Grand Rapids West Catholic knew they were going to need to score if they wanted to continue their chance at a repeat state football title.  Lansing Catholic knew they were going to need to score if they wanted to knock off the defending Division 5 state football champs.  Entering Saturday’s Division 5 State Semifinal the Cougars from Lansing Catholic were averaging 55 points per playoff game, and the Grand Rapids West Catholic Falcons 48 points per game.  Both teams knew this battle would likely come down to who could score last.

Lansing Catholic won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to the second half.  With first possession, Grand Rapids West Catholic got right to work, stringing together a 61 yard drive to take an early 7-0 lead, with Jalin Faison rumbling in from two yards out.  The shootout was on.  The Cougars took their first possession and showed they were ready to match the Falcons blow-for-blow.  Quarterback Cooper Rush led his team 70 yards down the field, eventually hitting Matt Macksood for a 24 yard touchdown pass, evening things up at 7-7.

Now it was Grand Rapids West Catholic’s chance to respond, and their offense picked things up right where they left off.  The Falcons drove 78 yards for another touchdown, with Tommy Staskiewicz throwing an 18 yard pass to David Bancuk.  Following the point-after kick, Grand Rapids West Catholic was ahead 14-7.    Lansing Catholic and its passing game again found success, as Cooper Rush found Matt Macksood again, this time from 30 yards out, knotting the score up at 14.

Following the flurry of first quarter points, the game came to a surprising screeching halt in the second quarter.  Grand Rapids West Catholic closed out the final moments of the first with punt after a stalled drive.  The Cougars were then forced to punt themselves.  Grand Rapids West Catholic looked to capitalize on good field possession after the Lansing Catholic punt, starting in Cougars territory just inside midfield, but their drive ended in another punt.  Lansing Catholic made the game’s first big mistake on their ensuing possession– following a reception, Joe Prichard put the ball on the turf, with Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Max Boorsma on the recovery.  The Falcons were unable to take advantage of this, as the Cougars‘ defense stood strong, forcing Grand Rapids West Catholic’s third punt of the half.  One final Lansing Catholic possession failed to score before time ran out, and teams entered halftime with a 14-14 tie.

The third quarter opened up with a bang, as Lansing Catholic’s Adam Babcock took the opening kick 84 yards to the house for a touchdown.  Trailing 21-14, Grand Rapids West Catholic finally found consistency on offense again, putting together an 80 yard drive for a touchdown.  The scoring play came via a 13 yard pass from Tommy Staskiewicz to Kyle O’Hearn.  Knotted up 21-21, things were turning back into a shootout one again.  Lansing Catholic’s offense again relied heavily on the pass, as Cooper Rush tossed his third touchdown pass of the afternoon, finding Jack Swain from 23 yards out, giving the Cougars a 28-21 lead.

Grand Rapids West Catholic now committed their first turnover of the game, as they tried to muster a response to this latest Lansing Catholic score.  A Tommy Staskiewicz pass was intercepted by Kyle Oswald, giving Lansing Catholic a prime opportunity to really put pressure on the Falcons.  However, the Falcons snatched the ball right back, as Kevin Manser picked-off a Cooper Rush pass, giving Grand Rapids West Catholic possession on the Lansing Catholic 23 yard line.  Taking advantage of this newly found momentum, Grand Rapids West Catholic put the ball in the sure hands of Jalin Faison, who promptly powered his way to the end zone for a 23 yard game-tying touchdown.

Lansing Catholic received the ensuing kickoff and it was clear they were not affected in the least by their recent turnover.  The Cougars put together a 58 yard drive, taking a 35-28 lead thanks to Cooper Rush’s fourth touchdown pass of the game, this one a 16 yard completion to Connor Bartlett.

Much as happened in the second quarter, the pace of play in the fourth quarter slowed right down.  Both Grand Rapids West Catholic and Lansing Catholic traded punts to open the final quarter.  On their second possession of the fourth, Lansing Catholic extended their lead to 42-28 with Cooper Rush powering the ball in from the one yard line.  Grand Rapids West Catholic’s hopes of a comeback now took a severe hit, as a Tommy Staskiewicz pass was intercepted by Jimmy Fata on the Falcons‘ ensuing possession.  However, as happened earlier in the contest, Grand Rapids West Catholic got the ball back almost immediately, with Jake Voss picking off a pass of his own.  The Falcons managed to drive the ball 90 yards for a score, with Tommy Staskiewicz finding the end zone on a seven yard QB-keeper, and the score was now 42-35, in favor of Lansing Catholic.  With just under a minute left in regulation Grand Rapids West Catholic needed to successfully complete an onside kick if they had any hopes of tying the score.  Lansing Catholic’s hands team pounced on the bouncing kick-attempt, and the Falcons‘ fate was sealed– the Cougars had managed to knock-off the defending state champs.

