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Last updated 12-19-09 09:58 AM
OAKRIDGE EAGLES JACK SCHUGARS
231-788-7112
Fax: 231-788-7314
5493 E. HALL ROAD
MUSKEGON, Michigan 49442
2008 State Championship Review
Monday, February 25
Congratulations Coach Schugars!
Head Coach Jack Schugars has been honored by becoming a finalist for the 2008 National High School Coaches Association Football Coach of the Year Finalist. For complete details of this honor click on the Title. Great Job Coach!
Monday, March 17
Thank You Oakridge Football Fans
The Oakridge Football Program would like to thank all of the people involved in making the Oakridge Football Carnival on March 15th a success. The great support from from our district residents and businesses every year is something we are very proud of. Thank You for another successful year.
The 8th Annual Oakridge Football Golf Classic is fast approaching. Saturday June 28th will be the date this year. The golf outing is always a great time to visit old friends, and teammates. We hope to start off our 2008 season in a special way. This fall will mark Head Coach Jack Schugars' 30th as the head coach of the Eagles. Come out Visit Coach Schugars and the entire Coaching staff as we get ready for the 2008 season.
The revenue generated from our golf outing helps in many areas of our program including Team Meals, Weight Training Equipment and summer 7 on 7 competition expenses.
We are very proud to be part of a community that continues to lead the way in the support of their students not only in the classroom but the athletic fields.
Thank you for your continued support
Oakridge Football Staff
Register Early and Save!
Click on Title for a Registration Form.
Monday, July 14
Thank You Dr. Calvin Johnson (Class of 1977)
Distinguished 1977 Oakridge Graduate Dr.Calvin Johnson and his wife Elaine continue their support of Oakridge Football from their home in Los Angeles, California. Their donation of $500 is greatly appreciated and will help maintain the level of program that makes Oakridge Football special. We are very proud that former players such as Dr. Calvin Johnson have special memories and experiences that have shaped their lives. The Johnson's have been continuous Platinum members of the "Eagles for Excellence Club" since its inception three years ago.Calvin is well remembered from his days at Oakridge as not only an ALL STATE athlete but as an outstanding overall person. Calvin continues to build a legacy with his character and his ability to help people in all walks of life. We are very proud that Dr. Calvin & Mrs. Elaine Johnson remain part of the Oakridge Football Family. To read more about some of Calvin's distinguished accomplishments click on the title.
Monday, July 14
Thank You David Randall (Class of 1997)
1997 Oakridge graduate David Randall is remembered for his many contributions as a former player and coach in the Oakridge Football program. David recently donated $250 to the 2008 "Eagle's for Excellence Club" David's name is sprinkled throughout the Oakridge Football record book including rushing for the most yards in a single season and the most touchdowns in a single season. David's passion for football continues in the coaching ranks.Thank you David for continuing to help out the Oakridge Football Family.
Monday, July 14
National High School Coaches Association Awards Banquet
Although I did not win the National Football Coach of the Year, being one of the eight finalists was such a humbling and great experience. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to represent Oakridge High School in the National High School Coaches Association 43rd Annual Convention and National Awards Banquet.
The National Football Coach of the Year Winner was Coach Gary Korhonen from Palos Park, Illinois His 42 year coaching record is 315 -98 including two Undefeated Illinois State Championship seasons, 2 runner-up, and 26 total playoff appearances.
To be on the same stage as this gentlemen was an honor in itself. It was a fantastic experience that will be a lasting memory.
Thanks you Oakridge Football Family for your support.
Jack Schugars
Saturday, August 2
Thank you for your Continued Support
Latest "Eagles for Excellence" 2008 Members
Larry Pearce - The Pearce Family -Crestmark Bank - Bronze Business
Roger & Rae DeHaan -Proud Parents of Kyle DeHaan #24 - Gold Eagle
The Macomber Family - Cody Moore #50 - Silver Eagle
It will be Parents Night and the first home game for the Oakridge Eagles on Friday September 5th. The North ...
Saturday, September 6 Eagles Win Home Opener
Oakridge 56, North Muskegon 6 -- At Oakridge, Matt Eacker's effort quite possibly set a record for Oakridge. Eacker ...
Monday, September 15 "Homecoming" this Week Against Whitehall
The Eagles take on the Whitehall Vikings Friday September 19th. It is "Homecoming." To take a look a ...
Saturday, September 27 Eagles Beat Shelby Tigers for Win Number five
Oakridge 50, Shelby 7 -- At Shelby, the Eagle defense led the way, holding the Tigers to -17 yards rushing and ...
Monday, October 6
Oakridge and Orchard View Battle for Cancer
“Birds Battle Cancer”Hosted by the Oakridge Football Program Friday, October 24, 2008, 7PMat the Orchard View-Oakridge football game
Support the MHP Johnson Family Center for Cancer Care by purchasing and wearing a pink t-shirt especially designed for this event, or by simply donating to this cause.
October is BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH.Since 1 in every 5000 men and 1 in every 8 women will get breast cancer, the money we raise for the awareness, treatment, and research of cancer will impact our area.Please donate to a great cause that will help our own families and friends as well as the entire community.
ALL OF THE MONEY RAISED WILL STAY IN MUSKEGON TO BENEFIT LOCAL CANCER PATIENTS.
Want to be part of this great event?
Purchase a specially designedT-shirt:ADULTS, $14.00 and CHILDREN, $9.00Shirts will be available the week before the game at Orchard View HS or Oakridge HS, E&A Grocery, and at the game on Friday.
·Attend a spaghetti dinner at Oakridge Middle School from 4:30-7:00 (benefits girls’ basketball and the cancer center)Adults$6.00Students $4.00
·Attend the Oakridge vs. Orchard View football game at 7:00 at Oakridge where both teams will honor cancer victims and survivors by wearing pink socks as well as pink decals on their helmets.
Checks should be made out to MHP Johnson Cancer Center and dropped off at the HS office.
Saturday, October 18 Eagles Wins Fourth Consecutive WMC Title
Oakridge 63, Mason County Central 13 -- At Scottville, the Eagles won their four consecutive West Michigan Conference ...
Wednesday, November 26
Muskegon County makes best finals showing ever
Muskegon County makes best finals showing ever
Scott DeCamp, November 26, 2008 10:18 p.m.
MUSKEGON — History has a way of repeating itself, and that’s been the case with high school football in the Muskegon area.
Muskegon County has been a prep football hotbed for years. This season, though, history is being rewritten.
It’ll be a record weekend for that West Michigan region, when four teams from the county will compete for state championships at Detroit’s Ford Field.
On Friday, Muskegon, Montague and Muskegon Catholic Central will compete for state titles in Divisions 2, 6 and 8, respectively. On Saturday, Muskegon Oakridge will vie for the Division 5 crown.
The previous high for Muskegon County teams in the finals during the same season was two, which was accomplished 10 times. The county has won seven state titles in 11 chances within the past 10 years. During that span, the only years it didn’t have at least one team competing for a state title were 2007, 2002 and 1998.
“We do have great coaches and great traditions,” said Tom Kendra, sports editor of The Muskegon Chronicle. “That’s a big part of it.
“I think a lot has to do with our location — we don’t have professional sports or even major-college sports. High schools are a bigger deal here than maybe other parts of the state. That really strengthens our high school football teams.”
Muskegon High is largest of the 13 football-playing schools in the county, and it’s steeped in history. The state’s all-time winningest program is experiencing a bit of a flashback this season, too.
Elan “E.J.” Banks is a 6-foot, 170-pound senior quarterback who makes the Big Reds’ offense go. His father, Elan Banks, was an all-state running back on Muskegon’s 1989 state-championship squad.
While family ties play a role, like in any other part of the state, the Muskegon area features some intense rivalries, too.
That’s especially true in the West Michigan Conference, in which Oakridge, Montague and Ravenna slug it out on an annual basis. Oakridge is seeking its third state title, Montague its first; Ravenna has four state crowns.
“No question that Oakridge, Montague and Ravenna have to keep up with each other,” Kendra said. “For years, Ravenna made Muskegon Catholic better and vice versa (by facing each other in the playoffs and nonconference).
“There’s a lot of competition around here, where in a lot of other cities, you don’t have that.”
