Fremont Builds on Coach's Inspiration to Become League, District Champion
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2024
FREMONT – The Fremont girls basketball team entered this season with relatively low expectations.
Three straight sub-.500 seasons with double-digit losses and a new coach didn’t necessarily have the Packers considered as one of the top contenders in the West Michigan Conference.
Peter Zerfas, who won more than 300 games over 21 seasons as Fremont’s boys coach, was hired last April to help rejuvenate the struggling program.
“I think the girls might have been a little nervous of me at first, and didn’t really have that high of expectations,” Zerfas said. “But I told them on the first day of practice we could win the conference.”
Fremont hadn’t won an outright conference championship since 1978. Yes, 46 years ago, although the Packers did share the league title with Big Rapids in 2020.
So what did the players think when their new coach mentioned such a lofty goal?
“I thought we always had the potential to be good. and I thought we had the athletes to be good the past few years,” said senior Jessica Bennett, a four-year varsity player. “He said we were going to be conference champs this year, and when he said that no one really believed him. I sure didn't.
“I thought we could be good and win some more games, but it's hard to have faith in someone you don’t really know.”
Senior Katie Ackerman, a three-year player, also had her doubts.
“I thought that was a really big goal, and I didn't believe him at first,” she said.
The Packers opened the season with a loss to Spring Lake, but then reeled off 10 wins over their next 11 games.
They defeated Whitehall on the road Jan. 10 and moved to 4-0 in conference play, but the major turning point came two weeks later when they knocked off five-time reigning conference champion Ludington, 41-35.
Ludington had beaten the Packers 15 straight years.
“I could see in the locker room after that game that they believed we could win the conference,” Zerfas said.
Fremont averaged 64 points per game over the next nine and defeated Ludington again 42-38 on Feb. 27 in front of a large home crowd.
That victory gave the Packers an undefeated conference season.
“When we went to Whitehall and beat them, that's when I pretty much bought in I think,” Bennett said. “I thought it was a good test for us, and at that moment I bought in and thought we had the potential to be good.”
Fremont entered District play on a high, but lost second-leading scorer Mia Clemence to an ankle injury.
However, a win over Sparta put the Packers in the District Final against rival Grant.
After scoring only one point in the first quarter and falling behind 20-6, Fremont stormed back to earn a 49-40 win and its first District title since 2009.
Fremont advanced to a rematch with Spring Lake in Monday’s Division 3 Regional Semifinal, but saw the season end with a 58-27 defeat.
“They had beaten us by 20 or more twice and they were the better team, but my center was on crutches, our leading scorer had a broken thumb on her shooting hand and we had two girls with high temperatures before the game,” Zerfas said. “The girls battled and played their best, but it was the perfect storm with injuries and illnesses. And Spring Lake is really good and deserved to win.”
Still, Fremont ended with a 20-5 overall mark, the most wins in a season since 1978 when that team advanced to the Quarterfinals.
“I believe the success we had came from great senior leadership and them accepting me as a coach and what I wanted to teach them,” Zerfas said. “But most importantly, they worked hard and worked together. The season was a ton of fun, and I’m going to miss the pasta dinners, the team bonding and how close this team was.”
It was a memorable season for all.
“I expected us to be better than previous years, but I did not expect us to be as good and go as far as what we did,” Ackerman said. “It was a really cool experience, and he made basketball fun. It’s one of the best years I’ve ever had playing.”
Bennett credited her coach for bringing a different mindset to the program.
“It was about Coach coming in and completely changing the system and the culture from what we had done in the past,” she said. “We were going to push the ball up the floor, and we were going to play fast and shoot a lot. And the leadership on our team was good.
“It was very exciting to win the conference, and it’s easier to play really hard for a coach that believes in you and has faith in you.”
The community also embraced the team as wins began piling up. Sparse crowds to begin the season ballooned midway through, and an estimated 1,000 people from Fremont showed up for the District Final.
