Week 6

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

2000 - 2009

Coaching Changes—Record Running Back

By Al “Chick” Rodammer

With the turn of the century, the 2000 season returns the bulk of the offensive production. 2000 will be the ninth and final season for Coach John Blankenship, as he will concentrate on being the Athletic Director at Frankenmuth after the season. The Eagles opened the season at home against Redford Bishop Borgess and came away with a 21 – 7 win. Frankenmuth started the Tri-Valley East action with a 28 – 13 win over Garber. Quarterback Zak McClellan was 8 of 10 passing for 154 yards. The Eagle gridders suffered their first loss of the season to Birch Run by a 32 – 22 score. The Eagle offense tallied 400 yards of offense, but critical calls, fumbling near the goal line and poor tackling were a few of the reasons for the loss. QB McClellan was 14 of 24 passing and Bruce Dietrich posted a record thirteen receptions for 155 yards. Muth got back on the winning track with a 19 – 7 win over Caro, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to break a 7 – 7 tie. The next week would be the rivalry matchup with Millington, in a game that would again be key in the Tri-Valley East Championship chase. Millington came into the game undefeated in league play and possessed a strong rushing attack. The game was delayed for over an hour because of lightning. The Eagles got on the board first less than three minutes into the contest on a McClellan to Ben Sellenraad pass play. Millington would get on the scoreboard on an interception return for a TD. Ryan Kellom would score on a short TD run for a 14 – 6 lead for the Eagles at the half. Kellom would score late in the third quarter to up the Eagle lead to 21 – 6 entering the fourth quarter. A Cardinal score narrowed the lead to 21 – 12 in the fourth quarter. At the 8:46 mark of the 4th quarter, lightning in the area caused the officials to pull off the teams for a 30-minute delay. Offensive lineman Nick Rodammer recalls “The second delay was the longest thirty minutes of my life. I don’t think the anticipation of getting back on the field could have been higher. Every person in the locker room knew what was going to happen as soon as we got back on the field.” Coming out of the locker room after the delay, the inspired Eagle offense marched down the field, capped off by a 5-yard TD pass play. Millington would score on the last play of the game for the 28 – 18 final score. The game ended at 11:35 pm. Back in the Tri-Valley East race, the Eagles would defeat Vassar 28 – 14 and Bridgeport 45 – 33. A 28 – 0 shutout win over North Branch, led by Andy Wellman’s linebacker play, gave the Eagles a share of the Tri-Valley East Championship with Millington and Birch Run. Muth would close the regular season with a hard fought 34 – 20 non-conference win over Lakers 34 – 20. The opening game of the playoffs was a rematch with Birch Run on their home field. The Eagles scored early and often, playing a near flawless game, scoring on every possession and forcing a running clock. The key play came early on the second play from scrimmage when Adam Bender recovered a Birch Run fumble and the Eagles never looked back in a 56 – 12 convincing victory. In the second round of playoffs, Muth faced a strong Montrose team and dropped a 25 – 19 contest. Bender led the defense with 16 tackles. Muth would end the season with a 9 – 2 record. McClellan would pass for 1031 yards and Wellman would lead the team with 90 tackles. Bruce Dietrich would receive All-State mention.

As mentioned earlier, John Blankenship would resign his coaching duties to concentrate on Athletic Director duties. In nine season he recorded a 75 – 18 record which included five Tri-Valley Championships and two Regional Championships.

The new Eagles coach would be Roger Bearss. Coach Bearss played three varsity seasons at rival Millington and was a four-year player at Central Michigan University. Coach Bearss started his coaching career at Bad Axe, two as the Head Coach. From 1994 – 1997 he was the Head Coach at Frankfort. From 1998 – 2000 he coached in the Upper Peninsula at Newberry before accepting the head coaching position at Frankenmuth.