Sunday, November 30
Detroit News Finals Article
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Division 5: Muskegon Oakridge 26, Ovid-Elsie 14
Oakridge completes Muskegon area sweep
Tim Twentyman / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Muskegon Oakridge hadn't trailed at halftime in any game this season before Saturday's Division 5 title game. But on the biggest stage, in the biggest game of the season, there sat Oakridge in its Ford Field locker room trailing Ovid-Elsie, 14-13.
But, like good teams always seem to do, Oakridge (14-0) gathered itself in the second half and showed why it was the No 1-ranked team in Division 5 all season with a 26-14 victory.
The Oakridge victory made it 4-for-4 for teams from Muskegon County in the finals.
"I told these guys at halftime, 'Hey, it's about family and it's about 24 minutes to win the state championship,' " Oakridge coach Jack Schugars said. "I told them we were going to come back."
The Oakridge players proved their coach right by scoring 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, which proved to be the difference.
Oakridge jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the second quarter on two 1-yard touchdown runs from Matt Eacker and Jamie Potts. Oakridge was trying to position itself for another score with the second-quarter clock winding down when it made its biggest mistake of the game.
Potts, a sophomore quarterback, didn't see an open receiver streaking downfield on a first-and-10 play and instead went underneath to a covered receiver in the flat. The ball was intercepted by Ovid-Elsie's Cameron Hurst at his own 34. Hurst returned the interception to the Oakridge 34, where he was tackled with one second remaining in the half.
"We were driving down trying to get in field-goal range and that was my decision and we went for it and we just threw a pick," Schugars said.
Ovid-Elsie quarterback Jason Goosen then lofted a Hail Mary pass to the end zone that was tipped by two Oakridge defenders but still found its way into receiver Dave Russek's hands for an improbable touchdown as time expired. The play gave Ovid-Elsie its 14-13 halftime lead.
"It sure lifted our spirits, I think; it lifted mine," Ovid-Elsie coach Jerry Goosen said. "We've practiced it forever but it's never worked. I guess we said our prayers this time."
The play gave Ovid-Elsie the momentum going into the half but it never capitalized in the second half. After trading punts in the third quarter, Oakridge's running game came to life in the fourth quarter. Oakridge scored on touchdown runs from Eacker and fullback Michael Shoop in the final quarter to pull away.
The Oakridge defense also came up big in the second half, holding Ovid-Elsie running back Chris Robinson to 63 yards.
Robinson, a junior, entered the game with 2,727 rushing yards for the season. He needed 163 yards to pass Chris Lomasney of Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, who set the record of 2,890 in 2000.
Robinson finished with 117 yards, giving him 2,844 for the year, which ranks third-best in MHSAA history.
Robinson was never the same after suffering an ankle sprain in the first half while he was pulled down by his collar on a long run. He gutted it out, never left the game. But the pain obviously bothered him and he was severely hobbled following the game.
"He was pretty lame after that," Goosen said. "He's a tough kid."
Shoop finished with 177 yards and a touchdown for Oakridge and Eacker had 104 yards and two touchdowns.
Sunday, November 30
Detroit News Notebook
Saturday, November 29, 2008
State football finals: Notebook
Horse-collar tackle hampers Robinson
Rod Beard, Tom Markowski and Tim Twentyman / The Detroit News
It's a penalty in the NFL and in college, now it's time for the horse-collar tackle to be called a penalty in high school. It's dangerous and the rules in Michigan need to be changed before the start of next season.
For Chris Robinson and his Ovid-Elsie teammates the rule change should have come sooner.
Robinson had carried for 28 yards in the first quarter when a Muskegon Oakridge player tackled him near the sideline by grabbing the top of his shoulder pads and hauling him down out of bounds. Robinson suffered a twisted right ankle on the play and though he continued to play, he was not the same. The ankle swelled at halftime and by the end of the game Robinson could not apply any pressure on it. Two members of the Ovid-Elsie staff helped carry him to the locker room.
Robinson had 108 yards on 11 carries after three quarters and finished with 117 yards on 14 carries. He just wasn't the same workhorse back coach Jerry Goosen had relied upon all season.
When asked about the rule, or rather the lack thereof, Goosen was noncommittal.
"I don't make the rules," he said. "They have committees for that. That's football. I can't blame their kid for making that tackle."
Goosen wasn't about to make his comments sound like sour grapes. His team lost to Oakridge, 26-14, in the Division 5 final.
Potts family tradition
Not only did Muskegon Oakridge sophomore quarterback Jamie Potts have to deal with the pressure of playing in the biggest game of his life, but at the same time he had to cope with living up to the Potts family tradition.
Potts' older brothers, Aaron and Andy , both won state titles while playing at Oakridge. Aaron won as a senior in 1997 and Andy won in 2005. Jamie made it 3-for-3 with a 26-14 victory over Ovid-Elsie Saturday and he still has two seasons to get a second ring and have bragging rights.
"I asked his mother the other day if there were any more Potts hiding in the closet," Oakridge coach Jack Schugars joked after the game.
Coaching and playing for titles
Traverse City St. Francis coach Greg Vaughn became just the third person in Michigan High School Athletic Association history to win a state title as a player and coach. Vaughn won a state title as a lineman and kicker for St. Francis in 1992 and coached St. Francis to the Division 7 title Saturday.
The other two to accomplish the feat are Bill Santilli of Crystal Falls Forest Park and Tony Scarcelli of Marine City. Santilli won as coach of Forest Park in 2007 and was a running back on the 1975 Forest Park championship team. Scarcelli won as a coach at Marine City in 2007 and won as an all-state lineman on the 1978 Warren Woods championship team.
Big-time kickers
Kickers get a bad rap sometimes for being small, frail and not really football players. That can't be said about the kickers from Traverse City St. Francis and Ubly in the Division 7 title game.
St. Francis junior kicker Max Bullough pulls double duty as an all-state linebacker who's accepted a scholarship to play at Michigan State. Bullough is 6-foot-3, 225 pounds and toe-kicks from a straight-back three-step drop. He was 3-for-3 on extra points Saturday.
Ubly's Richard Shatto trotted onto the field after Ubly's last touchdown. At 6-foot, 260 pounds, Shatto most certainly was headed for the line of scrimmage as a blocker -- well, not quite. Shatto lined up as the kicker, but missed his only attempt.
Saturday's top performers
Michael Shoop , Muskegon Oakridge: The senior running back rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown in a Division 5 final victory. His 11-yard score in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for Oakridge.
Joe Glendening , East Grand Rapids: Glendening has made a career scoring touchdowns in the Division 3 championship game. His three rushing touchdowns Saturday tied him with East Grand Rapids alum Kevin Grady Jr. as the only players to record seven touchdowns over the course of a career in the championship game. Glendening rushed for 175 yards on the evening.
Ryan Farley , Traverse City St. Francis: Farley, a senior, rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns and caught a 58-yard touchdown in St. Francis' 41-13 Division 7 victory.
Chris Robinson , Ovid-Elsie: Only a junior, Robinson had the third-best rushing season in the history of the MHSAA. His 117 yards in the Division 5 final gave him 2,844 for the season. He scored a touchdown in the game and had 12 tackles from his safety position.
Alex Peruski , Ubly: Peruski was one of the lone bright spots for Ubly, rushing for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Max Bullough , Traverse City St. Francis: The junior linebacker had 15 tackles, two for loss and a sack.
Branden Oakes , Lake Orion: Oakes, a senior running back, rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown in Lake Orion's 26-14 loss to Rockford in the Division 1 final.
Matt Eacker , Muskegon Oakridge: Eacker ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns. His 1-yard run with 11:08 remaining in the fourth quarter was the winner over Ovid-Elsie.
Ben Swan, Traverse City St. Francis: Swan rushed for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He had touchdown runs of 47 and 70 yards, averaging 17.2 yards per rush.
Attendance
The two days of finals brought 66,230 spectators to Ford Field. The total is the second-highest since the games were moved to Ford Field in 2005.
Injury update
Jim Martinez of Warren DeLaSalle was expected to have surgery on his lower right leg on Saturday. Martinez suffered what was first reported as a broken right ankle in DeLaSalle's 34-14 loss to Muskegon in the Division 2 final Friday. Martinez, a senior receiver/defensive back, suffered two broken bones just above the ankle. If the surgery is successful, he is expected to be out for approximately three months. A starting shortstop on the baseball team, Martinez could be ready for the start of that season in April.