“Everywhere you went in town, people who loved basketball were talking about our team and how hard they worked and how fun they were to watch,” Zerfas said. “Our local media was talking about us, too, and for a little while we were the talk of the town.”
The future could remain bright for the Packers as they will return seven players next season. In addition, their junior varsity went 20-1.
Fremont’s middle school teams also are having success as they have combined for only one loss.
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for five years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Fremont’s girls basketball team finished 20-5 this season and won its first outright league title since 1978. (Middle) Packers captains Katie Ackerman (22) and Jessica Bennett with coach Peter Zerfas. (Photos courtesy of the Fremont girls basketball program.)
Breslin Bound: 2023-24 Girls Report Week 10
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 12, 2024
As we begin the final three weeks of this regular season, we’re keeping an eye on all of the usual signs of this point in the season – league title clinchers, conference tournament winners, and ratings climbers playing to earn a top-two seed when District brackets are released Feb. 25.
But this week’s “Breslin Bound” definitely has another theme woven throughout – revenge, with plenty taking place over the last few weeks and a few more opportunities we’ll be watching for especially this week but also as we surge into the postseason.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. West Bloomfield 61, Detroit Edison 42 The best rivalry in Michigan girls basketball the last few years continued with the reigning Division 1 runner-up Lakers (15-1) making it three straight over Division 2 contender Edison (13-2).
2. Frankenmuth 51, Hemlock 31 The Eagles (14-2) played their third game this season against a team that also reached Breslin Center last year, and ran their winning streak to 11 with this one over the reigning Division 3 champion Huskies (13-3).
3. Negaunee 65, Ishpeming 56 The Miners (17-1) moved into a first-place tie with the Hematites (15-1) in the Western Peninsula Athletic Conference East by avenging a 57-53 loss to Ishpeming from Jan. 12.
4. Detroit Edison 46, Detroit Renaissance 38 Edison bounced right back from the West Bloomfield loss to hand another Division 1 contender Renaissance (15-1) its only defeat this season.
5. South Lyon East 47, South Lyon 41 The Cougars (12-4) stand alone atop the Lakes Valley Conference after completing a regular-season sweep of the rival Lions (15-2).
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Holland West Ottawa (12-4) The Panthers’ four losses this season have come to opponents that are a combined 60-8, and they won Ottawa-Kent Conference Red rematches with East Kentwood (53-50) and Grand Haven (54-45) over the last 10 days with a trip to Rockford coming up Feb. 20. East Kentwood and Grand Haven both have 14 wins, and West Ottawa also has defeated Byron Center (13-4), Zeeland West (11-5) and Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills (11-5) among notables. Grand Haven and Zeeland West will be among those joining the Panthers at the District at Zeeland East as they also look to bounce back from last year’s first-game exit against Grandville.
Midland Dow (12-2) The Chargers have strung together 10 straight wins over the last two months, a streak that started with a 47-40 victory over reigning Division 3 champ Hemlock and also has included solid wins over Mount Pleasant and Flushing (both 11-6). Dow and Grand Blanc are the only teams without a loss in Saginaw Valley League play, and they meet Feb. 27 after originally being scheduled to play Jan. 23. Dow fell to the Bobcats during last season’s 17-8 run, but the Chargers already have avenged losses to Hemlock and Howell – and Tuesday will attempt to do the same at Flint Carman-Ainsworth.
DIVISION 2
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (17-0) The Eaglets have quickly ascended from their first season as a program in 2020-21 and have already doubled their win total from last winter’s 8-13 finish. They clinched the Catholic High School League AA championship outright with a 44-31 win over second-place Jackson Lumen Christi on Friday, and they haven’t played a single-digit game since Dec. 22. They’ll have a bye to start the league tournament later this week as they prepare for a District that will include CHSL Intersectional #1 champ Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood.
