Sunday, September 21, 2008
Game Four at Genesee
by Mark Spezia
Saturday September 20, 2008, 12:05 AM
Garret Cook passed for 249 yards and rushed for 107 more in leading Genesee to a 28-26 Genesee Area Conference victory over Hamady.
Genesee scored 14 points in each of the first two quarters before both teams went scoreless in the second half.
Cook completed 8 of 22 passes, hitting Tyler Peltonen with a pair of 74-yard touchdown strikes while also hooking up with Ryan Buchler for a 40-yard TD. Cook, who rushed 13 times, also ran for a 15-yard TD.
Peltonen finished with 203 yards receiving on five catches.
Mario Harris scored twice for Hamady, rushing for a 3-yard TD and catching a 10-yard pass from Altorio Chism. Darnell Hunter and Stan Page scored the Hawks other TDs on runs of 42 and 5 yards, respectively.
Hunter rushed 30 times for 280 yards Page collected 104 on 10 carries.
Hamady 6 20 0 0 -- 26
Genesee 14 14 0 0 -- 28
First quarter
Genesee--Ryan Buchler 40 pass from Garret Cook (kick failed) 10:38
Hamady--Mario Harris 3 run (run failed) 8:43
Genesee--Tyler Peltonen 74 pass from Cook (Buchler run) 2:14
Second quarter
Genesee--Peltonen 74 pass from Cook (Buchler run) 10:31
Hamady--Ples Hunter 42 run (run failed) 7:53
Genesee--Cook 15 run (run failed) 3:50
Hamady--Stan Page 5 run (run failed) 2:39
Hamady--Harris 10 pass from Altorio Chism (Hunter run) :00
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Game Two vs New Lothrop
New Lothrop's Tyler Bennett (near, left) is congratulated by teammates Jeremy Emmendorfer (left) and Marc Confer after recovering a fumble Friday night while beating Hamady 34-20.
New Lothrop wears down Hamady in GAC Blue opener
New Lothrop football coach Jake Emmendorfer could not help but burst into loud laughter when asked about his gutsy play calling.
The Hornets faced fourth down eight times in Friday's 34-20 win over Hamady. Emmendorfer sent in his punt team just twice as New Lothrop made five of six fourth-down conversion attempts, scoring three times.
"I'm not sure when we've gone for it that much on fourth down," said a chuckling Emmendorfer, whose team improved to 1-1, 1-0 in the Genesee Area Conference Blue Division. "We were not protecting well on our punts and I did not want to give any of their dangerous return guys a chance for big plays. We wanted to keep the clock running and I felt we could keep the chains moving if we caught them with the right plays. Besides, the kids wanted to go for it on fourth and shorts and did not want to see the punt team."
Indeed, said quarterback Trevor Vincke. After all, the conversions helped the Hornets control the ball, especially in the second half when the Hornets broke a 20-20 deadlock by scoring the game's final 14 points and allowed the defending GAC Blue champion Hawks (0-2, 0-1) just four first downs. The Hornets held a
"Our coaches like to make aggressive calls and if we are in good field position, we'll for it," said Vincke, who completed seven of 14 passes for 100 yards and a touchdown and rushed for two scores. "It was not really a surprise when the kept telling us to go for it because we were moving the ball so well."
With the game knotted at 14-14, New Lothrop took the second half kickoff 63 yards. The drive culminated in Vincke's 39-yard scoring pass to Cody Peterman. The conversion kick failed and the Hawks answered immediately as Darnell Hunter bolted 55 yards to the end zone on the first play of their next drive. Stan Page was stopped short on the two-point conversion attempt, however.
Marc Confer, who finished with 116 yards rushing on 30 carries, scored on fourth and goal from the three on the Hornets' next drive and Vincke ran in the conversion. Confer scored again from three yards out with
"One thing we really work on in practice is conditioning," said Vincke, whose team is seeking a sixth GAC Blue title in seven years. "That's what we were planning to do this week -- wear them down, but I have to credit the line of Josh White, Nick Severn, A.J. Hall, Kyle Docken and Barry Brown for allowing to keep the ball moving so well."
The Hawks struck for an 8-0 lead on the game's first play from scrimmage as receiver Mario Harris took quarterback Altorio Chism's screen pass and heaved the ball to Anthony Coleman for a 63-yard touchdown. Page ran in the coversion.
Vincke scored on fourth and goal from the three on New Lothrop's first possession, but Confer was stopped short on the conversion, leaving the score 8-6. Vincke scored on fourth and goal from the two five seconds into the second quarter and passed for Emmendorfer for the conversion. Chism's one-yard run drew Hamady even with
"Those fourth downs hurt because it felt like we were just one stop away from maybe turning the game around," Hawks coach Cllint Galvas said. "They really controlled the clock in the second half and wore us down up front."