The 2001 season would open with a 29 – 7 win over North Branch as the Eagles out rushed the Bronco’s 353 yards to 31 yards. The next week after an hour delay due to lightning, the Caro Tigers crushed the Eagles 33 – 0. With a new twist to the Millington rivalry, Coach Bearss would coach against his high school coach Tim Furno. The game was the first game on Millington’s new field. The game was decided on a missed two-point conversion with less than three minutes remaining in the game after the Eagles had narrowed the lead to 14 – 12. Millington would run out the clock for the win. The game was played days after the 9/11 tragedy and both teams and fans congregated on the field after the game to sing “God Bless America”. Muth came back with a 26 – 25 win over neighboring Vassar led by Ryan Kellom’s 108 yards rushing. Consecutive losses to Bridgeport 25 -15 and Garber 20 – 7) would follow before a 24 – 7 win over Birch Run behind Kellom’s 201 yards rushing. A non-conference loss to Lakers 21 – 7 would end the season with a 3 – 5 record. Kyle Maurer and John Leslie were the teams’ leading tacklers and defensive back Mike Manthey would end his career with 13 interceptions, still a Frankenmuth Football record.

The 2002 season would open with a thrilling 21 – 20 win over Swan Valley. With the Eagles trailing 20 – 18 with seconds remaining, Muth kicker Eric Radwick would lineup for a 41-yard field goal, but Swan Valley roughed Radwick. After an illegal procedure call, Radwick drilled a 34-yard field goal with no time remaining for the victory. Frankenmuth would win a second close game with a 17 – 14 win over North Branch behind Quarterback Ben Volz’s 214 yards passing. The remainder of the season would prove to be a struggle for Frankenmuth. A high scoring loss to Caro 60 – 30 and a close loss to Millington 20 – 13 would follow. In a wild offensive game, Muth lost to Vassar 53 – 48, ending the game on Vassar’s three-yard line. Volz ended the game 22 of 44 passing for 346 yards. Losses to Bridgeport, Garber, and a 20 – 14 game to Birch Run, with Frankenmuth turning the ball over on downs late in the 4th quarter at the Panther’s ten-yard line. A season ending 36 – 28 loss to Lakers ended the season with a 2 – 7 record, losing their final seven games. Volz would receive All-State mention behind his 1480 yards passing for the campaign.

In 2002, Coach Harry “Hatter” Weston was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. Coach Hatter coached twenty-five years at Frankenmuth, twenty-one years as the defensive coordinator from 1980 – 2000 seasons. During that span, Frankenmuth compiled a 162 – 48 record, nine conference championships and four regional championships. As defensive coordinator, his defenses had forty shutouts, nearly 25 percent of the wins for those twenty-one years.

With 20 returning players from last year’s team, the 2003 team had nowhere to go but up. The season opened with an impressive 38 – 0 rout of Swan Valley led by Kyle Raycraft’s 179 yards rushing. In a game of big offensive plays, Caro jumped out to a 21 – 7 lead, including a 98-yard run. In the final 2:04 of the first half, the Eagles would score three times. A 14-yard Kendall Judson to Brad Bekemeier TD pass, a Raycraft 14-yard run and with eight seconds remaining, Judson returned an interception 79 yards to give the Eagles a 27 – 21 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Caro would again take the lead, but two Raycraft TD runs, including a 99-yard touchdown gave the Eagles a 40 – 28 win. Raycraft would tally 238 yards rushing. A 21 – 7 win over Birch Run, a defeat of Garber 32 – 20 behind Raycraft’s 233 yards rushing, and a 51 – 14 victory over North Branch with Judson passing for 226 yards. A 41 – 13 rain soaked win over Bridgeport would set up a key Tri-Valley East match with Vassar. In the high scoring contest, Vassar would lead 26 – 21 at the half. Vassar would score first in the second half but two Raycraft TD runs of 71 and 24 yards would give the Eagles a 34 – 32 lead entering the fourth quarter. The lone score of the final quarter came when Vassar scored with 2:13 remaining in the game for the 40 – 34 final score, aided by a controversial pass interference call on Vassar’s final drive where the officials took several minutes to discuss. Coach Bearss commented “It hurts your kids when they play their hearts out and an official makes a call that’s not his call”. Raycraft again surpassed the 200 yards rushing with 217 yards. With a chance to share the league championship with a win over Millington, a disappointing loss 29 – 21 would cost the Eagles. A regular season final victory over Lakers 35 – 14, with Raycraft’s 161 yards rushing and Josh Rodammer’s 11 tackles and an interception, qualified the Eagles for the playoffs and pre-district match with Swan Valley. The Eagles would dominate the game with 387 yards rushing as Raycraft and Jason Maurer would gain 240 and 103 yards respectively. In a district championship game match with Garber, a team they had beaten earlier in the season, the Eagles jumped out to a 17 – 0 lead. But the Dukes scored twenty unanswered points to take a 20 – 17 lead halfway through the 3rd quarter. The Eagles briefly took the lead, but Garber scored twice in the fourth quarter for a 32 -24 win over Muth. Raycraft would rush for 1461 yards and Zach Kadolph was the leading tackler with 114. The final record for the 2003 team was 8 – 3.

