Jeff Chaney
Sports Scene
For a second year, it’s a great team.
The editorial staff of Sports Scene picked its 2011 Dream Team in football, and the team is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball.
Of the 25 players on the team, 19 of them earned Associated Press first-team all-state status, and 12 helped their teams advance to the Michigan High School Athletic Association state finals at Ford Field over Thanksgiving weekend.
Six of those players came away champions.
Several of the players will be taking their talents to the college level next year, and some will be back for a senior season of more thrills.
Our team is led by a pair of coaches who led their respective high school teams to state championships. Ithaca’s Terry Hessbrook, who has coached the Yellow Jackets to the past two Division 5 state championships, and Nouvel Catholic Central’s Mike Boyd, whose Division 7 champion Panthers team may have been the best team at Ford Field in all divisions that weekend, are a solid pair of coaching minds to lead this talent.
Meet the team.
The player to run the team from behind center is Lowell senior Gabe Dean.
A three-year starter for the Red Arrows, Dean led Lowell to three consecutive Division 2 state championship games, winning one his sophomore season.
He ended his great career by gaining over 12,000 yards from scrimmage and scoring 143 touchdowns.
This season he scored 44 touchdowns and gained over 4,000 yards of offense in leading the Red Arrows to a 12-2 record.
“This year was a great year for me,” Dean said. “I wouldn’t trade the moments of this year for anything, I am so proud of this group of guys. We battled, we didn’t get what we wanted, but we fought for it. It was a good year.
“Now that I look back, you don’t pay attention to the numbers, just play the game to have fun. It was cool to have those numbers, but I would trade them all to have two wins the last two years in the finals.”
If Dean wasn’t running it for first downs and touchdowns, he would have three great running backs on our team to whom he could hand the ball.
Nouvel Catholic Central’s Bennett Lewis, Mount Pleasant’s Michael Tweh, and Mason’s Saylor LaValli all had great seasons, with Lewis and LaValli earning first-team all-state status. Lewis and Tweh led their teams to the state finals, with Lewis and Nouvel winning a Division 7 state championship.
Lewis was named the AP Division 7/8 Player of the Year for rushing for close to 2,000 yards and 40 touchdowns.
If the team needed some tough yards or great blocks to to spring those three great running backs, Ithaca’s Garrett Miniard is the man for the job as the Dream Team fullback.
In leading the Yellowjackets to their second straight Division 6 state championship, Miniard, a first-team all-state player at linebacker, finished with 1,324 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“It was a good senior season,” Miniard said. “The reason we have been so successful is all the hours we have put in during the off-season, how hard the coaches worked to get us prepared for playing games. Our motto this year was ‘Prepare to win’. We had that on the back of our football camp shirts.”
But most important to Miniard are the two state championships his team won the past two years.
“The two state championships mean most to me,” Miniard said. “There is no better feeling than standing on Ford Field knowing you are the best team in Division 6. To do that twice, there is no better feeling. I can’t even describe it.”
Two great receivers with great hands are the Dream Team wide receivers. Lansing Catholic’s Matt Macksood and Montabella’s Jemikal Papendick both earned first-team all-state status this year.
Macksood helped the Cougars to the Division 5 state championship by hauling in close to 2,000 receiving yards and over 20 touchdowns.
Papendick had 1,180 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns in nine games played.
The big guys up front are led by a pair of 300-pounders who will be playing on college’s biggest stage in the future.
Rockford’s Ben Braden and Midland’s Steven Elmer head the Dream Team linemen that also include Holt’s Ben Steward, Owosso’s Matt Thornton, and Grand Ledge’s Cory Arnouts.
Braden, 6’7″ and 320 pounds, will be playing at the University of Michigan next year, while the 6’6″, 305-pound Elmer, a junior, has already verbally committed to play at Notre Dame.
Rockford coach Ralph Munger says Braden has been a leader, both on and off the field.
“His teammates respect Ben, on and off the field,” Munger said. “As a result, his team voted him one of our captains in 2011. The only thing more impressive about Ben is the type of young man his parents have raised him to be.”
The Dream Team kicker has a big leg. Holt’s Evan Fischer proved that this year by connecting on 25 of 25 extra points and 11 of 20 field goals, including a 52-yarder.
The Dream Team’s specialist player is a do-everything throw-back, Ithaca’s David Brown, who helped the Yellow Jackets to a state title run by playing many roles.
The Dream Team defense is just as talented, and it is big.
On the defensive line, Powers Catholic senior tackle Danny O’Brien leads the way.
The 6’3″, 302-pound O’Brien, who will be playing at the University of Tennessee next year, was a main reason that the Chargers advanced to the Division 5 state finals. He helped Powers win the state title over Lansing Catholic, 56-26, to avenge a loss to them earlier in the season.
He is joined on our Dream Team line by Portland’s Preston Schreur, Lowell’s Pierce Watson, and New Lothrop’s Jon Thoma.
The linebacker core is made up three first-team all staters and an honorable mention all stater who scored a touchdown in the state final.