Fresh(man) face
Lake Orion quarterback Sean Charette is a freshman but certainly didn't play like it this season, leading the Dragons to their first finals appearance.
"He's been phenomenal all year," Lake Orion coach Chris Bell said. "You saw him on the biggest stage, playing like a senior. He's a big reason why we're here -- hopefully, this isn't his only trip (to the finals)."
Charette finished 12-of-24 for 123 yards, with two interceptions. His rushing touchdown gave Lake Orion an early 7-6 lead in the second quarter.
"I get the butterflies before every game. They get to me pretty bad," Charette said. First snap, it gets out of my system. I looked up in the crowd a couple of times, but I blurred them out after that."
Sunday, November 30
Detroit Free Press Finals Article
DIVISION 5 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Muskegon Oakridge stays perfect vs. Ovid-Elsie
BY PERRY A. FARRELL • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • November 29, 2008
Muskegon Oakridge was trying to make if four-for-four for Muskegon County schools claiming state football championships this year.
Ovid-Elsie’s Chris Robinson was attempting to set a state record and win a state title Saturday in the Division 5 final at Ford Field.
Oakridge left Detroit soaring with a 26-14 victory and in the process stopped Robinson short on both goals.
Robinson, a junior, needed 164 yards to eclipse the state’s single season rushing record of 2,890 set by Chris Lomasney of Chippewa Valley in 2000 in 13 games and 360 carries. Robinson, who suffered a right knee injury on what coach Jerry Goosen described as a horse-collar tackle in the first half, finished with 117 yards on 14 carries to finish the year with 2,844, third best in state history.
“We said tackle low, defend on the corners and just keep hitting him,” said coach Jack Schugars. “He’s one of the great backs we’ve seen this year. This is great for our area. We have a great camaraderie on our side of the state. I’m good friends with Coach (Tony) Annese of Muskegon. We talk before every game and it’s like that with Montague and (Muskegon) Catholic Central.”
The Eagles’ running tandem of Matt Eacker and Michael Shoop pounded the Marauders’ defense, churning out a combined 281 yards.
“We have a good inside-outside tandem,” said Eacker, who rushed for 104 yards on 18 carries. “I’m the inside guy and Mike does a good of getting the ball outside. Robinson is a great runner and he’ll have a great year next year.”
Trailing throughout the second half, the Eagles (14-0) put together a nine-play, 68-yard drive, scoring on a 16-yard run by Eacker, his second of the game, but the two-point conversion failed as Oakridge led by just five, 19-14.
Shoop put the game away with an 11-yard TD run with 3:14 to play as the winners surged ahead, 26-14.
After stopping Robinson on the Marauders’ first possession, the Eagles marched 69 yards with Eacker scoring from the 1 with 4:33 left in the first quarter to give Oakridge a 7-0 lead.
Ovid-Elsie (13-1) responded with a five-yard TD run by Robinson and tied the game.
Sunday, November 30
Oakridge Wins Division 5 Title
Division 5 champs: Oakridge beats Ovid-Else 26-14
Mike Mattson | The Muskegon Chronicle, November 29, 2008 10:58 p.m.
DETROIT -- No team -- especially Ovid-Elsie -- was going to spoil Oakridge's dream football season.
The top-ranked Eagles finished off a perfect 14-0 season Saturday by beating the Marauders 26-14 for the Division 5 state championship at Detroit's Ford Field.
The Eagles trailed 14-13 at halftime, but pulled out the victory with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs by Matt Eacker and Michael Shoop.
"I told the seniors this would be special because we're going to go 14-0,' an elated Oakridge coach Jack Schugars said. "We would not be denied. We've never been 14-0 before.'
It marked Oakridge's third state championship and second in the last four seasons.
The Eagles took over the game in the second half with their ball-possession ground attack and swarming defense, which shut out the Marauders in the last two quarters.Oakridge took a 19-14 lead on a 16-yard TD run from Eacker with 11:08 left in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles covered 68 yards in nine plays.After forcing an Ovid-Elsie punt, the Eagles sealed the win with a 5-minute drive, going 75 yards in 10 plays. Shoop scored on an 11-yard run at the 3:14 mark to give the Eagles their winning margin of 26-14.
The Marauders had four incomplete passes on their last possession and the Eagles ran out the clock as a boisterous crowd of Oakridge fans celebrated with their team.
"It's great and I'm happy for all our players and the seniors,' said Eacker, who had a solid game with 104 yards rushing and two TDs.
Oakridge also contained one of the state's top running backs in Chris Robinson, who had 117 yards on 14 carries. Robinson entered the game with 2,727 yards and needed 163 yards against the Eagles to tie the state single-season rushing record.
The speedy Robinson did score on a 5-yard run in the first quarter, but he never broke a long scoring run.
"We wanted to tackle low,' Schugars said about Robinson, a tailback in the Marauders' I-formation who turned his ankle early in the game. "We wanted to swarm him, get after him and lay the lumber on him. He's a great player.'
Oakridge's offense -- spearheaded by linemen Cody Moore, Geoff Eely, Tim Wilbur, Brandon Hudson, Preston Knapp, Thomas Schoonbeck and Austin Stordahl -- also did their part to keep the ball out of Robinson's hands.
The Eagles ran off 70 plays to Ovid-Elsie's 35 and won the time of possession battle 31:14-16:46.
"Our best defense against Chris Robinson was to keep him off the field,' said Oakridge offensive coordinator Mark Jalovec. "We wanted to methodically move the ball.
'Oakridge got off to a good start, scoring on long drives on its first two possessions. Eacker had a 1-yard run and quarterback Jamie Potts added a 1-yard run for a 13-7 lead.
The Marauders gained momentum with a big two-play swing before the half.
Cameron Hurst intercepted a pass and returned it to the Eagles' 33-yard line with one second left. Then quarterback Jason Goosen lofted a pass toward the end zone that was tipped by an Oakridge defender at the 4-yard line and fell into the hands of tight end David Russek, who fought his way into the end zone.
"I tipped it, somebody hit me and it ended up in that guy's hands,' Eacker said. "That was a lucky play.'
Oakridge relied on its full-house T rushing attack to churn out 350 yards on 61 attempts. Potts completed 3-of-9 passes for 66 yards.
Shoop had 177 yards on 24 carries and Luke Cole had 43 yards rushing to complement Eacker. Cole also had two receptions for 58 yards.
"We have three great backs and a great offensive line,' Shoop said. "It just feels great to be state champs.'
The Marauders totaled 216 yards, 140 via the rush. Goosen completed 5-of-13 passes for 79 yards.
"We thought we could run the ball against them,' said Marauders' coach Jerry Goosen, who is a 1971 Coopersville graduate. "We just couldn't do it consistently.'
Ovid-Elsie (12-2) completed its best football season in school history, giving the Eagles one of their toughest games of the season.
"I'm disappointed with our offensive execution in the second half,' Goosen said. "Defensively, I thought we fought to the bitter end and hung tough against a good football team.'
Top tacklers for the Eagles were Cole with six and Wilbur, Eacker and Potts with four stops apiece.Robinson and Hurst each had 12 tackles for the Marauders.
Sunday, November 30
Muskegon Area Teams Dominate Titles at Ford Field
Oakridge adds finishing touch; Muskegon teams win half of state's championships
by Tom Kendra
Saturday November 29, 2008, 10:43 PM
DETROIT -- Muskegon County has less than 2 percent of the state's population.
But today, it boasts half of the high school football state championship trophies.
Oakridge put the finishing touches on an unbelievable weekend Saturday with a 26-14 victory in the Division 5 final over pesky Ovid-Elsie, which apparently didn't get the memo that this was Muskegon's weekend to dominate the state.
The Eagles had to overcome a 14-13 halftime deficit -- briefly giving the rest of the state hope that they could actually hang with the Muskegon area -- but that merely provided an opportunity to show that area teams know how to handle adversity and come from behind.
"Sure, we felt some pressure coming into (Saturday), because you don't want to be the only loser," said Oakridge coach Jack Schugars, the dean of area coaches, who has won an area-record 247 games in 30 years as the Eagles' varsity head coach.
"What a great weekend for Muskegon football. We battle each other like crazy, but then we'll pull for each other -- every time."
Muskegon (Division 2), Montague (Division 6) and Muskegon Catholic (Division 8) all won championships on Friday in blowout fashion -- by a combined score of 115-34.