Tecumseh (12-3) A nine-game winning streak began Dec. 30 and has Tecumseh atop the Southeastern Conference White standings heading into arguably its biggest game of the season. Tecumseh travels to Chelsea for a make-up from Jan. 12, and its 60-57 win in the teams’ first meeting Jan. 30 broke a 17-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. That remains Chelsea’s only league loss, and Tecumseh is undefeated in SEC White play, with its only setbacks to Temperance Bedford (13-1), Detroit Country Day (12-5) and Grass Lake (13-4) during the first three weeks of the season.
DIVISION 3
Morley Stanwood (13-2) Last season, as the Central State Activities Association moved to one 11-team league instead of splitting into two divisions, Morley Stanwood finished lower than second in its standings for the first time since 2016-17 (coming in third). But the team is only a half-game out of the lead this winter, with the single matchup against first-place Grant set for Feb. 23. A 38-34 loss to Big Rapids two weeks ago put Morley Stanwood in position to chase, but its only other defeat was to Lake City (15-2) – and wins over Fremont (13-3) and Kent City and Brethren (both 12-4) have been attention grabbers.
Saugatuck (14-1) The Trailblazers are fresh off avenging their lone loss of the season, defeating Martin 47-36 to also move past the Clippers into first place alone in the SAC Central. No other opponent has come within single digits of catching Saugatuck, including South Haven (12-3), Gobles (11-4) twice, Bridgman (10-4) and Lawton (10-6). Two more 10-win teams – North Muskegon and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian – will provide more prep as the Trailblazers look to build as well on last year’s District title.
DIVISION 4
Lake Linden-Hubbell (16-1) The Lakes are in second place in the overall Copper Mountain Conference standings, and only because that lone defeat came to Baraga – last season’s Division 4 runner-up. One more win will give Lake Linden-Hubbell as many as it finished with a year ago, which itself was a jump from eight victories in 2021-22 and three in 2020-21. The Lakes also defeated Baraga (14-3) by three points in December and have wins over Houghton (13-5), Ewen-Trout Creek (12-3) and Ironwood (11-6) – with a chance to meet Baraga one more time in a Regional Final.
Mendon (14-2) The Hornets are another very good second-place team, with a chance to move up, as they trail leader Colon by a game in the Southern Central Athletic Association West after falling to the Magi 54-31 on Jan. 18. Mendon also lost to Colon during last year’s District, after finishing second in the Southwest 10 Conference South before joining the SCAA this season. But the Hornets will host the Magi for the second meeting this season, Feb. 29, and already have swept third-place Climax-Scotts (10-4). The only other defeat came to Division 1 Sturgis.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Lansing Catholic (12-3) at Portland (14-1) – The Cougars’ 62-34 win when these rivals met Jan. 9 has them a game ahead in the Capital Area Activities Conference White standings.
Friday – East Kentwood (14-2) at Rockford (17-1) – Statewide eyes will be watching this one after East Kentwood broke Rockford’s 33-game winning streak 60-54 on Jan. 19, and first place in the O-K Red also will be on the line.
Friday – Lake Fenton (14-4) at Goodrich (17-0) – The Martians own a one-game lead in the Flint Metro League Stars over Lake Fenton heading into this conference finale, thanks to a 44-36 win Jan. 19 that was Goodrich’s second-closest victory this season.
Saturday – Detroit Catholic High School League Tournament at Detroit Mercy – The Semifinals on Tuesday have Farmington Hills Mercy (8-8) facing Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard (18-0) and Toledo Central Catholic facing Toledo Notre Dame for the opportunity to play in this 5 p.m. finale.
Sunday – Detroit Public School League Tournament at Wayne State – Quarterfinals are Monday and Semifinals are Thursday leading into this 1 p.m. championship game.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a division within the Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP). 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 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.
PHOTOS (Top) Houghton's Jacey Sleeman drives between Marquette's Lexi Curran and Lexi L'Huillier (3) during Marquette's 48-41 win Feb. 5. (Middle) Mount Pleasant puts up a shot on the way to its 46-42 win over Saginaw Heritage last week. (Top photo by Cara Kamps; middle photo by High School Sports Scene.)