CADILLAC — The Kingsley Stags announced their 2023 presence with authority when they rocked Reed City in a Week One matchup on the Coyotes’ home turf.
They did it again Saturday.
The Stags played Road Runner to Reed City’s Wile E. Coyote in the Division 6 state semifinal bout, leaving the Coyotes in the proverbial dust en route to a 37-7 victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cadillac.
Now, the chance to play for a state championship awaits the Stags.
“You can’t really put it into words,” Kingsley senior Eli Graves said. “This is everything we’ve been working for, everything this team has been working for. A chance to win it all — and that’s what we’ve got.”
Kingsley traveled about 34 miles south from their home — Rodes Field — to the new digs of the Cadillac Vikings. The Stags were escorted out of town by fire trucks and ambulances blaring their sirens and flashing their lights as fans lined the roads decked out in orange and black with signs of support. Reed City came up about 30 miles north.
The Stags’ trip back home was a happy one Saturday. Not so much for the Coyotes.
“This community means everything to us,” Graves said. “We strive to go out and play for our community every week.”
Saturday marked the Stags’ second appearance in the semifinals since Tim Wooer returned for his second stint as Kingsley’s head coach in 2018. The last was in 2019 when they were doubled up by Lansing Catholic Central, 28-14.
The result was a little better this time around.
“When you see kids invest so much and then see them smile and their eyes light up, that’s a special moment,” Wooer said.
Wooer led the Stags to a state championship in 2005, and he now leads Kingsley back to the promised land 18 years later. The Stags will vie for a state championship Saturday as they are set to play Almont with a 4:30 p.m. kickoff at Ford Field — the home of the Detroit Lions.
“I’m driving down the road the other day, and I got teary-eyed because the last time we were there my daughter was in diapers and my youngest daughter wasn’t even born,” Wooer said. “So, for me, that’s a special moment to have my kids watch their dad at Ford Field.”
Saturday’s semifinal almost seemed over before it even had a chance to start.
The Stags took the opening drive and marched down the field for a score, punctuated by Skylar Workman’s first of four touchdowns on a 5-yard run. Eli Graves, who has been Kingsley’s most dangerous offensive weapon this season, ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-0 lead.
The Coyotes held the ball for all of seven seconds before fumbling and turning it right back over to Kingsley with prime field position. Workman again got the ball from two yards out and scored. Chase Bott’s catch in the end zone for the two-point conversion made it 16-0 just five minutes into the first quarter.
A defensive stand forced a Reed City punt, and the Stags went right back to work.
Graves looked as if he had a 64-yard touchdown run, but it was called back when an official said the senior Stag stepped out of bounds. It didn’t matter though as Kingsley once again worked down the field and Workman rumbled in for another 2-yard TD and a 22-0 advantage with less than a minute to play in the first quarter.
Reed City had a promising drive going as they neared the red zone, but another fumble and a recovery by Alex Figueroa put the ball back in Kingsley’s hands. The score remained 22-0 at the break.
The Stags’ defense held true to open the third quarter, and the offense capitalized as Workman scampered in from 24 yards out for his fourth touchdown. Gavyn Merchant’s pass on the two-point conversion attempt deflected off Bott’s fingers, but Max Goethals made a spectacular diving grab to give Kingsley a 30-0 lead.
Kingsley sent the game into running-clock mode after Bott caught a 23-yard pass from Merchant to set the Stags up at the 3-yard line and Bode Bielas ran the ball in from a yard out for a 37-0 lead. Reed City scored a touchdown with 1:16 left in the game, but any comeback was well out of reach.
“Our kids were great,” Wooer said. “It’s not about Tim Wooer. It’s not about our coaching staff. It’s about our kids. Not only do we have good players — great players — but we have kids who are coachable and do what they are asked to do. … I’m just super excited for our kids and our community.”
The 30-point victory is a bit of a makeup for the Stags, who were forced to forfeit to Reed City in the Division 5 district championship game during the COVID-19 pandemic-affected season of 2020 when too many Kingsley players were out due to exposure protocols. Ironically enough, the Coyotes were forced into the same predicament just a week later when they too forfeited to Freeland with a regional title on the line.
Kingsley seemed primed for a state championship run during the COVID-19 season that pushed the 2020 campaign into the 2021 calendar year. The Stags were 8-0 heading into their game with Reed City, and they had completely decimated many of their opponents on the road to Ford Field. But COVID-19 made them exit far sooner than they wanted.
The Kingsley offense has just been stellar this season, averaging 48.6 points per game for the whole of 2023 coming into Saturday. That figure jumps up to 53.2 PPG in their 10 wins, 52.4 in their last five and 49.7 in the playoffs before their matchup against the Coyotes on Saturday.
Reed City came into Saturday’s state semifinal winners of eight straight after a 1-3 start. The Coyotes outscored their opponents 317 to 99 in those eight victories, tallying 40 or more points in six of those games and holding the opposition to 20 points or fewer in every contest during that streak.
The Coyotes lost in the D6 semis last season as well, falling 13-12 to Negaunee. Reed City’s only other trip to the state semifinals also resulted in a loss, a 29-14 defeat at the hands of Saginaw Swan Valley in 2017.
“A lot of excitement,” Merchant said. “Our whole mindset has been: ‘Ford Field, Ford Field, Ford Field.’ Now that we’re going to be there next week, there’s just a lot of emotions coming at you. It’s a lot to take in.”
“We’ve been pushing each other hard to get to this moment,” Merchant continued. “We’re ending it where we want to.”
The Kings of Kingsley now have just one more win before they are crowned state champions.
“It’s awesome,” Graves said. “I don’t know what else to say. I’ve wanted to go to Ford Field my whole life. We’ve been playing together since we were 9 years old, and all we’ve wanted is to win states together. Now we have that chance, and it just feels crazy.”