Oakridge was the only one of the four teams to trail in the finals, after unheralded Ovid-Elsie -- located somewhere between Lansing and Saginaw -- scored on a last-second pass to end the first half. The Eagles stayed calm and prevailed with touchdown runs by Matt Eacker and Michael Shoop in the fourth quarter.
The "Ford Field Four" from Muskegon played the lead role this weekend in a 2008 version of "West Side Story."
Michigan looks like a giant mitten and a scarf, but you could draw a small circle around Muskegon and Grand Rapids to include seven of this year's eight state champions. The GR-area champions were Holland Christian (Division 4) on Friday and Rockford (Division 1) and East Grand Rapids (Division 4) on Saturday.
In fact, all eight of the state champions came from the west side of Michigan, with Traverse City St. Francis winning the Division 7 title on Saturday morning.
The amazing thing about the four Muskegon-area state titles is that the teams had a combined 55-1 record, with three of the teams finishing a perfect 14-0. Montague finished 13-1, with its only loss coming at Oakridge in a game that wasn't decided until an interception in the end zone by Oakridge's Luke Cole in the final minute.
"It's awesome to be part of something like this," said Montague coach Pat Collins, who is in his fifth year as a head coach, compared to 30 for Schugars, 22 for Muskegon's Tony Annese and 21 for Muskegon Catholic's Mike Holmes.
"We have high standards in our area, obviously."
Many area football fans headed to Detroit for multiple games and some even stayed for all eight games.
The Muskegon-area presence reached its peak at about 4 p.m. on Friday -- when Muskegon fans were soaking in the emotion after the school's 17th state title and Montague fans were streaming in, getting ready to win their first -- and the stands at Ford Field felt like the festival grounds at Heritage Landing during Muskegon Summer Celebration.
It was not only a mix of black and white, but Muskegon red, Montague blue, some remaining Muskegon Catholic green from the morning and a dash of Oakridge blue from those fans who came a day early to watch the other Muskegon teams win championships.
The whole weekend was an overwhelming experience for Schugars, who is a mentor for many of the area's young coaches.
"The coaching in our area is strong, there's no question about that," said Schugars, 62, who graduated from Muskegon High School in 1964. "We push each other and then we pull for each other. That is definitely one of the reasons our teams do so well.
"And we don't have the big-market professional teams in Muskegon, which draws more people and more attention to the high school events. High school football is a big part of living in Muskegon."
Party time
Now it's time to celebrate those four state titles. The free, community-wide celebrations will be:
Muskegon: 3 p.m. Sunday at the school gymnasium
Montague: 3 p.m. Sunday at school gymnasium
Oakridge: 5 p.m. Sunday at the school gymnasium
Muskegon Catholic: 6 p.m. Sunday at the school gymnasium
Sunday, November 30
Lansing State Journal State Finals Article
Maruaders denied
Eagles prove No. 1 ranking with win over Ovid-Elsie
Geoff Kimmerly • gkimmerly@lsj.com • November 30, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal
DETROIT - Six sections full of Ovid-Elsie football fans chanted "We believe" throughout Saturday's Division 5 state championship game at Ford Field.
And as their battle against No. 1 Muskegon Oakridge wore on, the No. 8 Marauders made that easier to do.
But after leading by a point with a half to play, Ovid-Elsie ran out of steam against the undefeated Eagles in a 26-14 loss.
Marauders junior running back Chris Robinson also fell 46 yards shy of tying the state single-season rushing record of 2,890 yards. But he did tally 117 despite a right leg injury suffered during the first quarter that limited his movement the rest of the game.
"I was pretty sure we could pull it off, because last year every game was very close and it always came down to the final seconds," Ovid-Elsie senior David Russek said. "We're just used to blocking for Chris and we know he'd go 120 percent every play. I know Muskegon Oakridge is a very good team. And I know a lot of us will be able to sleep easy tonight because we went our hardest every play."
Ovid-Elsie finished 12-2, setting a school record for wins in making its first state final, and after going only 2-7 just five seasons ago.
Oakridge finished 14-0 and won its first state title since 2005, and third under 30-year coach Jack Schugars.
Robinson finished with 2,844 yards this season and averaged 8.4 per carry Saturday, including a 51-yarder. But he was never the same after a first-quarter run on which he was pulled down from behind by the neck portion of his shoulder pads, and he said from that point on he couldn't push off his right knee like usual. He did limp through most of the rest of the game, and also tied for the team-high in tackles with 12, including 10 during the first half.
"Probably, but it doesn't matter to me right now," Robinson said of realizing the extent of his accomplishments this season. "I just wanted to give the seniors a state championship, and we weren't able to get it done."
Ovid-Elsie coach Jerry Goosen said he told his team it would need to score three times to beat Oakridge, which scored its season-low 27 points in last week's semifinal win over Jackson Lumen Christi.
The Marauders got an unexpected score on the final play of the first half. Trailing 13-7 with the Eagles driving, Ovid-Elsie got an interception and 29-yard return from senior defensive back Cameron Hurst.
The Marauders had the ball on Oakridge's 34-yard line with a second left in the first half. Senior quarterback Jason Goosen threw a pass up toward the left side of the end zone, and surrounded by two teammates and four defenders, Russek pulled it down and ran a few final steps past two Eagles for the score that put Ovid-Elsie up 14-13 - and Oakridge down at halftime for the first time this season.
"I told these guys, I said hey, it's about family. It's about 24 minutes to win a state championship," Schugars said. "I told them we were going to come back at halftime. Every quarter I told them. Every time we had a break, and a TV timeout, I said hey, we are going to go back after it."
After a quick scare - Robinson just missed intercepting a pass deep in Oakridge territory midway through the third quarter - the Eagles battered the Marauders like they have opponents all season.
First came a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive that lasted a minute into the fourth quarter and gave Oakridge a 19-14 lead. After a three-play-and-punt Ovid-Elsie possession, the Eagles mounted a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 5:14 and put the Marauders down 12 with 3:07 to play.
Four Marauder incomplete passes later, it was all but over.
Senior running back Michael Shoop was the game's leading rusher with 24 carries for 177 yards and touchdown for Oakridge. Senior Matt Eacker - the Division 5-6 all-state Player of the Year - ran for 104 yards and two touchdowns out of Oakridge's dominating T offensive scheme.
Goosen completed five passes for 79 yards, but none in the second half. Ovid-Elsie had only 68 of its 216 total yards during the final two quarters.
"We couldn't quite break it ever. And we probably should've thrown the ball a little more, tried to balance it a little more," Marauders coach Jerry Goosen said. "But we really felt we could run the ball against them. We showed we could. We just didn't do it consistently."
The Marauders do return Robinson next season, but graduate nine starters on offense and seven on defense, including four who start both ways.
"We got the best season ever in Ovid-Elsie history. The best team ever to come out of there. That itself is a great accomplishment," Jason Goosen said. "We're happy for what we did this season. We're a little down about what happened tonight. But overall it was a great season."
Oakridge 7 6 0 13 - 26
Ovid-Elsie 7 7 0 0 - 14
First Quarter
MO-Matt Eacker 1 run (Potts kick), 4:33
OE-Robinson 5 run (Hurst kick), 1:03
Second Quarter
MO- Potts 1 run (Potts kick failed), 7:55
OE- Russek 33 pass from Jason Goosen (Hurst kick), 00:00
Sunday, November 30
Eagles Keep Robinson Under Wraps
Robinson misses title, state record
Junior finishes year with 2,844 rushing yards
Andrew Mouranie • amouranie@lsj.com • November 30, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal
DETROIT - There is no doubting Ovid-Elsie running back Chris Robinson had a tremendous junior season.
He rushed for 2,844 yards, was named first-team all-state and led the Marauders to a 12-2 record and a trip to Saturday's Division 5 state final.
However, the trip to Ford Field didn't turn out as Robinson would have liked.
Muskegon Oakridge held the dynamic tailback to 117 yards, 46 yards short of the 163 he needed to set a single-season state record. The Marauders lost, 26-14.
"I just wanted to win the game, I didn't worry about the record," Robinson said.
His 2,844 rushing yards were the third most in state history.
His 117 yards were his second lowest of the season, trailing only the 103 yards he gained in the first round of the playoffs against Hemlock.
As much as the Eagles slowed him down, a bad knee was just as big a factor.
