7———The Games———7

1975 In the firstyear of theM H S A A

Playoffs, a total of 16 teams, four in each offour classes, advanced to postseason play.

A crowd of 7,000 fans gathered atCentral Michigan's Perry Shorts Stadium(now known as Kelly-Shorts) in Mt.Pleasant as Hudson High School put itsnational record of 72 consecutive victorieson the line in the Class C Final against theHematites of Ishpeming.

Hudson fell behind early, as touch-downs by Mark Marana, Mike Dellangeloand a pair by Dave Farragh gave Hematitesa 30-8 lead with four minutes to play in thesecond quarter. The Tigers pulled to within14 thanks to a 50-yard kickoff return byGreg Gutierrez, then recovered a fumbleon the Ishpeming 23 with less than twominutes to play in the first half, but could

not capitalize. Theteams traded touch-downs in the secondhalf as Ishpemingheld on for a 38-22 win,ending Hudson's winstreak. The mark remained thenational standard until 1997, whenConcord DeLaSalle High in California sur-passed the total.

Dearborn Divine Child used a passinterception and two fumble recoveriesto score three touchdowns in its 21-0win over Saginaw Douglas MacArthurin the Class B Final at Mt. Pleasant. PatDoyle picked off a Generals pass andreturned it 28 yards for a score to put theFalcons up early in the second quarter ofplay. Two minutes later, linebacker MikeWiacek pounced on a Saginaw fumble atthe MacArthur 24. Quarterback Dan Faletti

ran a bootleg right toscore from the 3, cap-ping a nine-play drive.Mike Svihra rumbled10 yards with a fumblerecovery with 32 sec-onds to play for thefinal Falcon TD.

At WesternMichigan University inKalamazoo, unherald-ed Livonia Franklinshocked top-rankedTraverse City, 21-7, inClass A action. A 17-yard touchdown passfrom Dennis Smith toRick Lee on a bustedfield-goal attempt putFranklin up 7-0 earlyin the first quarter.The Patriots addedanother TD early inthe second frame, ona 3-yard dash by JimCasey. Just beforethe half, Traverse City

narrowedthe led to14-7, asBruce McLachlan capped a 72-yard, 12-play drive with a 3-yard scoring run. Threeinterceptions by the Livonia Franklindefense helped stifle the Trojans' potentattack, including one by Tim Hollandsworthlate in the game to set up the Patriots finalscore and ice the title for first-year coachArmand Vigna.

Bill Santilli rushed for 179 yards andthree touchdowns to lead the Trojans ofCrystal Falls Forest Park to a stunning 50-0 win over Flint Holy Rosary in Class D atKalamazoo. Quarterback Richard Mettlachadded 140 yards through the air, includingtwo TD passes, as the Trojans posted 375yards in total offense to 46 for theWolverines.

1980 Head coach AlF r a c a s s a ' sB i rmingham

Brother Rice squad captured its secondMHSAA title with a 6-0 triumph overDearborn Fordson in Class A. A 38-yardscoring pass from Dave Yarema to PaulJokisch highlighted this defensive struggle.

In Class B, Gary Allore scored 14

Ishpeming’s Mark Maranalunges for the end zone in

the first-ever MHSAAClass C Final, as the

Hematites ended theHudson’s national-

record winningstreak at 72

games with a38-22 win.

Munising’s Mike Stimac ran for 207 yards and two scores tolead the Mustangs to the 1980 Class C title over WhitePigeon.

Gary Shook, Otsego

points to lead Muskegon Catholic Centralpast Okemos, 29-0. The win was the first oftwo MHSAA championships for Coach PeteKutches at Catholic Central. After 25 yearsof gridiron championship contests, Kutchesis the only coach in MHSAA playoff historyto win titles at two different schools. HisMuskegon Reeths-Puffer squad grabbedthe Class A crown in 1992.

Mike Stimac scored twice and rushedfor 207 yards in 15 carries to lead theMunising Mustangs to a 19-7 win overWhite Pigeon in Class C. A Keith Cast toTim Wilson touchdown pass was the high-light for the Chiefs.

Gregg Noordhoff (175 yards) scoredthree touchdowns on runs of 6, 3 and 54yards in leading Norway to a 25-0 win overFowler in Class D.

