We’re Going to Yell and Yell and Yell And Yell and Yell
By Dan Ward

It’s Homecoming! There is something magical about small towns on autumn Friday nights. But Homecoming, Homecoming is just… well, it just is. From the parade, with little kids straining to see a big brother or sister on a float or hoping for some candy to be tossed their way, the band, the sports teams, orchestra (seriously, how many towns have an orchestra that walks in the parade?), the elementary schools, the theater program, the class representatives and, of course, the Queen and King’s court.

Then, of course, there is the stadium. I’ve been involved in St. Johns sports in some capacity or another for close to 40 years. I’ve been to most of the area stadiums, and I have to say that St. Johns on a September Friday night is just unbeatable. The logo spread between the 35-yard lines, the Senior portraits on the fence, the giant metal Redwing, and the fall colors just starting to show, it’s a postcard. Add to that the youth players given access to the pre-game warm-ups, being able to watch the Friday Night Heroes getting ready to do battle, maybe share a fist bump or a high five with the players they dream of becoming one day, and you have the makings of a movie, or possibly a Kenny Chesney video.

As they have done all season, the Redwings won the toss and elected to receive the ball. And as they have done all season, they scored in short order with Brady Heibeck taking the ball 54 yards to the end zone. Nolan Koenigsknecht drove the extra point through, and just like that, honestly, before I had even found my seat, St. John’s was up 7-0.

Eastern got a decent return on the kickoff and couldn’t get much done. They were looking at 4th and 2 when a false start penalty moved them back to 4th and 7. They lined up to punt. They faked it and caught S. Johns a little bit asleep. However, they weren’t able to capitalize on the momentum, and they were forced to punt again. The punt was a worm burner; it skipped along the ground, with nobody wanting to take a chance on mishandling the ball. It rolled to about the 5-yard line. That’s where St. Johns took over.

Have no fear, though, because St. Johns can move the ball. Cody Carn rumbled to the St. Johns 35, and Conner Kurncz connected with Bryce Pratl for a 65-yard strike. Koenigsknecht added another extra point, making the score 14-0 with 4:45 left in the first quarter.

The Quakers didn’t find much success this drive and once again were forced to punt. St. Johns took over on their side of the 50 and were back on the move very quickly. Kurncz to Archer Gurski moved the ball to the 24-yard line. Kurncz to Bryson Martinez moved the ball to the 2-yard line, and Kurncz found Ryan Priest standing alone in the end zone. Koenigsknecht’s 3rd extra point of the night made the score 21-0 with 1:25 to play in the quarter.

The Quakers returned the ball to their 30-yard line and were starting with pretty good field position. Lukas Payment remedied that with a monster sack on 1st down, and the Quakers turned the ball over on downs.

In the 2nd quarter, Kurncz found Pratl to move the ball to the Lansing Eastern 22, and Heibeck plowed ahead for another score. Once again, Koenigsknecht adds the extra point, making the score 28-0.

Lansing Eastern started to get moving on this drive. They returned the kickoff to their 28 and finally gained some yards on a couple of runs. A face mask penalty against the Redwings moved the ball to the St. Johns 49, but a costly offsides penalty pushed them back to 3rd and 12, and they chose to punt. Payment was able to break through and get a hand on the punt, and St. Johns took over at the Lansing Eastern 46.

Lucas McCastle moved the ball to the Quaker 29, and Gurski moved it to the 7, setting up 1st and goal. From there, Kurncz found Martinez for the 7-yard score and St. Johns went up 35 -.0
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Lansing Eastern got a good return and started their possession at their 40. They didn’t get much going, though, and ended up punting again.

St. Johns started this drive at their 35. Gurski got them to the Quaker 48 and Martinez got them to the 33, but St. Johns was running out the clock, content to go into the locker room up 35-0 at the half.

While the field was alive with action, the halftime moment brought a different kind of sparkle—dresses that twirl, smiles that beam, and parents whose pride is evident in every glance, escorting their children onto the field for their time to share the spotlight.

Ivan McGee and Acadia Gentile represented the Freshmen. Brody Pratl and Ava Case represented the Sophomores. The Junior representatives were Reid LaCross and Arayah Medina.

The King’s Count consisted of Brady Heibeck, Bryce Pratl, Dave Thelen, Nic Hiner, and Nolan Koenigsknecht.

The Queen’s Court was Abby Tisdale, Kelseigh Schallow, Rachel Jackson, Ruby Williams, and Sam Hallead.

The tradition in St. Johns in recent years is to present each of the King’s Courts with a bag containing a football. The King will be the boy with the gold football. The Queen’s Court is presented with a box of flowers; the Queen is the girl whose box contains a bouquet.

This year’s Queen and King are Kelseigh Schallow and Brady Heibeck. Congratulations to Kelseigh and Brady!  Photos by Ortman Productions, Inc.  Photos by Glenn Armstrong

The rest of the game was played under Mercy Rule timing. The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) employs a mercy rule where a running clock starts when a team leads by 35 points or more in the second half of a football game. The clock will continuously run, except for timeouts, injuries, penalties, and scores. If the lead is reduced to less than 35 points, the clock reverts to normal timing.

The Quakers came out after the half and put together some good runs. A big pass moved the ball to the St. Johns 24-yard line, where the receiver fumbled, the Quakers picked up the ball, fumbled again, and ultimately recovered. The drive stalled there, and Lansing Eastern elected to go for it on 4th and 24. Bryce Foster made sure it stayed that way with a giant sack on the Quaker quarterback.

The fourth quarter featured St. Johns mostly running out the clock until Xavier Benjamin broke free and scored with 7:51 left in the game. Koenigsknecht again drove the ball through the uprights and made the score 42-0.

St Johns recovered a Lansing Eastern fumble to end a drive and turned the ball over on downs. Lansing Eastern finally broke through to reach the end zone on a huge run, but it was called back on an Illegal substitution penalty.

The final score was 42-0, St. Johns over Lansing Eastern. The spectators held their Redwing hand gesture high as the team sang the alma mater and the fight song.

I got a couple of quotes this week. First, we hear from Coach Bean Barrett: “It’s a huge win for us on homecoming. The best part was seeing so many different guys contribute with big plays. Our success started up front; the offensive and defensive lines did a phenomenal job of controlling the line of scrimmage. Now, the challenge is to keep that momentum. We’re going to have to work harder than ever over the next three weeks against three great teams: Williamston, Mason, and Haslett.”

Coach Andy Schmitt added, “I was very happy with how our guys came out and executed tonight! We played at a high level right from the start, which was our focus this week.
Starting out 4-0 has been great, but the schedule gets very difficult from here. The conference is as good as it has been in a while. For us to continue winning, we must execute at a high level and continue preparing the way that we have week in and week out.”

There you have it. Next week, we are home again for a MASSIVE GAME, St. Johns vs Williamston, which could very well decide the CAAC Red. Williamston hasn’t been scored on in two games, knocking off Mason two weeks ago and Fowlerville this week. Come out and cheer for the Friday Night Heroes.

Stats vs Eastern

Click for photo gallery by Glenn Armstrong

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