The 2004 season opener versus Swan Valley was held at Saginaw Arhtur Hill Memorial Stadium to play in the annual Red Feather game. The Eagles would triumph 28 – 14 behind Quarterback Kendall Judson’s 105 yards rushing and 125 yards passing. The Tri-Valley East opener was a trip to Essexville Garber where the Eagles lost 34 – 14 despite 17 Nathan Bruff tackles. Muth would lose the next two games to Birch Run 12 – 6 and Caro 19 – 18 when the Tigers would score in the last minutes for the Eagle loss. With Millington coming to town, Muth would look to end a three-game losing streak to the Cardinals. Frankenmuth would be led by Assistant Coach Ric Ruhl as Coach Bears would serve a one game suspension. The fired-up Eagles jumped out to a 21 – 7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Michael Golden would race 97 yards for a touchdown as part of his 135 yards rushing in a 35 -14 upset of Millington. In a 41 – 28 win over Vassar, the game was tied entering the final quarter. Golden would score twice on long TD runs for the margin of victory. Muth tallied 498 yards of offense and Bruff led the defense with 18 tackles. The Eagles would win the next three games 26 – 6 over Bridgeport, 27 – 14 over North Branch and 48 – 0 season finale against the Lakers. In the Lakers win, the offense had 429 yards rushing behind Golden and Joe Weiss with 173 and 115 yards rushing. In the district playoff opener, the Eagles traveled to Millington on a gusty, windy day and fell 35 – 0 to the Cardinals. The lone Eagle highlight was Bruff’s 23 tackles. The statistical leaders for the season were Golden with 1027 yards rushing and Bruff with 126 tackles. Lineman Dan Schultz received All-State mention.

The 2005 season, the 50th edition of Frankenmuth Football, would be a mix of returning veterans and some new faces. The season did not open well as turnovers plagued the Eagles in a 38 – 20 loss to Swan Valley. Muth would respond back in a big way with a 62 – 6 beat down of North Branch. Michael Golden would rush for 373 yards and score eight touchdowns. As a team, the Eagles rushed for 506 yards. The Eagle gridders continued to light up the scoreboard in a 59 – 6 win over Caro. This would set up the annual grudge match with Millington. The Eagles went toe-to-toe with Millington but fell short 14 – 12. Frankenmuth’s next opponent would be neighboring Vassar, on the weekend of the 50th Frankenmuth Football reunion. The Eagles would put on a good show for the many former alumni in attendance in a 56 – 26 win. Jacob Bernthal would lead the Eagles with 116 yards rushing and 16 tackles.