1985 Traverse City'soffense rolledup 396 yards

on the ground, including 161 and two first-half touchdowns by Doug Lautner to defeatTroy, 29-3. Teammate Tony Olson added118 yards and a TD as the Trojans andhead coach Jim Ooley earned their secondClass A crown in three appearances.

With a 21-0 win over defending Class

B champion WyomingPark, Dearborn DivineChild became the firstteam in history to shutout four consecutiveplayoff opponents.Falcon quarterbackJohn Young completed10-of-12 passes for 116yards, including touch-down strikes to JohnFilitraut and TomDohring.

In Class C, LansingCatholic Central endeda perfect 13-0 seasonwith a 33-6 victory overSt. Ignace. Junior run-ning back Joe Josephled the winners with apair of touchdowns,while teammates JimMcCloy, Bob Fata andSteve Booth each addedone.

Paul Hurst, missingfrom the lineup sincesuffering an injury in theseason opener, dashed25 yards for a touchdown to open the scor-ing as Battle Creek St. Phillip defeated

Bessemer, 31-8, in Class D. Playing witha separated shoulder, quarterback Tim

Hayes completed 6-of-9 passes for152 yards, including a touch-

down toss to Joe Campbell.Tom McManus ended thescoring for St. Phillip with afumble recovery in the endzone early in the fourthquarter.

1990With the arrival of the 1990

season, the MHSAA expandedeight classes for the footballplayoffs, with the Finalsspread over two days

In Class A on Friday,Birmingham Brother Ricesnapped a 10-10 tie with twoJon Burtraw touchdowns inthe fourth quarter, giving theWarriors a 24-10 victory overMidland. It was the fourth play-off title for the Warriors.

Tyrone Wheatley ran for168 yards and a touchdownas Dearborn HeightsRobichaud downedKingsford, 21-7, for the ClassB crown.

In Class C, MuskegonCatholic Central scored a 21-

6 win over sentimental favorite Bill Maskilland his Galesburg-Augusta squad. Maskillbegan his coaching career at Sheridan in1951, moving to Galesburg-Augusta in1957. He retired from coaching followingthe 1991 season, with a 273-84-2 record –the tops in Michigan at the time.

Frankfort rolled past Lawrence, 33-6,for the Class D championship, as JohnSchindler rushed for 199 yards and twotouchdowns for the winners.

On Saturday, Detroit Catholic Centralavenged an earlier loss to Detroit MartinLuther King with a 21-0 decision in theClass AA finals. The contest was highlight-ed by a 58-yard punt return for a touch-down by Frank Yoakam.

Dowagiac's Abel Young scored threetimes in the first half and rolled up 122yards on 17 carries as the high-scoringChieftains downed Oxford in Class BB, 35-14. Dowagiac ended the season with 590points in 13 games.

Detroit St. Martin dePorres reboundedfrom a 13-0 deficit to defeat MuskegonOakridge, 22-13. Charles Winters scoredon a 20-yard run, and a 45-yard pass inter-ception to lead the Class CC Eagles to theirseventh MHSAA title in as many attempts.

Ross Richards scored 24 points onfour touchdowns – two running and tworeceiving – as Marion defeated WaterfordOur Lady of the Lakes, 33-7, in Class DD.Richards' point total tied the MHSAA Finalsmark established by Bill Santilli of CrystalFalls Forest Park in the 1975 Class C titlecontest.

8———The Games———8

Lapeer West’s Jason Lehotan watches his 27-yardfield goal go through the uprights in the second over-time to give Lapeer West a 24-21 win over South Lyonin the 1995 Class A Final.

Gary Shook, Otsego

John Schindler powers for some of his 199 yards in the1990 Class D title game. Schindler also scored two TDsfor Frankfort in its 33-6 win over Lawrence.

Gary Shook, Otsego

9———The Games———9

1995 In the Class Agame onFriday, sopho-

more Jason Lehotan kicked a 27-yard fieldgoal in the second overtime to give LapeerWest a 24-21 win over previously unbeatenSouth Lyon. Trailing 14-7 late in the fourthquarter, Lapeer West drove 80 yards ineight plays, highlighted by a 40-yard passfrom quarterback Kevin Gay to MikeMilliken. The completion set up DanDreyer's 6-yard touchdown run with 1:21remaining, sending the game to overtime.A starter on the junior varsity, Dreyer joinedthe Panthers for the playoffs, replacingleading rusher Steve Wills who went downwith a knee injury in the regional final. Hefinished with a game-high 121 yards on 21carries.

