St Phil Football Thrives with 8 on Field
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
August 22, 2016
BATTLE CREEK — Five years ago, the future of football at Battle Creek St. Philip looked rather bleak.
The Fighting Tigers had won just three games over the previous two years, and numbers continued to dwindle.
“Our last year of 11-man, I think we had 18 boys out for football,” said Dave Downey, who has coached at St. Phil for more than 20 years. “We were not competitive playing 11-man.
“The kids just weren’t coming out because it wasn’t fun. We were getting beat all the time.”
The school decided to go to 8-player football, and the program has thrived.
Last season, the school’s fourth playing 8-player, St. Phil finished 12-1, losing only 58-33 in the MHSAA 8-player Final to Powers North Central.
“After we went to 8-man (five years ago), we had 28 on the roster,” Downey said. “The program really grew because we went to 8-man. It actually saved the program.”
The transition was not without a few fumbles.
“We didn’t know what we were in for,” Downey said. “That first year we struggled a little bit. We ended the season 7-4, but we learned a lot.
“It was an eye-opener for us. We didn’t know what to expect.”
Although the length of the field for 8-player is still 100 yards, the width is five yards fewer on each side.
That first season, Downey said he had confidence his 8-player team could play on an 11-man regulation field – but soon found out why the field is not as wide.
“Our first year, we didn’t move the markers in and we couldn’t cover the field, especially anyone with speed who would get on the outside and go,” he said.
“Our first game, we lost bad because we thought we could play on a big field, which we couldn’t.”
This year’s nine seniors have played 8-player all four years, but it gets even better than that for St. Phil.
“They’ve actually played 10 playoff games already (over four years), so they’ve already played (the equivalent of) four seasons,” Downey said.
“This is almost like their fifth season. Experience-wise, this group of seniors is really valuable.”
Success and motivation
Last Thursday, St. Phil scrimmaged Lawrence and then Big Rapids Crossroads to get game experience before opening the season this Friday at Kingston.
“We didn’t keep score, but it went well,” Downey said. “It was good experience for some of the younger kids, especially the freshmen, to play and learn.”
He said the veterans, especially the co-captains, are like having extra coaches on the field.
“They know exactly what our schemes are and our blocking patterns and they really help us out,” he said. “Our line is coming back. We’re solid up front.
“We have Noah Ellinger, our captain; Grant Hallacy who started last year as our other guard; Andy Forche at center and all of them played a lot last year on the line.”
Senior co-captain Grayson Obey has played football since fourth grade and said going from the traditional 11-player in Rocket youth football and middle school football to 8-player was no big deal.
“I think going from middle school to high school, not 11-man to 8-man, was harder,” he said.
Obey said last year’s success is a great motivator.
“We got a taste of a really good team last year, so it’s good motivation to work hard and try to push to get that again this year,” he said.
Ellinger agrees that the transition to 8-player was not a big deal.
“It’s two less linemen and I’m a lineman, so it’s just kind of shortening it up a little bit,” he said.
Playing both ways on the field takes some getting used to at the beginning of the season, Ellinger said.
“The first couple games it’s pretty hard,” he said. “You’ve got to learn to manage your time. It’s kind of tiring, but you get used to it.”
Downey said the parents like 8-player because “it is a little bit safer.
“We don’t have as many big kids on the field as 11-man. When you have the big kids, the little kids are the ones who seem to be getting hurt all the time.”
St. Phil lost all-state quarterback Brendan Gausselin to graduation, but Downey is eyeing sophomore Ryan Reincke and freshman Connor Gausselin for the position while senior Drew Lantinga recovers from a basketball injury.
“Last year Drew played wide receiver and linebacker,” Downey said. “He was the leading tackler on the team last year at linebacker.”
Connor Gausselin is Brendan’s brother.
“My brother played football and was pretty good, so I want to follow in his legacy,” Connor Gausselin said. “He’s helped me a lot. In every sport I play, I like being in control like a leader, so quarterback is a leader on the field and I like that.
“I’m very excited. My brother said high school football is the best part of high school, being under the Friday night lights. It will be fun.”
8-player grows statewide
Enrollment numbers are key to 8-player football in Michigan.
Of St. Phil’s 140 students, 21 are on the football team.
While Michigan has 564 schools playing 11-player, the state had 40 playoff-eligible 8-player teams last season. Currently, 48 teams are eligible for the postseason heading into this fall's first games.
Only Class D schools are eligible for playoffs, and enrollment must be 206 or fewer this year.
Class C schools or those with larger enrollments (cutoff was 212 students for the 2015 season) may compete in 8-player but they are not eligible for postseason play.
This fall, four Class C schools are competing in 8-player: Kingston, which was Class D last year; Dryden, Rudyard and Grand Traverse Academy. The latter two fielded 11-player teams last season.
Burton Madison Academy was Class C last year but dropped to Class D this year and is now eligible for postseason play.
St. Phil plays in the Southern Michigan 8-Man League with Tekonsha, Burr Oak, Camden Frontier, Waldron and Litchfield.
Other seniors on the Tigers are Tim Minier, Mike Scriber, Ben Swagler, Alex Yacovoni and Jordan Snyder. The other juniors are Justice Steiner and Morgan Bohannon.
Other sophomores are Chris Kubasiak, JC Downey, Nolan Kersten and Brodie Landstra. Other freshmen are Marcel Williams, Charley Harrington and Gus Strenge.
Assistant coaches are Jack Brown, Marc Pessetti and Jeff Minier.
