KINGSLEY — A little bit of payback was on the mind of a few Kingsley Stags when Gladstone came calling to Rodes Field on Friday.
The two top-10 Division 6 squads took to the gridiron with a regional championship on the line in a mid-November playoff battle. But it was circumstances that transpired on a wrestling mat almost nine months ago that stuck in the craw of some Kingsley players, coaches and fans — providing a little extra motivation.
Clearly, it was more than enough as the Stags took down Gladstone in blowout fashion by a 51-27 final that wasn’t nearly as close as the 24-point margin of victory. The win marks the second regional championship for the Kingsley program since Tim Wooer took over as head coach in 2018, winning the first in 2019.
“We played really well defensively. You take away two or three plays, and that’s a near shutout,” Wooer said. “Our kids did a phenomenal job of getting pressure on the quarterback.”
Wooer and his players said all the right things after the dominant victory that now puts the Stags one win away from a trip to Ford Field and the state championship finals. But it was clear the win was a cathartic one for a good portion of the Kingsley community.
“To be honest, I didn’t talk about it at all this week,” Wooer said of the February incident. “I know the kids were frustrated with what happened, and I’m sure that played a role in some motivation. At this point, just focus on the game, have poise, do what you’re supposed to do.”
Back in February, the Stags’ varsity wrestling team had a regional title ripped away by a single point. That margin was caused by a controversial call that happened after the conclusion of the regional final’s last match against — you guessed it — Gladstone.
Kingsley’s then-senior Sam Goethals pinned his Gladstone opponent in a minute and 17 seconds at 215 pounds, a victory that apparently gave Kingsley a regional championship and a full-team berth in the state finals. But some Gladstone wrestlers and coaches took issue when Goethals turned to the Stags bench and underhand flipped his headgear to teammates on the bench before having his hand raised as the winner.
The Gladstone coaches argued such a move qualified as unsportsmanlike conduct, and the referees eventually agreed and issued a judgment-call penalty to tie the match 38-38. The tiebreaker was if either team received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which — of course — Kingsley just had.
So the regional championship and the trip to the state finals went to Gladstone, but not without some sore feelings that have not been forgotten by the Stags.
That wrong needed to be righted, and many on the football team — including quarterback and wrestler Gavyn Merchant as well as Sam Goethals’ younger brother, Max — used that as gasoline added to the fire to come out hot against Gladstone on Friday.
And the Stags came out blazing.
Eli Graves ended Kingsley’s first drive with a 21-yard touchdown run after his kickoff return brought the Stags to the Gladstone 37-yard line. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0 in favor of the home team.
Skylar Workman blocked a punt less than five minutes later to set the Stags up in fine field position at the Gladstone 25-yard line. Workman made good a few plays later with a 3-yard TD run up the middle for a 14-0 lead with 3:22 left in the first quarter. The Stags’ defense held strong and kept Gladstone off the scoreboard after Kaden Gibbs returned the ensuing kickoff to the Kingsley 35.
Graves notched his second of four touchdowns about four minutes into the second quarter, and a two-point conversion catch by Chase Bott made it 22-0 and had Gladstone reeling. And they would be reeling even more after Graves took it to the house again from 21 yards out followed by an easy two-point conversion for a 30-0 lead with 1:49 to go in the first half.
“You get up three scores, and now they’re starting to doubt themselves,” Wooer said. “The big thing in a game like that is our offensive line, and I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage.”
Gladstone got on the board before heading to the locker room, but the Stags made them work for it after nearly completing a goal-line stand. Gladstone QB Nate Young found a sliding Gibbs in the end zone for a touchdown on fourth-and-goal as time expired, making it 30-6 at the break.
Kingsley got the scoring started in the second half on a 4-yard TD run from Graves, who held up four fingers as he celebrated his fourth touchdown of the game with his teammates. The extra point made it 37-6, and the Stags just needed to avoid a complete meltdown to leave victorious.
“He’s pretty special,” Wooer said of Graves. “He’s humble. He’s a good leader who leads by example, and he’ll be the first to compliment his linemen. I’m just happy for him, and we’re going to continue to find ways to get him the ball.”
Gladstone started to march down the field, hoping against hope to get back in the game, but a fumble and a recovery from Kingsley’s Grant Kolbusz snuffed that out rather quickly. The Stags converted that turnover into points as Caleb Bott rumbled in from two yards out for a touchdown and a 44-6 lead after three quarters of play.
Gladstone scored three times in the fourth quarter but never posed much of a threat to complete a miraculous comeback, especially after Bode Bielas’ 23-yard touchdown run put the Stags up 51-20 with 2:03 left in the game.
“This win means a lot. It felt good to beat them on our turf,” Merchant said. “But I just want to focus on our football program and our community. I want to thank them for coming out. Thank the student section and all the fans for being loud and making tonight a great experience.”
As the final seconds ticked away, Wooer pulled something out of his pocket. A miniature plastic and gold wrestler that had clearly been taken from the top of another trophy.
He later taped it to the Stags’ regional trophy that he presented to Sam Goethals, who was in attendance to see his brother and the rest of the Kingsley Stags get the win.
“My brother really hurt after (what happened in February),” Max Goethals said. “I know he was excited. This is great, and it’s great that it’s all about the football community.”
The Stags now move on to the state championship semifinals to face a Reed City team they beat 46-12 in Week One.
“They’re is a different team now,” Goethals said of Reed City, which has reeled off eight straight wins after a 1-3 start. “I think we’ll see a better team and a better game out of them.”
Whatever Reed City brings, the Stags will be prepared for it as Ford Field awaits the victor.
“It’s just one team at a time, one game at a time. No looking forward. No looking back,” Merchant said. “Yeah, it’s been our goal since we were weightlifting all summer long at 6:30 a.m. to get to the state championship game, but now we just have to keep climbing.”