FeedsJourney’s end
Vikings fall short in state championship
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Inkster senior Denzel Richmond, (28) tries to escape East Grand Rapids tacklers during a kick-off return during the Division 3 state championship game at Ford Field on Saturday.Saturday’s Division 3 bout at Ford Field was the last leg of a race between two powerhouse teams looking to set foot in the history books and claim the state championship crown.
Would it be the East Grand Rapids Pioneers or the Inkster Vikings that would reach the shores of greatness first?
It was clearly not uncharted territory for East Grand Rapids and it showed in the second half when the Pioneers pulled away for a 43-24 victory and their third straight title, ending the Vikings’ long quest for their first state championship.
Chris Blair’s 22-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Thompson with 18 seconds left in the first half took the wind out of the Vikings’ sails and stole the momentum. It gave the Pioneers a 20-16 advantage. The pair connected again on the ensuing two-point conversion for a six-point half-time lead.
East Grand Rapids, with momentum fully on its side, extended its lead on their first drive of the third quarter. Pioneer running back Joe Glendening punched in a one-yard score and Tyler Lewis caught a Thompson pass for the two-point conversion for a 30-16 lead.
But it didn’t stop there.
At 9:53 of the fourth Thompson scored on a one-yard keeper to make it 37-16. Blair snagged a four-yard pass from Thompson to extend the lead, 43-16, with 3:23 left to play.
“The last touchdown in the first half swung a lot of momentum in their direction and on top of that to allow them to score on their first possession in the third quarter was tough and that excited them,” said Inkster Coach Greg Carter. “A champion with a lot of momentum is hard to deal with and we didn’t make enough plays. It put us in a position where we had to do too much too fast.”
Inkster got things going again when senior DeSean McGhee ran back an 81-yard kick off return with 3:09 left to play. Alan Freeman ran in the conversion but the lone second-half score was too little, too late for the Vikings.
“I think our kids played extremely hard,” Carter said. “For the most part you have to give a lot of credit to (East Grand Rapids)—they are a great program. They made a lot of plays defensively that put them in position to score. And with the potent offense it was a lot to deal with today. Had we been able to hold them out of the end zone at the end of the first half then it would have been a more competitive game in the second half.”
The first 24 minutes was a different game and Inkster demonstrated why the team deserved to be on the big stage.
Junior quarterback Devin Gardner threw a five-yard strike to senior receiver Cameron Gordon at 11:05 of the second quarter. The score, combined with a Gardner-Gordon match-up for the two-point conversion, gave the Vikings an 8-7 advantage.
Freeman busted through defenders for a five-yard touchdown with 2:23 left to play in the half. Gardner connected with Gordon for two and a 16-14 lead.
The Pioneers got the job done on defense. Josh Hall snagged an interception with 7:20 left in the second and Robert Bell scooped up a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter. East Grand Rapids scored off both turnovers.
Inkster sophomore safety Donovan Lindsay nabbed an interception at 8:17 of the second to save a Pioneer touchdown. Inkster turned it over a minute later.
Saturday wasn’t a typical day for Inkster. The usually stifling defense gave up 175 yards to Glendening and the potent Inkster offense finished with only 204 total yards.
Freeman led the team with 54 yards rushing. Gardner added 44 yards and was an uncharacteristic 5-for-16 for 84 yards passing.
Gardner, only a junior, is looking forward to next year already.
“It was a great experience playing here,” he said. “We lost but I can’t be mad because I know that we played as hard as we could. I played hard, the guys next to me played as hard as they could, and my whole team played as hard as they could. It’s a great experience and we’ll be back next year.”
The Vikings are young and have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball coming back next year.
“We’re going to get back at it,” Carter said of preparing for next season already. “We like the experience of being here. Obviously we don’t like losing the last game so we just have to get better. We have an up and coming program with some great kids that do well on the field and in the classroom and we’re excited to be a part of this program.”
This marked the second time in three years that the Inkster Vikings made it to Ford Field for the finale—2006 marked the first time in the school’s history to make it to the championship match.
Last year the would-be undefeated Vikings were forced to forfeit it’s first eight games due to two perceived ineligible players.
“I think last year gave us a lot of motivation because we realized that nothing is promised to you,” Carter said. “I feel bad for those kids last year but they were with us for this game—they wanted us to do well.
“We had a great season but we just didn’t finish off this last game,” he added. “You have to give a lot of credit to our kids because they were determined to get here and play in a championship game.”
High honors
Inkster was filled with talent this year proving it was a powerhouse.
But how good was the talent on the team?
Senior wide receiver Cameron Gordon was rated as one of the top 100 receivers in the country by DeBartolo Sports University, making him eligible for the inaugural Jerry Rice High School Wide Receiver of the Year Award.
On a similar note, junior quarterback Devin Gardner was rated as one of the top 100 quarterbacks in nation by the same group and is eligible for the second annual Joe Montana High School Quarterback of the Year Award.
The winners of the two awards will be decided later this year.
Looking forward
The Vikings are still in search of a new conference.
The Mega Conference is disbanding after the 2008-09 season leaving many teams stranded. Most of the teams left for newly formed conferences like the Downriver League and the Western Wayne Athletic Conference where Inkster was denied an invitation.
If the Vikings don’t find a new home they will have to play as an independent, which is difficult as afar a competition and scheduling, according to Carter.
On a positive note, Inkster was invited to play in the Big Day Prep Showdown at Eastern Michigan University to kickoff the 2009 season in August.