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Battle Creek St. Philip’s Drew Lantinga hauls in a pass last season; he’s moving to quarterback this fall. (Middle top) Dave Downey, Noah Ellinger, Grayson Obey. (Middle below) Senior Tim Minier surges after taking a hand-off during practice earlier this month. (Below) Ben Swagler pushes ahead during the Tigers’ 2015 win over Portland St. Patrick. (Photos from 2015 courtesy of Battle Creek St. Philip; practice photo and head shots by Pam Shebest.)
Hudson Rides Dominating Defense to Lock Down Division 8 Title
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 26, 2021
DETROIT – For a team not used to giving up points – or yards, for that matter – it would have been easy Friday for Hudson to make some big changes at halftime to slow down a Beal City offense that had found success through the passing game.
But the Tigers – who entered the MHSAA Division 8 Final having allowed 107.7 yards and less than a touchdown per game through the Semifinals – didn’t stray from the gameplan.
“Honestly, (the adjustment was) just keep playing,” Hudson coach Dan Rogers said. “They did a great job, their line, we couldn’t get pressure on the quarterback. He could get out on the edge and we struggled getting to him. That made us cover a lot longer than we want to, so we were trying to get to the quarterback a little bit more, keep the receivers in front of us and make plays on the football.”
It worked, as Hudson smothered Beal City in the second half, allowing just 17 yards over the final 24 minutes of its 14-7 victory at Ford Field to claim its second Finals title.
“I can’t even describe it yet; it hasn’t really hit me yet,” said Hudson senior running back and safety Bronson Marry, who had a crucial late-game interception. “I’m just waiting to walk out of the locker room and find our families. It’s going to (hit like) a brick wall.”
While Hudson (14-0) never led by more than one score, Beal City never threatened to overcome it, spending the entirety of the second half offensively on its own side of the field. The Aggies’ five second-half possessions went for 4, -6, 13, 1 and 5 yards, and totaled 5 minutes and 29 seconds.
A fumble, an interception and downs ended the last three drives, with Nick Kopin breaking up the final Beal City pass attempt with 1:51 to play, sealing the game. It was a fitting end to Kopin’s big day, as he also had forced a fumble earlier in the fourth quarter and rushed for 131 yards and both of Hudson’s touchdowns.
“It’s amazing,” Kopin said. “Obviously, I’m going to credit all my runs to our offensive line and our play-calling by coach (Jeremy) Beal. It set up really good cutbacks, and they were blocking real well. Defensively, credit to (Coach Rogers), he’s very strict on us reading our keys and doing our jobs. I think all of us, including myself, just did that, and the game turned out in our favor.”
Kopin’s second score, a 2-yard run, came with 6:58 to play and put the Tigers up 14-7. The two-point pass was no good, however, keeping Beal City within a touchdown. The Aggies received a further boost with the return of quarterback Hunter Miles, who had been injured midway through the third quarter, but Hudson’s defense didn’t allow for a storybook comeback.
“Hunter Miles is Hunter Miles; he’s a warrior,” Beal City coach Brad Gross said. “That’s Hunter Miles. Ankle, ribs, everything else (was hurt). We have a lot of guys dinged up. Cade Block’s had a (injured) shoulder that he’s been playing with for three weeks. Wade Wilson has a broken hand that he played the whole game with. We’re just banged up. We have a bunch of warriors. That’s why we’re here.”
Miles had more success in the first half, mostly on the strength of a pair of big pass plays to Carter Fussman. The first was a 53-yard touchdown pass late in the first quarter. Miles rolled to his right before finding Fussman open near the 10-yard line.
The second was a 56-yard throw and catch on the penultimate play of the first half, which came immediately after Hudson had taken an 8-7 lead on a 2-yard run from Kopin and a two-point conversion pass from Anthony Arredondo to Ambrose Horwath. The big pass play ended with Fussman being hauled down by Horwath at the Hudson 7-yard line with four seconds left in the half.
That tackle wound up being enormous, as an incomplete pass on the next play ended the half with Hudson still in the lead.
“It probably made the conversation at halftime better,” Rogers said. “It was a huge tackle. That’s what we talk about: You just have to keep playing. They’re going to make plays, things are going to happen, and it would have been just as easy to hang your head and he runs into the end zone. Our kids don’t do that, and Ambrose, he made a play, and that’s what we had to have.”
Hudson’s offense had success on the ground, rushing for 282 yards, but strong red zone defense from the Aggies kept them in the game. All five of Hudson’s second half drives – excluding the final one, which consisted of three kneel downs – ended at least within the Beal City 35, but just one led to a score.
“You have to give credit to Beal City, too,” Rogers said. “When we got down there, they stiffened up defensively and took all the inside runs away. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to score and it kept the game close.”
Payton Rogers added 62 yards on the ground for Hudson, while Horwath hauled in the lone completed pass for the Tigers, a 17-yard catch from Easten Strodtman that converted a 3rd-and-long on the Tigers’ fourth-quarter touchdown drive. Kopin led the Hudson defense with six tackles, while Strodtman and Ethan Harris each recorded a sack.
Fussman led the Beal City (12-2) offense with two catches for 109 yards, while Miles finished with 128 yards through the air – all in the first half. Josh Wilson recorded 13 tackles to lead the Beal City defense, while Miles had eight.
PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Easten Strodtman brings down Beal City quarterback Jack Fussman during Friday’s Division 8 Final. (Middle) The Tigers’ Ambrose Horwath (10) tries to get a hand on the ball with the Aggies’ Carter Fussman (2) and Jack Fussman defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)