The Big Game.
Here it is. Well, it's here...the game that everyone around here has been looking forward to all season long. Frankenmuth at Millington. Both teams are 7-0 (6-0 TVC-E) and the Cardinals and the Eagles could not be more evenly matched.
They have the exact same number of playoff points (85.714) at this point of the season; both teams blew out Vassar and held the Vulcans without a defensive TD (kickoff return against the Eagles and punt return vs the Cards); both teams blew out Bridgeport and North Branch. And both teams had to play their best to hold off Garber (Muth won 17-7 at Muth while Millington won 20-14 at Garber).
One game where things were different was when both played Birch Run. Muth had to use a last minute field goal to win 23-20 while Millington blew out the Panther 45-17, both games played in Birch Run.
The game also has the best storylines associated with any game in the area.
Roger Bearss, who was the Frankenmuth head varsity football coach from 2001-05, is now the Millington offensive coordinator. Bearss, a Millington grad who played at CMU; is also the schools new principal. He has been a head coach at a few different schools around the state, including a short stint as the head coach at Bad Axe.
John Blankenship, who first coached Frankenmuth from 1992-2000, is in his second season in his second stint as the coach in 'Muth. Blankenship was the head coach in Millington for one season (1977) leading them to a 6-3 record. His defensive coordinator that year was Tim Furno, who took over as head coach of Millington in 1978 when Blankenship left for Houghton Lake.
Furno has been with the Millington program since 1972. He now has 187 wins in his 30th year as head coach in Millington.
Hands down...this is the best rivalry in the Tuscola County area. Every year, outside of the last three when Birch Run won the league, it seems that the winner of this game goes on to either win or share for a piece of the TVC-E league title. The two coaches are old friends and former colleagues....one coordinator used to head the other team, a fact which always irritated the fans of Frankenmuth.
The 'Muth fans never gave Roger Bearss a fair chance...they always took issue with the fact that Roger was from Millington. When he dared change the uniforms and helmets in 2005, the town nearly revolted. The fact that Roger was let go after directing his team to the schools first football district championship should tell you something about the rivalry between these two schools.
Although I don't blame Muth fans for this...I'm a Millington grad (1992) and if the Cardinal brass hired a Frankenmuth grad to succeed Furno some day...well, I would take issue with that if that happened! I was a part of this rivalry and I completely understand how the towns feel toward each other.
Not a friendly rivalry. Most of the other rivalries in the area are based on a mutual respect for each other. In the Millington-Frankenmuth rivalry, that mutual respect is non-existent. I'm not sure why that is....my theory is that back in the early days of the Tri-Valley, Millington used to be the whipping boy for almost every team in the league.
When that changed in the early 1990's, and Millington turned into a league powerhouse, it seemed like Frankenmuth still looked at the Cardinals as the whipping boy. Only now do they recognize Millington as their main rivalry, and the fact that it took them so long to do so still grinds at Millington fans.
2-0 vs the Eagles. That's something that I was very proud of when I played...that I never lost to Frankenmuth in high school football. We beat them as freshman (didn't play them for two years because we jumped to Thumb B) and then beat them 6-0 as seniors. That game was also a matchup of two 7-0 teams. This Friday night should be just as good a game as that one was 16 years ago.
They have the exact same number of playoff points (85.714) at this point of the season; both teams blew out Vassar and held the Vulcans without a defensive TD (kickoff return against the Eagles and punt return vs the Cards); both teams blew out Bridgeport and North Branch. And both teams had to play their best to hold off Garber (Muth won 17-7 at Muth while Millington won 20-14 at Garber).
One game where things were different was when both played Birch Run. Muth had to use a last minute field goal to win 23-20 while Millington blew out the Panther 45-17, both games played in Birch Run.
The game also has the best storylines associated with any game in the area.
Roger Bearss, who was the Frankenmuth head varsity football coach from 2001-05, is now the Millington offensive coordinator. Bearss, a Millington grad who played at CMU; is also the schools new principal. He has been a head coach at a few different schools around the state, including a short stint as the head coach at Bad Axe.
John Blankenship, who first coached Frankenmuth from 1992-2000, is in his second season in his second stint as the coach in 'Muth. Blankenship was the head coach in Millington for one season (1977) leading them to a 6-3 record. His defensive coordinator that year was Tim Furno, who took over as head coach of Millington in 1978 when Blankenship left for Houghton Lake.
