8/10/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - December 04, 2014

1/14

By Mike Dunn

GAYLORD The Michigan

Associated Press released the

All-State football rosters for

all divisions last week.

The Div. 3-4 football team

features Petoskeys hard-

nosed two-way trench war-

rior James Gazarato as a

Special Mention selection.

Two of Gazaratos teammates

center Jimmy Wilson and

running back Brent Murray were honorabl e mention

picks along with Gaylords

mountain-esque senior tack-

le Will Stecker.

Gaylord head coach Will

Cleaver, after guiding the

Blue Devils to a winning

record and the brink of the

playoffs in his second year

back at the helm of the pro-

gram, was also named

Honorable Mention All-State.

The 5-foot-11, 220-pound

Gazarato was a beast for the

Northmen at defensive end

and also as a starter at guard

on the O-line for Coach KerryVanOrman, helping Petoskey

to post a 9-3 record, capture a

Div. 3 district title for the first

time in school history, and

finish the rugged Big North

with a 4-2 record. The relent-

less Gazarato played every

down at full throttle. He pur-

sued opposing quarterbacks

like a ravenous predator with

the scent of dinner in his

nostrils, accumulating 8.5

sacks in Petoskeys 12 games

to go with three fumble

recoveries and a remarkable70 tackles.

Gazarato has been as reli-

able as the sunrise for

VanOrman the past two

years, starting every game on

both sides of the ball.

Wilson was also a two-way

trench warrior for

VanOrman. The 6-foot, 265-

pound senior was a battle-

tested veteran this season,

anchoring an O-line that

enabled the run-oriented

Northmen to thunder to

3,217 rushing yards, averag-

ing an eye-popping 7.3 yards

per carry.Murray, a strong-striding

5-foot-11, 180-pound junior

fullback who not only

blocked effectively but could

plow between the tackles to

get the tough yards and also

go north and south like he

was shot from a cannon

when he propelled through a

seam in the line, amassed a

team-leading 1,311 yards this

season on 186 carries, aver-

aging a healthy 7.04 yards

every time he touched the

ball. He also smelled the goalline, scoring a whopping 21

times for the Northmen.

The rugged Stecker, a

three-year varsity starter at

tackle for the Blue Devils,

cast a long shadow up front

for Coach Cleaver and played

a key role in Gaylords offen-

sive turnaround this season.

Stecker was equally effective

at protecting QB Steven

Fitzek in the pocket or turn-

ing away defenders like a

human plow truck on jet

sweeps and off-tackle runs

by Cotton Neff, Shane Foster,

Tristan Gregory and Fitzek.Its quite rare for a coach of

a team that finishes with a 5-

4 record to get recognition

from the Associated Press but

in Cleavers case, the honor is

certainly warranted.

Gaylord had won just four

games in its five previous

seasons before this year.

Cleaver returned to the side-

lines in 2013 and took over a

program that, simply put,

was not accustomed to win-

ning and had to learn how to

be successful. Cleaver had

guided the Blue Devils to six

playoff appearances in eight

seasons during his previous

tenure as coach (1999-2007)

and set about guiding the

Blue Devils back to winning

ways. In his first season, the

Blue Devils were competitive

in most of their games but

not winners. In fact, they did-

nt win until the final game of

the 2013 campaign, 20-13 at

Alpena.

That final win brought

Gaylord some much-needed

confidence and seemed to

carry over into the 2014 cam-

paign as the Blue Devils won

their first four games, three

by shutout. The Blue Devils

suffered close losses to

Traverse City Central and

eventual Big North champ

Cadillac in weeks five and six

but came back to earn their

most exciting victory in

many years, a wild 49-42 tri-

umph over a very good

Petoskey team in front of a

packed house at home in

week seven.

Gaylord needed to win one

more game to make the play-

offs but could not beat T.C.

West or Alpena in the final

two weeks. Still, for Gaylord

even to be in the hunt for the

playoffs in 2014 was remark-

able and Cleaver rightly

received honorable mention

All-State recognit ion as a

result.