Confer also finished with nine tackles and an interception. Peterman and Tyler Bennett also had picks. Page, Andrew Robinson and Marqavois Anderson had eight tackles for Hamady.
Hamady 8 6 6 0 -- 20
New Lothrop 6 8 14 6 -- 34
1st Quarter
H -- Anthony Coleman 63 pass from Mario Harris (Stan Page run)
NL -- Trevor Vincke 3 run (run failed)
2nd Quarter
NL -- Vincke 2 run (Vincke to Jeremy Emmendorfer)
H -- Altorio Chism 1 run (pass failed)
3rd Quarter
NL -- Cody Peterman 39 pass from Vincke (kick failed)
H -- Darnell Hunter 55 run (run failed)
NL -- Marc Confer 3 run (Vincke run)
4th Quarter
NL -- Confer 3 run (kick failed)
Friday, September 5, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Game One at Nouvel
Nouvel storms out of the gate
GREG MANCINA
THE
Flint Hamady had planned on putting up a bigger fight Thursday night in the Red Feather Classic against Nouvel Catholic Central.
But the Hawks compounded their own problems in facing the two-time defending state champions, and the benefit game at Arthur Hill's Memorial Stadium quickly got out of control.
Taking advantage of crisp offensive execution to go along with Hamady's early mistakes -- a poor snap on a punt, an interception and a fumble -- the Panthers rolled up a 34-0 lead after the first quarter on the way to a 55-6 victory.
''Obviously, when you're going against the No. 1 team in the state, they'll capitalize on your mistakes,'' said Flint Hamady coach Clint Galvas. ''It got out of hand quickly.''
The quick start was partly by design as Nouvel coach Mike Boyd wanted the ball first in order to pound on a team that was using many of its players on both sides of the ball.
''We couldn't have had a better start,'' Boyd said of his team's seven-play, 66-yard drive into the end zone on the opening possession.
''Then they helped us with turnovers,'' Boyd added, ''and it got out of control.''
The Panthers broke in a new starting quarterback and running back, and both responded beautifully.
Ryan Henris completed 6 of 9 passes for 107 yards and three touchdowns, adding pizzazz to an effective ground game.
Chad Jacobs caught two of the touchdowns -- 31 and 27 yards -- and finished with three catches for 67 yards, while Sam Herbert hauled in two passes for 19 yards, including a 4-yard score.
'Ryan has a couple of good receivers and he put the ball on the money,'' Boyd said of his senior quarterback. ''He called some audibles a couple of times and put us in the right things.''
Nouvel also has newcomer Kevin Robinson at tailback, and the 218-pound senior carried the ball eight times for 88 yards and touchdowns of 20 and 31 yards.
Nouvel ended up with 329 yards of offense.
''Kevin Robinson ran very strong I thought, and we played very well up front on both sides of the ball,'' Boyd said.
The offensive outburst, which included five touchdowns in 8 minutes and 10 seconds in the first quarter, nearly overshadowed a Nouvel defense that is the strength of the team coming into the season.
Hamady had negative total yards until the second-from-last play of the first half and finished with just 89 total yards, including Altario Chism's 2-for-8 passing for 5 yards.
The Hawks had shown a couple of offensive formations that the Panthers did not expect, but still could not sustain anything on the ground.
''They just flowed to the ball very well,'' Boyd said.
After the opening scoring drive, the Nouvel defense held and then sacked the punter off a bad snap at the Hamady 22-yard line.
Two plays later, Henris threw a 4-yard touchdown to Herbert.
Another defensive stop led to a 42-yard scoring drive that Henris capped with a 31-yard toss to Jacobs.
Ditto the next score a stop, a short field, and a 27-yard TD toss to Jacobs.
Murphy Wilson scored Nouvel's next touchdown on a 35-yard interception return to cap the first quarter with the 34-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Austin Krawczak scooped up Chism's fumble and raced 71 yards for another defensive touchdown and the 41-0 lead.
Backup quarterback Ross Rokita then made it 49-0 by halftime on a 25-yard bootleg for a touchdown.
The first half ended with
Both teams ran the football during the second-half running clock, although Robinson broke through for a 31-yard touchdown run for Nouvel, while Mario Harris Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to finish the scoring.
''I hope we learn a lot from this loss and can turn it into something positive,'' said Galvas, whose team begins defense of its Genesee Area Conference's Blue Division title next week against New Lothrop.
Boyd also is anticipating a game at Traverse City St. Francis.
''It's going to be interesting next week,'' Boyd said. ''It'll be tough to stop Traverse City St. Francis from running the ball, but that's what we do well.'' v
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
2008 Hamady Football Preview
By Mark Spezia The Flint Journal
Published on Wednesday August 27, 2008,
FLINT, Michigan — If the theory holds true that football games are won in the trenches, Flint Hamady will be just fine under new coach Clint Galvas.
