THE HASTINGS
Thursday, October 28, 2021Saxons and Panthers start playoffs Friday
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Charlotte is a team not to be taken lightly.
The Hastings varsity football team rolls
into the 2021 MHSAA state postseason, join-
ing Delton Kellogg as one of two Barry
County teams to have earned a spot in the
state postseason.
The Saxons already have more wins than
they have in any season since 2001 and have
won four straight ballgames in impressive
fashion since their only defeat of the season,
on their home turf against Jackson Lumen
Christi in week five. Hastings will also take
to the turf inside Baum Stadium at Johnson
Field Friday night at 7 p.m. for their MHSAA
Division 4 Pre-District contest with the
Orioles knowing that they have bested them
in the final game of the regular season in each
of the past three seasons.
Charlotte has three losses during the 2021
season, but all three of those defeats have
come against playoff teams (Lansing Catholic
Central, Portland and Ionia), and the Orioles
opened the season with an impressive 49-
win over the eventual Greater Lansing
Activities Conference champions from Olivet.
The Orioles have a winning record for the
first time since 2013 this fall. Lakewood got
to see first-hand how dangerous the Charlotte
team can be in week eight when the Orioles
scored a 60-21 win over the Vikings as Oriole
return-man Braden Hill tied the state record
with three kick returns for touchdowns.
Charlotte’s defense has allowed 40 or more
points four times this season, in the opener
with Olivet and in all three of its losses. Ionia
compiled more than 500 yards rushing in its
week four win over the Orioles, which bodes
well for the Saxon Wing-T attack.Hastings will host a District Final next
weekend should the Orioles come out on top
they would go on the road to face the winner
of the other half of the district bracket which
includes South Christian and Plainwell, who
meet in Plainwell at Streidl Field for their
Pre-District ballgame tomorrow (Oct. 29).
The other half of the Saxons’ Division 4,
Region 2 bracket had Pre-District ballgames
this weekend between Paw Paw and
Edwardsburg in Edwardsburg and between
Three Rivers and Vicksburg in Vicksburg.
Delton Kellogg had won four in a row
before falling to nemesis Schoolcraft in the
regular season finale last week. The Panthers
will look to bounce back in their MHSAA
Division Pre-District ballgame at Muskegon
Catholic Central Friday night at 7 p.m.
The MCC Crusaders powered through an
8-1 regular season, winning the four-teamLakes 8 Conference with a perfect 3-0 mark.
The Crusaders lone loss this fall came against
a one-loss Grand Rapids West Catholic squad.
The winner of Friday night’s ballgame
between the Crusaders and Panthers will face
either North Muskegon or Ravenna in the
District Final, with the Crusaders playing at
home with a win and the Panthers on the road
if they take the victory this week.
The other half of Division 7, Region 3 will
include Pre-District match-ups of Homer at
Lawton and Niles Brandywine at Union City
Friday.
Local Standings (W-L, playoff points)
Hastings 8-1 (59.000)
Delton Kellogg 5-3 (34.014)
Lakewood 4-5 (28.667)
Thornapple Kellogg 3-6 (39.444)
Maple Valley (8-player) 4-
Conference Standings
(overall, conference)
Interstate 8 Athletic Conference
Hastings 8-1, 6-
Lumen Christi 8-1, 6-
Harper Creek 6-3, 6-
Parma Western 6-3, 4-
Coldwater 3-6, 3-
Pennfield 3-6, 2-
Marshall 2-7, 1-
Northwest 1-8, 0-
OK Gold Conference
G.R. Catholic Central 9-0, 7-
Cedar Springs 7-2, 6-
South Christian 6-3, 5-
Forest Hills Eastern 5-4, 4-
Thornapple Kellogg 3-6, 3-
Kenowa Hills 3-6, 2-
Ottawa Hills 2-7, 1-
Wayland 0-9, 0-
Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley
Lawton 9-0, 3-
Delton Kellogg 5-3, 2-
Saugatuck 5-4, 2-
Schoolcraft 3-5, 2-
Galesburg-Augusta 1-8, 0-
Greater Lansing Activities Conference
Olivet 7-2, 4-
Lakewood 4-5, 3-
Leslie 3-6, 2-
Perry 4-5, 1-
Stockbridge 4-5, 0-
Tri-River 8-Man Football Conference
Britton-Deerfield 8-1, 4-
NorthPointe Christian 7-2, 3-
Concord 3-6, 1-
Maple Valley 4-5, 1-
Vandercook Lake 3-6, 1-
Here is a round-up of last week’s local
gridiron action.Hastings 62, Escanaba 24
The Saxons hope their season goes long
enough to maybe need another long bus ride
on a Saturday.The first one went well enough.