Nouvel’s Clae Henderson, New Lothrop’s Austin Sevren, and Mount Pleasant’s Spencer Moran were all-state in their respective divisions, while Ithaca’s Lucas Slater earned honorable mention status and scored a defensive touchdown in Ithaca’s win over Constantine in the Division 5 championship game.
The last line of defense for the Dream Team defense is a trio of talented defensive backs in Rockford’s KC Zenner, Grand Blanc’s Jordan Fields, and Montrose’s Caleb Reinhart.
The Dream Team punter is a player who could also be used as a receiver.
Powers Catholic’s Daniel Meissner had to punt only one time in the Chargers’ state championship win, but it went for 49 yards. He also caught six passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, showing how athletic he is.
The men under the headphones for this team are a pair of coaches who led their respective high school teams to 14-0 records and state championships.
Nouvel’s Mike Boyd and Ithaca’s Terry Hessbrook will have to share the duties. Maybe one can run the defense and the other the offense, but either way, both can coach.
“We’ve had a lot of good kids play for us the last two years,” said Hessbrook, who has led Ithaca to the last two state championships. “We have been fortunate to win a lot of games, and we are excited about it. Ithaca is a special little community. We have been able to put this together, and the kids have bought in to what we want to do. They believe in what we are doing and bought into in it.”
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Gabe Dean (Lowell)
RB: Bennett Lewis (Nouvel Catholic Central)
RB: Micheal Tweh (Mt. Pleasant)
RB: Saylor LaValli (Mason)
FB: Garrett Miniard (Ithaca)
WR: Matt Macksood (Lansing Catholic)
WR: Jemikal Papendick (Montabella)
OL: Steven Elmer (Midland)
OL: Ben Braden (Rockford)
OL: Ben Steward (Holt)
OL: Matt Thornton (Owosso)
OL: Cory Arnouts (Grand Ledge)
K: Evan Fischer (Holt)
Specialist: David Brown (Ithaca)
FIRST TEAM DEFNSE
DL: Danny O’Brien (Powers Catholic)
DL: Preston Schreur (Portland)
DL: Pierce Watson (Lowell)
DL: Jon Thoma (New Lothrop)
LB: Clae Henderson (Nouvel Catholic Central)
LB: Lucas Slater (Ithaca)
LB: Austin Severn (New Lothrop)
LB: Spencer Moran (Mt. Pleasant)
DB: Jordan Fields (Grand Blanc)
DB: KC Zenner (Rockford)
DB: Caleb Reinhart (Montrose)
P: Daniel Meissner (Powers Catholic)
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Cooper Rush (Lansing Catholic)
RB: Anthony Goodman (Lansing Sexton)
RB: Jackson Gross (Clare)
RB: Alex Thelen (Pewamo-Westphalia)
FB: Josh Addington (Lowell)
WR: Charles Schnetzler (Ithaca)
WR: Colton Odykirk (Mt. Pleasant)
OL: Corey Hungerford (Fulton)
OL: Andrew Wylie (Midland)
OL: Cameron Borgard (Fowler)
OL: Andrew Pohl (Beal City)
OL: Taylor Moton (Okemos)
K: Steven Mette (Rockford)
Specialist: Gabe Augustyn (Nouvel Catholic Central)
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL: Colt Harrinton (Greenville)
DL: Cameron Hobbs (Meridian)
DL: Brody Bartell ( Swan Valley)
DL: Mack Corl (Frankenmuth)
LB: Jake Stehley (Lowell)
LB: Anthony DeDamos (Rockford)
LB: James Mills (Lansing Everett)
LB: Ethan Rademacher (DeWitt)
DB: Wesley Town (Michigan Luthern Seminary)
DB: David Ruhlman (Freeland)
DB: Kyle Tack (Merrill)
P: Jordan Drake (Lowell)
HONORABLE MENTION
Mark LaPrairie (Rockford), Austin Pichiotino (Bay City Western), Ryan Wieber (DeWitt), Anthony Morley (Byron), Brent Luplow (Clare), Peyton Marshall (Meridian), Charley Helmer (Montabella), Yenta Sanders (Saginaw Arthur Hill), Avery Chatman (Midland), Stone Beckwith (Beal City), DeShaun Young (Chesaning), Zach Stedry (Hemlock), Justin Fabin (Carrollton), Mitch Greenacre (Clare), Isaac Gregory (Breckenridge), Ryan Szymanski (Sacred Heart Academy), Aaron Haynak (Clare), Zach Taylor (New Lothrop), Dustin Lee (Mt. Pleasant), Bart Williams (Grand Blanc), Jordan Hessbrook (Ithaca), Tyler Rhynard (Coleman), Tyler Koenigshnecht (Fowler),Chris Hagen (East Lansing), Charles Proctor (Bay City Western), Devin McCulloh (John Glenn), Terrance Wright (Lansing Sexton), Connor Holbrook (Mason), Jaleel Canty (Lansing Everett)
COACHES
First team: Mike Boyd (Nouvel Catholic Central) and Terry Hessbrook (Ithaca)
Honorable mention: Jason McIntyre (Mt. Pleasant), Noel Dean (Lowell), and Jim Ahern (Lansing Catholic)