Dynasty Programs
Negaunee Basketball
The Miners celebrate their second Class B State Championship in 1957. The team won seven playoff games to win the title, defeating Harper Woods in the Final, 68-66
Image courtesy of the Negaunee Public Schools.
It would be impossible to say that any one basketball program is better than any other in the Upper Peninsula. Some have won the most State Championships, but year in and year out, none have been more consistent than the Negaunee Miners. Over the past century, they have had some of the best teams in the U.P. and the record to prove it. Since 1950, the Miners have the best winning percentage and the most wins in post-season play (128 wins vs. 60 losses, .681). In that same time, they won 31 district titles, 13 regionals and two state championships.
Negaunee Miners boys basketball team celebrates its 2012 Regional Championship.
Image courtesy of Denny Grall, Escanaba Daily Press
School Athletic Association had an official state tournament. There was an Upper Peninsula tournament held in Marquette, which the Miners won in 1919. Three years later, the Miners had what many thought would be their greatest team in history. They came in third in the State Class A tournament, but had a team with one All- American (Eino Pulkinen) and four All-Staters (James Scanlon, 1st team; Gilbert Lindstrom, 2nd team; Theodore Sundquist, 2nd team; and George Ferm, honorable mention.
This is the 1930 Negaunee High School basketball team that won the state Class B title. In the front from the left: Matt Gleason, George Rudness, Arthur Doolittle, Rudolph Thoren, coach Eddie Shadford and Ralph Lindstrom. In the back row: George Bennett (manager), Sevino Bessolo, Marvin Williamson and Allan Phillips.
Photo courtesy of Matt Gleason
The program's first state title came in 1930, led by legendary coach Eddie Shadford. This plucky squad took the train to Detroit to compete in the tournament, defeating Coldwater, Grand Haven and then St. Mary's of Orchard Lake for the Class B crown, 31-25. Scores were low then because, as team member Matt Gleason stated in a 2005 Mining Journal article, "Back then, after every basket made there was a jump ball...And there was not three-point shooting and no bonus free throws, so that's why the scores were so low."
Menominee Football 2006-2007
Coach Ken Hofer had coached many great teams before those two seasons, including a Class BB State Championship in 1998. His unique single-wing offense was often too much to handle for other teams not used to its combination of speed, execution and trickery. But in 2006, his team perfected the single wing to the point of being completely unstoppable and the offense was matched by an incredibly stingy defense. The Maroons marched through the 2006 campaign unstained, culminating in a 41-6 trouncing of Madison Heights Madison in the Division 5 State Championship game. To underscore the team's dominance, Menominee scored 538 points during the season and only gave up 44!
This dominance would continue into the next season, as the Maroons matched the 14-0 season of the year before. Scoring 528 points to their opponents' 155, Menominee won its second straight state title with a 21-7 victory over Jackson Lumen Christi, becoming only the second team in the U.P to win back-to-back state football titles (Crystal Falls Forest Park did it in 1975 & 76).
The streak would continue for one more game, with the Maroons winning their 29th in a row by defeating Wrightstown (Wis.) in the first game of the 2008 season. However, they lost the second game of the year to a powerful Mequon (Wis.) team, ending the greatest winning streak in U.P. football history.
Rep. Bart Stupak would present a resolution in the United States Congress for the 2006 team. From the floor of the house, Stupak stated, "Menominee and the people of the Upper Peninsula know that when we proudly chant "U.P. Power." it is a reflection of our pride in our Menominee Maroon football tradition and the fine young men who brought home another football championship to our fine community. It is with great pride that I ask the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in congratulating and honoring these football champions."
Brimley Volleyball
From the MHSAAs "Legends of the Games" series
With the passage of Title IX, several new sports were implemented at schools to create new opportunities for girls to compete. Volleyball was one of these newly added sports and by the late 1970s, dozens of schools around the U.P. were fielding teams.
Brimley High School created a new volleyball team for girls at the school. Charles Compo became the coach of the team, though he had no previous experience coaching the sport. Compo decided to take his team to tournaments in Lower Michigan, where there was tougher competition. Both he and his players learned the game together and over the next few years developed into the most dominant volleyball program in the U.P.
