Together, Unity Earns 1st Championship
November 24, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
DETROIT – Hudsonville Unity Christian’s varsity carried 22 players during the regular season.
The Crusaders had six on the playoff roster who weighed more than 200 pounds – and one who weighed more than 210.
And talk about small, Unity is by far the smallest school in an Ottawa-Kent Conference Green that sent four teams to the playoffs and champion Zeeland East to the Division 3 Semifinals.
So before Saturday’s Division 5 Final at Ford Field, coach Craig Tibbe reminded his now 47 players (including moved-up freshmen and sophomores) they hadn’t been picked to make it this far – and probably weren’t the choice to win this game.
But the Crusaders absolutely belonged in their first MHSAA Football Final – and deserved to hoist their first championship trophy in this sport after handing Portland its first and only defeat this fall, 42-7 in a game Unity controlled from just about the opening kickoff.
“We’re not supposed to win. But our coaches put a gameplan in for us to win,” Crusaders senior defensive back Noah Wiswary said. “And every week, we go to practice and we can’t hit because we only have 20 guys that can play, so we can’t hurt each other. But we work on our gameplan. We know what we’ve got to do to get to our spots. And we do what we’re supposed to do.”
As noted, the championship was the first in football for Unity Christian, which has had great success in other sports, especially soccer, where the Crusaders girls have won 10 MHSAA titles and the boys have won five.
The football program got its start only in 2003, with this season’s 12-2 finish setting a record for wins and also including the Crusaders’ second trip to the Semifinals after they first advanced that far two years ago.
Tibbe’s pregame challenge ran parallel with the pep talks offered throughout a playoff run that might have been the toughest road of any team in any division over the last five weeks.
Unity Christian – which was ranked No. 10 in Division 4 by The Associated Press during the regular season before slotting in Division 5 for the playoffs – downed reigning Division 5 champion Grand Rapids West Catholic and four teams ranked among the top six in the division. In addition to No. 2 Portland (13-1), the Crusaders eliminated No. 1 Saginaw Swan Valley in the Semifinal, No. 4 Kalamazoo United in the Regional Final and No. 6 Muskegon Oakridge in the District Final.
Against Oakridge, Unity Christian trailed by 27 before charging back for a 40-37 win. Like Portland, Kalamazoo United and Swan Valley also were undefeated before Unity dealt them their only loss.
“They’ve done that each week. They’ve pulled for each other,” said Tibbe, who has led the program since its start. “I’m proud of what they’ve become as a group of guys.
“Part of that comes from we have to battle all the way through the teams we’re playing each game of the season, (and) low numbers, but they learn to fight. And I thought they did a nice job again today.”
It didn’t take long to get rolling. Both Unity and Portland boasted strong running attacks this fall – what they planned to do Saturday was no secret. But the Crusaders built a 28-0 lead five minutes into the second quarter having rushed for 173 yards while allowing the Raiders only one first down to that point.
The Crusaders ran for 279 yards on 50 carries total, with junior quarterback Isaac TeSlaa rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns and also competing 3 of 4 passes for 70 yards and a score to senior TJ VanKoevering. Junior Hayden Large and seniors Max Buikema and Mason Odehal also ran for touchdowns.
The defense – led by junior defensive back Nick Tibbe’s nine tackles – pitched a shutout as Portland’s only points came on senior Jacob Veale’s 91-yard kickoff return touchdown with four minute to play in the third quarter.
Portland ran for more than 3,000 yards over their first 13 games, but for only 95 on 29 carries Saturday. Senior defensive back Hunter Hohman led the defense with 10 tackles and a forced fumble.
“Obviously we got beat up a little bit up front, both sides of the ball,” Portland coach John Novara said. “Their offensive and defensive lines played great. They’re a super athletic football team, and they’ve just got athletes all over the place … probably the most athletic football team we’ve played all season. We don’t get (shut down) too many times, but they did it to us today.”
Portland did tie its program record with 13 wins this fall, its fourth straight with double-digit victories. The playoff run was the Raiders’ longest since they won their first title in 2012.
“It’s still kinda surreal that we’re here. We had to replace a ton from last year. We had no skill kids coming back, and the kids really stepped up,” Novara said. “We started out really slow this season. … (But) I think we made a great playoff run. I know we were 13-0, but we got a ton better during the playoffs.”