Robinson was injured on the Marauders' second offensive drive in the first quarter after being tackled following a 28-yard jaunt down the left sidelines.
After breaking through the line of scrimmage, Robinson had one man to beat to reach the end zone.
At first glance, a horse-collar tackle from behind seemed to turn his right ankle, but after the game Robinson confirmed it was his knee that was bothering him.
"I think (it affected my game) a lot. I couldn't really push or play off my knee very much," he said. "But I had to suck it up and play the (rest of the game)."
Robinson did admit that Oakridge did a good job of putting a lot of guys in the box to limit his yards, but the injury prevented him from having the same burst of speed or cutback ability.
There was no update on the severity of the injury.
But for somebody with a banged up knee, he still gave his team everything he had.
Not only did he finish with 117 yards rushing - including a 51-yarder - he also scored the Marauders' first touchdown and recorded 12 tackles on defense.
And he had a 44-yard run called back due to a holding penalty in the third quarter.
"He was pretty lame (after the injury) and although he ran hard and he had the long run called back that hurt us there," O-E coach Jerry Goosen said, "we just couldn't get into a rhythm."
Goosen also was impressed with the Eagles' defensive ability to slow down his star tailback.
"They were very quick defensively and got off our blocks and got back into our plays. I think that's the strength of their defense is their team quickness, team speed. We couldn't quite break it."
Regardless of the limited yards and the knee injury, Oakridge coach Jack Schugars was entirely complimentary of the Marauders' running back.
Playing in one of the toughest conferences in the state, Oakridge has seen its fair share of talented running backs throughout the season.
Schugars put Robinson on the top of the list.
"Tackle him. Tackle low. Swarm him. Just go after him. And just really, really lay the lumber on him," Schugars said of how they planned to stop Robinson. "We just really had to hit him because he's a great player. No doubt about it. And he's only a junior and one of the best backs we have seen this year."
Sunday, November 30
LSJ Preview Article State Championship
Star running backs meet in title toss-up
Andrew Mouranie • amouranie@lsj.com • November 29, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal
To become a state champion, the Ovid-Elsie Marauders must do something nobody else has done this season: beat Muskegon Oakridge.
Oakridge has literally ran over all its competition in 2008 en route to a perfect 13-0 record heading into the Division 5 football state title game against the Marauders at 4:30 p.m. today at Ford Field in Detroit.
In 12 games, the No. 1 Eagles have outscored their opposition 525-166.
Oakridge, led by legendary coach Jack Schugars, is known for its powerful running game. It has two running backs over 1,000 yards on the season, including the Division 5-6 player of the year Matt Eacker.
Through 12 games, the senior running back has 113 carries for 1,104 yards and 18 touchdowns. He averages 9.8 yards per carry with a long run of 69 yards.
"It's Jack (Schugars). It's Oakridge football. They have an outstanding team, great quickness. They're big in the weight room, he always has been and he's built his dynasty with blood, sweat and tears," Ovid-Elsie coach Jerry Goosen said.
According to Schugars, Oakridge will run primarily from the Wing-T formation with Eacker as the focal point in the offense.
But how often does a running back win player of the year in his division when he is not even the leading rusher on his own team?
Fellow tailback Michael Shoop leads the team with 1,231 yards on 158 carries and 17 touchdowns.
The Oakridge defense will be put against Ovid-Elsie's Chris Robinson. The junior running back has rushed for 2,727 yards and 40 touchdowns.
"That will be a big challenge for us (trying to stop Robinson)," Schugars said. "There is really no way to stop him, but we have to stop the big play."
Sunday, November 30
Mick McCabe Article: Detroit Free Press
Mick McCabe: Thanks for the memories!
November 30, 2008
Free Press sports writer Mick McCabe lists a few of the things he's most likely to remember from the 2008 football state finals:
• After accepting the Division 2 state championship trophy, the Muskegon players ran through the lines of Montague players, wishing them luck and psyching them up to win another state championship for Muskegon County, which the Wildcats accomplished.
• The Warren De La Salle players leaving their bench and going to console injured teammate Jim Martinez before he was placed into an ambulance and taken to a hospital with a broken leg.
• The class of Crystal Falls Forest Park coach Bill Santilli, who wasn't ashamed to say that his team was beaten by a Muskegon Catholic Central team that was capable of winning more than just the Division 8 state championship.
• Ovid-Elsie receiver David Russek out-leaping four Muskegon Oakridge defenders to catch a pass at the 4-yard line and managing to get into the end zone on the last play of the first half of the Division 5 game.
• The poise of Lake Orion quarterback Sean Charette, who did not play like a 15-year-old freshman in the Division 1 state championship game.
• Rockford coach Ralph Munger trying out his new comedy routine for writers after his team won its third state championship. He'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waiter.
• Muskegon Oakridge coach Jack Schugars receiving a good luck phone call from Muskegon coach Tony Annese minutes before his team's Division 5 championship game. It was the same call Schugars had made to Annese the day before, when Muskegon won the Division 2 title.
• The emergence of Ovid-Elsie junior running back Chris Robinson, who has one more year to set the state's single-season rushing record.
• Looking very much like Alabama coach Nick Saban walking onto the field, Ovid-Elsie coach Jerry Goosen walked down the tunnel escorted by a pair of policemen.
• East Grand Rapids' Joe (The Show) Glendening tying former East all-stater Kevin Grady Jr.'s record of seven career touchdowns in championship games. The three Glendening scored Saturday enabled him and East to capture a third consecutive Division 3 state championship.
The 2008 Oakridge Football team would like to thank all of the fans that came to our Championship Open House on Sunday. The continued support of the community for Oakridge Public Schools and all of our student and athletic programs is something we all can take pride in. Our season was a journey that was filled with every emotion. The “Oakridge Football Family” was with us through them all. We are very proud to be part of such a great community. Thank you for all of your support.
Oakridge Football Staff
Monday, December 1
West is the Best
Monday, December 1, 2008
Tom Markowski: High school football
It's unanimous: West is the best in prep football
Basketball season can't begin soon enough for teams on this side of the state.
It's as if the football season ended a week earlier for the teams over here.
There really are no answers for the poor performance for teams on the east side. For the first time, the east-siders were blanked in the finals. Not even Ubly could come through like Unionville-Sebewaing did in 2004 to save face. But that season should have an east-side asterisk beside it; USA defeated Detroit De Porres in the Division 7 final so an east-side team had to win.
To throw more mud in our face, none of the games really was that close. Hey, just give us some excitement. Where's Don Fowler when you need him?
Detroit Country Day led Holland Christian, 20-14, at halftime in the Division 4 final but then did little offensively in the second half and lost, 35-20.
Inkster looked as if it would take East Grand Rapids down to the wire, leading 16-14 late in the first half of the Division 3 final, but it fell flat, too. East Grand Rapids scored 29 straight points and won, 43-24.
Many believed Lake Orion had the best shot at a title in Division 1. That probably was too much to expect from a program making its first final appearance, with a freshman at quarterback, no less. Lake Orion led, 7-6, in the first half and trailed 20-14 entering the fourth quarter before losing, 26-14.
And Warren DeLaSalle? Well, that team had the misfortune of playing Muskegon, the best team anywherein the state.
One-sided
No offense to the eight champions from the state's west side, including the four in Muskegon County, but the 2008 finals will go down as one of the least-exciting in history.
The closest margin of victory was 12 points (divisions 1 and 5). Since 1990, when the playoffs were expanded from four classes to eight, at least one of the eight finals has been decided by nine points or fewer.
Longevity/success
Five coaches who won titles this weekend have won multiple championships: Mike Holmes (six) of Muskegon Catholic Central, Peter Stuursma (five) of East Grand Rapids, Ralph Munger of Rockford, Tony Annese of Muskegon and Jack Schugars of Muskegon Oakridge (three each).
Both Annese and Stuursma have been at their respective schools for nine seasons, Munger for 17, Holmes for 21 and Schugars for 30. Annese (Ann Arbor Pioneer, Montrose) and Munger (Frankenmuth) also were head coaches at other schools.
Who's No. 1?
The BCS has its formula; ours is easier. It's Muskegon that was the best team this season regardless of class or division.
It whipped the Division 1 champion, Rockford, during the regular season, 34-6. It defeated the Nos. 1 and 3-ranked teams (Lowell and Warren DeLaSalle) by a combined score of 83-28.
