Martians play “Goodrich Football” at its finest and make the title dream come true

DETROIT – No stranger to going to the MHSAA Finals, Beal City put an exclamation point on its 2024 season by defeating Riverview Gabriel Richard (43-14) for the Division 8 title on Friday at Ford Field.

The Aggies (12-2) used a highly effective ground attack to secure their third championship in 10 tries, matching the performances of their 2009 (D8) and 1994 (Class D) title teams.

Beal City managed 315 yards on the ground, led by senior Drew Block, who finished the game with 112 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. Owen McKenny contributed 12 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown, while Garrison Zuker contributed seven for 64 yards.

“Our offense was just outstanding today,” Block said. “Without them we really couldn’t do anything. You are the heart and soul of our team. They kept getting us meters piece by piece. We just let them do their job and march across the field. We have a lot of great talent on this team. Each guy has their own specific thing… basically just a bunch of dogs.”

Beal City’s Brad Gross in his 10th^Th season as head coach, has been a part of the program for nearly 23 years. He was a player on that 1994 team and served as offensive coordinator in 2009.

“They all mean a lot,” Gross said. “Being a head coach and getting your first job… it’s just amazing. I’m a Beal guy. When I’m done coaching, I’ll do it with Beal.”

Gabriel Richards quarterback Nick Sobush was 9 of 18 passing for 120 yards and a TD for the Pioneers (11-2). He also added 51 yards rushing on 12 carries and a score.

Gabriel Richard, making his first appearance in the Finals, opened the scoring by scoring from 72 yards on the first possession in just three plays. The drive was capped by Sobush’s 53-yard TD throw down the sideline to Derek Lesko, followed by Joey Calhoun’s 2-point conversion run that made it 8-0 just 1:19 into the game.

Beal City responded with an 8-all on its first offensive possession after Drake Gatrell returned the ensuing kickoff to the 50. Six plays later, Block scored on a two-yard run and McKenny added the 2-pointer after the Pioneers were offside with 7:48 left on their first attempt at an extra point.

With 4:39 left in the first quarter, the Pioneers took the lead with 4:39 left^Th-and-4 at their own 49 yards, only to have the ball turned over when Block intercepted a pass at his own 13 yards. That led to a nine-play, 77-yard TD drive for the Aggies, followed by a five-yard TD run by Block Kyle Martin’s PAT gave Beal City a lead of 15 with 39 seconds left in the first: 8.

On his next possession, Gabriel Richard went for a 4^Th-and-9 from the Beal City 40, came up empty on an incomplete pass, leading to the Aggies extending their lead to 22-8. Quarterback Cuyler Smith connected with McKenny, who jumped just over the goal line for an eight-yard touchdown catch on the 4th^Th-and-2 with 2:30 left in the first half.

“The ball was thrown perfectly, I just came back and grabbed it,” McKenney said. “I was in a fix. It was 4^Th-and-2 and changed the dynamics of the game. It really set the tone.”

Gabriel Richard thwarted another Beal City goal threat just before the end of the first half when Lesko intercepted a pass at his own 4 with just four seconds left.

Beal City outscored the Pioneers 195-158 overall on offense in the first two quarters.

McKenny returned the first kickoff of the second half 44 yards, and the Aggies’ star running back scored on a three-yard TD run just six plays later, extending Beal’s lead to 29-8 with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

Gabriel Richard responded with a 16-play, 76-yard drive that took 7 minutes, 37 seconds and ended at a one-yard keeper by Sobush, but the Pioneers were unable to convert on the 2-pointer and trailed 29-14 by 47 seconds to play in the third.

The Pioneers then attempted an onside kick that was blocked by Zuker on the 50th minute. With a short field, Beal City was able to tie the game with flanker Austin Small’s 29-yard TD run with 9:14 left.

Neil Finnerty also scored first with a five-yard TD run to give the Aggies a 29-point lead with just 2:21 remaining.

“Today they caught us at the right time,” said Mark Shea, Gabriel Richard’s first-year coach. “We ran the gauntlet of teams. We were really exhausted when we got in there. Honestly, we had three or four guys that we didn’t think could play, but they came and played. I’m not taking anything away from Beal City. They played a great game, but we were beaten and it showed. We lacked some of the explosiveness that we normally have. And if we don’t have balance in our attack, it puts us in a bad situation. But in terms of deployment, they gave me everything they could do.”

“Joey (Calhoun) was a little crazy on defense in the first attack; This is an all-state kid,” Sobush added. “And (Beal City) just took away our passing game. I made a bad throw that kind of changed the dynamic of the game.”

Beal City opened this postseason with a 47-0 victory over Frankfort, but then had to overcome Glen Lake (21-14), Iron Mountain (14-7) and Fowler (17-16).

“It was nice to get this,” Gross said. “I wouldn’t say easier, but the word I’m looking for is that it wasn’t that stressful. These guys did everything we asked them to do.”

Six weeks ago and just before the playoffs, Gross said the Aggies “had to play physical football with bad intentions.”

“These guys took it to heart,” the Beal City coach said. “We’ve just become more physical.”

Gross said the beauty of this newly crowned Aggies championship team is the camaraderie between the seniors, juniors, sophomores and even their freshmen.

“And these guys treat them like any other player,” he said. “That’s what’s special about our team because we’re more of a team. I think our mission statement all year has been, “Teams win championships, individuals win awards,” so we kind of stuck with that and that’s what got us here. It means a lot to me, but it’s all about these guys and that’s the most important thing.”

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PHOTOS (Above) Beal City’s Austin Small (2) looks to fight back on Friday as Gabriel Richard’s Aidan Valatka (13) pursues him. (Middle) Beal’s Drew block follows Jace Faber’s block. (Bottom) Aggies coach Brad Antcliff lifts the Division 8 championship trophy as his players celebrate. (Photos by Hockey Weekly action photos.)