989.448.8700WWW.IRVWGAYLORD.COM

Padded reclinersin blue and green

Now Only $64.13

22 GallonTote Tank

Now Only $122.09

Grand AeroTowing Mirrors

Now Only $96.66

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2014

Athlete of the Week

(989) 705-8284333.M"S/&&G"+/%.$,

236 ;< M, G

Real Estate OneGaylord

would like tocongratulate the

Athlete of the Week

FOR WEEK OF NOV. 23-29

JAMES

GAZARATOPETOSKEY HIGH SCHOOLThe hard-nosed, rawhide-toughGazarato, a 5-foot-11, 225-pound two-

way trench warriorfor the Petoskeyfootball team,earned SpecialMention All-Staterecognition on theannual A.P. Division3-4 football team.

S

SECTION B

CALL - (989) 732-8160 FAX (888) 854-7441

OR EMAIL:

MIKE DUNN - MIKE@WEEKLYCHOICE.COM

BEN MURPHY - BENMURPHYSPORTS@YAHOO.COM

DENNIS MANSFIELD - DENNISLMANSFIELD@GMAIL.COM

AMANDA MONTHEI AMANDA@WEEKLYCHOICE.COM

SPORTS

Three Northmen players and Gaylordlineman Stecker earn All-State recogni-

tion; Gaylord Coach Cleaver isHonorable Mention

The 2014 Top Choice All-AreaVolleyball Team will be published in

the Dec. 11 issue of the WeeklyChoice, including the Player of theYear and the Coach of the Year. Be

watching for it!

IN OUR NEXTISSUE ...

Gaylord Coach Will Cleaver, shown here in during the post-game huddle following the tense homevictory over Petoskey, is Honorable Mention All-State. ROB DEFORGEOF RDSPORTSPHOTO.COM)

Div. 3-4 All-State Football

* The Div. 7-8 All-State team features 5 area players* A complete roster of All-State football for all divisionsINSIDE...

Petoskeys Gazarato getsSpecial Mention

Brent Murray Will Stecker

James Gazarato Jimmy Wilson

8/10/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - December 04, 2014

2/14

LOCAL SPORTSOn-line at www.weeklychoice.com

Page 2-B Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice December 4, 2014

In addition to Joburg juniors, Flowersand Schramm of I-Lakes and Lentz ofMio are honorable mention

Div. 7-8 All-State Football

Huff, Fox both earn Special Mention

By Mike Dunn

GAYLORD

Johannesburg-L ewiston

teammates Logan Huff and

Nate Fox both found their

names on the rolls of the

2014 Division 7-8 All-State

football roster announced

last week by the Michigan

Associated Press. Huff and

Fox, impact players for the

Cardinals of Coach JoeSmokevitch on both sides of

the ball and also on special

teams, both earned Special

Mention.

Three other area players

also earned prestigious All-

State recognition for their

labors on the gridiron this

season. Senior speed-burner

and 1,000-yard rusher Daniel

Flowers and senior two-way

trench warrior Stanley

Schramm, both of Inland

Lakes, were honorable men-

tion along with hard-nosed

junior lineman Jacob Lentz

of Mio.

Huff, who stands 6-foot

and weighs 180, and Fox (6-3,

190) both were versatile per-formers for the Cardinals

during another eventful sea-

son that saw the team com-

plete the regular season 9-2

overall with a runner-up fin-

ish in the Ski Valley behind

unbeaten St. Ignace and earn

a playoff victory over visiting

Hillman in the first round of

the D-8 playoffs.

Huff had an incredible sea-

son, one of the best a J-L

gridiron athlete has ever pro-

duced. Huff was lights out at

linebacker on defense, roam-

ing the field like an eagle in

search of prey. He set a

school record with 207 tack-

les, including an amazing 103

solo tackles. He also madefive stops behind the line of

scrimmage with a sack and a

fumble recovery and he also

had two interceptions and

returned both for touch-

downs.

