Michigan Center’s multi-faceted football ready for a disciplined attack from Constantine

JACKSON – It is often said that styles make fights.

That will certainly be the case on Saturday, as Michigan Center (6-1) take on No.8 Constantine (8-1) at 2 p.m. in Regional Division 6 at Gull Lake High School in a clash that should be an intriguing battle. very different patterns.

The Cardinals rely on a multiplicity of playmakers in the passing and running game to keep the defenses on their heels. The Falcons, on the other hand, have a well-established muscle memory with Wing-T training after years of success using the disciplined running style.

The deceptive option-based offense helped Constantine score eight straight wins and rush for over 3,000 yards and 48 touchdowns for an average of 400 yards per game during their winning streak.

“You see the T (training) offense every now and then here, but you don’t see it working the same way as (Constantine),” said Michigan Center head coach Troy Allen. “When you face them, it’s a whole different world.

“In a normal season we would meet a few teams leading the offense. T. Hanover-Horton is pretty consistent with that, but they do different variations of it. Addison manages the T effectively, but we haven’t had a chance to play Addison this year due to the shortened season. It would have been a good opportunity for us to play against an opponent who executes a similar attack before we jump into this game, as it is a difficult attack to simulate in training.

“They’re really good at what they do, and they do it effectively. It’s a well-trained team, and it’s a state championship winning program, so we know we’re up to a challenge. “

Second-year hooker Brayden Clark leads the charge for Constantine, rushing for 1,309 yards and 13 touchdowns on 132 carries and catching four passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Ty Dumm adds 520 yards and eight touchdowns to the mix, while junior quarterback Caden Hetzy has run for 429 yards and 12 touchdowns on 61 carries and is also 12 of 26 passes for 334 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

“They have a bunch of running backs that they can throw at you,” Allen said. “No. 4 (Clark) for them is the real deal and their quarterback (Hetzy) is also a common threat. He can throw the ball pretty well, but they really have four people out of their backfield that can hurt you. if they can enter the open field.

“They do a great job of hiding the ball when they rally out of the backfield, so locating the ball carrier and heading for the ball is going to be very important against their offense. We have to have good discipline in the spreads and tackle well in the open space, because they are going to try to create open lanes with blocks and stretching games.

Without much in-game action against a tricky ploy that often feeds off defenses out of position or excessive chases, Allen’s main focus in training since the season restart has been to train his players. defensive not to get lost in the reshuffle.

“We insist to our children that it will be more important than ever that they trust their teammates,” he said. “That’s how you win against a T-formation attack. You can’t be caught out of position and everyone has to stay disciplined and do their jobs. The second you start to spike in the backfield or try to play on the other end of the court, that’s when they are throwing a block at you.

“Constantine will catch you napping four or five times in a game and they take these games home more often. It will be essential to eliminate these kinds of errors and limit their big games. If we can force them to make long journeys and put them in awkward situations of descent and distance, that will make all the difference to us. “

The Falcon defense averaged 16 points per game in the playoffs, anchored by junior safety Carson Platz, who registered 48 tackles. Senior Isaac Hall adds 45 tackles, including seven loss tackles and two sacks, while Boe Eckman has 41 tackles with two sacks and seven loss tackles.

Junior Owen Griffith recorded 36 tackles in nine games, while junior Heston Wiggs added 30 tackles with three sacks, senior Gage Ensign added 27 tackles with four sacks, Lukas Hagenbuch had three interceptions and Austin Gross added one.

“They love to lead a 5-2 front, which we don’t see a lot in our league,” Allen said. “We generally see more 4-man fronts. They are very disciplined in what they do. They don’t do a lot of blitzing because they already have seven guys in the box, so they don’t feel like they need to do that to put pressure on you.

The Cardinals have relied on the explosive playing ability of junior back Kaydin Hiland, who has accumulated 607 yards and eight touchdowns in 60 carries and added 12 receptions for 212 yards and four touchdowns in seven games this season. Second-year fullback Mitchell Corwin adds power between tackles for the Michigan Center offense, while two-threat senior quarterback Joe Olkowski can stress a defense with his arms and legs.

Broad seniors Matt Brown and Brock Cyrocki are the team’s main threats in the passing game, which has proven to be the biggest difference for the Cardinals against Jonesville.

“For us it will depend on whether or not we can get through that first level of their defense or not,” Allen said. “I can’t believe they’ve seen two running backs of Hiland and Corwin’s caliber this season.

“They’ve both had great seasons so far, but we’ve never really been able to get them both started at the same time, so we’re hoping we can get them both involved and give them a rhythm in this match. One of them ran into Adrian Madison and the other was out for most of the Jonesville game, so I think this extended leave will help these two get back in shape and get into the this game rejuvenated and revitalized.

Winter conditions can be another hurdle for Michigan Center to overcome, but Allen believes his resilient group of players will find a way through the elements and force Constantine into uncomfortable dilemmas on defense.

“I think the January weather is definitely a plus for them as they are mostly a running team,” he said. “We’re more of a balanced attack, and we’re not going to hesitate to pass the ball because I think that’s a potential advantage for us.

“We pride ourselves on being multi-faceted and doing a lot of different things to maintain an unbalanced defense. Every match and every match dictates what we do, but we’ve been able to adjust if one aspect of our offense is removed. We hope we can continue to stay balanced heading into this game as that would level the playing field against a team that will have an advantage in cold weather games like this.

“I think the team that can push their opponent more out of their usual routine in this game will likely end up making it to the semi-finals.”

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