From the MHSAAs "Legends of the Games" series
At that time, the U.P. tournament was Open Class, meaning that Brimley was competing against schools with much bigger enrollments. But this fact did little to intimidate Chuck Compo and his team. In 1981, the Bays took their first U.P. title, defeating Watersmeet. It was the beginning of an amazing run. The team won the next four U.P. titles, defeating Ironwood in 1982 & 1983 and Bessemer in 1984 & 1985. They would win two more Open Class titles in 1987 & 1988. In 1991, under the reins of Coach Walter Hyvarinen, the team won the first Class D U.P. volleyball title.
Chuck Compo
Charles Compo retired in 1990 with an amazing record of 408 victories and only 74 losses. His teams won nine conference championships and seven regional championships. He was U.P. coach of the year in 1984 and the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1988. In addition to winning the U.P. tournament, in 1988, the Brimley Bays were ranked #1 in the State for Class D and ranked in the top 10 Coaches poll for 9 years. Seventeen of Compo's players would earn All-State honors, a total of 32 times.
Iron Mountain 1981-82
Led by Coach Rick Olds, the Iron Mountain boys' basketball team had a 20-0 regular season. The team traveled to NMU's Hedgcock Fieldhouse to play Negaunee in the regional championships, defeating the Miners 60-50, to take the U.P. crown. However, the team's season would come to an end in the Quarterfinal game against Reed City.
Row 1: J. Riske, R. Chiamulera, K. Hicks, R. Popp, T. Hewes, T. Sacchetti, B. Popp, R. Donaldson. Row 2: D. Droese, T. Andreini, B. Christesen, R. Flaminio, D. Bianco, T. Riske, C. Bazan. Row 3: G. Langsford, T. Penegor, M. Swanson, J. St. Amour, D. Capra, B. Gauthier, T. Betti, J. Lemke. Row 4: V. Flaminio, M. Courney, R. Maycroft, J. Poupore, R. Landsee, R. Maki. J. Hendrickson, J. Harry. Row 5: D. Tramontine, R. Helberg, J. Connors, J. Michaud, T. Danielson, R. Welker, N. Johnson. S. Allen. Row 6: P. Strang - Manager, T. Awrey - Assistant Coach, R. Debelak - Assistant Coach, M. Harry - Head Coach, P. Maki - Manager.The 1981 Iron Mountain football team was the first in 56 years to have a perfect regular season: 7-0. The team won the Mid-Peninsula Conference Championship, only giving up 13 points during the regular season. They lost 9-7 in the semifinals to North Muskegon High. The following players who received both All-Conference and All-U.P. honors were Nick Johnson, Vince Flaminio, Jon Harry, Rob Landsee, Bill Popp, and Rick Popp.
Wrestling was another sport that had a fine season in 1981. The team took firsts in the Mid-Peninsula Conference Meet, the U.P. State Meet, and the Rhinelander Invitational. It placed second at the Lakeland Invitational. Nine wrestlers were Conference Champions and three of those also received U.P. titles; Bob Mariucci, Rich Donaldson, and Mike Courney.
Row 1: J. Erickion, E. Wilcheck, E. Brule, B. Turk, B. Cade. Row 2: Coach Wirth, C. Belongie, J. Hicks, P. Carollo, J. Lofstrom, K. Carlson. Row 3: K. Drake, W. Johnson, J. Derwinski, S. Krause, D. Baldinelli. Not Pictured: J. Korol, V. Giancola, S. Villa, L. Dinnocenzo, K. Edlund, C. Clarke, L. Fortner, D. Berutti. P. LaFave.The 1981 Iron Mountain girls' tennis team went undefeated, becoming the Mid-Peninsula Conference Champions and placing first in U.P. Class C - D tournament. The Iron Mountain boys' tennis team won all but one of its matches in the 1982 season. The team won the Mid-Peninsula Championship in Westwood and the U.P. Class C Championship in Ishpeming.
The girls' and boys' golf teams both placed second at the Mid-Peninsula Conference Championship. The boys' team went on to take second place at the U.P. tournament in Iron Mountain.