Quarterback Josh Collins scored onceand completed 9-of-16 passes for 140yards in piloting Detroit Country Day to a28-14 win over Muskegon Orchard View inClass B. Collins opened the scoring with a1-yard run on the Yellowjackets’ openingdrive . In the second quarter, Collins engi-neered a 97-yard drive by theYellowjackets, sealed by Omari Jett's 12-yard scoring dash. Two plays later, CountryDay's Jim Imsland scooped up an OrchardView fumble and scampered 42-yards an a21-0 lead before the intermission.

In Class C, Muskegon Catholic Centraljumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on its open-ing drive en route to a 19-7 winover Morenci. Morencirebounded with a 14-yard passfrom quarterback Ryan Speiserto tight end Jason Schiermyerto tie the game, but the Bulldogscould not hold off the Crusadersas Catholic Central rolled to itsthird Class C crown in six years.The Crusaders, who attemptedonly one pass on the day (a 19-yard completion) racked up 267yards on the ground. JeremieBuday, Paul Bauer and EricMason all scored TDs forMuskegon CC.

Quarterback BruceHungerford rushed for onetouchdown and threw for anoth-er to lead Fowler to a 28-6 winover Baraga in Class D play.Defensively, the Eagles heldBaraga to a single first-down inthe first half, and five for thecontest.

On Saturday, DetroitCatholic Central earned itsfourth MHSAA crown with a 24-0 win over Holt in the Class AAcontest. The Shamrocks con-trolled the clock as theyamassed 300 yards on the

ground, including 109 by fullback JohnSpolsky. Defensively, Catholic Central heldthe Rams to six first downs and 49 yards intotal offense.

Making their third consecutive appear-ance in the Class BB final, the Pioneers ofEast Grand Rapids upended Allen Park,14-7. Trailing 7-0, the Jaguars piecedtogether a 62-yard scoring drive, capped byquarterback Shawn Grant's 21-yard touch-down pass to Kevin Bozek with 6:31 left inthe game. Kicker Ascott Nolan added theconversion to knot the score at seven. Onthe ensuing kickoff, Pioneer Brian Lovellreturned the ball to the 50. Four plays later,Brian Nash scored the game-winner, bowl-ing over from 1 yard out.

In his first full season as coach, GregCarter – replacing the legendary RonThompson, who died in 1994 – guidedDetroit St. Martin dePorres to a 14-6 winover Whittemore-Prescott in Class CCaction. The win moved the Eagles' perfectmark to nine championship victoriesagainst zero defeats in MHSAA Finalsaction. DePorres opened up an 8-0 lead asKevin Glenn scored from 20 yards out, fol-lowing a Cardinal fumble in the first quarter.Sophomore Martez Johnson added thetwo-point conversion. Glenn featured hisstrong arm on the next scoring drive, hittingTerrance Holland and Teremun Johnson forlong gains. His 5-yard strike to Hollandincreased the lead to 14-0 at the half.

While dePorres kept the Cardinals all-state running back Tom Tyson in check formuch of the game, Prescott was able to pullwithin striking distance late in the fourthquarter as quarterback Craig Lomasonscored on a keeper with 3:40 to play. TheCardinals recovered the onside kick, butlost the ball two plays later, as the Eagles'John Shackleford picked off a Lomasonpass, ending the comeback threat.

For the third time in seven years,Mendon defeated Lake Linden-Hubbell forthe MHSAA title, this time 19-8 in ClassDD. Ryan Schwartz, the son of Mendoncoach John Schwartz, scored a pair oftouchdowns to give the Hornets a 13-0 leadat the half. On Hubbell's first possession ofthe second half, Steven Koskela scoredfrom the 1 to cap a 76-yard drive, then ranin the two-point conversion to pull theLakes within six, 13-7. Mendon's RockAlexander added a TD early in the fourthquarter to seal the Class DD victory.

—Ron Pesch

Ron Pesch is the historian for the MHSAA.To submit story ideas and potential

statistical records, write to Pesch at 1317Lakeshore Drive, Muskegon, MI 49441.