John Raffel
Sports Scene
Garrett Miniard had been through the 14-0 state championship before as a junior. But he wanted to enjoy the experience as an Ithaca senior.
He did.
The senior linebacker-running back and his Ithaca teammates celebrated a 42-14 Division 6 state title win November 25 over Constantine at Ford Field.
The fact that his team was able to pull out key defensive stops against Constantine was amazing for Miniard to see, but not surprising.
“We’ve done it time and time again,” Miniard said. “Iron Mountain, on their first drive against us [in the semifinals], we stopped them on the goal line. It’s a testament to the heart we have on our team and on our defense and being able to look each other in the eye and knowing we were going to get the job done. I can’t say enough about them. We came up with stops when we needed to today.”
The first two drives for Constantine, with Ben Mallo picking up big chucks of yardage, gave the Yellow Jackets reason for concern.
“It was incredibly hard,” Miniard said. “The coach kept telling me to ‘watch fullback.’ I’d be going after the quarterback and the fullback would be going up for a 30-yard gain. That’s a testament to how hard Constantine worked during the year and how good their offense is.”
Miniard acknowledged it was emotional after the game, realizing what the Yellow Jackets had accomplished.
“I don’t know what’s going through my head right now,” he said. “It’s an amazing feeling to be back here after what we went through last year. It’s been amazing. It’s been an amazing ride for us.”
“They didn’t want Ithaca football to be just one and done,” coach Terry Hessbrook said. “They worked awfully hard. My hat’s off to every guy in our program. I can’t sit and tell you that we were going to run off 28 wins in a row.”
It’s now the longest high school winning streak in Michigan.
“The second time, it’s more special because this is the last time we’ll suit up, for most of us,” Miniard said. “We’re not going to be playing another game next year. When we get to end on the biggest stage high school football has to offer in Michigan…there was a little bit of jealousy of last year’s seniors, being able to go out on top. That kept us going through off-season and season to have that luxury and be able to go out on top like they did. I’m glad we got to go out on top.”
Miniard is a part of another senior group that Hessbrook is going to miss. Other seniors are David Brown, Luke Rayburn, Jacob Nelson, Lucas Slater, Noah Harless, Tyler Scott, Wayland Dilts, Travis Wetzel, Anthony Ventocilla, Charles Schnetzler, and Jake Greene.
“We had 12 seniors dressed today. Ten have been with us throughout the program and two joined us this year,” Hessbrook said. “It’s a special group of kids. They’ve done everything we can possibly ask of them. For them to finish and win back-to-back state championships, I can’t describe it. It’s probably going to take awhile before these kids realize what they’ve accomplished. Hopefully, they’ll come back and support [sophomore quarterback] Travis [Smith] and the rest of the Yellow Jackets next year as we try to get back.”
Seeing all the Yellow Jacket fans was also inspirational for the players.
“I don’t know how many people we have in the city of Ithaca,” Miniard said. “I know it’s not very many. I’d have to say a majority of them are up here watching us. It’s amazing to see how many people we have. That shows how tightly knit the community is to us and football.”
“I really think the community has gotten behind us because of the kind of kids we have,” Hessbrook said. “These kids don’t walk the hallways and boast and walk around like they’re all that, which maybe a lot of teams would have with the winning streak these kids have. They’re very grounded and intelligent. They’ve been good kids and I think that’s why the community supports them so well because they’re great kids. Lots of coaches say that but I truly mean it.
“That’s why the community was willing to follow them six hours up to Marquette for the second year in a row and have more fans than Iron Mountain [for the 28-0 semifinal win] and then come to Detroit and fill our sidelines. It was amazing when you saw all that white on our sidelines, and these kids can back me up on that. I’m proud to be from the city of Ithaca. I mean that.””
That’s why Hessbrook was planning on rooting for Lansing Catholic Central on Saturday. LCC is coached by former Ithaca skipper Jim Ahern.
“Jim Ahern is a good friend of mine and those of you who know Jim know he’s a fantastic guy. He’s the one that got all the coaches started at Ithaca.We owe a lot to him. He came down here last year and supported us. For him and [assistant coach] Mike Doran, who also coached me in high school, to have their chance, I’ve got a feeling there will be a lot of people from Ithaca rooting for Lansing Catholic.”
Asked about a possible football dynasty at Ithaca, Miniard replied, “I guess they’ll have to keep it going. We did all we can do. I wish the best of luck to the rest them. They’re a great group of kids. I’m sure Travis and the leaders coming up will lead them as well.
“It’s a great feeling, to go out on top. There’s nothing better. I couldn’t put it in words right now.”