By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
DETROIT — Schoolcraft’s first trip to the MHSAA Division 7 football state finals since 2001 Sunday ended in defeat, as the Eagles were stifled by a relentless Menominee team in a 34-6 loss at Ford Field.
Menominee dominated the game from start to finish, especially on defense. The Maroons held the Eagles, who averaged over 31 points per game and over 357 yards per game on offense coming into the state finals, to 248 yards of offense, compared to Menominee’s 358.
Meanwhile, the Eagles’ defense, which had been a stingy unit all year long, were mostly unable to contain the Maroons’ single-wing offense, with five of the eight Menominee possessions ending in touchdowns.
Despite the loss, Schoolcraft head coach Dan DeVries said he was proud of his team for playing hard right to the final minutes and seconds of the game.
“Certainly quite an accomplishment, obviously we would’ve liked to have won the game, but certainly proud of them and proud of our community and the support we had getting there,” DeVries said.
Menominee got the scoring started a few minutes into the game, capping off a 10-play, 57-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run by running back Clayton Miller to take an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Schoolcraft would have its best drive of the first half on its first drive of the game, getting inside Menominee’s red zone late in the drive thanks to back-to-back 20-plus yard completions to Landon DeVries and Drew Enright. However, it would come to a screeching halt as Eagles quarterback Jack DeVries threw the ball on the very next play to a spot in the front of the end zone where two receivers and three Menominee defenders had converged, and the Maroons’ Maverick Geniesse would haul in the interception.
After that, the Maroons would burn the next 8:17 of clock with a methodical 18-play, 79-yard drive that ended with six minutes to go in the half with a 2-yard touchdown rush by Miller for his second score of the day. The extra point was blocked, making the score 13-0.
The Eagles had a couple of chances during that drive to get the ball back via replay, with Dane Ostlund nearly ripping the ball from Miller’s hands on a second-down carry (the down-by-contact call was upheld on replay) and Landon DeVries landing just barely out of bounds while recovering a fumble by Maroons receiver Landen Daigneau deep in Schoolcraft territory, which kept possession with the Maroons (the initial ruling was that Daigneau was out of bounds, but replay reversed it to a fumble that was recovered out of bounds).
Schoolcraft would once again cross midfield on their first drive of the second quarter, getting a first down via a Jack DeVries run, but the drive would stall out after five plays.
Jack DeVries would land an excellent punt at the Maroons’ 1-yard line, pinning Menominee deep for their next drive. They would avoid giving up a safety on the first two plays, but eventually would be forced to punt from their own 4-yard line with seven seconds left on the second-quarter clock.
The punt would be badly shanked out of bounds, giving the Eagles the ball at Menominee’s 13-yard line with three seconds left and one shot to get to the end zone before the half. However, Jack DeVries’ pass to the end zone on the final play would fall incomplete, making it a 13-0 Maroons lead going into the half.
Schoolcraft would get the ball to start the second half, but were unable to get the passing game going, eventually leading to a punt after just five plays. After the punt, and an illegal block penalty on Schoolcraft, it would take just four plays on Menominee’s first possession of the half to go 46 yards to paydirt. The bulk of those yards came on the 31-yard touchdown rush by Miller for his third score of the day. The two-point conversion pass from backup quarterback Dylan Beal to starting quarterback Tanner Theuerkauf gave the Maroons a 21-0 lead with just under eight minutes to go in the third quarter.
The Eagles would try to get the running game going on their next drive, and while that got them a couple of first downs, it would eventually stall out the drive, as Schoolcraft would be forced to punt again.
Menominee would then utilize the passing game on an 11-play, 85-yard drive, including a terrific front-flipping catch by Miller on a Theuerka deep pass, capping it off with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Theuerka to Geniesse, putting the Maroons up 28-0 just seconds into the start of the fourth quarter after the extra point.
Schoolcraft got on the board for the first time on their next drive. The Eagles would complete three passes to Langston Richardson on the drive, while a couple of passes to Landon DeVries – one called for defensive pass interference, the next a 10-yard gain – put the Eagles back in the red zone. They would capitalize on this trip to the red zone, with TJ Luteyn rushing into the end zone from 4 yards out to make it 28-6 after the two-point conversion pass failed.
Both teams would then trade turnovers on their next possessions. A fumble by Miller was recovered by Schoolcraft’s JD Perrin in Menominee territory on the second play of the ensuing Maroons drive. However, Schoolcraft would give it right back as DeVries threw an interception into the end zone on the very next play to Menominee’s Dawson Bardowski for a touchback.
The proverbial hot potato with ball security would continue two plays later, as Theuerka completed a long pass to Bardowski for 47 yards, but Enright would chase him down and punch the ball out, with defensive back Brayden Boyes falling on it at the Eagles’ 11-yard line for a turnover.
Despite that good fortune, Schoolcraft would turn the ball downs, with a fourth-down pass to Enright falling short of the sticks. Menominee would take advantage of the extremely short field, scoring three plays later on an 8-yard rush touchdown by Jackson Myszak to make it 34-6 after a failed extra point.
The Eagles would have one more shot at the end zone with 2:17 left in the game, with a big 44-yard deep pass to Enright getting them to Menominee’s 4-yard line with eight seconds left. However, Luteyn and Jack DeVries’ subsequent runs would fall short of the end zone, and Menominee would start the celebration of their fourth state title, their first since 2007.
On the stat sheet, Jack DeVries was 12-of-26 passing on the day for 148 yards and two interceptions. He was also the leading rusher, rushing eight times for 43 yards. Luteyn had 14 carries for 41 yards and a touchdown. Enright was the leading receiver, hauling in four passes for 75 yards. Landon DeVries had four catches for 43 yards, Richardson had three catches for 21 yards, and Evan Feller had one catch for nine yards.
“Coming off of the Clinton game, we knew Menominee would be ready for the pass. We also knew they had a lot of beef up front on the defensive line, and that running was going to be tough sledding for us. We knew we had to use our quick pass game, and we got a little bit off-track, I’d say, once we went down 14, that put us in situations where we needed points a little bit quicker, and we had to get more aggressive than our gameplan originally called for,” Dan DeVries said. “We knew we could move the ball on them with the plan we had, but going down 14, it sped things up a little.”
Defensively, Feller had 12 tackles on the day, while Ostlund had 11 tackles. Enright and Cooper Howard forced fumbles. Cody Priest blocked an extra point. Dan DeVries said he was proud of his defense for their effort in the game.
“Obviously it’s not the performance we wanted to have, but our defense has been strong all year and I’m proud of our guys and the physicality we have,” Dan DeVries said. “Menominee, hats off to them, they have a heck of a team.”
Menominee was led by Miller, who had 25 carries for 112 yards and three touchdowns, while hauling in one pass for 32 yards. Theuerkauf was 7-of-11 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown, while also running seven times for 10 yards. Bardowski had seven carries for 47 yards, and Myszak had six carries for 29 yards and a touchdown. The Maroons were led defensively by Nathan Nelson, who had nine tackles, and Bardowski and Geniesse, who each had an interception.
Dan DeVries said bringing a team to the state championship was something special for not just his seniors, but for his underclassmen as well, many of whom were key players and will be returning for next year.
“We say success breeds success, and I think knowing that not only is it possible, but you can do it, and the guys before you have done it, and you’ve seen it in recent history, I think that increases your chances of higher success for the guys coming up, because they know what they’re capable of doing and have seen others do it,” Dan DeVries said. “We’ve got a lot of great talent coming up, and kids who love playing football. There’s no reason to think Schoolcraft won’t continue to have a strong football program for several years to come.”
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
