This is the fourth article in the nine-week series about the history of Frankenmuth Football in celebration of 500 Wins in the 69-year history.
1980 - 1989
1980’s – New Coach and Beginning of the Playoff
By Al “Chick” Rodammer
With the reassignment of 14-year Head Coach Budd Tompkins, Frankenmuth announced twenty-seven-year-old Ralph Munger as third Head Coach in Frankenmuth Football history. Munger helped lead Frankenmuth to the 1968 & 1969 Class ‘C’ State Championships as an All-State player. A four-year player at River Forest Concordia in Chicago and also playing semi-pro football in Chicago, Munger returned to Frankenmuth in 1977 and coached at the freshmen level from 1977 – 1979.
In Ralph Munger’s first game as head coach, the 1980 Eagles lost a close 14 – 13 contest to Vassar. The Eagles led 13 – 0 in the first quarter but could not break the scoring column the rest of the game. After a loss to Carrollton to open Tri-Valley action, the Eagles got in the win column with a 13 – 12 overtime win against Essexville Garber. Neither team scored in the 1st overtime period. In the 2nd overtime, the Eagles had the ball first and scored on a Jim Mertz to Jack Wolohan 14-yard pass play and Paul vonBehren converted the all-important PAT. Garber scored in their turn, but Pete Reif rocked the ball loose on the failed PAT attempt. Losses to Swan Valley and Bullock Creek, had the Eagles with a 1 – 4 record. A homecoming 21 – 8 win over Birch Run was followed by a 13 - 7 loss to Millington. The Eagles had lost five consecutive games to Hemlock since 1975, but that streak would end in 1980 with a 17 – 0 win over the Huskies. The Eagle defense were recipients of four Hemlock turnovers. The Eagles would end the season with a 4 – 5 record with a win over Caro 18 – 8.
With 21 returning lettermen and squad of 42 players, optimism was high entering the 1981 season. A season opening 17 – 0 win over Vassar showed the formula that would carry the team throughout the season. The defense allowed only 54 yards of offense, 112 yards rushing by Andy Barger, and Junior Quarterback Jim Mertz passing for 135 yards. In a key Tri-Valley game, the Eagles beat Hemlock 20 -14 behind Mertz’s 175 yards passing and Mike Bruns and Pete Reif with 13 tackles each. Wins over Carrolton, 19 – 7 and Garber, 20 – 0, was followed by a 14 – 6 hard fought win over Swan Valley. Linebackers Todd Smith and Mike Bruns led the defense with 12 tackles each. A shutout 34 – 0 win over Bullock Creek set up a game with Birch Run between two unbeaten teams. The Eagles took a 20 – 0 lead into halftime and continued to dominate in the second half in a 27 – 0 win. Mertz was 17 0f 25 passing for 232 yards, Brian Kruecher rushed for 145 yards, and Reif and Bruns led the defense with 16 and 12 tackles respectively. Only a win over once beaten Millington stood in the way of a Tri-Valley Championship. The rivalry between Frankenmuth and Millington would be on full display in this contest at Millington. The bus ride over to Millington was escorted by the Frankenmuth Police. Large groups of fans lined the streets as the team exited for Millington and as the bus reached the Geyer Brewery, they blew the famous Geyer whistle. Coach Munger stood up on the bus and yelled with all his intensity “We Can’t Lose Men”. 5,000 people jammed into the Millington Alumni Field, as the proximity of the fans are near the field. The many chants from the Millington faithful such as “Beat Chicken City” added to the electric atmosphere for the game. After giving up an early score to Millington, the Eagles scored three unanswered scores to take a 21 – 7 lead into halftime. Millington narrowed the score to 21 – 14 before the Eagles scored late in the 3rd quarter to take a 28 – 14 lead. Millington would score on a late fourth quarter interception return, but the Eagles would hang on for a 28 – 21 victory and the first conference championship for the program since 1969. After two emotional games, the Eagles would end the season with an opportunity for a undefeated season against Caro. Entering the game, Frankenmuth had recorded four shutouts and allowed only forty-seven points. Linebacker Pete Reif stated, “All of the great Eagles football teams of the past have lived by their defense, and we don’t want to be the exception.” The game indeed was a real defensive battle. The big play came in the second quarter when Jack McConnell caught a Caro player in the end zone for a safety. The Eagles had several sustained drives and good scoring opportunities, but they just could not manage to push for a score. The second quarter safety would be the only scoring in an unusual 2 – 0 win, to complete a 9 – 0 season. Unfortunately, the undefeated Eagle team did not qualify for the playoffs. The Eagles offense was led by Barger’s 1003 yards rushing, Mertz’s 1287 yards passing and Brian Showerman grabbed seven interceptions, a season Frankenmuth record. Mike Bruns was a consensus first team All-State honoree.
