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Photo: E. Simon
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Issue 2 Dance
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Turn to pages 2 and 3 to get the inside scoop on Homecoming spirit week attire, the Powder Puff game and Friday afternoon assembly
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October 14, 2014
Volume 94
2014 MIPA Spartan Award Winner
Traverse City Central High School 1150 Milliken Drive, Traverse City, Michigan 49686
Trojans fall to Northmen late
After ending the first half with a lead over Petoskey, the Trojans fell apart in the fourth quarter of the HC Game
For an overview of everything that happened on the day of the dance, turn to page 4
Stick to the plan, or not
Football coaches and players discuss elements of their game plan against Petoskey and reflect on their success or failure to follow through
Noah Aulicino Staff Reporter
Control time of possession “Petoskey has a dangerous offense, so we tried to counter by holding the ball as long as we could. We put in a two-fullback set and used Joey Schepperly ‘15 and Matt Pupel ‘15 to try to grind out first downs, and overall I think that was successful.” -Head Coach Tom Passinault
Run the ball effectively “Offensively we knew what box they would be in, and basically which way they would have their linebackers and linemen so we tailored our run game to that. We also were hoping to have a pass game, but the rain and cold had an effect on that.” -Jake Lesoski ‘15
Swarm to the ball
Photo: E. Simon
Daniel Youker ‘15 dives for a tackle. Youker was pleased with the team’s stick-to-itiveness on defense. “We had a lot of guys tackle well,” he said. “We had some really good defense, guys really sacrificed themselves so other people could get the tackle, they took up a lot of blockers and dove on the ground.” Youker feels the team needs to stay positive. “We need to stick together,” he said. “It’s easy to get down when you lose a game but everybody’s just got to come together and play well.”
John Minster & Hayley Scollard Editor-in-Chief and Opinion Editor, Staff Reporter With rain pouring down and the wind howling through Thirlby Field, the Trojans were on Petoskey’s 30 yard line, a 4th down and inches standing between them and potential victory. Everything was still. The snap count came, the ball handed off, but there was nowhere for Joey Schepperly ‘15 to go. Stuffed. The Traverse City Central Trojans fell to the Petoskey Northmen 13-16, dropping their first game of Big North Conference play. The game was hotly contested throughout, but the Trojans’ sloppiness with the ball and Petoskey’s suffocating defense ultimately led to a Northmen victory. “We played hard, at times we played quite well, but a combination of too many mistakes probably lead to our defeat,” Head Coach Tom Passinault said. The Trojans came in focused on stopping the run. “They have a really tightly stacked offense, they try to send everybody to one part of the attack and gain five yards every play,” Schepperly said. “So our defense had to pretty much plug holes the entire game.” Early on, Petoskey completed a long play action pass, getting all the way down to the one yard line before drawing first blood with a short touchdown run. After the Northmen missed the PAT (point after touchdown), the Trojans found themselves trailing 6-0. The next possession, Central began to find their stride on offense, pounding the Northmen inside. After driving into Petoskey territory, the Trojans were faced with a 4th down. They went for it, however the handoff was muffed and Petoskey recovered the ball on their own 39. “We just can’t turn the ball over. Fumbles and interceptions are a death nail for almost any team,” Passinault said. Undeterred, the Trojans bounced back, their swarming defense, led by Daniel Youker ‘15, forced a Northmen punt on their next possession. “We did some stuff we weren’t comfortable with, but I just tried to take up a lot of blockers, I dove a lot, I did my job on defense,” Youker said. Getting the ball back, Central continued to punish the Northmen between the tackles, going 61 yards and capping the drive off with a Schepperly touchdown, who dragged multiple defenders into the end zone for the score. Halfway through the 2nd quarter, the Trojans led 7-6. “We changed up our offense a little bit because we needed more power because of our injuries,” Schepperly said. Both teams dug in defensively