Muskegon entered the postseason ranked No. 2.
A look back
The state playoffs began on Halloween and continued on through what was a nutty November.
• In the first round, Lake Orion scored with a minute to play to defeat Utica Eisenhower, 7-0. Two weeks later, Lake Orion scored on the game's final play -- a 49-yard field goal by Jeff Heath -- to stun Sterling Heights Stevenson, 38-36.
• Also in the first round, Michael Hatcher of Dearborn scored seven touchdowns in a 49-26 win over Walled Lake Western, tying him for ninth all-time (TDs in game). He had six rushing, one receiving.
• In the most-anticipated game of the season, No. 2-ranked Muskegon ran roughshod over top-ranked Lowell, 49-14, in a game that was moved to Grand Haven because of poor field conditions at Muskegon's Hackley Field. The next week, Muskegon rallied from 16 points down in the final five minutes to defeat Davison, 38-35, to reach Friday's final.
• In another wild first-round game, DeWitt gained 55 yards in the first half and trailed Lansing Sexton, 20-0. DeWitt trailed 26-7 with 7:30 left before staging a furious comeback and winning, 27-26.
• Joe Glendening of East Grand Rapids rushed for 398 yards and seven touchdowns in a district final -- and all of them were in the first half of the 61-19 victory over Mt. Pleasant. Glendening rushed just 16 times and scored on runs of 58, 34, 52, 52, two, 70 and 46 yards. His seven rushing touchdowns ties him for second all-time with four others.
Photo Courtesy of RASHAUN RUCKER / DFP
Monday, December 1
West Side Spirit
MICK MCCABE
Community spirit gives edge to west side
BY MICK McCABE • FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER • December 1, 2008
You want pressure? Try this one on for size.
When Muskegon Oakridge's team bus pulled away from the school Saturday and headed for Ford Field and its date in the Division 5 football state championship game, it drove by the E & A gas station and saw the station's billboard that read:
Muskegon Catholic: Win.
Muskegon: Win.
Montague: Win.
Oakridge:
"The gas station had three wins up there, and they better have four when we got back," said Oakridge coach Jack Schugars. "We weren't going to be the lone losers from the area. I would have been escorted out of town.
"Not really, but ... "
Now that is pressure, and that helps explain why Schugars was so relieved after his Eagles defeated Ovid-Elsie, 26-14.
It also helps to explain why the state's west side, and Muskegon County in particular, so thoroughly dominated the finals.
Final score: West Side 8, East Side 0.
Jane Bos, who has this gig for the Grand Rapids Press, wrote a story last week asking if the state's power base in football had swung to the state's west side.
Desperate for an opinion, she asked for mine -- did I mention she was desperate?
My take is that the west side has simply caught up to the east side in terms of coaching. Don't forget, Muskegon's Tony Annese was the head coach at Montrose for several seasons, Ralph Munger was at Frankenmuth before building the powerhouse at Rockford and Lowell's Noel Dean was at Burton Bendle.
No longer does the east side have a monopoly on terrific coaches.
However, the west side has far exceeded the east side in terms of facilities. For every east side school with facilities like Macomb Dakota, Clarkston, Chippewa Valley and Lake Orion, there are two or three every bit as good or better on the west side.
But the biggest advantage the west side has is the sense of community. School spirit is one thing; community spirit is a different ball game, and few schools on the east side will ever be able to duplicate that.
That is why the E & A gas station had the winners proudly displayed Saturday morning, but their support is not limited to signage.
"These guys do everything for me. They're very supportive, very supportive," Schugars said. "They give me Gatorade and water. When we come back from games and turn the corner on Wolf Lake and Apple, they already have our score on their sign."
Schugars said that he can be in Annese's office in seven minutes. Annese said it is all of 1.7 miles from Muskegon High to Muskegon Catholic Central.
And don't forget nearby Montague, whose only loss in its Division 6 championship season was to Oakridge.
That makes four Muskegon County teams with a combined record of 55-1.
No wonder the Son of Swami tabbed the finals the Muskegon Invitational.
"We don't have the real big market with a lot of the pro teams," Schugars said. "I think that draws more people to high school sports. Everybody has a share and ownership in Eagle pride and Muskegon Big Red pride and Muskegon Catholic and Montague Wildcats.
"It's just a love for high school sports, and it's great for high school athletes."
The last school to seal the deal for the west side was East Grand Rapids, a 43-24 winner over Inkster in the Division 3 final.
Is it adding insult to injury to point out that the final west side school to win even has the word "East" in its name?
But East coach Peter Stuursma, who has won five state titles including three in a row now, isn't ready to declare complete domination over the east side for the rest of time.
"I think everything goes in an ebb and flow situation," he said. "A number of years ago, it would have been the other side. It depends on swings back and forth."
But the swing is definitely toward the west side now, and Stuursma believes the communities are an overriding factor in our version of West Side Story.
"I think it says a lot about the kids and how hard the play; the staffs and the coaching staffs that put them on the football field to be successful and the communities," he said. "I wish you could capture some of the moments of when we're loading the bus. Two charter busses with a police escort out of town and the whole town standing in the streets waving as we go by.
"That's special. Those are memories these kids will never forget. That, I think, plays into some of that success our teams had this year."
That is why Schugars absolutely knew that the E & A sign would be updated when the team bus rolled into town late Saturday night. And there is also one more reason he wouldn't dream of buying gas anywhere else in Muskegon.
"I get a discount," he said. "Four cents a gallon."
Now, we will never find that on the east side of the state.
Monday, December 1
One County: Four Celebrations
Four communities honor their gridiron champs
by Steve Gunn | The Muskegon Chronicle
Sunday November 30, 2008, 10:36 PM
Across Michigan, sports pundits are scratching their heads about Muskegon County.
They just watched four county high school football teams walk away with half of the state championship trophies at the MHSAA finals in Detroit over the weekend, and they want to know the secret.
But the fans at Muskegon, Oakridge and Muskegon Catholic have known the secret for years.
At hastily arranged Sunday afternoon victory celebrations at those three high schools, the crowds saved the longest and loudest standing ovations for Tony Annese, Jack Schugars and Mike Holmes.
Those three coaches have been putting great teams on the field for years, winning a combined 12 state titles between them.
This year they pulled a high-profile trifecta, bringing home the brass on the very same weekend, and the rest of Michigan finally realized that they're practically neighbors.
Add in Montague Coach Pat Collins, who played in a winning program as a high schooler at Montague, then took his alma mater to its first state title Friday, and you have a quartet of great gridiron coaches leading area youngsters to glory.
Muskegon Catholic Principal Pat O'Neill could have been talking about any of the four coaches when he asked the fans gathered in his gym Sunday afternoon, "How do you get a world-class football team? You start out with the world's best coach."
Of course, the head coaches were humble when they took the microphones to address their respective rallies. They gave all the credit to the players, assistant coaches, school administrators, parents, spouces, cheerleaders, bands and loyal fans.
Perhaps it's that type of humility that helps make a great coach.
"This is the greatest group of kids from Muskegon High School that I've ever been around," said Annese. "We're talking about kids who are involved in student leadership, demonstrate good sportsmanship and get good grades. What a special group of football players."
Annese went a step further, calling his team the best overall in Michigan, even though it won the state title in Division 2, which is comprised of slightly smaller schools than Division 1.
"We're the best in the state in any class," Annese said. "The rest of them could put together an all-star team and we'd still beat them. This is a football factory."
Schugars stressed the community spirit of his Oakridge players, and how that helped them mesh as a team.
"One Sunday they spent hours raking up the leaves in disabled people's yards," the veteran coach said. "Some of them volunteer to read to elementary students, and they're going to be selling Christmas tree bulbs as part of a fundraiser.
"They're really working to go above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to community service."
Holmes said he couldn't compare his current squad with past state title teams at Muskegon Catholic, but he did mention a few characteristics that make the current group special.
He said his offense only turned the ball over five times all season and scored the most points in school history. He said his defense only allowed 21 points all season, the least at MCC since 1994. And he said senior leadership brought all of it together.
"We had 19 seniors on this team, and we've never had that many seniors at one time," Holmes said. "That has a lot to do with the high level of play that this team exemplified."
Collins said his players realized they weren't just playing for themselves or each other, but for past Montague players and coaches, as well as a supportive community.