For his efforts, Huff was

named the Ski Valley

Defensive Player of the Year.

He is also among three can-

didates for the Top Choice

Player of the Year award

when the Weekly Choice

announces its annual All-

Area footbal l team in the

December 18 issue of the

paper.

But Huff did much more

than terrorize enemy ball

carriers on defense. On

offense for the explosive

Cardinals, the leg-pumping

Huff rushed for 1,000 yards

and scored 23 times. He aver-

aged an amazing 10 yards for

every carry and he showed

up big in the biggest games.

In the final five games of the

season, including the two

playoff games against

Hillman and Beal City and

the huge regular-season

showdown with Inland Lakes

in week eight, Huff recorded

totals of 168, 162, 166, 108

and 101 yards.

When you also figure in

Huffs 53 receiving yards and

a combined 286 return yards,Huff amassed 1,339 all-pur-

pose yards in 2014 for a

Cardinal team that doesnt

have one feature back but

spreads the ball around to

five or six different runners.

And thats not all. Huff also

shined on special teams for

the Cards, returning three

punts for touchdowns during

the season.

Fox also had a super sea-

son for the Cardinals. He was

in the thick of the action

from his tackle post on

defense, penetrating like a

human torpedo and wreak-

ing havoc to opponentsoffensive schemes. Fox was

responsible for taking part in

108 tackles during the sea-

son, including 51 solo stops

and seven stops behind the

line of scrimmage. The

relentless, long-armed junior

also blocked a kick, made

three sacks and had three

fumble recoveries, returning

two for touchdowns.

Fox also played a key roleon the O-line for the rampag-

ing Cardinals as a pulling

guard and he shined on spe-

cial teams as well as a kicker

and punter. Fox booted 41

extra points for J-L and had a

booming leg as a punter,

often launching the ball 40 or

50 yards down the field. He

averaged 47 yards per boot.

This is the second year in a

row that Flowers and

Schramm both earned hon-

orable mention All-State

honors and, not coinciden-

tally, it is only the second

time in school history that

Inland Lakes has made theplayoffs two years in a row.

The Bulldogs finished 7-3

this season, coming in third

in the tough Ski Valley with a

7-2 log.

The flying feet of the 5-

foot-9, 170-pound Flowers

were a formidable weapon

for the battling Bulldogs of

Coach Stan Schramm this

season, giving opposing

teams more than a fewheadaches. The fleet-footed

Flowers, fast enough to out-

run any defender in the

league and strong enough to

plow through arm tackles,

amassed more than 1,000

yards rushing for the second

straight season in spite of

being dinged up and missing

some time. He averaged an

eye-popping 11 yards per

carry while generating 1,300

yards rushing and scoring 17

times. The explosive Flowers

was also a force on special

teams, scoring on three kick-

off returns.

Stanley Schramm, the sonof Coach Schramm, finished

a notable four-year varsity

career on the gridiron for the

Bulldogs and most of that

was spent as an undersized

lineman on both sides of the

ball showing the heart of a

lion (or, in this case a

Bulldog) on every snap of

every game. Schramm was

never the biggest on the field

at 5-foot-9, 185 pounds but

he was always among the

toughest and hardest work-

ing.

Schramm was proficient at

pulling guard for the run-ori-

ented Bulldogs and he was

also a force at linebacker,

flowing to the football like a

smart bomb in cleats and

gaining a reputation for

ruggedness and physical

play.

Lentz, an imposing 6-foot-

2, 330-pound Man Mountain

in pads, shined in the trench-

es for Mio on both sides of

the ball, powering and pene-

trating into the enemy back-

field with surprising alacrity.

For his labors, he was a first-

team All-North Star League

choice on the offensive and

defensive lines in addition toearning All-State honors.

