Week 5

This week is the fifth article in the nine-week series about the history of Frankenmuth Football in the quest for the program’s 500th win.

1990 - 1999

Playoff Success Continues – Millington Rivalry Peaks

By Al “Chick” Rodammer

Prior to the 1990 season, the playoff system was doubled from four classes to eight. This doubled the number of playoff teams to 128 teams.

The success of the past three years has made Coach Ralph Munger optimistic that the 1990 team will continue that success. For the eleventh year in a row, Muth opened up with a non-conference opener with neighboring Vassar Vulcans. A 48 – 0 was a business-like, no razzle-dazzle win with offense, defense and special teams getting the job done. Week two was a 22 – 8 win over Carrollton, seventeenth consecutive regular season win for the Eagles. In the Tri-Valley East opener, Muth would drop a 21 -10 loss to Swan Valley. Frankenmuth would bounce back with a convincing 38 – 7 non-conference win over Romulus, led by Mat Thompson’s twelve tackles and Jason Kirkpatrick added an interception and fumble recovery. In a key conference game against neighboring rival Birch Run Panthers, Birch Run jumped out to a 14 – 0 lead in the second quarter. Chris Davis’ 6-yard run narrowed the lead to 14 – 7 at the half. The Eagles tied the score in the third quarter and the teams would go into overtime with the score knotted at 14 – 14. Birch took the ball first and settled for a field goal. The Eagles scored on their possession as Jared Wood scored from 5-yards for the margin of victory 20 – 17. The following week the Eagles traveled to Hemlock and won a hard-fought battle 21 – 14. In a game, which would determine the Tri-Valley East champion, Muth would encounter the strong passing game of the Essexville Garber Dukes. Garber would take a 14 – 7 lead into halftime. On the second play in the third quarter, Mike Holzhei fumbled, but Wood grabbed the loose ball in mid air and scampered 51-yards for the score. Minutes later Quarterback Brent Brown scored on a quarterback sneak and a 21 – 14 lead. Garber came back and scored on a TD pass but failed on the two-point conversion to preserve a 21 – 20 lead. Garber put together a late game drive only to be stopped on a 4th downplay to gain the league championship. Frankenmuth ended the regular season with a 22 – 18 non-conference win over an undefeated Harbor Beach squad and a 56 – 6 rout of Caro behind Holzhei’s six rushing touchdowns. The Eagles qualified for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive time and had to travel to St. Ignace for a pre-regional game against U.P. Neguanee. Frankenmuth would score on a 37-yard Brown to Ryan Kostrzewa and a 22-yard Derek Kroeger field goal for a 9 -7 halftime lead. That score held until 2:16 remaining in the game when Neguanee scored for a 15 – 9 lead. The Eagles made a final drive down to the Negaunee 16-yard line, only to have a pass intercepted and Neguanee ran out the clock. Frankenmuth ended the season with an 8 – 2 record. Kicker/Punter Derek Kroeger received All-State honors.

In the spring of 1991, Coach Roger ‘Bud’ Tompkins became a member of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

The 1991 season brought a revised Tri-Valley East, with the return of Millington, along with former Thumb ‘B’ opponents Caro and Vassar, Birch Run, Essexville-Garber and North Branch. To open the season, Frankenmuth traveled to Tawas and came away with a 14 – 6 win, highlighted by a John Wescott 89-yard punt return. The next week, Muth trailed Vassar 21 – 20 entering the fourth quarter but scored three fourth quarter TD’s for a 39 – 21 win. Frankenmuth welcomed North Branch to the Tri-Valley East with a 40 – 0 win. The Eagles recovered eight North Branch fumbles, with Chris Robinson recovering four of the fumbles. Muth upped its record to 4 – 0 with a 26 – 6 win over previously unbeaten Caro Tigers. Jared Wood led the offense with 139 yards rushing. The following week, a 21 – 0 win over Birch Run kept the Eagles unbeaten. After a non-conference 26 – 16 win over Otisville Lakeville, the Eagles hosted Garber. The score was tied until late in the fourth quarter when the tie was broken on a Wood 13-yard run for the 15 – 8 win. This would set up a match with Millington for the Tri-Valley East Conference championship. Millington had left the league for two seasons, only to return back to the Tri-Valley. The Eagles took the game’s opening drive down to the Millington five-yard line, only to come up empty. The Eagles threatened late in the first half deep into Millington territory, only to have a pass intercepted. The score remained scoreless until the 3:57 mark of the fourth quarter, as Matt Hoard scored on a 1-yard QB sneak and the 6 – 0 defensive battle win favored Millington. Muth would end the regular season with a 20 – 0 win over Standish Sterling. In the first playoff game, Laker High dominated the Eagles 36 – 10 to end the season with an 8 – 2 record. Jared Wood received All-State recognition.