In the end, Lansing Catholic’s strong passing attack was just too much for Grand Rapids West Catholic.  Cooper Rush completed 28 passes for an impressive 387 yards and four touchdowns.  Matt Macksood was on the receiving end of two of those touchdown passes, as he hauled in seven passes for 125 yards.  Jalin Faison paced all rushers in this afternoon’s game, running the ball 33 times for 211 yards, and two scores.  Grand Rapids West Catholic quarterback Tommy Staskiewicz passed for 87 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran for 145 yards and a touchdown.

With the victory, Lansing Catholic will go on to face Flint Powers Catholic for the Division 5 State Championship, which will be played next Saturday, at 4:30 p.m.

Tommy Staskiewicz slips out of reach of the defense.

Jake Voss hits Dan Liesman for a tackle.

Kevin Manser runs back his intercepted pass.

Jalin Faison on his way to the end zone for a 23 yard score.

The Falcon defense gives Lansing Catholic nowhere to run.

David Kuzma runs by a diving defender.

Kyle O'Hearn races in for a touchdown reception.

Kevin Manser and Jack Woodcock team up for the tackle.

Jalin Faison hurdles the defender.

Matt Philpott Photography was proud to bring you coverage of this game.  Please be sure to check out his website, and see how he can help you with your photography needs!

The Dux of Zeeland West advanced to the state finals next Friday at Ford Field with a 30-6 victory over Comstock Park in D4 semi-final action. Zeeland West (13-0) will now move on to face Marine City (13-0) who advanced past Grose Ile 45-6 on Friday night at 7:30 pm. This game was much closer than the score indicated, the Dux held a 16-6 halftime lead that stuck until a pair of late scores against the Panther D blew this one wide open. Turnovers hurt Comstock Park all day long but you need to credit the Dux’s defense for coming up with crucial stops.

Quick Hitters:

Comstock Park

• The turnovers flat out ruined CP’s chances in this game. Every time Park got something going on offense a turnover would end the drive. Zeeland West hits hard and applied a load of pressure on Jake Brown all day leading to those turnovers but in a game like this these are just back breaking mistakes. This video shows Park on the doorstep of making this a thrilling game in the 3rd until Jake McKellar slides in for the interception.

• The Panthers had their chances in this game for sure. There was a steady wind blowing towards the north endzone and when park was moving that way they had a lot of success. Their only score came by heading that way and two other threats also were in that direction. Coming out of half the Panthers took that wind in the third quarter, a move I thought they would have wanted to line up for the 4th quarter.
• Jake Brown was his usual self having a lot of success in the air as well as on the ground in leading this Panther attack. His scoring drive to end the first half gave Comstock a lot of momentum and made this a game for  awhile.

Zeeland West

• The Dux defense came up large all day and really limited Jake Brown and Jon Hoffman the two big weapons for the Panthers. There were virtually no running lanes all day and much of the passing game had to go to underneath receivers. A big shout out to the play of the Dux D!
• Kyle Kujawa had a huge game for the Zeeland Wing T. This early score got things going and then the second one put the Dux way out in front and on their way to Ford Field.

• The refs caught Zeeland West a handful of times today with holding calls, a thing that West is not at all known for, the Dux will need to clean up the flags next week if they want to grab the ultimate prize.

It was a defensive battle between the two teams in the 1^st quarter, until Ithaca’s Sophomore QB Travis Smith drove 80 yards, capped off with a 6-yard touchdown run to make the game 7-0 in favor of the Yellowjackets. The defense of Ithaca was able to keep the Montague offense in check, and with the mistakes piling up for the Wildcats, Ithaca was able to take advantage in the 2^nd quarter as Garrett Miniard bruised his way into the end zone for an Ithaca touchdown, making the score 14-0 at the 10:09 mark early in the 2^nd.

Mistakes just continued to haunt Montague and on the ensuing kick off, Montague’s Senior WR Ryan Amstuntz bobbled the kick, and eventually ended up on his own 2-yd line and the Ithaca defense was then in full attack mode with the wildcats backed up. Montague QB Travis Cockerill was unable to get his offense any leverage from that point on the field and was forced to punt eventually from their own 1 yard line, and during that punt, the Wildcat punter, Brandon Moore stepped out of bounds in the back of the end zone, which gave them a safety making this game 16-0 with 8:20 left in the first half.

Montague eventually figured out the Ithaca defense and was able to reel off 10 unanswered points to finish the half, including a 29-yard field goal from Wyatt Ford with less than a second on the board.