Johannesburg-Lewiston linebacker Logan Huff amassed more than 200 tackles in2014 and earned Special Mention All-State. PHOTOBY SUSIE FORD MATHEWSON)

Inland Lakes senior speedster Daniel Flowers surpassed1,000 yards rushing again and repeated as honorable

mention All-State. NANCY WI ND O F UP NORTH MI PHOTOGRAPHY)

Johannesburg-Lewiston junior Nate Fox shined as a

kicker and punter and also was an impact player on theO-line and D-line.PHOTOBY SUSIE FORD MATHEWSON)

Available exclusively at...

8/10/2019 Weekly Choice - Section B - December 04, 2014

3/14

December 4, 2014 Tell our advertisers you saw their ad in the Weekly Choice Page 3-B

LOCAL SPORTSOn-line at www.weeklychoice.com

By Mike Dunn

GAYLORD The bad news

for the Gaylord girls of Coach

Frank Hamilla as the 2014-15

season approaches is the loss

of a number of quality play-

ers to graduation. The good

news is the return of some

quality varsity players who

were underclassmen, a solid

transfer student who will be aphysical presence under the

boards, and an influx of tal-

ented players from the JV

team of Shelly Curtis that

posted a 17-3 mark a year

ago.

Gaylord finished another

productive season under

Hamillas guidance with a 13-

8 record and a very good 10-2

log in the tough Big North.

The Blue Devils are looking

to build on the positives and

learn from the negatives,

including a heartbreaking

38-34 loss to Cadillac late in

the season with the league

title on the line.The Blue Devils will be

without the services of versa-

tile Maddie Hamilla, a four-

year varsity starter in the

backcourt who is now play-

ing soccer for Northern

Michigan University, and

they will be without the long

arms of 6-foot Sydney

Gooding in the paint and

without the regular contribu-

tions of hustlers Joslyn Rider

and Lauren Hintz.

Coming back, though, are

junior Brandi Wagner, a solid

performer at wing for the

Blue Devils last year as a

sophomore on the varsity,and strong-armed senior for-

wards Lindsey Zaremba,

Cierra Woods and Sydney

Kassuba.

The versatile Wagner is a

threat handling the ball,

passing the ball, shooting

from the perimeter, penetrat-

ing to the hole and pulling

down rebounds. She was a

key factor on the floor last

year and has a valuable years

worth of varsity floor time

under her belt.

Forwards Zaremba and

Kassuba were both willing to

mix it up under the boards

last year and both showedthe ability to put the ball in

the hole and accumulate

rebounds. The 5-foot-8

Woods provides quality

depth inside along with jun-

ior Ashley May, a 5-foot-8

transfer from Johannesburg-

Lewiston who isnt afraid to

bang shoulders with anyone.

Junior Mallory Marshall,

the team captain for the JV

last year, makes the jump to

the varsity along with sopho-

mores Casey Korte and

Adrienne Edwards. The 5-

foot-8 Korte had the C-Ko

flowing big time for the

young Blue Devils last year,pouring in points from the

perimeter and showing up

strong in the paint as well.

Gaylords calling card in

recent years has been its

pressuring defense and the

Blue Devils will aspire to dis-

play the same level of suffo-

cation this season. The Blue

Devils like to score off the

transition where possible but

have shown the ability to

slow down the tempo and

score from the half-court as

well.

Gaylord opens the season

on the road this Friday, Dec.

5, against Bay City Westernand is on the road again on

Wednesday, Dec. 10, against

Grayling before opening at

home on Friday, Dec. 12,

against Big North rival

Traverse City Central.

Basketball

Hamillas troops lost solid contributors

to graduation but have solid players returning and coming up from JV

Front Row (l-r): Shelby Curtiss, Lindsey Zaremba, Sydney Kassuba, Brandi Wagner, Adrienne Edwards.

Back Row (l-r): Asst. Coach Kevin Foster, Casey Korte, Cierra Woods, Mallory Marshall, Ashley May, Head Coach Frank Hamilla. Missing from photo Ariveara Piehl

Gaylord gals have returning talent

G"+/% G/+ JV B"*"++R&/ 2014-15

C: $ C= K 5'1" G=

#5 M H 5'1" !