Following the 1991 season, Coach Ralph Munger resigned as Eagles Head Coach to accept a teaching position and head coaching position at Rockford High School, a large Class A school north of Grand Rapids. Coach Munger’s tenure at Frankenmuth was twelve years and a record of 87 – 30, that included four conference championships and two regional championships.

Taking over the Head Coaching position at Frankenmuth was John Blankenship. Coach Blankenship began his coaching career in 1969 as a J.V. Coach at Houghton Lake and became a Varsity Assistant Coach from 1971-1973. Blankenship moved north in 1974 to become Head Coach at Calumet for three seasons, capturing a Copper Country Conference Championship in 1974. After a one-year coaching stint at Millington, Coach Blankenship returned to Houghton Lake in 1978 and was Head Coach for fourteen years. He compiled a 91 – 36 – 2 record and seven Jack Pine Conference Championships.

The 1992 season would begin with a 14 – 12 win over Tawas for Coach Blankenship’s first win. The Eagles would drop a 37 – 22 loss to Vassar, snapping an eleven-game win streak over the Vulcans. A couple of close wins would follow, first a 21 – 13 win over North Branch, highlighted by Eric Plant’s 139 yards rushing, and a 20 – 12 win over Caro behind Quarterback Brian Toth’s 14 of 18 passing for 171 yards. The Eagles would drop a pair of games to Birch Run and Lakers before getting their fourth win of the season with a 20 – 6 victory over Garber, led by Jerrod Burk’s 117 yards rushing. For the final Tri-Valley East game of the season, undefeated Millington would travel to Frankenmuth and defeat the Eagles 33 – 21. Muth would end the season with a 5 – 4 record with a 35 – 12 season finale win over Standish Sterling, as Eric Plant paced the ground attack with 135 yards. Toth would pass for 1001 yards with John Wescott his favorite target with 36 receptions for the season.

The 1993 season opened with a non-conference game against Bridgeport, an eventual Tri-Valley East team in 1994. Eagle running back Tony Weiss shined in the game with 174 yards rushing, four touchdowns and a 90-yard kickoff return in a 40 – 20 win. Vassar would be the next opponent, and a 27 – 22 comeback win, with the winning score with only 1:17 remaining in the game on a Jerrod Burk 10-yard run. A 21 – 8 win over North Branch was followed by another comeback 22 – 18 win over Millington. Burk rushed for 70 yards, recovered a fumble and amassed fifteen tackles in the victory. A non-conference loss to Lakers 24 – 19 was the first loss of the season. The Eagles would travel to Birch Run and defeat the Panthers 21 – 14 to set up a conference championship battle against unbeaten Caro. The win over Birch Run, was the 250th win in program history. Caro would claim the prize with a decisive 40 – 13 win despite Weiss’ 170 yards rushing. The season would end with a 29 -15 win over Standish Sterling, again led by Weiss with 184 yards rushing. Tony Weiss ended the season with 1114 yards rushing and All-State recognition. A 7 – 2 record was the final tally for the 1993 season.

To start the 1994 season, the Eagles traveled to play a non-conference game against Standish Sterling. Frankenmuth jumped out to a quick 14 – 0 lead, but mistakes by the Eagles kept the game in doubt until twelve seconds in the final quarter. Standish scored on a two-yard run, making the score 14 – 13. Standish chose to go for two for the win, rather than the tie. Mark Kramer, an Eagle linebacker knifed through the Standish line to sack the Standish quarterback to preserve the narrow win. Muth opened Tri-Valley East action with wins over Vassar 29 – 7 and North Branch 34 – 6. This would setup a match with Millington that would prove to be the battle for the TVC East title. The game can be summed up as “Overtime Confusion”.