Another successful sports story at Iron Mountain was the boys' track team in the 1981-82 academic year. The boys placed first at every meet, with the exception of the Class C Finals in Marquette, where they were runners-up to Ironwood. Three school records were broken that year: Mary Humphrey in the 3200 meter run, John Furno in the 1600 meter run, and Nicky Johnson in discus.
Images courtesy of Rick Olds and Iron Mountain Public Schools.
E-TC Basketball
Class D Boys State Champions
From L to R Row 1: Mike McLaughlin, Mike Carlisle, Keith Hemming. Row 2: Bryan Besonen, George Hardes, Bob Bessen, Jim Leaf. Row 3: Coach Perhalla, John Hardes, Gary Fors, Cliff N., Pat Laitinen, Mgr.There are many good basketball programs in the Upper Peninsula and a few great ones. But maybe no program has a greater combination of wins, titles and individual records than that of Ewen-Trout Creek. Located in southern Ontonagon County, this consolidated school district has produced some of the finest players and coaches in Upper Peninsula sports history.
This tradition of greatness began even before the schools were consolidated in 1968. Before that, Ewen and Trout Creek had separate basketball programs and these arch rival programs both produced great teams and players. Trout Creek won the Class E State Title in 1955, 1956 and 1958 and U.P. Class D titles in 1935 and 1937. Ewen would win the U.P. Class D title in 1940.
Over the past 40 years since those State Championships, Ewen-Trout Creek has continued to be one of the most dominant programs in the U.P., compiling an impressive list of conference and regional championships. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams have returned to the state finals (Boys-1982; Girls-1974 and 1985), but have not won another championship. Regardless, the programs produced two of the winningest coaches in U.P. history; Tom Caudill and Nancy Osier (see other panels).
Gary Fors
Bob Besson, Gary Fors and coach Rudy Perhalla accept the Class D Regional Trophy at Hedgecock Fieldhouse in Marquette, March 1972.In 1972, the new Ewen-Trout Creek put together maybe its finest squad. The Panthers, coached by Rudy Perhalla, went undefeated throughout the regular season and the playoffs, soundly defeating Flint Holy Rosary in the final by the score of 74-62. Leading the team were All-State standouts, center Gary Fors and guard Bob Bessen.
1973 Ewen - Trout Creek Basketball Team
Class D Girls State Champions
Row 1, L-R: Sandy Manning. Kay Lannet, Linda Karianen. Laura Karianen. Carrie George. Row 2: Peggy Hemming. Pattie Hemming. Sandy Lannet. Jamie Fleming. Theresa Wolfe.Not to be outdone, the Ewen-Trout Creek girls basketball team has developed into a dominant program as well. Girls basketball had been played off and on for many years around the U.P., but there hadn’t been a state tournament until 1973. In that year, the Panthers, under the leadership of Betty Neilsen, won the first girls Class D state crown, defeating North Muskegon by the score of 57-48.
Calumet Hockey
Image courtesy of the Daily Mining Gazette.Hockey and the town of Calumet go hand in hand. The game has been played in the community in one way or another going back to the 19th century. As early as the 1900s, Calumet High School was fielding a team, which would play other high schools or the many professional and semi-pro teams in the area.
Under the leadership of legendary coach Jim Crawford, the Copper Kings played in their first State Championship game in 1985, losing to Bloomfield Hills-Cranbrook by the score of 10-2. They would return again in 1991, only to lose to Cranbrook again in two overtimes, 5-4. Not to be discouraged, Calumet returned to the final in 1992 and took its first championship by defeating Riverview Gabriel Richard, 8-0! The team would return the following year and take the 1993 title by scoring 13 unanswered goals against Flint Powers Catholic. The 1992 & 1993 champs had a combined record of 50-3-1.
Calumet playing Hancock in the 2009 Regional Championship game in Houghton.
Image courtesy of the Daily Mining Gazette.Since then the Copper Kings have won four more State titles including Class B - C - D titles in 1996 & 1998 and Division III titles in 2003 & 2008. They also played in the State championship game in 2011, but lost to Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
In attaining these amazing championships, Coach Jeff Crawford has amassed an incredible record over his 27-year career. Through the 2011-12 season, his record is 500-225-19. In addition to six state championship victories, his teams have won 11 league titles and 15 regional titles.