The Saturday after the Vassar game, nearly 900 former players and coaches, and many Frankenmuth faithful fans celebrated the 50 years of Frankenmuth football at the Harvey Kern Pavilion. A full evening of events was highlighted by all the former Eagle Head Coaches in attendance, Coach Harry Kaczynski, Coach Bud Tompkins, Coach Ralph Munger, Coach John Blankenship and current Coach Roger Bearss. Several former players spoke of their Eagle football experiences. Several videos of past games were shown, football souvenirs and book sales were available. The reunion committee had planned for this celebration of Frankenmuth Football event for two years. Proceeds from the event help purchase a new scoreboard and major upgrading of the locker room. A Frankenmuth Football book and CDs were sold to illustrate the fifty-year history of Frankenmuth Football.

The 2005 team would continue to roll with a 49 – 0 win over Bridgeport and a wild 52 – 42 shootout against Garber. Golden would set the rushing record still held to this day with 394 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The next week, Muth was blitzed by league leading Birch Run by a 54 – 13 score. Birch Run jumped out to a 41 – 0 halftime lead. The season would end with a 46 – 6 non-conference win over Armada behind Golden’s 148 yards rushing. The opening round of the playoffs would be against a familiar foe in the Millington Cardinals, a team they had lost to earlier in the season. Millington scored first to take an early lead but two Golden scoring runs put the Eagles up 12 – 7 after the first quarter. Millington would regain the lead in the second quarter, only to have Golden score again, as the Eagles took a 20 – 14 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Golden would add his fourth and fifth TD’s as Muth cruised to a 42 – 22 opening playoff round win. Golden recalls the game “We boarded the bus to come home after the win and the feeling was similar with everyone; we did what we came to do, what a feeling. The traditional fight song started, and we sung it more than once just so everyone outside the bus could hear”. With a chance to win a District Championship, Frankenmuth would travel to play an old Thumb ‘B’ team in the Cass City Red Hawks. As so many of the Muth games were this season, a wild offensive game was in store. The Eagles would score on a Golden 43-yard run, Cass City would score the next two TD’s, but Golden would narrow the Red Hawks lead to 14 -12 on a short TD run. Cass City would again score twice to take a 28 – 12 lead, but with a mere seven seconds remaining in the half, Golden sprinted 67 yards to narrow the Cass City halftime lead to 28 – 19. At the 4:20 mark of the third quarter, Cass City would up their lead to 42 -27. Golden would score late in the third quarter on a 45-yard run as the Eagles trailed 42 – 33 entering the final quarter. The fourth quarter was nail biter, but defensive adjustments by Frankenmuth started to work. At the 5:53 mark of the quarter, Jacob Bernthal scored to get the Eagles within two points. A defensive stop of Cass City on a fourth downplay, setup the winning score on a 23-yard Dan Bernthal run for the margin of victory in a 46 – 42 District Championship. Muth had 567 yards offense behind Berthal’s 162 yards passing and Golden’s 253 yards rushing and five TD’s. The win would set up a regional championship game with Birch Run, who handily defeated Frankenmuth earlier in the season. It appeared the same was to happen as Birch Run took a 28 – 7 halftime lead. Birch Run upped their lead to 40 – 20 early in the 4th quarter before Muth battled back. A pair of one-yard TD runs by Bernthal’s, Jacob and Dan, narrowed the lead to 40 – 34 with two minutes remaining. A recovered onside kick gave the Eagles one last opportunity. Driving down to the Birch Run twenty-six-yard line, a failed fourth down attempt by the Eagles ended the game in a 40 -34 defeat. The season would end with an 8 – 4 record. Golden would shatter the record book with 2189 yards rushing for the season and 39 touchdowns. Golden would end his career with 3386 yards rushing and 55 touchdowns. Jake Bernthal would lead the defense with 141 tackles for the season. Golden was a consensus All-State selection.

The 2005 season would be the final season as Coach Roger Bearss as the head coach. In his five-year tenure, Coach Bears had a 27 – 23 overall record.