The Eagles trailed 6 – 0 at the half. In the second half, Coach Blankenship employed an unbalanced, spread-out offense called “Captain Jack”. It worked as the Eagles took a 12 – 6 lead. The two teams exchanged scores to give the Eagles a 20 – 14 lead. Millington tied the score with a little more than two minutes remaining, but the two-point try failed and a 20 – 20 tie into overtime. Millington scored first in overtime for a 26 – 20 lead. The Eagles first play they were penalized five yards. On second down, quarterback Joe Jacobs found Scott Nemec for a TD pass. Here’s where the confusion entered when an official called offensive pass interference. Coach Blankenship explained to the referee how it couldn’t be interference when Nemec had his back to the defender. The officials had a long discussion and changed the call to be an illegal receiver. The yardage marked off seemed excessive, making it third and forty. The officials marked off the yardage from the point of the infraction rather than the correct call of the line of scrimmage. Again, the officials huddled and changed the spot to third and thirty. On third down, Jacobs fired a pass to Mark Zeilinger for twenty yards to make a fourth and ten. The fourth down pass fell incomplete, and the win went to Millington. The Eagles bounced back with a win over Garber 28 – 6, followed by a 37 – 0 victory over Bridgeport. In a 28 – 13 win over Birch Run, the passing combination of Jacobs183 yards passing and Zeilinger receiving for 121 yards paved the way. A 30 – 12 win over Caro, led by Matt Walderzak’s thirteen tackles, set up a must win non-conference finale against Lakers to make the playoffs. Lakers took an 8 – 0 lead into halftime and a 16 – 13 lead into the fourth quarter. But in the final quarter, the determined Eagles scored three times in a matter of five minutes for a 35 – 24 victory. Nemec finished the game with 183 yards rushing. In the pre-regional game against Corunna , the opponent was too powerful for the Eagles in a 49 – 26 loss and a 8 – 2 final season record. Mark Zeilinger received All-State mention with 38 pass receptions. Jacobs surpassed the 1000 yard passing mark with 1127 yards.

1995 would bring a lot of cautious optimism going into the season with many key returning seniors. The season opened with a bang as a forty-two-point first half against Standish-Sterling paced the way for a 49 – 12 win. Next victim was Bridgeport 35 – 14 led by linebacker Matt Walderzak’s eighteen tackles. The next two weeks were wins over neighboring teams in Birch Run 28 – 6 and Vassar 36 – 0. The defense shined in a 42 – 6 victory over North Branch, limiting the Broncos to nineteen yards total offense. This would set up a conference deciding clash with Millington again. A Joe Jacobs 1-yard run gave Muth a 7 – 0 halftime lead. Frankenmuth added two second-half scores on a Jacobs to Adam Kern 60-yard TD pass play and a second Jacobs rushing touchdown. Paul Seckora led the ground game with 169 yards in the 21 – 6 win over the rivals. The Eagles continued to cruise with a 34 – 14 win over Garber to clinch the Tri-Valley East Championship. A non-conference 20 – 14 win over Laker’s ended the regular season undefeated where Walderzak recorded twenty-seven tackles. The opening round of the playoffs would be a rematch with the 8 -1 Millington team on a Saturday afternoon. The Eagles cruised to victory 42 – 14 behind Jacobs three touchdown passes. The Class ‘B’ Regional Championship would be a match against 10 – 0 Montrose Rams. With howling winds, driving snow and bitter cold temperatures, the elements would play a factor. The two football powers battled to a 12 – 12 tie at the half. In the second half, the Eagle defense led by Walderzak, Scott Stasik, Dave Compau, and Mark Bergdolt would not allow a first down. After a scoreless third quarter, the Eagles put together a 15 play – 65-yard drive taking over seven minutes, capped by a Chris Cramer 1-yard run to ice the 19 – 12 championship win in one of the most memorable games in Frankenmuth football history. Frankenmuth would bow out in the semi-finals to eventual Class State Champions Detroit Country Day 28 – 15. An 11 – 1 record ended an outstanding season. Joe Jacobs would pace the offense with 1085 yards passing, 813 yards rushing and scoring nineteen touchdowns. Walderzak tallied 160 tackles followed by safety Bergdolt with 111 tackles and Compau with 11 QB sacks. Jacobs and Walderzak would each be All-State recipients.

