The Turnaround Season: Game Nine vs Calumet
Friday October 22, 2010
After an exciting win, the worry for any team is that they may be emotionally drained or come out flat the following week. Seven days after winning one of the biggest home games in school history against their archrivals from Negaunee, the question of how focused Marquette would remain hung over the team like a cloud. With scores of family, friends, and community members patting them on the back to tell them how great they were, it would be easy for anyone to lose focus amid such hype and glee.
Calumet was a quality football team, entering with a 7–1 record, so Marquette’s staff was fully aware that the West Peninsula Athletic Conference Champion Copper Kings could walk out as victors if the boys in Red & White took them for granted. With the playoff selection show scheduled for less than 48 hours after kickoff, this game remained crucial for both teams as the pair remained in the running to host a first-round playoff game. Getting a downstate team to travel across the bridge for a postseason contest in November when the weather would be frigid usually resulted in a massive advantage for the Yoopers, so both teams looked to capitalize and give themselves the best possible odds to host.
The coaching staff’s fears were realized in the first half when Marquette’s home crowd was treated to uncharacteristic penalties, dropped passes, a few turnovers, and generally uninspired play. The only solace they found early on came from the Marquette defensive line who overwhelmed Calumet’s offense to hold the game to a scoreless stalemate all the way to halftime. The first two quarters were such a log jam that both teams entered the break with under 50 yards of offense; the game was anyone’s for the taking.
After what had to be an emotional wake-up call from the Dave L’Huillier-led coaching staff at halftime, Marquette responded. To start off the second half, junior back Garrett Pentecost broke off a 75-yard touchdown sprint to finally put the home team on the board and wake up the crowd at William Hart Stadium. The defense continued their strong play as they pushed the Copper King offense back on three straight tries before quickly forcing a punt to get the ball back. On their first play of the next drive, it was Pentecost who scored again on a 41-yard touchdown run to give MSHS a 13–0 lead. Once they got the ball back, Calumet tried to create their own momentum in response to Pentecost’s twin touchdown runs by passing the ball. Unfortunately for the visitors, LB Kasaim Koonala immediately jumped a route to continue the Marquette onslaught, intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown to push the home team’s lead to 20–0 by the end of the third quarter.
For the rest of the game, it was all about the senior class of Josh Johnson, Mat Kadell, Chris Forsberg, Colin Terry, Matt Mills, Craig Cairati, Spencer Larson, Forrest Gilfoy, Zak Green, Charlie Hubbard, Noah Ivey, Matt Hamblin, Alex Urbiha, Robert Groleau, Adam Gannon and Dylan Mahler, who each took turns checking into the game on “Senior Night” to cap an unforgettable regular season. When the clock reached zeroes, the final score was 20–6 and Marquette had secured a 7–2 regular season, their best since assembling an 8–1 record in 1976.
With a fantastic, magical regular season in the books, attention turned to the playoffs. For the first time since 2001 and just the second time in school history, Marquette Senior High School was sending a football team to the modern MHSAA playoffs. When the Division Three seedings were announced on Sunday evening, Marquette was placed into the 1st District as the three-seed, set to travel south to play Bay City John Glenn near the shores of Lake Huron. Even with an end-of-season win against Calumet, MSHS was heading below the bridge. Meanwhile, the other side of the district bracket saw Cadillac as a four seed traveling to top-seeded Petoskey.
The turnaround season was complete, at least the “regular” part was, and the greater Marquette community had officially gone football crazy. The final chapter of the program’s redemption tour had yet to be written, though, because it now included a journey into the postseason.
