“Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear…”
One of the most overrated and overly simplistic sayings of all time is “History repeats itself.” Some similarities in stories reappear now and then, but history doesn’t repeat itself.
Regardless, a pretty solid example may be approaching in the community of Martin, where a high school football team is bringing back fond memories on the gridiron from Thanksgiving weekend of 1987, when the Clippers pulled off the state Class D championship. It still says so on signs that greet you when you come to the community.
Coach Bob Kubiak and the Martin gridders won all of their first eight games before stumbling in the regular-season finale showdown with Schoolcraft in a battle of the titans, 17-0. The Clippers just couldn’t get anything going against the Eagles and tasted a shutout defeat.
So it was back to the drawing board, but they did qualify for the post-season playoffs. They came up with an unimpressive 23-17 over Mendon in the first round and then prepared for a return match against Schoolcraft in the regional finals on the following Friday night at Houseman Field In Grand Rapids.
It was then and there that a minor miracle propelled Martin’s state title hopes into the realm of the possible. The two teams battled each other to a scoreless tie in the bitter cold, necessitating overtime.
Though the Clippers failed in their first four downs, they stopped Schoolcraft’s bid as well. On the second effort, they got a clutch walk-off field goal from Jeff Martin to take a 3-0 victory.
The following Saturday it was still cold at Jackson High School, where the Clippers overcame a halftime deficit to beat Sand Creek 20-14 and win a trip to the Silverdome.
There, they faced undefeated Beal City on a Saturday morning. Running back Randy Hunt scored on a long TD run and quarterback Joe Orr hooked up with Jeff Crosby for two electric touchdown pass plays to spark Martin’s 21-0 victory.
Oh, the memories have come flooding back because of those eerie similarities.
Martin this season was undefeated until bowing 35-19 to NorthPointe Christian and it was edged in a 35-34 regular season-ending heartbreaker at the hands of Bridgman.
The Clippers made quick work of Tekonsha in the first round of the playoffs and then welcomed old nemesis Adrian Lenawee Christian, which had beaten them in the state finals in each of the last two seasons. This time the local boys reveled in payback time with a convincing 56-14 victory.
They got revenge on Schoolcraft in 1987 and did it again to Lenawee Christian 35 years later.
So Martin will play at its home field yet again in the state semifinals this weekend against a Brown City team it beat by 40 points last month. To be sure, you half to play the game, don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Brown City could do to the Clippers what they did to Lenawee and Schoolcraft.
If they can pull it off next weekend, the Clippers will face northern opponents Munising or Merrill Nov. 19 at the Superior Dome in Marquette.
Then we’ll find out if history does repeat itself.
