifiers last year, but the switch has really helped the Bees turn things around – they had gone a combined 1-16 over the last two seasons. Martin has played one more league game than Bridgman, so a win tonight would clinch the Clippers a share of the league title.
Keep an eye on these: FRIDAY Gaylord St. Mary (5-0) at Suttons Bay (5-0), Cedarville (3-2) at Pickford (4-1), Climax-Scotts (4-1) at Tekonsha (3-2). SATURDAY Crystal Falls Forest Park (4-1) at Powers North Central (5-0).
Second Half’s weekly “Drive for Detroit” previews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant, here against Bay City John Glenn during a Week 3 win, is off to a 5-0 start and faces Midland in one of the state’s headlining games this weekend. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)