12/23/2006

Suttons Bay's defense: Seven straight shutouts

Elks, Mancelona reach playoffs after turnaround seasons

BY DENNIS CHASE

dchase@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Tyler Sipe
A new Tom's Food Market store in the West Bay shopping center is under construction, Cutline goes here Cutline goes here Cutline goes here Cutline goes here

TRAVERSE CITY — Turned away.

Turned around.

That aptly describes what turned out to be a noteworthy 2006 prep football season.

The highlights?

• Suttons Bay posted eight shutouts and during one stretch turned opponents away from the end zone in seven consecutive games. The Norsemen finished the campaign 12-1, reaching the Division 6 state semifinals.

• Ed Schindler and Dan Derrer helped turn around football programs at Elk Rapids and Mancelona. The Elks went from 2-7 to 6-3 in the regular season, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in school history. Mancelona made it to the post-season for just the second time. The Ironmen, 0-9 in 2005, also finished 6-3 during the regular season — a season that started on a sad note with the passing of Hall of Fame coach John Neumann.

It was Suttons Bay's senior-laden defense, though, that provided the heroics on an almost weekly basis. The Norsemen surrendered 12 points in an overtime win over Benzie Central in the season opener and then didn't allow another point until the final game of the regular season.

"It was a huge accomplishment for our guys,” coach Joe Trudeau said. "It's not something you plan on doing. It takes a few breaks and a lot of effort.”

Once the streak started, Trudeau said, the players rode the momentum.

"Once they got a few under their belt, they didn't want to let it end,” Trudeau said. "It became a pride thing. They kept saying, 'We can't let anybody score.' We knew it was going to end eventually, but it was fun while it lasted.”

Trudeau said his team's experience was pivotal in the shutout spree.

"We had a lot of kids back from last year who really understood their roles and jobs — and they played together as a team,” he said.

The Norsemen blanked all five Northwest Conference opponents. Frankfort nearly broke the streak late in the season, but the Norsemen stopped the Panthers just short of the goal on a fourth and goal from the one.

"Stan (defensive coordinator Stan Pasch) has that picture saved on his computer,” Trudeau said. "The ball's no more than an inch or two away (from the goal line).”

Trudeau said Pasch deserves "a lot of the credit” for the team's performance.

"He comes up with our defensive schemes,” Trudeau said. "Sometimes they're a little wacky, but they sure work.”

Suttons Bay finished the nine-game regular season by allowing just 30 points.

At Elk Rapids, Schindler helped revive a program that's struggled since Don Glowicki retired.

Even Schindler, who rebuilt programs elsewhere, was surprised by the early success.

"I thought it might take a couple years,” he said. "I think we exceeded our own expectations. It was a wonderful 2006 for us.”

For years, Elk Rapids football took a backseat to soccer. Schindler said 2006 proved that the two programs could co-exist.

"The overall belief was that the soccer program here was so dominant that you couldn't win (in football),” he said. "It was a soccer town. I think everyone was pleasantly surprised (by the football team's success).

"Our goal was to get 30 kids out. I felt if we could do that, we could be competitive. We ended up with 37 kids. There are plenty of athletes in the Elk Rapids school system, enough to have competitive football and soccer teams every year.”

The Elks turned it around on both sides of the ball. In 2005, the team scored 6.8 points a game and allowed 31.3. In 2006, the offense accounted for 25.2 points a game during the regular season while the defense surrendered 14.4.

"It wasn't just that we went from 2-7 to 6-3,” Schindler said. "We had an approximate 35-point swing per game, which is the biggest turnaround I've ever been involved in.

It was completely different game every single week than what (the players) had before. It really speaks to how much these kids accomplished.”

Perhaps the biggest accomplishment was beating Boyne City 24-22, a year after losing to the Ramblers 47-0.

"That was clearly the defining moment of our season,” Schindler said.

The turnaround created a buzz in the community and it coincided with the opening of the new football facility.

"We had a great time,” Schindler said. "Hopefully, this was just the first step in getting Elk Rapids football back to the way it was in the 1950s, 60s and 70s under coach Glowicki. I really believe we have a program in place that is going to make this very sustainable.”

At Mancelona, Derrer earned a promotion from the JV staff and guided the Ironmen to its best season since 1994.

"It was an exciting year for us considering where we've been,” Derrer said.

Mancelona had won just two games in five years and the Ironmen were coming off an 0-9 season.

"We were so used to losing it was contagious,” Derrer said. "We didn't how to win.”

That's why Neumann made a decision a couple years to leave the school's young players — freshmen and sophomores — on JV, even though a few could have helped the varsity during those lean years.

"It was important to instill a winning attitude,” Derrer said. "They needed to win, to get a taste of what it was like, and what it took to achieve it. They needed to get that confidence. That was Mr. Neumann's plan all along.”

The plan worked. The JV teams went 6-3 and 7-2 in 2004 and 2005, setting the stage for a productive 2006 varsity campaign.,

"We came into the season knowing we had some talent,” Derrer said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy. It's hard to go from 0-9 to six wins. We really felt this group could get us back on the map, though.”

The Ironmen started 1-2 against three playoff teams — losing to Elk Rapids, beating Onaway on the final play and dropping a heartbreaker to Gaylord St. Mary. But the team won five of its remaining six games — losing only to Ski Valley champion Central Lake — to qualify for the playoffs.

"I thought it would be huge if we could make the playoffs this year, no matter what happened, just to get a taste of it,” Derrer said. "This was a great way to send our seniors out. They helped turn this around.”

Derrer was named head coach three days before his wedding this summer. It was at the hotel, where the reception was held, where Neumann passed away. The two had spent some together the previous night talking about the upcoming season, since Derrer had not had a chance to talk to his mentor since he was named coach.

"He was excited for me,” Derrer said. "He wanted to come in and work with the line the first couple weeks (of practice).”

Neumann never got the chance.

"My wife walked in and said there's an ambulance here for someone in our party,” Derrer recalled. "She didn't know who it was for. We walked out to the lobby and somebody said it was for room 206. I knew right then it was Mr. Neumann's room.”

Neumann's wife, Sandy, was at the regular season finale with Bellaire the night Mancelona clinched its long awaited playoff berth.

"It was emotional,” Derrer said. "I'll never forget Sandy's words. She said, 'John's a happy man right now. Mancelona's just made the playoffs and the Tigers are in the World Series.' John was a huge Tigers fan.”

The key for Mancelona was the improvement on defense. The Ironmen went from giving up 35 points a game to 17.7.

"In six of our nine (regular season) games we gave up 13 points or less,” Derrer said "That had only happened once in the previous two years.”

Mancelona returns a strong nucleus in 2007, too.

"We're really excited about next year,” Derrer said. "We getting this thing headed in the right direction.”