Four minutes into overtime, on the 57th shot of the game, Calumet forward Logan Rastello buried his own rebound for the only goal in the Division 3 hockey state championship game.
Image Courtesy of the Detroit Free Press.
1910 Calumet Hockey Team
Image courtesy of Michigan Tech and Copper Country Archives.
Pickford Track
This story begins with Coach Webster Morrison, a WWII veteran who returned to his hometown to teach. In 1952, he was coach of the Pickford baseball team. A scheduled game with Newberry was cancelled, so Morrison and his assistant David McDowell thought that perhaps it would be fun for the boys to enter a track meet in Sault Ste. Marie since they didn’t have a game. They did so well in the meet, the team quickly got permission from the MHSAA to enter the Regionals in Marquette. They won the Regional and then went to the U.P. championship at Michigan Tech, where they won the meet with 32 points, narrowly defeating second-place Eben.
Pickford track team members race in 1954From that point forward, Pickford’s boys track team was a juggernaut year in and year out, winning the U.P. finals. Each year, it was expected the team would be the favorite, but even when they weren’t, they would find a way to come out on top. Part of the reason for their success was simply numbers, for athletes want to play for a champion; one year 55 boys went out for the team!
Morrison would end his track career as he began it, winning the U.P. Finals for the last time in 1976, his 25th straight. The Pickford program would win the U.P. Finals again in 1977 (Coach Richard Johnson) and 1978 (Coach Robert McHaney) before the streak ended in 1979, when the title was won by Crystal Falls-Forest Park. Since that time, Pickford’s boys have won six more U.P. titles in Class D and Division III, including four straight titles (1989-1992) under the helm of Sam Lightfoot.
Images courtesy of Roger Morrison, Pickford.
Web Morrison and his team 1976 team celebrate his final Class D U.P. Track title, the 25th in a row.
Crystal Falls Forest Park
Image courtesy of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
On the very same day in 1975 that Ishpeming defeated Hudson for the Class C Title, Crystal Falls Forest Park Trojans won the most lopsided State Final in Michigan history, in the Class D championship in Kalamazoo. After pounding Posen 67-0 in the State Semifinal, CFFP soundly defeated Flint Holy Rosary in the final, 50-0. The team was led with four rushing touchdowns by Bill Santilli, a state final record that stood for 35 years. The Trojans, under the coaching legend Richard Mettlach, would return the next year to beat Holy Rosary again by a much closer score of 14-6. But a dynasty had been created that represents the U.P.s most dominant and successful football program to date.
Crystal Falls Forest Park first consolidated as schools in 1967. Before that time, the Crystal Falls Trojans had already built an incredibly strong football program under the leadership of Coach Mettlach starting in 1956. Between 1955 and 1966, the school had a record of 69-29-2, including undefeated seasons in 1957, 1958 and 1965. In 1965, they also won the Barber Trophy, given to the best team in the Upper Peninsula. Mettlach would continue to coach the Trojans until 1990 and finished his career with a record of 239-73-6. Since consolidation, the CFFP program has the best winning percentage of program in the U.P. (.751), which is far ahead of the second place Kingsford Flivvers (.677).
Trojans celebrate their 2007 Division 8 State Championship.
Image courtesy of Detroit Free Press.In 1996 Bill Santilli, former Trojan and star of the 1975 championship team, took the reins of the CFFP program. For the past 15 seasons, the Trojans have never failed to make the playoffs. They have won eight regional titles and have reached the State Final seven times. In 2007, after making it to the State Final the previous three seasons, the Trojans won the Division 8 State Championship (their first in 31 years) with a 22-14 victory over Fulton-Middle- ton. Santilli’s record through the 2011 season was 152-42.
Several CFFP players hold Upper Peninsula football records. These include the following:
- Rushing touchdowns in Season - 30 - Seth Chernach (2005)
- Career Points - 522 - Dan Lato (1976-78)
- Career Extra Points - 97 - Levi Jarvi (1996-1999)
- Consecutive 100 Yard games - 23 - Dean Arcand (1981-83)