Colon looking to play inspired in state finals matchup with Powers
For the second time in three seasons, the Colon Magi will play for a state championship in football. And, just like in 2019 when the Magi won a state title, this year’s game will be played at Northern Michigan University inside the Superior Dome.
This year, Colon will be playing Powers North Central. In fact, Colon is the only of the four teams playing in the Division 1 and 2 state finals that didn’t reach the finals last season. Adrian Lenawee Christian (12-0) will take on Suttons Bay (12-0) for the second straight season, Lenawee won the state title last year. Powers North Central is also 12-0 and has compiled a record of 41-3 the past four seasons combined.
The Jets won the Division 2 state finals last year and bring back some players from that squad as well. Colon, though, doesn’t really mind that. This Magi team has been up against doubt most of the season and still find a way to get back to the state finals.
“It’s just another game where we are undersized, out-matched at a lot of positions and that has kinda been the story of our season,” Colon coach Robbie Hattan said Wednesday. “I don’t think we’ve played a single game all season where we’ve been the bigger, more physical team on paper. But, other teams we play don’t match our heart and that has to be the No. 1 thing we do going into this game. We want to play inspired football and we have to play with heart, play for the community that supported us to get here.”
When the pairings for the MHSAA playoffs were announced, Colon looked like it had gotten a rough spot. The Magi were placed in a district playing Portland St. Patrick and could potentially see Morrice in the second round. That second round matchup happened and the Magi won on the road by a touchdown, 29-22.
Each of Colon’s three opponents in the playoffs suffered their first losses of the season — St. Patrick, Morrice and Au Gres-Sims were a combined 30-0 before Colon handed each of them their first, and final, loss of the 2021 season.
“Our kids play fast and that’s a recipe for success in 8-man football, if you can put speed on defense, you’re going to be a successful team,” Hattan said. “And in this game on Saturday, we’re going to have to play unselfish football on defense. I believe we have a lot of kids that can do that.”
Colon will look to slow down a Powers North Central team that has extreme data points in scoring for both offense and defense. The Jets’ have scored 682 points on the season, an average of almost 57 points per contest. They’ve also only surrendered 43 points all season, an average well under a touchdown per game. Only Pellston reached double digits (14 points) against the Jets, who have pitched six shutouts on the season.
Colon can score points, though. The Magi posted an average of 46 points per game this season. Junior quarterback Simon Vinson has 59 combined touchdowns on the year — running for 22 while throwing for 37 more. Justin Wickey has hauled in 21 touchdowns on the season through the air and Colon can run the football as well, averaging 6.2 yards per carry as a team on better than 300 carries.
So while both offenses come into the game with incredible stats and the ability to score a ton of points, it stands to reason the defenses are going to play a major role in the game. Colon has prided itself on playing solid defense under Hattan and coach Steve VanDam. They fly to the football, cause turnovers and spend a lot of time in the opposing team’s backfield.
Colon has registered 98 tackles for loss this season, including 19 sacks. At an average of better than eight tackles for loss per game, the opportunity for big plays on that side of the football have helped fuel Colon to this point in the season.
Senior Kaleb Johnson and junior Tucker Lafler have been the leaders on that side of the ball — between the two of them they have 45 tackles for loss and have forced four fumbles on the season. Lafler has been almost unblockable at times during the post season run, he piled up 4.5 tackles for loss and 16 total tackles in the team’s win over Au Gres-Sims. He made 15 tackles in the win over Morrice and not to be outdone, 17 tackles against Portland St. Patrick in the team’s first playoff game.
Yet, despite the lengthy trip up north and all the build up surrounding the state finals contest, Hattan wants his team to keep this game, like each of their games, in perspective.
“Honestly, we want to treat this as just another game,” he said. “Win or lose, we want to keep this game in perspective — will it be a Top 5, Top 10 moment in some of their lives? Sure, but football is supposed to be fun, so we have to keep that in perspective. If we aren’t having fun, why are we even there?”
Adrian Lenawee Christian and Suttons Bay will kick off in the Division 1 finals at 11 a.m. The Colon matchup with Powers North Central is scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv (for a subscription fee) and be replayed on Bally Sports Detroit Nov. 25 beginning at 7 p.m. Audio of the game can be streamed live on MHSAAnetwork.com.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Colon looking to play inspired in state finals matchup with Powers
