By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich — In 1952 Dwight Eisenhower was elected president, a gallon of gas was 27 cents and a Coke was just 25 cents. That same year the Goodrich High School varsity football team defeated Brandon High School varsity team 26-6 in one of the first meetings.
At 7 p.m., Oct. 6, the Martians and Blackhawks square off for the 51st time in the cross-county rivalry for a Backyard Brawl, an autumn tradition that will establish bragging rights for the year.
While plenty has changed since facemask-less leather helmets ruled —today the Brandon-Goodrich game is a yearly event as the Martians are now part of the 12 Flint Metro League teams which include the Blackhawks. The expanded Flint Metro League will crown a champion later this fall.
Last year the Martians defeated the Blackhawks 42-21 in the regular season. The rivals played a second time in the first round of the playoffs with the Martians winning 42-14.
The Martians captured the Milk Can Cup trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry in 2021 and defended the crown 2022. The can was donated by Brandon Township’s Cook’s Farm Dairy and is a symbol of both communities’ rich farming tradition. Each year the score and date are etched on the cup, with the winning team keeping the cup until the next season.
“It’s the Martian’s homecoming and a hostile environment,” said Blackhawk Head Coach Brad Zube. “Goodrich Coach Tom Alward was in the state finals last year and graduated several starters. A ton of credit for coming back with a heck of a season. It’s going to take our best efforts to win the Milk Jug back, it does not take much to get motivated for this game.”
Goodrich Head Coach Tom Alward is in his 31st year at the helm. The Martians are coming off a stellar 2022 12-2 season which included a trip to Ford Field to the state finals. The 2023 campaign appears to be picking up where it left off with a 5-0 start.
“It’s one of those games where the team records really don’t matter,” said Coach Alward. “Everyone is going to show up to play, it’s bragging rights for another year and we’re playing for the Milk Jug, plus it’s our homecoming. We got a lot of incentives to get after them. They are very coached with outstanding athletes.”
According to the Michigan High School Historical Game-by-Game results, the Brandon-Goodrich rivalry dates back to 1952 and continued until 1992. In 2014 the rivalry was rekindled as the Martians won 33-7. Then in 2015 Zach Clements hit the game winning 37 yard field goal propelling the Blackhawks to an 11-10 victory over the Martians. It was the first win for the Blackhawks since 1986 and narrowed the overall series to 30-12 in favor of Goodrich. Then in 2016 Blackhawk Kevin Bickett raced for four touchdowns as the Blackhawks topped the Martins 35-14 at a packed Roy U Stacey Stadium in Goodrich. The win was the second straight for the Blackhawks over the Martians and was the debut for new coach Brad Zube.
After not playing in 2017 the battle heated back up in 2018 as the Blackhawks victory streak continued over the Martians with a 26-7 win at Blackhawk Stadium. Then in 2019 the Martians won at home 32-26. In 2020, despite a global pandemic, abbreviated pre-season and only a handful of fans in attendance—the Martian-Blackhawk football rivalry got just a smidge feisty as the Blackhawks topped the Martians 41-28. On Sept. 30, 2021 the Martians fought back and defeated Brandon 48-21 at Goodrich.