The new Coach for the 2006 season would be a familiar face to the program. Coach John Blankenship would return after a stint as the Offensive Coordinatror for Northwood University. Blankenship had been the Eagles head coach from 1992 – 2000 with a record of 75 – 18.

2006 team would need to replace 20 of 22 starters. The beginning of the season would start with three losses. 30 – 20 to Swan Valley, 27 – 14 to Garber, and 20 – 17 to Birch Run. In the Birch Run loss, Muth jumped out to a 10 – 0 lead, which included a 41-yard field goal by Mike Prenzler. A fourth-quarter score by Birch Run doomed the Eagles in the loss. The team finally got in the win column with a 43 – 0 blasting of Caro behind Brandon Cataline’s 127 yards rushing and three touchdowns. In a game against Millington at Frankenmuth, the score stood 14 -12 when lightning caused a delay. Millington had an option to finish the game the same night, but Coach Furno of Millington wanted to come back Saturday morning to finish the contest. On the first play when the game resumed, Millington fumbled the ball and 2 plays later QB Dan Bernthal scored on a 1-yard run giving the Eagles a 21 -12 upset of previously unbeaten Millington. The Eagles would string together a couple more wins over Vassar 34 -13 and Bridgeport 47 – 0 behind Cataline’s 132-yards rushing. The Eagles would face a strong North Branch team for the final Tri-Valley East game of the season. Frankenmuth had defeated North Branch seventeen times entering the game, but that streak would end with a 53 – 28 loss. The Eagles would end the season with a 38 – 12 win over Armada behind the trio of 100 yard plus rushers in Cataline, Bernthal and Steve Spadafore and Ethan Eischer’s 13 tackles. The season would end with a 5 -4 record.

Former Coach Ralph Munger would be inducted into the MHSFC Hall of Fame in the spring of 2007. After Munger’s 88 – 30 record at Frankenmuth, he has accomplished great success at Rockford High School. Coach Munger becomes the fifth Frankenmuth Coach to be inducted.

Most prognosticators were picking the Eagles to be in the middle of the pack for the 2007 season. The Eagles would open the season taking advantage of five Swan Valley turnovers and Ryan Keith’s 105 yards rushing and Jon Kazyak recovering two of the Swan Valley fumbles, was enough for a 16 – 6 win. Muth upped its record to 2 – 0 with a 39 – 0 thrashing of Caro, scoring 26 points in the second quarter. Next up, a key Tri-Valley East contest at Birch Run. With the score tied 20 – 20 late in the fourth quarter, Birch Run fumbled the ball away near mid field and Frankenmuth took nine plays to drive down to the Birch Run 11-yard line. Eagle kicker Ryan Keith drilled a 27-yard field goal with 13 seconds left for a 23 – 20 win. Muth would continue their winning ways with 17 – 7 win over Garber, led by Nathan Cormier’s 172 yards rushing. The win was the 350th in program history. Next was a 28 – 0 victory over North Branch, this time led by Keith’s 157 yards rushing. Bridgeport was the next victim 42 -16 and Vassar was stymied 35 – 7 to set up a Tri-Valley East Championship game against none other than 7 – 0 Millington. Those same prognosticators that ranked the Eagles as the middle of the road team at the beginning of the year, were picking Millington to win this one. The defense turned in a stellar performance led by Luke Pires outstanding game with three QB sacks and four tackles for loss. Keith would score three times, two of the scores were passes from Quarterback Nick Shelton. The final score --- Frankenmuth 23 – Millington 8, and a Tri-Valley East Championship, the first since 2000. In the regular season finale, a trip to Standish gave Frankenmuth their first loss of the season with a 28 – 2 loss. In the opening round of the playoffs, the Eagle offense struggled in a 12 -3 loss to Chesaning. In a season where the Eagles proved many experts wrong, they ended with an 8 – 2 record. Ryan Keith would receive Honorable Mention All-State recognition.

