By Tom Kendra
LocalSportsJournal.com

  MUSKEGON – To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Muskegon Catholic Central’s football demise have been greatly exaggerated.

 The Crusaders started off the season 0-2, but turned their season around with a gutsy win down at Benton Harbor and then got defensive on Friday in a 27-6 Homecoming night victory over Orchard View at historic Kehren Stadium.

 MCC’s trademark defense was up to the challenge against the tightly-packed, OV wing-T attack – which eschews the forward pass, instead using trap-blocking and deception to move the ball.

“We love that kind of a game,” explained Catholic senior linebacker Quinn McKenna, (11.5 tackles) who teamed up with fellow inside backer Easten Cook (12 tackles, plus a fumble recovery) to repeatedly stymie the Cardinals.

“It tests us linebackers on every play to read our keys, but we were up to the challenge. We made some mistakes in the first couple of games, but we knew it was something we could work through and come back from.”

Catholic (3-2) is looking like a team that could make some noise in the Division 8 playoffs, with another big test next week against Schoolcraft – a game which will be played on the field turf at Vicksburg High School.

It took a half for the Crusaders’ to get their offense on track, but once they broke the seal, the points started piling up.

Bryan Convertini, the workhorse junior quarterback and the fourth Convertini boy to play for the green-and-gold, broke a scoreless tie with a 10-yard touchdown run with 5 seconds left in the first half, giving the hosts a slim 7-0 halftime lead.

One halftime adjustment the veteran MCC coaching staff made was using sophomore Bode Zygmuntowski more at quarterback, allowing Convertini to move to halfback.

That change was effective, as Convertini finished as the game’s leading rusher with 18 carries for 129 yards and two touchdowns – his second score coming on a 1-yard plunge from his halfback position, giving the hosts a 13-0 lead after three quarters.

“Bryan is a nice halfback and it’s a little different look for us,” explained 11th-year MCC coach Steve Czerwon, who won his 97th game as head coach. “We are just trying to utilize everybody’s talents. Bode is someone we’ve worked in more as the season has gone on and he’s getting better and better.”

Convertini finished 6-of-11 through the air for 39 yards. OV senior quarterback Alex Theile, who was playing with an ankle injury, completed 1-of-5 passes for 22 yards.

Catholic then built its lead to 27-0 with fourth-quarter TD runs of 4 yards from junior Henry Rosema and 19 yards from sophomore Will Fedewa.

It was a vintage MCC defensive performance under the direction of defensive coordinator Mike Ribecky, who is in his 47th year as a Crusader assistant coach and has been part of 392 victories and 12 state championships. Ribecky is assisted on defense by his son, Jason, and Kolin Convertini.

The Crusaders were pitching a shutout until OV got on the scoreboard with 1:01 remaining, on a 1-yard plunge by Gerald Dyke.

In addition to the standout linebacker duo of McKenna and Cook, the hosts dominated the line of scrimmage behind three sophomore defensive linemen in Harrison Scharmer, Evan LaGuire and Timmy Railing, along with seniors Aaron Barnhill and Will Gowin.

“We have a lot of young guys up there on the defensive line and they are putting in the work,” said McKenna.

Scharmer, LaGuire and Gowin each made eight tackles, Railing had six stops and Fedewa and Barnhill finished with five tackles.

Orchard View (2-3), which did not have a team in 2021 and finished 0-9 last year, actually held a 240-227 edge in rushing yards.

Sophomore fullback Mason Tuttle led the Cards with 17 carries for 102 yards, Samuel Jordan added 61 yards on seven carries and Stephon Oakes had 38 yards on nine carries.

Tuttle also led the defense with seven tackles, Jordan made six tackles and Oakes, Corey McCain, Emilio Villarreal and Tyler Sandifer had five tackles apiece.

OV returns to West Michigan Conference Lakes Division play next week at Fremont.

Check out photos shot by Michael Banka and video shot by Brendan Bowen.