PHOTOS: (Top) A pair of Unity Christian defenders make a tackle during Saturday’s Division 5 Final at Ford Field. (Middle) Crusaders quarterback Isaac TeSlaa braces for contact.
Restarted Fall Becomes Madison Dream Season
October 30, 2020
By Doug Donnelly
Special for Second Half
ADRIAN – It’s always fun to be first.
Tonight, when the Division 6 football game between Adrian Madison and Quincy ends, one of the two teams will walk off the field by enjoying its first-ever playoff win.
For the Madison Trojans, it’s been a dream season. As they get set to host their first playoff game in school history, however, the team isn’t just resting on its 5-1 record and best season since 1974.
“We’re certainly not just happy being in the playoffs,” said head coach Taz Wallace. “We’re going to enjoy it, but it’s time to get to work.”
Madison is making just its third football playoff trip ever, and first since 2009. But the school certainly is familiar with athletic success, across a variety of sports.
The track & field teams both have long Tri-County Conference winning streaks. In fact, the current senior class of boys was in grade school the last time Madison wasn’t the TCC track champion. The boys basketball team won three league titles between 2013 and 2016 and contended almost every year since. The volleyball team won its fifth-straight league title this fall. The golf teams have won multiple titles. Madison’s girls basketball team is the perennial league favorite having won eight titles over the last nine seasons.
Football success, however, has eluded the school. The last winning record for the Trojans was 6-4 by that 2009 playoff team. They’ve sent multiple players into the college ranks the last couple of years, but a winning record on the field just hasn’t been in the cards.
Until now.
This year, something is different. Wallace says the Trojans are playing for each other like never before.
“They’ve always had the ability,” Wallace said. “The difference is they believe in themselves. They hold each other accountable.”
The season started when Madison beat Ottawa Lake Whiteford, a Division 8 powerhouse in recent years. Madison won 42-24, breaking a string of losses against the Bobcats that dated back to 1980. It was a monumental win for the program.
“It was huge for our kids,” Wallace said. “To go out and win that game started all of it. In that moment, our kids realized they could play at that level.”
Although Madison lost in Week 2 to still-undefeated Erie Mason, the Trojans have won four straight games since to finish 5-1 and earn the No. 3 seed in their Division 6 District.
“For us, it doesn’t change,” said Wallace. “It’s about our kids and how we execute. We need to keep getting better.”
Madison’s done it this season with a superior ground game. Three Madison backs have run for at least 200 yards in a game. Rovahn Roberts is averaging an amazing 23.5 yards per carry with 446 yards in just 19 attempts. Dante Cerasuolo was leading Lenawee County in rushing at one point before hurting his foot. Now, Isiah Casarez-Ruiz leads the team in rushing and is second in the county.
Sophomore center Xavier Soss, senior guard Robert Gauna and senior tackle Davion Wheeler have led the Trojans up front.
“Davion is our energy guy,” Wallace said. “He plays with great emotion. They all feed off each other.”
End Marcel Theriot, linebacker Vince Williams and the electric Roberts lead the Trojans on the defensive side of the ball.
Wallace is a Madison graduate, having moved to Adrian from Tuscaloosa, Ala., while in high school. He was a multi-sport athlete at Madison and went to Adrian College, where he grew into an All-American linebacker. After four outstanding seasons with the Bulldogs, he earned a tryout with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted rookie free agent and survived several cuts before ultimately his NFL dream ended.
He is the student success coach at Madison and in his ninth season as varsity football coach. In August, Wallace announced he was stepping down as head coach saying he felt it was just time. When the MHSAA announced football was going to re-start in September, school officials went to Wallace and asked that he stay on for the season.
This season, the hard work has paid off and Wallace has Madison on the brink of its best-ever finish.
“It’s never been about me,” Wallace said. “I love all of these kids. It’s about them. As soon as I was back, it was all-in. There’s no other way to approach it.
“I love our kids like they are my own. Once I came back, I gave these kids everything I had. There’s no other way to do it. I love these kids. They deserve the best.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Adrian Madison coach Taz Wallace, far left, confers with Ryan Fisher (58) and Mario Garcia (27). (Middle) Wallace this fall has led the Trojans to their best football season in more than a decade. (Photos by Mike Dickie.)