1982 would open the season with a three-year starting Quarterback in Jim Mertz. Mertz’s 161 yards passing opened the season with a 28 – 0 win over Vassar. In the Tri-Valley opener, the Eagles stumbled in a cold steady rain at Hemlock, dropping a 14 – 6 game. The Eagles would bounce back with a 30 – 8 win over Carrollton where the Eagle defense intercepted five passes as Mike Thompson had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. A double overtime 20 – 14 thriller over Garber ended on a 10-yard Craig Bickel run. Next a 24 – 7 win over Swan Valley and a 35 – 6 win over Bullock Creek, where Mike Bender would score three times with a kickoff and punt return for scores, the only time to date that had been done in Frankenmuth history. In the same game. This would set up a conference championship contest with a motivated Birch Run squad. The Panthers dominated the Eagles in a 33 – 0 win. The Eagles would end the season with a 45 – 15 win over Millington behind Brian Kruecher’s 138 yards rushing and a non-conference narrow win over Caro 23 – 22, led by the passing combination of Mertz to Bob Maccani. The season would end with a 7 – 2 record. Jim Mertz would end his career as an All-State selection.
The 1983 season was again opened with Vassar and the Eagles defeated the Vulcans 34 – 14 behind Craig Bickel’s 102 yards rushing and Jim Satow’s 148 yards passing. Frankenmuth would lose its next five games in frustrating fashion. A 14 – 10 loss to Millington, 33 – 27 loss to a good Hemlock team, a 9 – 7 loss to Carrollton on a last second field goal, a 26 – 0 loss to eventual league champs Garber, and dropping a 19 – 10 game to Swan Valley. The team would rally to finish the season with three consecutive wins. In a 55 – 12 win over Bullock Creek, the offense would tally 716 yards of offense, led by Jim Satow’s 382 yards passing and Kevin Kulow’s 229 yards rushing. Next was a 14 – 13 come-from-behind win over Birch Run where Kulow would record a program record 28 tackles and a season ending 39 – 14 win over Caro. In the Caro win, Kulow would rush for 166 yards and have 17 tackles on defense. Satow would pass for 1657 yards for the season and Kulow would tally 138 tackles. Kulow would garner All-State recognition.
A 19 – 2 win over Vassar started the 1984 season. Vassar threatened throughout the game as they were inside the Eagle 10-yard line three times but failed to score. A couple of close losses would follow with a 21 – 13 overtime loss to Millington and a 13 – 6 loss to Hemlock. The Eagles would get back in the win column with a 8 – 7 win over Carrollton when Kris Genske would score on a 37- yard TD run on a 4th down and 37 yard play in the 4th quarter. Mike Beckert would run in the two-point conversion for the win. The next two weeks, Frankenmuth would be beaten soundly by Garber and Swan Valley. Tim Gibson would throw five TD passes against Bullock Creek in a 49 – 12 win. Birch Run would score with twenty-two seconds left in a 19 – 13 loss. The season would end with a 35 – 18 win over Caro for a second consecutive 4 – 5 season. Gibson passed for 1296 yards as the team relied heavily on the passing game.
Prior to the 1985 season, another round was added to the playoffs, using playoff points to determine the top four teams in each region in each four classes, opening the playoffs to four rounds of games featuring a total of 64 teams.
In 1985, The Eagles would open the season with a fifth consecutive win over Vassar by a 21 – 6 score. Tim Gibson’s 154 yards passing, and Randy Smith’s two interceptions led the win. In the Tri-Valley conference opener, the Eagles would lose a hard-fought game to Birch Run 22 – 18. The back-and-forth game would have Frankenmuth leading 18 – 16 entering the fourth quarter, but a Panthers 41-yard TD pass play would doom the Eagles. The game would turn out to be the deciding game for the Tri-Valley Championship. Convincing wins over Millington, 48 – 13 behind Tim Gibson’s 161 yards passing and Hemlock, 48 – 13, upped the ‘85’ team record to 3 -1. A couple of close wins over Carrollton, 14 – 0 in a rain game, where Randy Smith opened the game with a 90-yard kickoff return score, and a 13 – 10 win over Garber, scoring late in the fourth quarter on a Mike Beckert 3-yard run. Frankenmuth’s next victim was defeating Swan Valley 24 – 0. A blowout 49 – 8 win over Bullock Creek would end the Tri-Valley season with a 6 -1 record. Frankenmuth closed the season with a 28 – 0 whitewash of Caro, led by Kris Genske’s three TDs, for a seventh consecutive win and an 8 – 1 record but falling short in playoff points to qualify for the playoffs. Gibson had a second consecutive 1000 yard passing season with 1295, with his favorite target being Smith with 32 receptions. Gibson and Smith each received All-State recognition.
