TC Patriot Game between Central and West a not-so-regular season finale

Oct. 20—TRAVERSE CITY — It's a family thing for Ayden Totten.

The Traverse City West senior follows a long lineage of playing in the Traverse City Patriot Game, along with his adopted brothers and Titan teammates.

His uncles Shane and Nate played in the Traverse City Central-Traverse City West rivalry. His father Adam participated before it was even called the TC Patriot Game in 2001. The Totten name dots the record book kept for the Central-West rivalry.

"It's cool looking back and just seeing how I've had family, especially my dad, play here," Ayden Totten said. "I'm just trying to do what he did, but at a different position."

Adam Totten, now an assistant coach at West, set the single-game rushing record in the Central-West matchup back in 2001, gaining 188 yards on 28 carries. He also scored two touchdowns. (Josh Burnham ran for 187 yards last year for Central... but more on him later.)

Shane Totten entered the rivalry record books with 91 receiving yards in 2008.

So those who say the game doesn't mean much to a 2-6 TC West team, those involved emphatically say otherwise.

"This year we have Week Nine, Trojans. It's something we look forward to," said Ayden Totten, who plays wide receiver and cornerback. "And, yeah, the season hasn't been the best, but we work our butts off and we keep going no matter what. Seeing Week Nine and the Trojans and everything, it's the game where we will prove ourselves."

TC Central (4-4) comes into Friday's 7 p.m. contest clinging to a Division 2 playoff spot, a year after playing in the state championship game. West (2-6) looks to end the season on a high note and turn the tables on the last three years where the Trojans controlled the game.

Now the Patriot Game returns to its Week Nine spot for the first time since 2010. The game was played there from 1997-2010, and the two schools leaving the Big North Conference and moving to the Saginaw Valley League this year allowed that tradition to renew.

"It's a little different feel," Central head coach Eric Schugars said. "It hasn't been that way in a long time. But when you're playing a crosstown rival and you expect 8-10,000 people you're going to get up for it and our guys are. You can tell."

TC Central might have to get former quarterback Burnham back for a pre-game pep talk for every game.

Since the Notre Dame linebacker addressed the team prior to their Sept. 30 home date with Midland Dow, the Trojans haven't lost, winning three straight.

"He talked to us about how he's been to Las Vegas and North Carolina, but there's nothing like playing Friday nights," said Central senior running back Reed Seabase, who leads the Saginaw Valley League in rush yards with 1,091 and rushing TDs at 14. "So we're going to take that moment one last time in front of the community. That'll be a great feeling."

Central quarterback Josh Klug said he looks forward to playing Friday after missing most of this season due to injuries.

"One-hundred percent," Klug said. "I'm feeling pretty good this week. The ankle bothers me a little bit, but it's not too bad."

Klug played one series last week before leaving Central's 21-0 win over Bay City Western with a lower-body injury. He sat out much of this season with a shoulder injury, but said he won't miss this game if there's any way to avoid it.

"It was a great feeling after being out for a while there," Klug said. "It was a great feeling and then getting that taken away from you, it's hard. But we'll see about this week."

Schugars said Klug's status for Friday's game could come down to the wire for the Louisville baseball commit, classifying it as day-to-day. Brayden Halliday filled in at QB for Klug, leading Central to wins in its last three games.

Klug said the experience of playing in front of such a huge crowd dwarfed even playing at the University of Michigan last season, when both Central and West played in the season-opening Battle at the Big House games.

"The Patriot Game was definitely bigger than the Big House game just because it's the Patriot Game, it's your community," Klug said. "It's just a different feeling. It's unexplainable. The crowd is really the best part about it, and honoring our veterans."

West is coming off a 42-7 beatdown win over Bay City Central, and the Titans hope to keep that going this week against another Central foe.

"If anyone has come to our games, they've seen our kids no matter what all season long play as hard as they possibly can," West head coach Greg Vaughan said. "They've gotten better all season long. We saw in the last game, putting it down to the pretty simple things like staying on your block through the whistle, catching the ball, aligning right and tackling people and all of a sudden, we look like a totally different team."

Vaughan said he thinks the Patriot Game belongs in Week Nine, and the SVL schedule should allow that to continue. The final week of the league season has turned into a sort of rivalry week, with Bay City Western playing Bay City Central and Midland facing off against Midland Dow in addition to the Traverse City clash.

The two played in Week Four last season and the same in 2020, although that became the season opener when the first three weeks were wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The weather is forecast in the 50s by game time, a welcome departure from highs earlier in the week in the 40s. By the time Central wrapped up practice Wednesday, the temperature was 37 degrees. West practiced outside Wednesday for the first time this week.

"End of the season, it's everything we've been working for," Titans senior offensive lineman Tamarion Fox said. "It's always the talk around town. We're just ready to live it in front of all the football fans."

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