The Hawks lost the bulk of their exceptional skill players and the majority of their defensive backfield from last year's squad which made the playoffs for the second straight year, finishing 8-2 under former coach Nathaniel Williams, now at Carman-Ainsworth. Hamady also captured the Genesee Area Conference Blue Division, its first league championship in 25 years.
The good news for Galvas, a former Montrose standout and Hamady assistant the past two seasons, is that he has an experienced, talented core of linemen to work with. That's especially helpful when attempting to instill a new offense.
"Obviously, our strength is going be at the line which should will really help all the new guys in the backfield although they are learning some new blocking schemes," Galvas said. "The players are adjusting to the new system (veer option) and learning well through a lot of repetition. We've made good progress and I see us getting better and better at it."
In Williams' second season (2006), the Hawks went from 10 straight losing seasons to the playoffs. They have not had three straight winning seasons since 1982-84.
"We want to continue the success Nate had here and keep the new winning tradition alive," Galvas said. "He instilled great work ethic and desire in the kids. The ultimate goals for us are winning a playoff game for the first time and repeating as league champions."
Hamady has made tremendous progress despite less having less than 25 varsity players the past two seasons. There are 22 this year.
"Yes, but they are not 22 guys who just showed up the first day of official practice," Galvas said. "All of them have been working hard all summer. They have all been in the weight room and done well in 7-on-7 leagues."
The players most responsible for the Hawks' school-record 368 points last season are gone, including All-State running back Antoine Smith-Guise (2,077 yards, 27 touchdowns) and first-team all-leaguers Brian Echols (quarterback, 1,055 yards, 15 touchdowns, 255 yards rushing, 6 touchdowns), Darius Brady (receiver, 23 catches, 476 yards, 7 touchdowns).
Returning to the line are first-team all-leaguers Banay Jones (senior, three-year starter), second-teamers Kenny Bowen (four-year starter) and Juliano Jenkins (senior) and honorable mention pick Rodgrezz Clark (junior). Also on the line are senior Marquavis Anderson and junior Tyree Randle.
Also back is second-team receiver Mario Harris, a junior who had 11 catches for 277 yards and six touchdowns last season. Other wideouts are senior Anthony Coleman and junior Ples Hunter.
The quarterback is junior Alterio Chism and sharing the backfield will be seniors Stan Page, Darnell Hunter and Gevelle Hunter-Sims, a transfer from Davison. The tight end is senior Donald Perry.
Gone from the defense are honorable mention All-Stater Brian Greene (54 tackles, 4.5 sacks), first-team GAC Blue picks Dominique Norris (98 tackles) and Brady (45 tackles), second-teamers Jack Boyd, Antonio Campbell and Derahn Shields (29 tackles).Back are first-team pick Randle (line, 17 tackles) and honorable mention choice Page (46 tackles). Others on the line will be juniors Brandon Draheim, Donte Gatewood and Terrance Chism, Clark, Anderson, Jones, Jenkins and Bowen.
Among the linebackers are senior Jon Green (26 tackles), junior Brandon Draheim, Darnell Hunter. Defensive backs are Harris (24 tackles) and seniors Andrew Robinson, Reynolds Swilley and Chuckie Taylor along with Ples Hunter and Coleman.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Hurry-up Offense
FLINT, Michigan — The season opener was 17 days away for most of the high school football teams that practiced for the first time Monday.
For Carman-Ainsworth and Hamady, that may not seem like nearly enough time to be prepared.
Both schools took the field Monday under new head coaches who were hired within the last 11 weeks.
A chain of events that impacted both programs was set off when Jason VanDerMaas resigned in early May after one year in charge at Carman-Ainsworth.
Williams, who was coaching at Hamady, was hired to replace VanDerMaas in late May. That created an opening at Hamady, which filled it in early July with Clint Galvas, the school's junior varsity coach.
There's been a crash course in learning new systems at both schools ever since.
Williams is ditching the spread offense Carman-Ainsworth players had to learn for the first time last year in favor of a more conventional power-running attack. Hamady is running the veer option, which Galvas was introduced to in his first days as a youth football player in Montrose.
"We're all on the same time schedule," Williams said. "With them learning a new system, I'm just going to be patient and teach the game. It's all still about football. It's about tackling and blocking. If we can do those things, we should be fine."
Galvas is a 25-year-old first-time varsity head coach who was on Montrose's 1998 state championship team, but he brings some old-school methods to Hamady. He has a simple, yet time-honored, way of penalizing players for missed pitchouts in the new option attack.
"Every time that ball hits the ground, we're doing some push-ups," senior running back Stanley Page said. "We didn't do too bad today. We probably had 40 (push-ups) today; that's four drops. In the summer, I think we peaked at 120 at one practice. Then he had us doing up-downs."
If there's a common theme at Carman-Ainsworth and Hamady, it's that neither coach will tolerate anyone using their late hiring as an excuse to fail this season.
