The Turnaround Season: District Finals vs Cadillac
Saturday November 6, 2010
Marquette Senior High School was gearing up to host an MHSAA playoff football game for the first time in school history, and momentum seemed to be in the home team’s favor coming off of a huge win on the road at Bay City John Glenn. Now the team had earned the chance to host the Cadillac Vikings with a spot in the state quarterfinals on the line. In the days leading up to the game, a November lake effect snowstorm gave William Hart Stadium its first covering of the season — fitting for a U.P. home playoff game.
The community support continued building as the countdown waned, with a Friday afternoon pep rally scheduled to energize the student body. A crowd of local residents even attended, which really underscored the community’s embrace of the football program. Throughout the week, numerous statewide media organizations had been interviewing players, coaches, and even this radio announcer about the team’s run, looking for answers on the Cinderella season and speculating on a possible run for a state championship.
When it came to pregame predictions, it seemed like everyone from the Detroit Free Press to MLive and even the Cadillac News thought that Marquette would secure its first district title. To pundits, the team’s convincing 63–22 upset win the previous week paired with Cadillac’s slim victory over Petoskey was too flashy to ignore, and home field advantage seemed like it would be enough to propel Red & White to victory.
From an X’s & O’s standpoint, the scouting report for Cadillac was unique. They had beaten the district’s number one seed, Petoskey, in a contest featuring a lot of penalties (each team had 10), turnovers, and defensive touchdowns. The Vikings had physical offensive and defensive lines that liked to control the tempo by running the ball and controlling the game clock without letting opposing teams establish a running game. In essence, it was as if Marquette was looking in the mirror — a tough matchup, indeed.
A brisk northern wind off Lake Superior made each team’s offensive game plan all the more crucial to execute, as points would be hard to come by. The game started with Marquette stuffing Cadillac’s first two running plays to make it 3rd and 15 from their own four-yard line. It goes without saying that a Cadillac three and out on the first drive would’ve provided a big early boost to Marquette and their fans, but QB Gary Silers quickly dashed those hopes and quieted the crowd by scrambling out of the pocket and sprinting 96 yards down the field for a touchdown to put the visitors up 7–0. Marquette got the ball back for a drive of their own, but the offense could not get anything going as Cadillac’s defense stuffed the two-headed MSHS backfield to force a punt.
The ensuing Cadillac drive ended with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Silers to put the Vikings up 14–0, a lead they would hold on to through the end of the first quarter. The entire second quarter was a scoreless stalemate as both defenses took control, but the Vikings remained in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the opening half. While desperately fighting to gain ground, it was clear that Marquette would need to pull out all of the stops in the second half, as they had done all season, to keep their dreams alive.
Despite dreams of a comeback spreading through the crowd at William Hart Stadium, the second half turned into a carbon copy of the first. Marquette was unable to gain any traction; the offense couldn’t run the ball and the passing game was unsuccessful. Even a few trick plays could not take momentum away from the Vikings. On the other side, the Cadillac offense continued their success by piling on two more touchdowns to make it 28–0. With a hefty lead in tow and the home team scrambling for a miracle, the Viking backfield was able to run the clock out on the Marquette season.
This was not the ending that any Marquette fans had dreamt of, but the season was filled with memories that will last longer than any November chill. The 2010 Marquette football team embodied the magic of high school sports, where a football program can go from punch line to powerhouse in the course of one season while becoming one of the best teams in the entire Upper Peninsula. As the community reflected on a magnificent run, the postseason accolades poured in. Coach Dave L’Huillier was named Coach of the Year for the Great Northern Conference, Class A-B-C schools in the U.P., and all of MHSAA Division Three. From a personnel standpoint, Garrett Pentecost, Kasaim Koonala, Zak Green, Colin Terry, and Mitch Crothers were all named to the All-UP team by the U.P. Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association.
This was not just a story of a singular turnaround season, but one of developing a foundation for future success. In the 2010s, the school went on to have seven playoff appearances while winning three conference titles to make it Marquette’s most successful decade since the 70s. A journey that started in the midst of a 19-game losing streak ended while hosting a district championship game. The team had many groundbreaking accomplishments, including:
-First win since 2007
-First back-to-back wins since 2007
-First three-game winning streak since 1988
-First four-game winning streak since 1983
-First winning season since 2002
-First playoff appearance since 2001
-First EVER playoff game in Marquette
-Most wins since 1976
Ten years ago, a school that was known for producing some of the best hockey teams in the state played host for one of the biggest turnarounds in U.P. sports history. As a very fortunate high school senior, I got to see every game and was able to document the contests. I would like to thank Terry Delpier for allowing me to use her photos from each game and Drew VanDrese (who I refer to as a human thesaurus) for making sure I’s were dotted, T’s were crossed, and names were highlighted. What started as a project to keep me occupied during the summer of COVID turned into an opportunity to reconnect with old classmates — for that, I’m grateful.