In the 3^rd quarter, both defenses continued to pound the opposing offenses as only 95 total yards were gained between the two teams in the 3^rd quarter. In that 3^rd quarter, Montague’s top RB, Senior Jake Schmitt, who came into the game as the Wildcats leading rusher, was forced to leave the game with a head injury and did not return to action in the 2^nd half of play.

In the final quarter of play Montague finally found a way to beat that Ithaca defense, and with 9:57 remaining in the 4^th, Travis Cockerill found Alex VanVleet for a 20 yd TD catch, which tied the game up at 16-16. The ensuing extra point from Montague was blocked by Ithaca’s Tyler Gibson, and so that’s where the score stood, 16 to 16, as the game ended in regulation all tied up.

So this sensational contest ended the only way it could, in dramatic fashion with the winner moving on to the state semi finals and one team simply going home. Ithaca won the toss in OT and decided to be on defense first, so Travis Cockerill and his Wildcat offense took the field first in extra time. 1^st and 2^nd down led to 4 yards total, and then on third down, Cockerill threw it into the end zone to his favorite target in WR Brandon Moore, and Moore was able to come down with the football in the end zone, only to be called for pass interference; touchdown was no good, and the ball was moved back to the 24 yard line, where Wyatt Ford eventually made his second field goal attempt, this time, from 40 yards out to take the lead in OT 19-16.

Now, it was Ithaca’s turn on offense, and after a Garrett Miniard 2 yard run, and a Travis Smith 1 yard run, that set up a big 3^rd down. Smith was able to complete the pass to Senior WR David Brown at the 1-yard line; and so the dramatic finish was all set up; Montague stops this 4^th and goal from the one, they move on, if Ithaca can score from one yard away, they go away with the victory. Ithaca decided to stick to the hot hand and that was QB Travis Smith who on the final play of the game in overtime hopped over top of the line of scrimmage and was able to get the ball across the plain for the Ithaca victory. Smith on the day went 24/40 passing for 255 yards including 2 TD’s in the Regional Championship game.

Ithaca will now move to the state Semi-Final against Iron Mountain in a rematch of last year’s State Semi-Final game in the Superior Dome. Montague finishes the season 9-3 overall, while Ithaca adds to their win streak which now stands at 26 straight.

By: Ben Smith, written for WMA.

Play-By-Play Ithaca High School Football

WMLM 1520 AM

Sunshine was aplenty and the fans came out in droves to witness Lowell and Fenton square off in Saturday’s Division 2, Region 1 Final.  Adding to the electric atmosphere created by the importance of the game was the interesting twist that head coaches Noel Dean (Lowell) and Jeff Stezke (Fenton) are brothers-in-law.  The Lowell faithful gave their visitors from Fenton a warm welcome but the young men on the field were not quite as courteous,  as the Red Arrows defeated the Tigers 35-14.

Lowell’s defense came to play, forcing a three-and-out on Fenton’s opening possession.  The Red Arrows immediately took an early 7-0 lead on the ensuing possession, moving 59 yards down the field, with Gabe Dean completing the drive with a one yard touchdown run.  The Tigers’ offensive struggles continued on their second possession, as Lowell’s Ryan Woodhead stripped the ball out of the hands of quarterback Houston Shaw.  Woodhead recovered his forced fumble, and Lowell looked to build upon their early lead.  Fenton showed they were not about to roll over, however, as they forced the first of three Lowell turnovers on the day, with Damon Thomas snatching up a Red Arrow fumble.  The Tigers weren’t able to capitalize on this slight shift in momentum, as Lowell’s defense once again stood strong, forcing Fenton to punt.

Hoping to start fresh after the turnover they just allowed, Lowell took the field on offense once again.  On this possession, the Red Arrows looked to have their composure back, working their way down the field for their second touchdown, this time with Joshua Addington finding the end zone.  After a missed extra-point kick the score stood at 13-0 in favor of the hosts.  Fenton needed a score to stay in it, and the Tigers finally found some consistency with the ball.  With just under seven minutes remaining in the half, Houston Shaw carried the ball in from a yard out, making the score 13-7.  Lowell’s response was immediate, as they drove 80 yards down the field on their ensuing possession.  Joshua Addington scored his way 16 yards for his second touchdown of the game, Gabe Dean rushed the ball in on the two-point conversion, and Lowell took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

Fenton looked to start the second half of play on a strong note, in hopes of gaining some momentum and pulling themselves back into the contest.  The aforementioned strong note came in the form of a second Lowell turnover, with Layton Mandle scooping up the ball.  However, the Red Arrows were able to rely on their defense to keep this mistake from hurting them, and the Tigers were forced to punt.  Just as they did after their previous turnover, Lowell’s offense came back on the field with a new focus, as they strung together their second 80 yard drive, with Gabe Dean scoring on his second one yard touchdown carry.  The score was now 28-7 and with the game entering the fourth quarter, the Red Arrows could smell victory.