The Hastings varsity football team finished
off an 8-1 regular season with a 62-24 victory
over Escanaba after each team took a little
more than a three hour bus ride to meet in the
middle at Gaylord High School Saturday.
“I think the three hours was worth it to get
a good team victory,” Hastings senior strong
safety Victor Ramirez said. “I think defen-
sively we did pretty good. Offensively we
really capitalized on our running backs and or
linemen doing what they’re supposed to do. I
am happy the team got the win.”
Hastings will open the MHSAA Division 4
postseason tournament with a Pre-District
ballgame against Charlotte inside Bam
Stadium at Johnson Field Friday night.
Hastings has the eighth most playoff points of
the 32 teams in the Division 4 state tournament
and is the top seeded team in its district which
also includes South Christian and Plainwell.
Fruitport, Whitehall, Sparta and Cadillac
are the other four teams in region one –
meaning the Saxons would likely need to win
a couple more ballgames before they are
forced into another Saturday ballgame.
“I think it was one of the key points today,
to learn what obstacles we can overcome,”
Saxon head coach Jamie Murphy said afterDKHS boys win
program’s first
district trophy
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
There isn’t a ton of time spent in prac-
tice imagining and recreating what it
would be like to be breaking in on goal
with 90 seconds left in a district champi-
onship game with your team up a goal –
certainly not for the Delton Kellogg varsi-
ty boys’ program which went from its
inception in 1985 to 2020 without ever
winning a district championship.
That drought is over after a 1-0 victory
over Hillsdale in the MHSAA Division 3
District Final at Delton Kellogg High
School Saturday.
Marshall Warner scored the lone goal of
the game for the Panthers, and was break-
ing in on goal again with about a minute
and a half to play in the ballgame. He man-
aged to remember something his coach just
mentioned briefly Friday evening in the
lead-up to the district final however.
“In big games, when we have the lead,
keeping possession is the best,” Delton
Kellogg head coach Alan Mabie said after
his team improved to 9-7-2 overall this
season with the victory.
Instead of looking for a second goal,
Warner turned to the corner of the field.
DK kept the ball deep until Hillsdale
finally took possession with ten seconds
remaining. There wasn’t time for the
14-3-1 Hornets to get anywhere near the
Delton Kellogg net at the other end of the
field.
Mabie had learned that lesson earlier in
his varsity coaching career, when one of his
girls’ teams looking for an impressive upset
gave up a late score against Grand Rapids
South Christian and went on to bow out of
the state tournament.
“It was great,” Mabie said of the boys
finally coming out on top. “I was kind of in
a daze after that. It has been so long and
working so hard. They were excited. We
had quite a few fans there, which was nice
to see.”See FOOTBALL, page 12
See DISTRICT, page 16
The Delton Kellogg varsity boys' soccer team hoists a district championship
trophy for the first time Saturday after scoring a 1-0 victory over Hillsdale in the
Division 3 District Final at Delton Kellogg High School. Marshall Warner scored
the lone goal for the Panthers and Marcus Momenee earned the shut out in goal
for head coach Alan Mabie's squad. (Photo by Perry Hardin)Hastings senior running back TJ Russell sticks out his left hand and fights off a tackle attempt by Escanaba's Casey Royer during
their non-conference ballgame at Gaylord High School Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Brett Bremer)
Maple Valley senior center Travis Mater, the Lion varsity football team's only senior
this fall, lifts the Little Brown Jug as he and his teammates sing the school fight song
in front its spectators following their 56-0 win at Bellevue High School in the final
eight-player game of the season Lions. (Photo by Brett Bremer)The Saxons' David Jiles ducks into the
end zone for a touchdown after getting a
hand-off from teammate Owen Carroll
during the second half of their team's win
over Escanaba at Gaylord High School
Saturday. (Photo by Brett Bremer)