1986 would return only thirteen seniors and a strong Junior class. Muth would open again with a non-conference tilt against Vassar and defeated the Vulcans 27 – 0. Running back Mike Beckert’s 141 yards rushing and the defense holding Vassar to under 100 yards of offense led the way. The Eagles would stumble in the Tri-Valley League opener to Birch Run 16 – 6. A 23 – 10 win over Millington was spearheaded by Beckert with 16 tackles and 102 yards rushing. A 20 – 0 win over Hemlock was highlighted by a game opening 85-yard kickoff return by Scott Jacobs. A disappointing 13 – 6 loss to Carrollton was followed by a 7 – 0 loss to Garber. With three games left in the season, Frankenmuth would end the season with three wins. A third shutout win of the season in a 21 – 0 win over Swan Valley, a 39 – 14 victory over Bullock Creek behind Beckert’s 170 yards rushing and four touchdowns, and a season finale win over Caro 41 – 22, again highlighted by Beckert with 192 yards rushing and 13 tackles. The 1986 season ended with a 6 – 3 record. Beckert ended the season with 1133 yards rushing and led the team in tackles with 97, earning him All-State recognition.
With a strong senior class returning for the 1987 season, optimism was high. The Eagles opened the season with Vassar and found themselves in a first half battle with a 7 – 7 tie at half. Muth would score twice in the second half for a 21 – 7 win. It should be noted that the lone Vassar score was a 46-yard pass reception by Phil Martin. Yes, the same Phil Martin who is the current Eagle Head Coach. In a 28 – 0 win over Bullock Creek, Quarterback Myron Maurer connected with Scott Jacobs on two TD passes. A 27 – 0 win over Birch Run set up a key Tri-Valley contest with Millington. The Eagles jumped out to a 24 – 0 lead only to have Millington storm back in the second half to narrow the lead 24 – 20 late in the fourth quarter. A Paul Sica interception in the final minutes stopped a Cardinals drive as he scored with five seconds remaining in the game for the 31 – 20 final score. A 30 – 0 win over Hemlock was spearheaded by special teams as Jacobs returned a 78-yard kickoff return and kicker/punter Jim Shields outstanding punting, including a 67-yard bomb, pinned the Huskies deep all game long. A 45 – 6 win over Carrollton was led by the pressure defense of “Twin Towers” defensive ends Steve Heinlein and Troy Reinert. The win over Carrollton was the program’s 200
th win. The Eagles recorded their fourth shutout of the season with a 45 – 0 dethroning of the Garber Dukes. Maurer completed 8 of 14 passes for 200 yards, with Jacobs’ seven receptions for 197 yards. Muth clinched the Tri-Valley Championship with a 37 – 8 win over Swan Valley highlighted by a Jacobs 93-yard kickoff return to start the game. The regular season ended with a 28 – 6 win over Caro for a 9 – 0 regular season, but more importantly, the first time the Eagle program qualified for the playoffs. A 208-mile trip to Cheboygan against the 4th ranked Chiefs would be the playoff opening challenge. The players knew Cheboygan’s reputation and past success entering the game. Defensive Coordinator Harry Weston recalled the spirted and intense week of practice leading up to the first ever playoff game for Frankenmuth. A Saturday afternoon game in a jam-packed red and gray crowd of over 1500 faithful fans on a crisp but gorgeous day for football. Cheboygan would score first in the opening quarter to take a 7 – 0 lead. A Shields’ punt pinned Cheboygan deep in their own territory, forcing a punt which Mike Weiss partially blocked and the Eagles took over on the 12-yard line. Sica would score on the first play to even the score at 7 – 7. Heinlein again blocked a Cheboygan punt and a Maurer to Jacobs 18-yard TD pass play gave Frankenmuth the lead. Cheboygan evened the score only to have Muth score on a Maurer to Mike Schmelzer TD pass. With no time remaining in the first half, Cheboygan would score to deadlock the contest 21 – 21 at the half. At the 3:23 mark of the third quarter, Schmelzer would score from 22-yards and Lance O’Donnel’s interception with thirteen seconds remaining in the game sealed the upset win for the Eagles. This game proved to be a mental springboard for Frankenmuth’s future run in the MHSAA playoffs. The win would set up a Regional Championship game at Alma College against the 10 - 0 Chesaning Indians. Frankenmuth would take a 3 – 0 lead in the 1st quarter on a Shields’ 25-yard field goal. After the Eagle defense again stopped Chesaning, Maurer and Jacobs hooked up on a 79-yard pass play for a 10 – 0 Muth lead. Chesaning would threaten three times in the second half, only to be denied for the 10 – 0 Regional Championship win. The defense was led by Sica’s ten tackles and Mike Jannsen’s nine tackles. In the semi-final game again at Alma College, the Eagles would drop a 41 – 7 contest to Class ‘B’ State Champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Frankenmuth would end the season with an 11 – 1 record, the most wins in a season up to that date. Jacobs and Shields would be named First Team All-State members.