Following a Fenton turnover on downs, Lowell put the proverbial dagger in the heart on a 14 yard Gabe Dean touchdown rush with just under seven minutes left in regulation.  The Tigers were not about to go without a whimper, and on their ensuing possession put points on the board, with Houston Shaw connecting with Gerad Wegener for a 63 yard touchdown pass.  The score was now 35-14 and for a moment it looked as if things could get a little dicey for Lowell– following the Fenton touchdown, the Red Arrows turned the ball away for the third time of the afternoon, as Conor Muntin recovered a fumble for the Tigers.  Fenton was unable to move the ball on offense, and Lowell’s defense quickly squashed any hopes of a last-second miracle comeback.

Fenton’s season ends with a solid 9-3 record.  Lowell improves to 11-1, advancing to face Walled Lake Western next week Saturday.  Walled Lake holds a similar 11-1 record, as they needed two overtimes to defeat Port Huron 21-20 on Friday night.

J.P. North slips by the defender after hauling in the reception.

Pierce Watson comes in low to assist with the tackle.

Gabe Dean reaches for (and finds) the goal line.

Ryan Woodhead rips the ball away, forcing, and recovering, the fumble.

Joshua Addington ran for 116 yards and two scores.

Lowell's defense was quick to swarm the ball all game long.

Gabe Dean ran for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

Joshua Addington rumbles in for his first touchdown of the afternoon.

Matt Philpott Photography was happy to bring you coverage of this afternoon’s game.  Please visit his website to learn more about his photographic services!

The original 256 are down to 64, and each division is down to just eight teams. This is the last chance for home-field advantage, and the last chance to play close to home for many West Michigan teams. Every week will now mean travel and a new reason to be thankful. We have traditional powers, defending champs, and Cinderella stories all looking to write the final chapter of the 2011 Football season.

Division 1
Grand Blanc (9-2) at Rockford (10-1) Saturday 1pm

Previous Meeting or Common Opponents: Both beat Holt. Rockford won 42-7 in week 2, Grand Blanc won 59-52 in the first round of the playoffs.

Why Grand Blanc Wins: The Bobcats will need to score with the Rams, their defense should provide little resistance for Rockford to score points. The offense will sling it around all night so look for Rockford to prepare accordingly. If the weather is cold and windy it could be a disaster for Grand Blanc who saw their 2004 playoff run end at Rockford. The Bobcats have never won a Regional Final.

Why Rockford Wins: This is when Munger and the Rams build on their reputation; Rockford is an experienced team who knows how to win playoff games. The Rams D will have their hands full with stopping this potent Bobcat offense but they have limited just about every team they have seen this year with the exception of Lowell. The Rams ability to run the ball will keep the clock moving and limit Grand Blanc’s chances on offense which plays into Rockford’s advantage. Avoid a shootout.

Winner Gets: Ann Arbor Pioneer or Detroit Catholic Central.

Division 2

Fenton (9-2) at Lowell (10-1) Saturday 1pm

Previous Meeting or Common Opponents: None. (Fenton Coach Jeff Setzky is brother-in-law to Lowell Coach Noel Dean.)

Why Fenton Wins: Honestly, they don’t know any better. The Tigers made a run this far last year and really have not had much playoff success in their existence. So maybe they just don’t know any better, they come in well prepared and just don’t understand that they shouldn’t beat Lowell. Much like Lowell, Fenton is led by their QB Houston Shaw who is a dual threat and has the experience of leading his team on consecutive playoff runs. The Special teams is also a point of emphasis here, think Virginia Tech, those special teams just happen to come up with big plays in big games.

Why Lowell Wins: They are the better team. Lowell is coached amazingly well and has the experience to go along with the teaching. Gabe Dean is a beast, plain and simple, he makes defending this offense nearly impossible. The Red Arrows looked shaky in the first round but came back to pound Muskegon last week. We fully expect Lowell to move on here, one step closer to a third straight trip to Ford Field.

Winner Gets: Walled Lake Western or Port Huron.

Division 3

East Grand Rapids (8-3) at Holland (9-2) Saturday 1pm

Previous Meeting or Common Opponents: Holland beat East in week 2, 30-22.

To read our detailed breakdown of this game check out Tuesday’s article.