The 1996 season would open up with two shutout wins over Standish Sterling 28 – 0 and Bridgeport 41 – 0. A 42 – 7 win over Birch Run was highlighted by four Pat Walderzak touchdowns and 188 yards rushing. A third shutout in four games over Vassar was led by 439 yards rushing with Chris Cramer’s 200 yards rushing and Walderzak’s 176 yards rushing. Caro would be the next team to get defeated by the Eagles, 30 – 12. Walderzak would tally 17 tackles in the Caro win. In key Tri-Valley East game, the Eagles dropped a 28 – 22 contest to Millington. Coach Blankenship quoted “I was very pleased with our effort. They played their hearts out. No matter how much we screwed up, the team played extremely hard”. Still fighting to get a share of the Tri-Valley East Championship, the Eagles would come up with a 28 – 7 win over North Branch, behind Chad Stasik and Walderzak’s eighteen tackles and a high scoring 35 – 31 win over Garber. Frankenmuth, Millington, and Birch Run would share the Tri-Valley East Championship, each with a 6 -1 conference record. In a regular season finale, the Eagles would score 20 first quarter points and hang on for a 23 – 22 win over Lakers, with the winning score a Caleb Hart 22-yard field goal. In a rematch of last year’s regional championship game versus Montrose, the Rams got their revenge with a convincing 43 – 21 win. An 8 – 2 record would end the season for Frankenmuth. Chris Cramer would rush for 1011 yards and Stasik, Walderzak, and Mark Bergdolt would have over 100 tackles for the season. Bergdolt and Stasik would each receive All-State recognition.

Prior to the 1997 season, Coach John Blankenship was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame, joining fellow Eagle coaches Harry Kaczynski and Bud Tompkins as Hall of Fame coaches.

1997 would return a large portion of the past season’s offensive production in leading rusher Chris Cramer and Pat Walderzak and quarterback Jamie Carnes. In the non-conference opener versus Standish Sterling, eleven seconds into the game, Carnes would connect with Mark Vance on a 65-yard TD pass play to help ignite a twenty-seven-point outburst by Frankenmuth in a 55 – 6 win. A 42 – 0 win over Garber would follow a meeting with Millington. In a heavy rainstorm throughout the game, the Alumni Field in Millington was swamp like playing condition. This would not derail the Muth offense as they dominated the Cardinals 41 – 12. Cramer’s 188 yards rushing, including an 80-yard TD run led the way. 36 – 0 win over Caro and a 42 – 6 win over North Branch in dominating fashion ran the Eagles record to 5 – 0 for the season. On homecoming, the 1997 teams’ dominance continued with a 48 – 14 win over Vassar. In a 35 – 0 win over Birch Run, the offense accumulated 480 yard of offense and with a 44 - 21 win over Bridgeport, the Eagles won their third straight Tri-Valley East Championship. A 21 – 14 win over Lakers would end the season with a 9 – 0 regular season mark. In the opening round of the playoffs, The Eagles would host Alma. Alma would score the first points of the game to take a 6 – 0 lead. Long TD runs by Cramer and Walderzak would give the Eagles a 14 – 6 halftime lead. Walderzak would add a second half score for the 21 – 6 final score. Both Cramer and Walderzak would rush for over a hundred yards each in the win. For the Regional Championship against Chesaning, the Eagle defense limited the Indians to 89 yards of total offense and picked off five passes. Two Carnes to Vance long TD pass reception touchdowns was enough offense for the championship. A trip to Flint’s Atwood Stadium would pit a match between the Eagles and Riverview in a semi-final match. Riverview’s dominating rushing attack and two costly Eagle fumbles returned for touchdowns, proved costly in a 41 – 14 loss for the Eagles. An 11 – 1 record for the second time in three years would be led by two 1000-yard rushers in Chris Cramer with 1333 yards and Pat Walderzak with 1045 yards. Walderzak led the defense in tackles with 139, followed by Steve Doerr’s 105 stops. Walderzak and Cramer were each All-State selections.