for the rest of the quarter and the score remained 7-6 at half. Quarterback Sean Williams ‘15 began stringing multiple completions together to start the half and Central had Petoskey off balance. They handed the ball off to Matt Pupel ‘15 who bursted through a hole, shucked off multiple defenders and punched the ball in for a 37 yard touchdown. “I was just pumped up, I was running as hard as I could and ran them right into the end zone. I wasn’t stopping,” he said. After an unsuccessful extra point attempt, the Trojans were up 13-6. A relatively uneventful third quarter followed, but the Northmen drove the ball down to the one yard line before the quarter came to an end. To begin the fourth however, they fumbled and Central recovered the ball. That Central possession, Petoskey came right back and intercepted a Williams pass in Trojan territory, setting up great field position. “The wind was a big factor, the quarters we were going into the wind made it very difficult to pass the ball,” Passinault said. “It was a tough night to throw, Sean is a very good passer but just couldn’t get a real good grip on the ball and it really affected some of his throws.” Youker and Jake Lesoski ‘15 combined to stop the Northmen on their first play, but a play action pass caught the Trojans off guard and Petoskey scored a touchdown, nailed the PAT and tied the game up 13-13. A few possessions later, after a Central fumble and a Northmen punt, the Trojans were once again driving. However, another pass sailed and Petoskey snagged the ball and returned it all the way to the Trojan 24 with just over four minutes left. Central held the Northmen out of the end zone, but Petoskey put one between the uprights, going up 16-13 with just under two minutes left. “We try not to think about what the game is, whether it’s homecoming or senior night, we just try to execute our game plan once we get on the field,” Youker said. A big kickoff return from Devante Walker ‘17 got Central out to the Northmen 48. The Trojans continued to punish Petoskey inside, led by Schepperly, but were faced with a 4th and inches. Handing it off to Schepperly, the Trojans were stuffed, turning the ball over on downs, and the Northmen were victorious 16-13. “We played with a lot of heart, ” Passinault said. “We played very well on defense and at times we ran the ball well, so overall I’m proud of the effort.”
Roger LaLonde, G&G Cotton, Clark (G.G.P.)... parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends names displayed on the back of the Trojan jerseys. “It was a great feeling for me personally,” Reagan Cotton ‘16 said. “While you were out there you knew that not only were you playing for your teammates and for your fans, but you were also playing for the people whose names were on the jersies.” The players took to the field donning purple and white jerseys rather than the traditional
Take care of the ball “It went well until we had a few turnovers, a couple fumbles, and a couple interceptions. But all in all, we were there at the end of the game, we just didn’t execute. Our offense had some turnovers that put our defense in some pretty bad situations.” -Assistant Coach Doug Gle
Royal crowning
Graphic: E. Simon
Grace Stanton and Matt Pupel both ‘15 win Homecoming Queen and King. “I was excited at first, but it was really awkward standing there and having people take pictures of you,” Stanton said.
diseases including cancer. “Knowing that not only was this a normal game, but the fact that we were supporting people less fortunate than ourselves was great and that some of the profit went to that research was a great feeling overall and made the game really special,” Cotton said. While Cotton was playing for his great grandparents, LaLonde was playing for his father, a survivor. “I kind of personified it for me because my Dad’s name was on the back,” LaLonde said. “It made me think of him while I was playing the game.” y
Editor-in-Chief and Sports Editor
black, gold and white in order to support the fight against cancer. The team knew there was a greater purpose to their game which could only benefit the players mindsets. “We try to come into each game having the same mentality and not let anything affect us for the worse,” Grayson LaLonde ‘16 said. “This time we were affected in a good way with the extra meaning of the game.” Before the season began, the coaches decided upon dedicating the Homecoming game to the fight against cancer, so the players were told to find a sponsor. The sponsor was meant to cover the cost of the jerseys in addition to providing money to donate to the Van Andle Institute. The institute’s main focus is working to find cures for
“Going into the game we knew they would be very physical. We wanted to counter their physicality by being even more physical. We accomplished our goals, the game just came down to how it played out. In the end we only lost by a field goal.” -Anthony Kratovil ‘15
earne ic: S. K
Erin Lipp
Match physicality
Graph
Purple to honor those fighting cancer
“They have an offense that stays tight to the line of scrimmage, double tight end, double wing backs. They try to bring as many blockers to the point of attack as possible. The challenge of that is getting our players to the point of attack and being physical and taking on those blockers. I thought our players did a good job of doing that.” -Defensive Coordinator Eric Schugars