Furno has been with the Millington program since 1972. He now has 187 wins in his 30th year as head coach in Millington.
Hands down...this is the best rivalry in the Tuscola County area. Every year, outside of the last three when Birch Run won the league, it seems that the winner of this game goes on to either win or share for a piece of the TVC-E league title. The two coaches are old friends and former colleagues....one coordinator used to head the other team, a fact which always irritated the fans of Frankenmuth.
The 'Muth fans never gave Roger Bearss a fair chance...they always took issue with the fact that Roger was from Millington. When he dared change the uniforms and helmets in 2005, the town nearly revolted. The fact that Roger was let go after directing his team to the schools first football district championship should tell you something about the rivalry between these two schools.
Although I don't blame Muth fans for this...I'm a Millington grad (1992) and if the Cardinal brass hired a Frankenmuth grad to succeed Furno some day...well, I would take issue with that if that happened! I was a part of this rivalry and I completely understand how the towns feel toward each other.
Not a friendly rivalry. Most of the other rivalries in the area are based on a mutual respect for each other. In the Millington-Frankenmuth rivalry, that mutual respect is non-existent. I'm not sure why that is....my theory is that back in the early days of the Tri-Valley, Millington used to be the whipping boy for almost every team in the league.
When that changed in the early 1990's, and Millington turned into a league powerhouse, it seemed like Frankenmuth still looked at the Cardinals as the whipping boy. Only now do they recognize Millington as their main rivalry, and the fact that it took them so long to do so still grinds at Millington fans.
2-0 vs the Eagles. That's something that I was very proud of when I played...that I never lost to Frankenmuth in high school football. We beat them as freshman (didn't play them for two years because we jumped to Thumb B) and then beat them 6-0 as seniors. That game was also a matchup of two 7-0 teams. This Friday night should be just as good a game as that one was 16 years ago.
Comments
No comments on the other big game in the Thumb this week, the Sugar Bowl between Reese and USA?
as
And we do consider USA as a part of our coverage area. Don't put words in your mouth for us.
Here is who we cover:
Akron-Fairgrove
Caro
Cass City
Frankenmuth
Owen-Gage
Marlette
Millington
Mayville
Kingston
Vassar
Juniata Christian
USA
North Branch
As you can see, we cover more than Tuscola Co.
As for Andrew's assessment of Muth/Mill being the best rivalry...that's his opinion. He's allowed to have those. I would assume he would think that way. He graduated from Millington.
Plus, rivalry's stem from years of angst toward each other...so giving stats on how far a team goes in the playoffs means nothing toward a rivalry. That just means good coaching and great players. Not who your rival is.
I can never remember reading about USA in the Advertiser or hearing about them on the radio. Oh wait, I do read about them every week and hear about them on the radio. Huh, that was a worthless attempt at trying to slam the paper.
Really I don't think Jason was trying to slam your paper as much as you make it out to be. Try dealing with a negative comment in a professional manner once in a while.
I've been nice for far too long. It's good to be me again.
and Here is who we cover:
Akron-Fairgrove
Caro
Cass City
Frankenmuth
Owen-Gage
Marlette
Millington
Mayville
Kingston
Vassar
Juniata Christian
USA
North Branch
as Jon stated
How do you know what is convenient for us? Do you sit with us after deadline on Friday nights and run down the list of contests for the week and figure out assignments?
For once, I would like you to point out how we have slighted USA, and I'm sure I can point out why that happened.
Many times, and Coach V, Gainey or any other USA coach will admit - cause they have - that they are bad at getting us information on a timely basis. We have an 11 p.m. deadline on Friday nights for football information. It's noon Tuesday for anything else for Wednesday paper and Friday at noon for all other sports other than football.
After that, we can't hold the paper to get it. And we do not have the time to personally call coaches to get said information, because we are busy with the coaches that do call in right after their games. And if coaches don't call...an assistant or statsitician calls in place to make sure the info gets to us. We can only put the information we get into the paper. It's that simple. If we look like we are slighting a school, maybe it's because the school is slighting themselves.
Again, saying we are biased toward the TVE, another blanket statement.
How? You say you deal in facts, prove it.
I'm just trying to clear up any confusion you may have, or to stop claims that are not true. If you want to take it as something else, be my guest.
As for radio, we try to be as balanced as possible, while getting in one game per school. Sometimes we have to double up, but that happens.