"These guys were representing a lot of history, all the guys and coaches who came before them and put the time in, as well as all the fans," said Collins, a former quarterback at Montague. "There was not one place we played this year where we did not bring more fans than the home team. And in some cases, we brought double."
At Muskegon's Redmond-Potter Gymnasium, about 300 fans turned out for the pep rally, then feasted on six large cakes from a local bakery, decorated in Big Red colors and symbols.
At Oakridge, fans started gathering in the snow outside the gym about a half hour before the doors opened for the celebration. That's apparently the norm for Oakridge fans, whether the team is home or away.
"Every time we go to a game, it's interesting to see so many community members already there when we pull in, waiting at the gate to buy their tickets," Schugars said. "We're very proud of the people who support our young people."
At Muskegon Catholic, a very large, enthusiastic crowd filled half of Ray Cioe Gymnasium, and roared as the Crusaders entered single file as speakers blared the timeless hit from the rock band Queen, "We Are the Champions."
At Montague, about 1,000 fans packed both sides of the gym, and Montague Mayor Henry Roesler declared the first week of December "Montague Wildcats Week" in the city.
Friday, December 5
Detroit Examiner Finals Article
Divsion 5 champs: Oakridge beats Ovid-Else 26-14
Muskegon Oakridge found themselves in an unfamiliar position on Saturday night.
Thanks to a wild first-half finish, the Eagles were behind at the intermission for the first time all season.
It took them over a quarter to recover, but two fourth-quarter touchdowns gave Oakridge a 26-14 victory over Ovid-Elsie for the Division 5 state title Saturday at Ford Field.
The Eagles led 13-7 and were hoping to get into position to add to the lead as the second quarter came to a close.
However, Cameron Hurst intercepted a Jamie Potts pass and returned it to the Oakridge 33, where he was tackled with one second to play.
"We were trying to get a field goal before the end of the half," said Oakridge coach Jack Schugars. "They just made a big defensive play."
The Marauders weren't done, though. As the clock ticked to zero, Jason Goosen threw a pass into a swarm of players that was tipped before David Russek caught it at the 4 and broke into the end zone. Hurst's extra point put the Marauders up 14-13.
"We practice that play all the time, but it has never worked before," said Ovid-Elsie coach Jerry Goosen.
Russek, normally a defensive specialist, was just happy to have made the play.
"I was expecting Jason to go the other way, so I was surprised when the ball was coming my way," he said. "That's the first touchdown I've caught all year."
Schugars used the halftime break to settle down his startled team.
"We were in shock when that kid caught the ball with four defenders all over him, but I told our guys that they just made a play," he said. "We still had 24 minutes to win the state championship."
Neither team scored in the second half until Matt Eacker broke up the middle for a 16-yard score early in the fourth quarter. Michael Shoop clinched the game with an 11-yard touchdown run on Oakridge's next possession.
"We've got three great running backs and I think we just wore them down," Shoop said.
Ovid-Elsie junior running back Chris Robinson finished with 117 yards, giving him 2,844 for the season - the third-highest total in state history. Robinson could have done more, but injured his leg in the first half.
"He was in a lot of pain - he got pulled down on a horse-collar tackle - but he kept playing," Jerry Goosen said. "He was still running hard, but he was pretty lame after that tackle."
Friday, December 5
Eacker selected as Player fo the Year Divisions 5-6
MUSKEGON, Mich. (AP) -- Muskegon Oakridge's Jack Schugars has fielded some talented defensive backs in his 30 years as head coach.
But he's never had a lock-down cornerback like Matt Eacker.
"He's the best cover corner we've had at Oakridge," Schugars said. "We always put him on the other team's top receiver. He's a great defensive player."
Eacker also doubles as a talented running back and was voted the Associated Press Division 5-6 Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior is a three-year starter for unbeaten Oakridge, which is ranked No. 1 in Division 5 and pursuing the school's third state title on Saturday against Ovid-Elsie.
"He's a competitor, he's hard-nosed and he wants to win," Schugars said. "He has that little edge to him."
Eacker has posted 44 tackles (including 22 solos), eight pass breakups and four interceptions. He also has rushed for 1,237 yards and 19 touchdowns in Oakridge's balanced attack.
Other unanimous selections on the Division 5-6 All-State team are Grand Rapids West Catholic receiver Zach Smith and Saginaw Nouvel linebacker Bo Themm.
Smith had 46 catches for 783 yards and eight touchdowns, while Themm sparked the Panthers with 124 tackles and five sacks.
The All-State quarterbacks are Jimmy Osga of Grayling, Austin Collier of Standish Sterling and Cody Kater of Montague.
Osga set state records for completions (41) and attempts (74) in a game and completions (234) and attempts (438) in a season. He had 3,146 passing yards with 32 TDs.
Collier, who has verbally committed to Bowling Green, rushed for more than 1,000 yards and passed for more than 600 yards.
Kater passed for 1,678 yards and 19 TDs and rushed for 589 yards and nine TDs in 10 games for the state-finalist Wildcats.
The running backs are Hartford's George Allen, Kalamazoo Christian's Mark Onderlinde, Ovid-Elsie's Chris Robinson and Boyne City's Trever Kruzel.
Allen ran for 1,733 yards, and Onderlinde led the third-ranked Comets to a 9-0 regular season with 1,425 rushing yards and 19 TDs.
In 10 games, Robinson totaled 1,886 yards and 28 TDs for the Marauders. Kruzel recorded 1,313 yards rushing and 24 scores.
Joining Smith at receiver are Whitmore Lake's Robert McIntyre and Elk Rapids' Charlie Hoch. McIntyre had 45 catches for 886 yards and eight touchdowns, while Hoch made 39 catches for 815 yards and six TDs
Heading the list of All-State linemen is Hemlock's Zac Matthias, who has made a verbal commitment to Wisconsin.
Others are Iron Mountain's Adam Kent, Constantine's Brandon Wolf, Allendale's Andrew OttenWiess, Harper Woods' James Patrick and Onsted's Derek Shell.
Joining Themm at linebacker are Livonia Clarenceville's Jeremy Gainer, Leslie's Trent Page and Ken Hoffman of Millington.
Gainer, who has verbally committed to Indiana, recorded 90 tackles and 10 for lost yardage. Page made the switch from defensive end and had 89 tackles for state-finalist Leslie, and Hoffman registered 119 tackles and 10 sacks.
Eacker has good company at defensive back with Menominee's Jacob Pedersen, who is considered one of the top all-around players in the Upper Peninsula, and Constantine's Jared McBride, a three-year starter with five interceptions and 53 tackles.
Dustin DeHoff of Montague and Neal Zott of Almont are the Division 5-6 All-State all-purpose players.
DeHoff rushed for 609 yards, averaged 29.3 yards per reception with seven TDs and returned three kickoffs for touchdowns. He also had 79 tackles as a safety and totaled 1,485 all-purpose yards.
Zott, an All-State receiver as a junior, made the switch to quarterback this season. He rushed for more than 500 yards, threw for nearly 700 yards and five TDs and excelled on kick returns and defense.
The specialists are Grand Rapids West Catholic kicker Spencer Boorsma and Iron Mountain punter Pat Flood.
Boorsma made 46 of 48 PATs and 3 of 4 field goals. Flood, who also played quarterback for the Mountaineers, averaged 42 yards per punt.
Carrollton's Greg Wasmer is the Coach of the Year after leading the Cavaliers to a 9-2 record and their first playoff appearance.
Friday, December 5
Fantastic Four Article: Muskegon Chronicle
Oakridge: Where toughness meets tradition
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Muskegon Chronicle - Tom Kendra
Back in August, nobody thought this would be the year that Oakridge achieved perfection.
Oakridge has had some incredible teams through the years -- the 1990 team which lost in the finals to Detroit dePorres and the D.J. Ritz-led state championship team of 2005 come to mind -- but it amazes me that the school that is synonymous with football success has never had an unbeaten season.
Until now.
It seemed unlikely that the 'Ridge would make it all the way through the shark-infested waters of Division 5 with a sophomore quarterback, Jamie Potts, and an almost brand-new group of starters on both the offensive and defensive lines.
But there they were on Nov. 29, completing a 4-for-4 weekend for Muskegon County teams in the state finals with a 26-14 victory over Ovid-Elsie.
How did the Eagles do it?
