The latest news about Macomb County high school sports ... all the sports, all the schools.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Clintondale stands alone among Macomb County football teams
Thirty-three schools from Macomb County have 11-player football teams.
Only one had a perfect regular season.
Clintondale went 9-0 while winning the Macomb Area Conference Bronze Division championship.
It was the Dragons' first 9-0 regular season since 2000.
That year, Clintondale finished 11-1 and won the MAC Silver and a district championship.
The playoff-bound Dragons capped their perfect 2012 season with a victory over South Lake.
Clintondale also defeated Lamphere, Lincoln, Center Line, Lakeview, Clawson, East Detroit, Mount Clemens and New Haven.
Clintondale did not qualify for the playoffs in 2011.
Eisenhower, Dakota extend football playoff streaks
Eisenhower and Dakota find out Sunday who they will play in the opening round of the state high school football playoffs.
The Macomb Area Conference Red Division powers already know they will extend Macomb County's longest active post-season streaks.
Eisenhower, which had a 7-2 record in the regular season under coach Chris Smith, will make its 14th consecutive playoff appearance.
The Eagles have been post-season participants every year since the current playoff format was adopted in 1999.
Dakota, 8-1 overall and the Red Division champion during the regular season, will be in the playoffs for the 12th straight season.
The Cougars began their streak in 2001. Coach Mike Giannone's team won Division 1 state championships in 2006 and 2007.
Warren-Moot football teams helps Forgotten Harvest
A few days before the first game of the season, the Warren-Mott football team chipped in to help out Forgotten Harvest. Forgotten Harvest raises vegetables that are picked by volunteers and then shipped to homeless shelters. "It was a great experience," Marauders coach Tom Milanov said.
Starting
his first season as football coach at New Haven, Meldrum built most of
his resume at Catholic League schools like Notre Dame Prep and U-D
Jesuit.
He also was an assistant at Berkley under head coach Jim MacDougall.
Meldrum,
a Macomb Township resident, is catching up on the history of athletics
in general and football in particular at New Haven.
He knows of the Rockets’ success in boys track, in which New Haven won state Class C team championships in 1994, 1995 and 1996.
He
knows about the Rockets’ boys basketball team that last season advanced
to the state quarterfinals with a relatively young roster.
And he knows how significant a winning football program would be to the village.
“This is small-town Macomb County; Friday night football is what they want to do,” Meldrum said.
“The
community is hungry as heck to get this thing back. The neat thing is
that this is not a program that has never had success. They were in the
playoffs with coach (Jason) Byers. A lot
of these (current players) can remember that.”
New
Haven made two playoff appearances under Byers, who is in his first
season as head coach at Anchor Bay, in 2004 and 2005. The Rockets went
to the playoffs in 2006 under coach Todd Koehn.
New Haven won Southern Thumb Association championships in 1989, 1984 and 1973.
One
of the especially proud eras of Rockets football was the 1960s when
Ward Young, for whom New Haven’s field is named, was the coach.
The Rockets were STA champions four times in the decade, an accomplishment that’s important today, Meldrum said.
“That’s still a tradition that people can talk about,” he said. “It’s important to have that type of tradition.
“Maybe
it doesn’t mean a lot to these guys that we’re coaching now, but their
dads and their uncles and grandparents remember that stuff.”
Before
he began the process of applying and interviewing for the New Haven
job, Meldrum’s last visit to New Haven came when he was on the Berkley
staff. He scouted a potential opponent that
was playing the Rockets.
At the time, New Haven played on a field behind its old high school.
Since
then, the Rockets have moved to a new athletic complex, one that
includes baseball and softball diamonds, behind their current high
school building.
“Seeing what they’ve done with the facilities here is really impressive,” Meldrum said.
These schools will have new head football coaches in 2012: SCHOOL (DEPARTING COACH) (NEW COACH)
Anchor Bay (Phil Latona)(Jason Byers)
Armada (Dan Witgen) (Mark Brandemarte)
Center Line (Bret Davis) (TBA)
East Detroit (Anthony Kiner)(TBA)
Eisenhower (Bob Lantzy) (Chris Smith)
L'Anse Creuse North (Joe Politowicz) (Anthony Kiner)
Lutheran North (Gary Faszholz) (Ryan Wesley)
Memphis (Tony Giancarlo) (Paul Bringard)
Warren Woods-Tower (Dan Eberhardt) (Mike Mahar)
This photo of New Haven's undefeated 1934 football team, which outscored its opponents 196-0, was one of 12 hung recently in a hallway at the New Haven Community Schools administration building on Clark Street.