We have covered the following games this season:
Wk 1: Marlette at Kingston (GTE vs. NCTL)
Wk 2: Sandusky at Mayville (2 GTEs)
Wk 3: Millington at North Branch (2 TVEs)
Wk 4: Caro at Millington (2 TVEs)
Wk 5: USA at Cass City (2 GTWs)
Wk 6: Cass City at Reese (2 GTWs)
Wk 7: Vassar at Frankenmuth (2 TVEs)
Wk 8: USA at Reese (2 GTWs)
Wk 9: Birch Run at Reese (TVE vs GTW)
Final count: 10 GTC, 7 TVE, 1 NCTL
Looks like radio is balanced, a slight lean TOWARD the GTC. When I get to work (at home right now getting stats set for All-Thumb meeting in a few weeks), I will go through and see what we have run on th front page since the fall season began.
What does the radio have to do with the TCA? I never posted anything about the radio. I do know one thing for sure, the READERS of the paper know coverage of the entire Thumb was a whole lot better when Dave Bossick was around. (Now that may be a slam, or it may just be my opinion, or it may be my opinion plus the opinion of many people I have talked to).
I never said the rivalry between Reese and USA was better because of the postseason success of those teams. In my original post it says "The Reese - USA teams also have done better on a statewide scale in their own divisions." The key word there is ALSO.
My issue, if you read the original post, is with the statement that was made that the 'Muth - Millington rivalry is "HANDS DOWN THE BEST AREA RIVALRY". I never even said that the Reese - USA rivalry was better. Never.
Spike; I never said that you don't consider USA a part of your coverage area. I said you don't consider them a Tuscola County school. I read that in the TCA once. Read what I wrote, DON'T PUT WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH FOR ME! I agree that Andrew is entitled to his opinion. Apparently I am not entitled to mine.
Christian; Read my above comments. You also seem to have a reading comprehension issue along with an anger management problem. I never said anything about the TCA's coverage of USA. So I guess that makes your "worthless slam" take - well, worthless. And yes, I agree with mumbles, try dealing with what you perceive as negative comments in a professional manner. That would be a refreshing change. Even though I am still trying to figure out how I slammed the TCA in my original post.
Where are all these "people" that don't like us, as you indicated. I've never met them. Other than the hatred spewed by people hiding online...I have heard nothing but complements by people at USA, Kingston, Mayville, Caro, etc...
I try to be as professional as possible. But when I get attacked for "not doing my job" per se, then I will defend myself. Christian and Andy can have their own say. They are both freelanced workers of the paper/radio station.
And why is radio brought up? Because the radio station and paper are under the same unbrella. I am the only "bleed over" as I cover sports for both. So I will inclcude radio and the paper in the same breath since I do both. Andy hosts the pregame show with me while Christian calls the games along with me. So that's why we consider it part of the "TCA coverage".
As for saying we don't cover the entire Thumb...guess what? WE DON'T!!! We are a Tuscola Co. based paper. We cover 13 schools. We base our coverage upon our advertising dollars. It's as simple as that. We don't cover Port Hope, North Huron...even Bad Axe, the same as the Huron Daily Tribune doesn't cover Caro and Kingston...or the Sanilac Co. news doesn't run Millington and Mayville info...why do we get slammed for what every other paper does?
Hope that helps.
And yes, I think you are entitled to you opinion...just expect a retort. That's all.
Take care
Jon
But then again, it's a two-way street. The coaches have my e-mail, my phone number and they know the fax number. If they don't use those, how are we to get timely infomation?
Same goes for any school's coach that doesn't send in info.
Ya can't print what ya don't get!
Millington 28 Frankenmuth 21
Reese 38 USA 24
Come on guys (particularly Mumbles) this blog stuff is fun to read and respond. Wearing a chip on a shoulder and taking personal affront isn't cool. Discuss, disagree or add, but don't accuse.
I'm having a hard enough time prepping for a winner-take-all conference title game tomorrow night.
Jason, if you want, just read and post at my blog http://thumbsports.blogspot.com and at Thumb Sports: The Forum at http://thumbsports.informe.com.
But as always, let's have some constructive criticism.
I remember reading in the TCA last year "No Tuscola County team has ever won a State Championship in Football." I can't tell you who wrote it but I distinctly remember reading it around playoff time last year. I took that as the TCA saying that USA is not a Tuscola County School. (Even though they are a member of the Tuscola Intermediate School District.)
