By BUTCH HARMON
Thanks to an improvement in the overall strength of the team and to a high-scoring offense, the Ionia football team enjoyed its best regular season in almost 10 years.
After qualifying for the playoffs every year from 2002 through 2006, the Bulldogs hit a stretch of below .500 seasons beginning in 2007. This year’s Bulldog team snapped that string in a big way. Not only did the Bulldogs qualify for the playoffs and turn in a winning season, but they finished with a 7-2 overall record.
Ionia started the 2013 season with a flurry by winning its first three games. The Bulldogs scored 125 points in the three wins, as they put up 34 points in the opener against Alma and then came back with 46 points in week two against Columbia Central and 45 points in a week three win against Owosso.
The fast start and strong finish continued the steady progress that Ionia has made under coach Mike Holes, who took over the program in 2011 after serving as Ithaca’s offensive coordinator in 2010.
“The biggest reason for our improvement is our strength level,” Holes said. “I teach physical education, and I have a number of weightlifting classes. Our strength level has gone up the past three years, and our current juniors and seniors have been a part of it for three years, and it is really paying off now.”
Holes also points to the leadership of a senior class that is small in number but big on leadership. “Another big thing is our good senior leadership that we have,” Holes said. “Eric Spohr (guard/linebacker) has been a great senior leader for us.”
A veteran offensive line has also been key to the production of the offense. “We’ve had pretty good play from our offensive line,” Holes said. “They have definitely been a big improvement this year. We have a lot of returning starters on our offensive line.”
Ionia’s offense has a number of key players at the skill positions, also. Quarterback Austin Gregory averaged over 300 yards of total offense during the first three games this season. Junior running back Kyle Parks scored six touchdowns in the first three games and is a big, powerful running back who is tough to bring down. Senior wide receiver Colin Prominsky totaled over 350 yards receiving and caught three touchdown passes in the first three games.
“Offensively, a lot of things are clicking for us,” Holes said. “We have been pretty efficient and effective on offense.”
The senor class is made up of just nine players, however, the numbers in the other grades have been improving.
“We have over 80 kids in the program,” Holes said. “We have a small senior class, but our juniors, sophomores, and freshmen numbers are all up.”