Winner Gets: Mount Pleasant or East Lansing.

Division 4

Alma (9-2) at Comstock Park (7-2) Friday 7pm

Previous Meeting or Common Opponents: None.

Why Alma Wins: They found a way to stop Jake Brown. Not likely as the Park QB has been shredding defenses all season long but that is what will have to happen for Alma to have a chance in this one. Dylan Brown is a great RB for the Panthers and will have to navigate through a suddenly stingy Park defense (allowing 7 total points in two playoff games). Alma has played a pair of teams from the west side of the state in Newaygo and Howard City Tri County but nothing like this Comstock Park team.

Why Park Wins: Jake Brown is hard to stop and the thing about it is if you stop him on the ground he can still throw the ball extremely well. Jon Hoffman is another weapon for this Panther offense to go along with their very tall collection of receivers. Park is back home this week which should also provide a distinct advantage as the Panther students can keep it loud with the best of them! If Comstock Park’s defense keeps their play up this week then the home team should roll.

Winner Gets: Paw Paw or Zeeland West.

 Paw Paw (10-1) at Zeeland West (11-0) Friday 7pm

Previous Meeting or Common Opponents: None.

Why Paw Paw Wins: The Redskins are balanced on offense and have a defense that will attempt to set the tone early with physicality. They will need that tone from the coin toss to hang with the Dux, matching the physicality of Zeeland West is a tall task for any team (ask Catholic Central). Paw Paw will run the ball for the most part but senior QB Brett Boven can make plays with his arm as well. Locating the ball carrier will be the focus all week for the Skins as it has given Dux opponents fits all year long. Grab an early lead and running teams have trouble coming back in a timely manner if you play solid D.

Why West Wins: The Dux are big, tough, fast and athletic. Last week turnovers kept Catholic Central in the game longer than they maybe should have been it was clear Zeeland West was better. Clay Coatney leads these Dux and is a magician with the ball in the backfield; the ball carrier is often not located until he is already 5 yards down field. Zeeland could sit back to defend the pass and allow their pass rushers to get pressure on Mile Morrissey last week whereas this week it will be important to stay home and play pursuit lanes. If the Dux defense plays like they did last week this one will be over quick.

Winner Gets: Alma or Comstock Park.

Division 5

Menominee (9-2) at West Catholic (9-2) Saturday 3pm

Previous Meeting or Common Opponents: None.

Why Menominee Wins: If the Maroons have success running the ball out of their unique offensive set then this will be another classic between these two schools. The Maroons have put up 119 points so far this postseason so this could very well end up being a shootout that comes down to the 4^th quarter. The Single Wing offense that the Maroons run causes fits for most teams and is yet another example of the multitude of ways you can win football games at the high school level. Think of a “Wildcat” offense where you’re not sure exactly which back the ball will be snapped to (its pretty wild!). Menominee’s defense will also have to deliver a huge game to slow the Falcons.

Why West Catholic Wins: The Falcons and coach Dan Rohn want to defend their state title in a bad way, last year it took traveling to the UP to beat a Menominee team in the Semi Finals. This year it’s at West Catholic and they hope the home field helps out in a big way. West will lean heavily on their running game and Jalin Faison as they have all year. The Falcon defense has been playing great in these playoffs and they will need to be up to the task again on Saturday against this quirky Menominee offense.

Winner Gets: Dowagiac or Lansing Catholic.

Division 6

Montague (9-2) at Ithaca (11-0) Saturday 1pm

Previous Meeting or Common Opponents: None.

Why Montague Wins: The defense is improved over past Montague teams and they find a way to contain the spread attack of Ithaca. We all know about WR Brandon Moore and QB Travis Cockerill on the offensive side of the ball but in my eyes this game will come down to the play of the Wildcat defense. I do all I can to get Moore the ball in creative ways as throwing it all over the yard will be risky, the Yellow Jacket defense has 26 interceptions this year! Montague is the last team to beat Ithaca, in the 2009 semi-finals Cody Kater and company took home a 47-16 victory.

Why Ithaca Wins: The Yellow Jackets are the defending D 6 champs and have won 25 games in a row. Coach Terry Hessbrook has built a monster in Central Michigan and his spread attack has slashed through opponents all season long. QB Travis Smith has been a wild success this year after Mr. Ithaca, Alex Niznak graduated last year. Smith is also a dual threat as a sophomore and has Ithaca looking tough for years to come. Smith will look towards Charles Schnetzler when he throws the ball down field; the pair has hooked up for 11 scores. Garrett Miniard is the teams leading rusher and the heart of the defense at middle linebacker.

Winner Gets: Iron Mountain or Morley-Stanwood.