To open the 1998 season, the Eagles took advantage of Standish-Sterling miscues and posted a 21 – 6 victory over the Panthers. Jamie Tackabury’s 105 yards rushing led the offense. To open the Tri-Valley East action, the Eagles trio of Tackabury 153 yards rushing, Andy Kreger 151 yards, and Nathan Wellman 112 yards led the rushing attack. Jon Zeilinger led the defense with 15 tackles. In a win over Birch Run 27 – 8 was followed by a 34 – 6 win over Bridgeport behind quarterback Wellman’s 6 of 10 passing for 141 yards, with Dan Radwick receiving 133 of those yards. Jon Zeilinger picked up 18 tackles for the defense for the second week in a row. Forty-one first-half points in a 55 – 14 vanquishing of Vassar would run the season record to 5 – 0 with another conference-determining game against Millington looming. Against the Cardinals, the Eagles found themselves down 21 – 0 at halftime, but the Eagles battled back. A Tackabury three-yard run, and a Matt Rittmueller twenty-yard interception return narrowed the lead to 21 – 14. Two fourth-quarter touchdowns by Millington secured the 35 – 14 win for the Cardinals. Frankenmuth would have to bounce back quickly as they had to travel to compete against the 6 – 0 Caro Tigers. Caro jumped out to a 13 – 6 halftime lead. On the first drive of the second half, the Eagles possessed for nearly ten minutes to score on Wellman one-yard run to tie the game and later Wellman would score again for the Eagles to take a 20 – 13 lead. Caro would drive down to the Eagle 1-yard line late in the game, but the defense would make a stand to preserve the 20 – 13 win. Next was a 46 – 0 win over Garber, where Kreger would rush for 235 yards on only eight attempts. The Eagles 6 – 1 conference record was good for second place behind Millington. The regular season would conclude with a 27 – 22 win over Lakers. Muth trailed 22 – 21 with one last drive needed to win. Kreger scored with only ten seconds remaining for the margin of victory in the 27 – 22 win. Tackabury’s 135 yards rushing followed Kreger’s 133 yards rushing paving the way. The Eagles would open playoff action by traveling to Chesaning and were soundly beaten 35 – 7 to end the season with an 8 – 2 record. The team had two 1000 yard rushers with Tackabury with 1050 and Kreger with 1000. Zeilinger had an excellent season on defense with 129 tackles and for his efforts, he received All-State mention.

Prior to the 1999 season, the MHSAA expanded the playoffs to 256 teams and eight divisions. All six-win teams automatically qualify as do five-win teams that play an eight-game season.

With many seniors and key contributors graduating from last year’s team, the 1999 team would be a young inexperienced unit. The season opener against Standish-Sterling had opening game jitters in a 15 – 12 win. Muth jumped out to a 15 – 0 lead. but Standish battled back in the fourth quarter to score twice to narrow the lead. FHS covered the on-side kick attempt to run out the clock. A couple of long drives in a 14 – 0 win, doomed Birch Run. A 15-play 80-yard drive and a 20-play, 65-yard drive that consumed over nine minutes of possession each resulted in scores. Trailing 12 – 7 at the half against Bridgeport, the Muth squad rallied in the second half to claim a 21 – 12 win. Adam Bender and Andy Wellman led the defense with 13 and 11 tackles respectively. The win over Bridgeport, was the 300th in Frankenmuth Football history. The Eagles remained unbeaten with a 35 – 0 win over Garber and a 32 – 22 victory over Vassar. In the Vassar win, Ben Sellenraad scored twice on the way to a 191-yard rushing performance. Another showdown with Millington would be a determining factor in the Tri-Valley East but did not turn out well for the Eagles. A lopsided 35 – 0 loss in a game dominated by the Cardinals, gave Muth their first loss of the season. A narrow 14 – 7 win over Caro followed when a Bruce Dietrich interception in the endzone on the last play of the game preserved the win. The Eagles ended the Tri-Valley East schedule with a 35 – 8 win over North Branch, giving the Eagles a share of the league title with Millington and Birch Run. A ball control offense was the winning formula in a regular season ending non-conference game against Lakers in a 21 – 6 win. The Eagles hosted the opening MHSAA district playoff game but defending Class CC State Champion Montrose defeated the Eagles 35 – 0. An 8 – 2 record would be the final season tally. Offensive lineman Josh Dodak received All-State accolades.

The 1990’s decade ended with five conference championships, eight playoff appearances, and two regional championships. An overall record of 82 – 20 and a .804 winning percentage proved the continuing success of Frankenmuth Football during the 1990’s. After forty-four years of Frankenmuth Football, and an overall record of 305 – 95 – 4, would a new century continue football’s success? Next week, the sixth article in the nine-week series of the history of Frankenmuth Football features the 2000-2009 seasons.