The Foundrymen -- that was New Haven's nickname until Rockets was adopted -- were coached by Edward Siefert (back row, far right).
Can you identify any of the 11 players? If so, email The Confidential at sports@macombdaily.com. We'd like to put names with the faces of the historic team.
Chippewa Valley, Eisenhower tapped for Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State
Chippewa Valley and Eisenhower will open their 2012 football seasons at Wayne State University.
Coach Scott Merchant (pictured) and the Big Reds play Dearborn and Eisenhower will take on Port Huron as part of the Prep Kickoff Classic that will be played at WSU Aug. 24-25, the Detroit Sports Commission announced on Jan. 17.
Both Macomb County teams will try to avenge overtime losses from the 2011 campaign.
Chippewa Valley lost at Dearborn 29-28 in overtime on Aug. 25.
Eisenhower, meanwhile, lost at Port Huron 22-21 in double overtime on Sept. 16. That was Ike's only loss of the regular season.
For the Eagles, the game will mark the debut of coach Chris Smith, who is taking over for retired Bob Lantzy.
Games times and dates are to be announced.
Other match-ups set for the PKC: Southgate Anderson vs. Woodhaven; Detroit Crockett vs. Oak Park; Southfield vs. Detroit King and Brother Rice vs. Detroit Cass Tech.
Brother Rice won the Division 2 championship last season, and Cass Tech won the Division 1 title.
UPDATE: Armada, Eisenhower, Lutheran North fill football coaching posts
These schools will have new head football coaches in 2012: SCHOOL (DEPARTING COACH) (NEW COACH)
Anchor Bay (Phil Latona)
Armada (Dan Witgen) (Mark Brandemarte)
Center Line (Bret Davis)
Eisenhower (Bob Lantzy) (Chris Smith) (pictured)
L'Anse Creuse North (Joe Politowicz)
Lutheran North (Gary Faszholz) (Ryan Wesley)
Memphis (Tony Giancarlo)
Warren-Mott football coach Tom Milanov and L'Anse Creuse North coach Joe Politowicz break down the high school football playoffs by analyzing three matchups involving Macomb County teams.
First, Milanov gives his views on the Roseville at Dakota game. His Marauders played both schools in the regular season.
Politowicz gives his thoughts on the Utica at Romeo game. His Crusaders played both in the regular season.
Finally, Politowicz talks about the Rochester at Eisenhower matchup.
With Michigan Collegiate’s 41-20 loss to Chandler Park in Week 8, no Macomb County team will complete the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record for the first time since 1999.
The good news: in ’99, one county team reached the state championship when Eisenhower advanced to the Division 1 final at the Silverdome.
Will a Macomb County team reach Ford Field this year?
Romeo and South Lake continue to lead The Macomb Daily's high school football rankings.
What team do you think is the best in Macomb County? Week 8 Rankings
The Macomb Daily sports staff predicts high school football games for Week 8 of the high school football season.
Which teams do you think will win this week? Week 8 Picks
Going into Week 7, Anchor Bay already had lost two games by an identical score of 21-20. So it’s safe to assume Tars coach Phil Latona probably did not play that combination of numbers in the lottery anytime soon. (Anchor Bay lost 21-20 to Westland John Glenn in Week 1 and 21-20 to Ford in Week 5).
But Anchor Bay’s fortune turned on Friday when the Tars prevailed 21-20 over Port Huron Northern. Michigan State recruit Taiwan Jones had another big game, and Anchor Bay kept its postseason hopes alive by improving to 4-3 overall.
Anchor Bay can qualify for the state playoffs for the first time since 2004 with victories over Sterling Heights and Fraser in the next two weeks. Both games are at home, and both teams are struggling – Sterling Heights is winless and Fraser has just two victories.
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