1989 Boys Football

The DeWitt football program made history by advancing to its first state championship game in 1989.  The Panthers won the Ingham County League Championship en route to a perfect 9-0 regular season.  Head coach Gail Thornton led a veteran team into the playoffs still motivated by a semi-final loss the previous season to eventual Class C State Champion Detroit St. Martin dePorres.  In the playoffs, the underdog Panthers—the smallest school in Class B—upset Ludington (8-6), Cheboygan (27-8), and Zeeland (38-26) before facing the top-ranked Farmington Hills Harrison Hawks.  In the state championship game, the Panthers rose to the challenge and played in what many consider the greatest game in MHSAA Football Playoff history.  Offensively, the Panthers averaged 38 points a game while holding five opponents scoreless.  The Hawks’ prolific offense scored 415 points and had a defense that gave up less than a touchdown per game.  The Panthers shocked the Silverdome crowd by jumping out to a 21-7 lead in the first half.  The Hawks tied the score early in the fourth quarter, but behind the support of its community, DeWitt went on a 15-play 78-yard scoring drive to take a 27-21 lead with 2:02 remaining in the game.  Farmington Hills Harrison answered 28 seconds later to secure the 28-27 victory.  Despite the loss, this team sparked school and community support that is still felt today.

The 1989 Boys Football team included the following members: Chris Berkimer, Marty Camp, Ray Canales, Jeff Church, John Cowan, Mike Cowdrey, Ralph Garver, John Gibson, Steve Grant, Travis Gribble, Tim Hamilton, Ryan Heintz, Gibby Hicks, Kevin Johnson, Lance Kingsbury, Todd Lotoszinski, Brad Martin, Matt McEnaney, Tony Miller, Jeff Orwat, James Reed, Dave Riker, Jeff Scheiding, Phil Seida, Randy Seida, Scott Seida, Jeff Shooks, Dean Shooltz, Craig Simon, John Telford, Brandon Temple, Todd Temple, Tom Walter, Jon Ziel, Head Coach Gail Thornton and Assistant Coaches Bart Rypstra and Tom Zielaskowski.