They did it the Oakridge way, with kids who are just plain tough, coaches who are just plain smart and standards that are just plain impossibly high.
It certainly wasn't anything flashy, with an offense that operated most of the year out of a full-house "T" formation, with four outstanding runners in Matt Eacker, Michael Shoop, Luke Cole and Potts.
"You never knew who it was going to be," said Eacker, who was voted the state's player of the year in Divisions 5-6 by the Associated Press. "I was more of the outside threat and Michael would run inside. We all ran hard and blocked for each other."
Offensive coordinator Mark Jalovec realized that he had special kids in the backfield and a much-better-than expected offensive line -- featuring center Cody Moore, guards Geoff Eely and Brandon Hudson, tackles Tim Wilbur and Preston Knapp and ends Thomas Schoonbeck and Austin Stordahl.
Instead of going wild with formations and trick plays, Jalovec used a simple approach and relied on the toughness of his kids.
Good plan.
Oakridge won its first six games by an average of 38 points, before proving it knew how to win a close one, holding off eventual Division 6 state champion Montague 28-21 in a highly-anticipated Week 7 matchup.
After surviving a scare from neighboring rival Orchard View in the season finale, Oakridge embarked on its playoff odyssey -- with especially satisfying wins over Grand Rapids West Catholic (avenging its 2007 defeat) and Jackson Lumen Christi along the way.
The untold story is that Oakridge is one of the few area schools that does not accept ANY schools-of-choice students.
Most of the state's public schools with traditionally strong football programs, while not actively recruiting, attract at least a couple of students each year who enroll in their district because of the football team.
Not at Oakridge.
Every single player on the team's roster is a Wolf Lake-area kid.
Jack Schugars, the dean of area coaches with 247 wins in 30 years, smooths out the boys' rough edges and produces a polished team and, more importantly, better people.
The West Michigan Conference added two more state titles to its collection this fall, solidifying its status as the best small-school football league in the state.
In that special league, Oakridge has won 31 consecutive games and four straight undisputed titles.
Friday, December 5
Division 5 game recap - Muskegon Chronicle
Division 5 game recap
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Muskegon Chronicle
DIVISION 5
Oakridge 26, Ovid-Elsie 14
* Big play: The Eagles didn't have many big plays. But the fourth-quarter TD runs by Matt Eacker and Michael Shoop put the Eagles over the top.
* Key stat: Oakridge ran off 70 plays to Ovid-Elsie's 35. The Eagles' ball control offense helped limit the chances for Ovid-Elsie all-state running back Chris Robinson, who had 117 yards on 14 carries.
* Game ball: Shoop erupted for 177 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries to spark the Eagles. He ran hard all game long.
* Notable: Oakridge completed its first unbeaten season in football with the state title. ... Under head coach Jack Schugars, the Eagles have won three state titles (1997, 2005, 2008) and have two runner-up finishes (1990, 2003).
* Quotable: "We have three great running backs and a great offensive line. It just feels great to be state champs." -- Shoop.
Offense
E: Charlie Hoch, Elk Rapids
OL: Steven Zemla, Ovid-Elsie
OL: Michael Beach, Stanton Central Montcalm
OL: Luke Buitendyk, Grand Rapids West Catholic
OL: Justin Schafer, Portland
OL: Zac Matthias, Hemlock
E: Zach Smith, Grand Rapids West Catholic
QB: Austin Collier, Standish-Sterling (captain)
RB: Andrew Aho, Essexville-Garber
RB: Chris Robinson, Ovid-Elsie
RB: Conor Sullivan, Jackson Lumen Christi
K/P: Keith Ringler, Lakeview Defense
DL: Joe Kieft, Muskegon Oakridge
DL: Gauge Hunter, Parchment
DL: Andrew OttenWiess, Allendale
DL: Derek Shell, Onsted
LB: Thomas Schoonbeck, Muskegon Oakridge
LB: Jeremy Gainer, Livonia Clarenceville
LB: Mike McBride, Negaunee
LB: Ryan Pattillo, Lake Fenton
DB: Matt Eacker, Muskegon Oakridge (captain)
DB: Jacob Pedersen, Menominee
DB: Neal Zott, Almont
Sunday, December 21
Muskegon Sports Hall of Fame announces 'Class of 2009' - Jack Schugars
by Tom Kendra I Muskegon Chronicle
Two of the most recognizable coaches in Muskegon-area history headline the 2009 induction class into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame.
One of them is still coaching.
Jack Schugars, who last month won his third state championship as coach of the Oakridge Eagles, headlines the three-member "Class of 2009," which will be inducted into the MASHF on June 6, 2009, at the Holiday Inn-Muskegon Harbor.
"What a great time to welcome Jack Schugars into the hall," said Hall of Fame President Gene Young, referring to the recently-completed prep season, which saw a record four area schools win state football championships.
"Jack is not only a great role model to his players, but to the other area coaches as well. We really feel good about this class. It's three very popular guys."
Joining Schugars in the 2009 class is longtime Mona Shores wrestling coach Don Mosley and former Muskegon Lumberjack great Dave Michayluk.
Those three will be joined by a Distinguished Service Award winner to be announced in January and a male and female student-athlete award winner to be announced in May.
The hall started honoring the area's top high school student athletes in 1996 and further bridged the gap to the younger generation by starting the Hall of Fame Classic high school basketball tournament during Christmas break, back in 2003. This year's tournament -- featuring Muskegon, Muskegon Heights, Reeths-Puffer and Fremont -- will be Dec. 26 and Dec. 27 at Reeths-Puffer High School.
The "Class of 2009" will join the current hall membership of 89 members, 10 teams, 17 Distinguished Service Award winners and 26 Student-Athlete recipients.
Young noted that the hall's 11-member board of directors considers hundreds of nominees before naming a select group to be honored.
The Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame's exhibits are on display inside the L.C. Walker Arena and information on the organization and all of the past inductees is available at www.mashf.com.
Here's a capsule look at the Class of 2009:
SUBHEAD: Jack Schugars
Jack Schugars pretty much locked up a spot in the MASHF on a cold and rainy night in Hart back in 2004, when he led Oakridge over Hart for his 210th win -- breaking Muskegon Heights legend Okie Johnson's record for area coaching victories.
"I never dreamed about getting this many wins way back when I started," said Schugars after that memorable win, which came in an extremely rare year which the Eagles started 0-3. "But right now, I'm most excited for these kids. They could have quit and walked away the way this season started. But they stuck together and climbed out of the hole."
And ever since, Schugars has not quit winning.
Schugars appears to be getting better with age -- like a fine wine.
Schugars, who is now 247-71 in 29 years as the Eagles' head football coach, led Oakridge to its third state championship under his watch, to go along with two runner-up finishes.
Schugars' teams have won 17 titles in the outstanding West Michigan Conference, considered the top small-school football league in the state, including nine of the last 10 years.
A past president of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association, Schugars earned that organization's Jim Crowley Award in 2000 and was inducted into the MHSFCA Hall of Fame in 1993.
Schugars has served as a father figure to many Oakridge players. He deals with family problems and been a strong role model for the players.
What makes Schugars so successful is his family approach. He often discusses the "Oakridge football family' and togetherness that has built a winning chemistry over the years.
On Friday evening, January 16, Coaches Jack Schugars and Cary Harger were honored by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association at the annual awards banquet.
Coach Schugars was awarded the Regional Coach of the Year, as well as the Division 5 State Coach of the year. This is Coach Schugars' 4th State Coach of the Year honor!
Coach Cary Harger was awarded one of the Varsity Assistant Coaches of the Year.
Coach Tim Parker was elected by the regional coaches as a Regional Director. Coach Parker also serves on the All-Star Game committee. Coach Parker also was a presenter on Saturday morning speaking about the Oakridge 5-2 defense.
We were also notified that Matt Eacker will represent our State Championship team by being selected to play in the 2009 Michigan High School Football All Star Game this summer.
Congratulations to Matt and all of the coaches!
Monday, February 2
Photos, Photos, Photos
If you are looking for some great photos of the 2008 Season please contact our team photographer Jeff Peterson at (231) 788-2370 or by email at: Jeff.Peterson@safholland.com
There are photos from EVERY game this past season including the State Championship.
Jeff's prices are unbeatable. Other than the cost of maintenance to their equipment he and his wife Tammy have donated their time and efforts to the Oakridge Football program.
2008 State Championship Review 