"Some people would say we've had a lot of different challenges with a new coach two years in a row," said Carman-Ainsworth senior Isaac Smith, a kicker and free safety. "We've dealt with it fairly well. The coaches have pushed that it doesn't matter what you've got, you've got to make the best of it."
For Carman-Ainsworth junior lineman Tremondae Branch, this will be his third head coach in three seasons on the varsity. Branch was on a team that went 7-4 under Jerry Parker and made the second round of the playoffs in 2006, then on a squad that was 2-7 under VanDerMaas last season.
"It's a tough adjustment changing coaches every year, but this year he came in with a different attitude," Branch said. "It's just a new day over here. We've got everybody on the same page, becoming one team. We're trying to see what the future holds for us."
Fellow lineman Aaron Brandt said Williams set a new tone immediately when he first met with his players.
"The expectations are higher," Brandt said. "He came and put his foot down and made us not goof off. We came together. There's more team unity. He just reminds us every day that without team unity, we won't be a team. I believe we're growing a lot more."
Both teams laid a good foundation during the offseason so they were ready to hit the ground running Monday.
Galvas, who teaches at Hamady, maintained the weightlifting and speed program during the search process for a new coach. VanDerMaas already had an offseason program in place when he left, allowing the Cavaliers to participate in a team camp and a seven-on-seven league.
"As soon as he left, I tried to step right in and keep things rolling," Galvas said. "One thing I told them is we're not going to use the coaching staff, the later start and implementing some new things as an excuse. I have high expectations for these guys. With the high expectations, I hold them to a high standard."
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Flint Journal
Hamady names football coach, Clint Galvas of Montrose football staff
Posted by Mark Spezia Flint Journal July 15, 2008 00:26AM
WESTWOOD HEIGHTS, Michigan --
Who can possibly replace him?
That thought raced through Clint Galvas' mind when Hamady football coach Nathaniel Williams announced in May he was leaving for Carman-Ainsworth and taking top assistant Keith Tunstall with him.
Galvas, a Hamady assistant last season after serving on Montrose's staff, had seen Williams transform a floundering program that won four games in the five seasons prior to his arrival in 2004.
By 2006, Williams had led the Hawks to their first playoff berth. Last season, they captured their first league championship (Genesee Area Conference Blue Division) and won their most games (eight) in 25 years, again making the postseason.
Galvas did not initially view himself as a candidate, but in the end he was the man.
The former Montrose player was officially named Hamady's next coach late last month.
"At first, I was not sure if I wanted to be the one to step up and take over the program," the 25-year-old Galvas said. "I learned a lot from Nate, but I had only coached in the program for one year."
That did not matter to Williams, who began prodding his young assistant with some help.
"Nate came up to me and asked if I was going to do it," said Galvas, a Hamady physical education teacher the past two years. "Several of the players also said they wanted to see me get the job. I was a little more confident after that and then I checked with my wife and it was a go."
Athletic Director Archy Robinson and a six-member selection committee concurred with Williams. The job was posted only internally and Galvas was selected over two other applicants.
"Without a doubt, Clint is well-qualified to take over the program," Robinson said. "The fact that coach Williams recommended him and the kids rallied around him says a lot too. Coach Williams did an amazing job with the program and Clint was a part of a great season last year. He has the support of parents too."
Galvas, a 2000 Montrose graduate and member of the Rams' 1998 state championship team, returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach after graduating from Michigan State in 2004.
He served as the coach of Hamady's first junior varsity team in a decade last season as well varsity running backs coach, helping Antoine Smith-Guise become the third 2,000-yard rusher in area history.
"I am lucky in that I've learned a lot from two great coaches in Nate and (Montrose head coach) Dennis Reinhart," said Galvas, also a two-time state wrestling medalist for the Rams. "Dennis is a great Xs and Os guy. Nate is one of the greatest motivaters of kids and role models I've ever been around."
After going 4-41 the previous five seasons, Hamady went 17-21 in Williams' four years, including 15-5 the past two seasons. The Hawks racked up a school-record 387 points last season. Hamady has not posted three straight winning seasons since 1982-84.
Many new faces will have to sustain that success, however. The Hawks lost eight of 12 players who earned some type of all-conference honor, including Smith-Guise, but Galvas is confident in the team he's assembling.
"We intend to keep building on what Nate started," Galvas said. "We lost a lot of key guys, but have most of our lines back and a great receiver and defensive back in Mario Harris as well as an exciting young quarterback (Altorio Chism). We have two powerful backs too which means we might be more of physical, Montrose-style offense."
Galvas said veteran assistant Mario Harris will be back. Among his new assistants are former Montrose teammate Bo Paxton, who played at Saginaw Valley State, and ex-Lapeer West and Alma College standout Justin McHugh.