Coach Munger’s 1988 team would open the season with a narrow 10 – 6 win over Vassar. In week two, the Eagles suffered their first regular season loss since 1986, dropping a 21 – 14 decision to Bullock Creek. Muth fell behind 21 – 0 at the half and the comeback fell short despite Mike Janssen’s 15 tackles. The next week, Frankenmuth took a 17 – 0 lead into halftime, but Birch Run dominated the second half and scored twenty unanswered points to take a 20 – 17 win over the Eagles. With a 1 – 2 record after three games, the 1988 team had their backs up against the wall. The season turnaround would start with a 31 – 0 win over Millington where the defense limited the Cardinals to 86 yards of offense. The next week was a trip to Hemlock. The Eagles trailed 7 – 6 at the half and that score would hold until twenty-one seconds remained when Pete VanderHaar kicked a 20-yard field goal for a 9 – 7 victory. Next, a 31 – 0 win over Carrollton was highlighted by an opening game kickoff return of 84 yards by Scott Jackson for a TD. Jackson would add three more scores for the decisive win. The Eagles would extend their win streak to four games with a 24 – 6 win over Garber. The defense was led by Dale Poellet’s fifteen tackles. A 19 – 6 win over Swan Valley and the season ended 20 – 0 win over Caro to end the regular season with a 7 – 2 record. Frankenmuth would finish fourth in the Class B Region to set up a rematch with the 9 – 0 Birch Run Panthers. Birch Run jumped out to a 12 – 0 lead before Jackson scored on a 20-yard run on the last play of the first quarter. Birch Run would take a 12 – 7 lead into halftime. The second half was all Eagles. Jannsen would score on a five- yard run and two Jackson rushing scores to take a 28 – 12 lead. Birch Run would score in the final seconds of the game for the 28 – 18 final score. The Regional Championship would be a rematch with Cheboygan at Clare High School. After the first quarter, the score stood 14 – 14. In the second quarter, Chad Potts recovered a fumble after a bone- crunching tackle by Janssen and Jackson would score from four yards out and take a 21 – 14 lead into halftime. The Eagles added a third quarter score and the defense held Cheboygan scoreless after the first quarter for a 28 – 14 Regional Championship victory. The
win was the eighth straight win for the team after the 1 -2 season start. In the semi-final game at Alma against St. Joseph, St. Joe’s jumped out to a 16 – 0 lead. In the fourth quarter, David Grueber scored on a 55-yard run and a successful two-point conversion to make the score 16 – 8. After a Jay Andrews interception, Grueber scored with 2:15 remaining but the game tying two-point conversion was no good and St. Joe’s ran out the clock in a 16 – 14 loss. A 9 – 3 record was led by Jackson’s eighteen touchdowns and Poellet registered 135 tackles to earn him All-State recognition.
The 1989 season would be in the newly created Tri-Valley East Division. A 49 – 0 win over Vassar would open the season. In a Tri-Valley East 30 – 0 win over Carrollton, Dave Grueber had 132 yards rushing. Muth would defeat Swan Valley 39 – 14 behind Quarterback Jeff Stanton’s 151 yards passing. A non-conference 26 – 6 win over Romulus was highlighted by a Stanton to Todd Sebold 80-yard touchdown pass play. A trip to Birch Run brought a 33 – 20 win. The Eagles won their sixth game of the season in a thrilling 35 – 28 overtime win over Hemlock. Hemlock scored with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to tie the score at 28 – 28, but Chad Potts blocked the PAT to force the game into overtime. The Eagles scored first in overtime and Hemlock’s turn on offense was stopped on pass breakups by Jared Wood and Jason Kirkpatrick. In the game that would decide the Tri-Valley East Championship, the Eagles took a 14 – 0 lead over Essexville Garber. Early in the fourth quarter, a Stanton to Sebold 13-yard TD passing play upped the lead to 22 – 8. Garber stormed back with two touchdowns, but on the latter TD, Garber two-point try failed and the score stood at 22 – 20. A Wood interception in the final minute of the game sealed the win and the Tri-Valley East Championship. Muth would end the season with two non-conference game routs of Freeland 56 – 6 and Caro 41 – 7 for a perfect 9 – 0 regular season. In the opening round of the playoffs and the first ever playoff home game, the third year in a row playoff opponent was the Cheboygan Chiefs. Cheboygan would jump out to a 28 – 0 halftime lead and eventually win by a 45 – 26 score. Stanton was 12 of 19 passing for 212 yards. Todd Sebold would get All-State recognition.
The 1980’s would bring three Tri-Valley Championships, three playoff appearances including two Regional Championships and a 71 – 26 record. After thirty-four years of Frankenmuth Football, the overall program record is 223 – 75 – 4. What would the 1990’s bring? More Playoff Success? More Championships? Next week we will look at the era of the 1990’s.