I fully understand if the coaches don't call it in, you can't print it.
I don't think I attacked anyone personally, did I?
Dave, I have been to your blog many times and read and voted. Good work as usual. You are missed around here. Still following the Chips?
Mumbles, I think you are OK too.
Hence, the statement is true in the clearest point...but it's all semantics. Thanks for clarifying and I'm glad you could bring that up. Although we here at the TCA consider USA a Tuscola Co. coverage area school, they technically are Huron Co. school by means of where they sit in the soil. But I guess we could revise that statement to include USA as they are a part of TISD...but again...semnantics.
As I said before...you just triggered something that has been ongoing for over a year and a half. I don't think you said anything personal, other people did.
Some people don't understand that this is a buisness and in buisness comes change. There have been SEs before me and there will be SEs after me. No one is the same.
I need to head to work now, I'll be around later for more "high-brow" discussion.
Don't forget, we have the Official TCA Blog at tuscolatoday.com
~Sicotte
You brought good facts to your argument, much better than my "blanket statement"
But if the Advertiser guys are dealing in facts they should know that more of USA's district is located in Tuscola county than Frankenmuth's. That's a fact look it up.
Spike: "Where are all these "people" that don't like us, as you indicated. I've never met them. Other than the hatred spewed by people hiding online...I have heard nothing but complements by people at USA, Kingston, Mayville, Caro, etc..."
I haven't found too many people in this world that will come up to you and tell that you are not doing a very good job. They talk nice to your face then when you are gone they remember how good it was before. Jason is coming on here and saying what most people already know.
But let's not even get into what kind of mess the radio station and its coverage of high school sports has become. Do the names Justin, Tom and Nikki ring a bell?
Jason, yes, I follow the Chips as best I can. I was talking with Paul P today about the possibility of coming home again for the Motor City Bowl, which is looking more and more likely (especially if WMU falters again).
I was really bummed out I couldn't go to the UW-Green Bay v CMU men's hoops game last season. I hope CMU makes a trek across the lake again to my neck of the woods.
Take care, and fellas, let's all calm down.
And no "mamelles" I do not attack anyone personally except for you.
First...Jason, I don't believe I have ever seen a post from you on here before..welcome!
Second...I would like to challenge anyone to look over my posts from the last year of me writing this blog and find one time when I attacked someone for voicing an opinion. Greek philosopher Aristotle once wrote "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain thought without accepting it" and I pride myself as living by that credo.
People are entitled to their opinions and I respect and encourage that, but what I don't like are blanket statements that have no basis.
It was my opinion that Millington-Frankenmuth is the best rivalry in the area...I am entitled to that opinion. I backed up and presented a few of my reasons as to why I feel that way (most notably because I played for Millington in this rivalry) and anyone who disagrees with me, a differing opinion is more that welcome on the site.
What I am tired of are the personal attacks. Jason remained civil throughout these posts, and I respect that. As for the others...grow up! (Not you Dave). May I remind you that we are talking about high school sports...
Yes, Bossick did a great job as the sports editor for the TCA....all anyone has to do is look back at the old papers to see that. I side with Jon here, though...I have never heard anything but positive responses from people in the area when the topic of sports coverage comes up. Maybe it's a difference of taste...I don't know. I think Jon does a good job with the TCA, especially when you consider he has only been at it for a year and a half. People talk about Dave, and I agree with what they say, but they only reference Dave's later work, when he had been at the TCA for something like five years.
As for the statement about the county schools....sorry, but it's true. USA, along with Marlette, Frankenmuth, Owen-Gage and North Branch are officially 'Tuscola County area" schools. No school which is geographically located within the limits of Tuscola County has ever won a state football title. That's a fact, not a blanket statement.
So, let's try a little civility from here on out...
I've read your blog for awhile but never posted until now. Keep up the blog, many people enjoy it.
You are incorrect on the personal attacks comment. There is a thinly veiled slight toward myself when you started your Tigers blog back in March.
You might have cleaned it up since then in regards to talking with/about me in these forums, but the proof, as they don't say, is in the blogspot.
"I would like to get everyone's opinion. How about we get the breakdown on the Thumb's high school baseball preview by someone who lives in another state?"
This is a direct quote from that sorry excuse of a Tiger blog that Christian started.
Gee Christian, why the shot at Dave when you were trying to start your own blog?
Guess we'll have a new No. 1 this coming week in the poll at the TCA.