Longtime Coach Ric Ruhl was inducted into the Michigan High School Hall of Fame in April of 2008 and less than two months later, Coach Ruhl passed away. Coach Ruhl coached football at Frankenmuth for 36 years.

The Eagles would open the season with a tough 29 – 21 overtime loss to Swan Valley. Quarterback Matt Cramer finished with 142 yards rushing. The local gridders hung on for a 28 – 22 win over North Branch. A heartbreaking loss, 22 – 19 followed against Caro, with the Tigers scoring with thirty-two seconds remaining in the game. In a defensive battle against rival Millington, the Eagles would lose by a 7 – 0 score. In a non-conference game against Buena Vista, the first time the two schools would play each other, Muth came out on top 37 – 26 behind Jake Frank’s 115 yards rushing. Next up was Bridgeport with the score even at 13 -13 entering the fourth quarter. There would be five scores in a matter of four minutes. Bridgeport would score to take the lead but on the next play from scrimmage, Matt McMeans would dash 80 yards to knot the score at 20 – 20. Bridgeport would answer back on a long pass play to regain the lead. Less than two minutes later, Frank would score on a 11-yard run to again tie the score at 26 – 26. On the ensuing possession, Bridgeport would fumble deep in their territory and Cramer would connect with Nathan Krafft for a 25-yard touchdown for the final 33 – 26 score. Muth would lose to a good Garber team, the 500th game in Frankenmuth Football, but would rally back with a 28 – 21 win over Birch Run, led by Tyler Schiefer’s fifteen tackles. The season would end with a 35 – 0 loss to undefeated Standish-Sterling, to finish the season with a 4 - 5 mark.

Coach John Blankenship would retire as Eagles Head Coach after the 2008 season. A total of twelve years leading the Frankenmuth program would produce a record of 92 – 29. Six Tri-Valley East Championships and two Regional Championships resulted in his tenure at Frankenmuth for the Hall of Fame Coach. His 92 wins after the 2008 season was a program high for head coaches.

Tim VanWormer would succeed John Blankenship as the new Head Coach of the Frankenmuth football program. VanWormer coached ten years as an assistant coach at Comstock High School and from 2005 – 07 he was the head coach at Athens High School. Last season, he joined Coach Blankenship’s’ staff as a varsity assistant coach. VanWormer played high school football at Houghton Lake where he played for Coach Blankenship when he was the head coach.

The Eagle gridders opened the 2009 season with a 28 – 14 loss to Swan Valley. The Eagles dropped a 30 – 13 contest to North Branch before getting their first win of the season 29 – 22 against Caro. D.J. Duvernois 142 yards rushing paved the way in a 327-yard team rushing performance. The Eagles hung tough with undefeated Millington, being tied 14 all entering the 4th quarter. Unfortunately for the Eagles, Millington scored 20 fourth-quarter points for a 34 – 14 win over Muth. Frankenmuth got back on the winning track with a 45 – 14 non-conference win over Buena Vista, holding B.V. to 59 total yards. Jake Frank led the Eagle rushers with 124 yards. Tony Warnemuende’s 169 yards rushing led the Eagles to a 28 – 6 win over Bridgeport. Garber’s potent offensive attack was too much for the Eagles to handle in a 41 – 21 loss to Garber. Birch Run would next victimize the Eagles 52 – 18 and a season ending 48 – 22 loss to Vassar ended Frankenmuth’s season with a 3 – 6 record.

The decade of the 2000’s was an up and down era. Three different Head Coaches would lead the Eagles to two Tri-Valley East Championships and a District title. The decades record would be 56 – 42. After fifty-four years of Frankenmuth Football, the All-Time record is 361 – 137 – 4. Would the decade of the 2010’s bring more consistency to the Football Program? Next week will be the seventh article with the summary of the 2010 decade.