By David Fleet
Editor
Detroit — A stellar season that included the first state finals ever for the Goodrich Martians ended on a big stage at Ford Field with a 28-0 loss to the Grand Rapids South Christian Sailors.
“It was a great experience for everyone, the players, coaches and community,” said Head Coach Tom Alward. “We played a very good football team, that’s a credit to them. They had more athletes on a team than I had seen in a long time. We had our opportunities and we did not take advantage of them. When you play a great team like Grand Rapids South Christian you have to take advantage of that when the opportunity presents itself.”
The game does not reflect on the 12-2 season the Martians had, added Alward.
“We are still very pleased with the way the season went this year,” he said.
GHS running back, Sr. Jace Simerson rushed for 91 yards on 20 carries. GHS quarterback, Sr. Gavin Hart completed 9 passes on 25 attempts for 100 yards with two interceptions.
“We held Grand Rapids to 47 yards rushing, but one of their touchdowns was for 52 yards,” said Alward. “The rest of the running backs (for Grand Rapids) went for negative yards. Defensively we played well enough to win the game. If we could have matched that performance on the other side of the ball we’d be state champions. But we did not do that, so you have to credit South Christian.”
GRSC quarterback Jacob DeHaan completed 14 passes on 21 attempts with 1 interception for 266 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“DeHann is a heck of an athlete and hard to defend,” said Alward. “It’s difficult to defend, he throws the ball well and is extremely accurate. But we slowed them down enough that if we could have been efficient of offense.”
The time of possession was 25:20 with 11 first downs for Martians to 22:40 with 15 first downs for the Sailors.
“The sting will be there, but the joy of the season will last a lifetime,” said Alward. “It’s a huge positive, we’ll get back down to Ford Field.”
Alward had played in big games and stadiums before at the University of Nebraska and in the NFL.
“I was always thinking about my kids and what they were thinking coming into the game,” he said. “They were pretty excited and to look up into the stands and see the entire community of Goodrich, I don’t think anyone was left at home. It was impressive and very heartwarming, it added to whole day.”
Now we’ve been there, said Alward.
“The kids now have a taste for that, so they are all ready planing for next season,” he said. “It’s easy to be motivated for the off season.”