Chippewa Valley edges Dakota 17-7 in district finals

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — A lineman scoring a touchdown, big-time special team plays and a strong defensive unit: All of these things contribute to a winning formula in playoff football.

When Clinton Township Chippewa Valley hosted Macomb Dakota on Nov. 3 for the teams’ 13th meeting in postseason history, the Big Reds pulled out all the stops to edge their Macomb Area Conference Red rivals.

Behind a fourth quarter 7-yard touchdown pass from senior Andrew Schuster to senior Cash Shaw, which was the only scoring in the second half from either side, Chippewa Valley pulled away with the 17-7 win over Dakota to earn the district championship trophy.

Dakota went into the matchup leading the postseason and all-time series 9-3 and 23-14 respectively, but Chippewa Valley’s defense had other plans, forcing two Dakota interceptions by senior defensive back Dwight Downing and junior linebacker Donny Diegel.

“We changed our scheme a little bit this year, so I think it took a little bit of time at the beginning of the year to get used to the changes we made, so I think that’s part of it,” Chippewa Valley coach Scott Merchant said. “Obviously we play a tough schedule and play a lot of good teams. The Ike (Eisenhower) game was Week 3, and the West Bloomfield game was Week 1. I think we learned a lot from those two games and made some adjustments personnel wise, kept the right guys in there, and coached them up, and they’ve developed and gotten better and better as the year’s gone on.”

Dakota struck first on their opening possession of the game after junior Jadon Ford connected with senior wideout Trent Morin for 53 yards to the Chippewa Valley 6-yard line. Junior Brady Hamby finished off the drive with a touchdown pass to senior Austin Tuchowski to take an early 7-0 lead, but it was all Chippewa Valley from there.

Chippewa Valley found the most unconventional way to open up their scoring as senior quarterback Andrew Schuster fumbled at the Dakota 2-yard line, but senior lineman Davont’a Love was the perfect man in the perfect spot, corralling the loose ball for a 2-yard touchdown to make it a 7-7 game three minutes before halftime.

While lineman touchdowns always have a special place in the hearts of football fans since the days of William “The Refrigerator” Perry of the Chicago Bears rumbling and stumbling into the endzone, Merchant said Love isn’t your average lineman.

“The funny thing is that Davont’a is a great athlete, and he reminds me of that all the time,” Merchant said. “He also probably has the strongest arm on the team. He can throw a spiral probably about 60 yards. He’s always reminded me about how he can play quarterback and this and that.”

Chippewa Valley would force the Dakota offense to punt before the end of the half, and the Big Reds offense, with some help from a Dakota pass interference penalty, gave their kicker a chance to add onto the lead before halftime.

Junior Juliano Haddad buried the 36-yard field goal to not only give Chippewa Valley the 10-7 lead but also break the school record for most field goals in a season with 10, previously set last season by Tarik Ahmetbasic. Ahmetbasic, currently a freshman kicker for Michigan State University, was a first team all-state selection last year for Chippewa Valley. Once Ahmetbasic graduated, it was up to Haddad to step up and fill the role. 

Merchant and Chippewa Valley varsity soccer coach, Gerry Haggarty, have had an ongoing tradition of soccer players becoming high school kickers, and Haddad is another exceptional kicker added to the list.

“When we lost him (Tarik), that was a huge void because he had been our guy for two years and was just phenomenal,” Merchant said. “So for Juliano to come here, and he kicked some on JV last year, but his first varsity campaign, he broke Tarik’s record last year for most field goals in a season. He’s hit 10 of 11 this year, which is unbelievable. It’s one of those things that you don’t know how good you have it until you don’t have it.”

On special teams, the Big Reds were making plays all night with senior Rayshaun Hester collecting a blocked punt and junior Eric Thomas Jr. tallying a 50-yard punt return.

With two Macomb Area Conference teams facing off early in the playoffs, especially the caliber of Chippewa Valley and Dakota, it begs the question of whether the playoff format should be moved to seeding, as opposed to the geographic format the Michigan High School Athletic Association currently uses. Utica and Utica Eisenhower faced off in the first round just two weeks after facing each other, and other Oakland Activities Association teams squared off again in districts after playing each other in the regular season.

“I don’t personally like it,” Merchant said. “I know other coaches don’t like the format. Basically, it’s a MAC Red conference tournament every year is what it is. It somewhat diminishes what happens during the regular season because you know you’re just going to have to turn around and play them again.”

Chippewa Valley will now shift their attention to an unfamiliar opponent — Southfield A&T. This will be the first meeting ever between the two schools, who both won their respective conferences. Chippewa Valley will host Southfield A&T on Nov. 10 in the regional finals.

“They played Saturday, so as soon as we knew who we were playing the film began on Saturday and all day yesterday (Nov. 5),” Merchant said. “We had meetings last night. We’re fully immersed in Southfield A&T.”