The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Reel sports
7 stories that made the highlight reel in '07
PUBLISHED: January 3, 2008
It was a year to remember for Dexter prep sports in 2007. The Dreadnaughts not only made their mark at the state level, but also in the Southeastern Conference this past year.
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Here are seven of the top stories from the 2007 Dexter sports year.
03-08-07
In what has to be considered one of the best basketball games this area has seen in some time, host Dexter defeated county rival Chelsea 59-57 in overtime in front of 2,400 spectators last Friday.
Dreadnaught senior guard Johnny Benjamin brought the house down, drilling a three-pointer from five feet beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.
"I was just thinking about making the three, then the ball came back to me and I shot it and it went in," Benjamin said.
In the extra session, Benjamin (6-foot-4) again was the hero, as he swished a soft running jumper in the lane as the clock struck zero giving Dexter (17-4, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) the victory.
"Coach (Randy Swoverland) had noticed they (Chelsea) had been switching their screens and we thought me versus (Bulldog center Dean) Roberts was a mismatch in our favor," Benjamin said of his game-winner. "We got it and I made the shot. Words cannot describe how good this feels. I'm so happy."
Chelsea coach Robin Raymond said his team left everything out on the floor.
"That was an exceptional high school basketball game played by two very good teams," he said. "I don't think we lost that game, rather Dexter won the game. The kids did exactly what we wanted them to do as far as executing our game plan. I told the kids we have nothing to hang our heads about."
Benjamin finished with a game-high 24 points, including three triples, to lead the Dreadnaughts.
Senior guard Nate Schwarze (5-11) paced the Bulldogs (20-1), who entered the contest unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the state in Class B and No. 7 in the Detroit News' Super 10 poll, with 20 points.
"I love Nate, but this is my first time beating him," Benjamin said about Schwarze, who's also an All-State wide receiver in football, and caught a last-second, game-winning touchdown pass against Dexter this past football season. "It feels good."
Dreadnaught junior guard T.J. Fenske said his team worked so hard for their victory.
"We've done all the drills, went through all the practices, we were ready tonight," he said. "We knew we could play with them."
Swoverland said the Dreadnaughts stayed calm during the game.
"We didn't panic as much as we did in the first game (58-53 Chelsea win) when we got behind," he said. "Both teams played hard. I knew we'd battle to the end."
03-08-07
Dexter hockey lost to perennial state power Dearborn Divine Child 4-2 last Saturday in a Division III state regional final at Chelsea's Arctic Coliseum.
Despite the season-ending loss, the Dreadnaughts (20-6-1, 7-0 Southeastern Conference) had a year to remember. Dexter's 20 wins were a school record, while the Dreads reached the regional final for the first time in their history. Dexter also captured the SEC championship with a perfect 7-0 record.
Against the Falcons, the Dreadnaughts fell behind 3-0 early and were never able to claw their way back.
Joe Grefke opened the scoring for Divine Child with a power play goal off an assist from Ryan O'Dowd and Shawn Taylor at 3:54 of the first period.
At 10:20 of the first period, O'Dowd scored a power play goal increasing the Falcons' advantage to 2-0. John Port recorded an assist on the play for Divine Child.
Davey Frey upped the Falcons' lead to 3-0 with a goal at 14:31 of the first period. O'Dowd and Taylor assisted on the play for Divine Child.
In the second period, Dexter forward Adam Boonstra scored his first goal of the year off an assist from defenseman Michael Clutterback at 11:10 of the frame, cutting the Falcon lead to 3-1.
At 1:13 of the third period, Port scored increasing Divine Child's margin to 4-1. Grefke picked up an assist on the goal for the Falcons.
Dreadnaught forward Nick Field scored on a power play at 8:11 of the third period. Alex Johnston and Hunter Lyons assisted on the play for Dexter for the game's ending tally.
The Falcons out-shot the Dreadnaughts 34-31.
"There's a reason why they've (Divine Child) won seven straight regional titles," said Dexter coach Gary Howell. "They're a very good team. They don't make very many mistakes. They're very solid. You can't go down 3-0 against a team like that."
Despite losing, Howell was pleased with his squad's effort.
"I'm very proud of the team," he said.
03-22-07 — Dexter wrestling concluded its season earlier this month at the state meet at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Junior Brett Marsh (53-2) captured a state title for Dexter. Last season, he finished as runner-up at 103 pounds. Named the Dreadnaughts' Most Valuable Wrestler this year, Marsh also was Southeastern Conference and regional champion.
"This was a good year for Dexter wrestling," said Dexter coach Craig McCalla. "Getting four wrestlers to the state meet reflects the strong work ethic we are building in the wrestling room.
"At the beginning of the year Coach (Andrew) Parker and I stressed the importance of wrestling on your feet and being aggressive from the bottom position. I think the team came a long way in those areas."
The Dreadnaughts finished with a 12-15 overall record. Dexter ended up second in the SEC White Division and earned a Division II state district crown.
Other Dexter state qualifiers included freshman Dan Flowers, who placed second in the SEC White Division at 103 pounds, posted a 32-13 record.
Senior Michael Campbell (152), who was first in the SEC White Division, ended up with a 32-17 mark. He also received the Coaches Award.
Sophomore heavyweight Corey Chamberlain, who was second in the SEC White Division, finished with a 38-16 overall record.
Dreadnaught senior Zeb Klapperich (34-14) placed first in the SEC White Division and qualified for the regional meet. He was presented the Sportsmanship Award.
Larry Gunderson placed second in the SEC White Division, while Scott Santoro was also second in the SEC White and Mike Swager first in the SEC White Division for Dexter.
06-07-07 - As odd as it may seem, Dexter's girls' golf team owes a big thank you to Birmingham Seaholm.
Last year, the Maples beat the Dreadnaughts by one stroke to win the Division II state title. The narrow loss has been a thorn in Dexter's side all season.
Consider the thorn gone.
Last weekend, at Michigan State University's Forest Akers East Golf Course, the No. 1-ranked Dreadnaughts put on a clinic, destroying the field and winning the Division II state championship.
Dexter finished with a two-day score of 662 (332-330), defeating state runner-up Livonia Ladywood by 10 strokes. The Blazers ended up shooting 672 (343-329).
Rounding out the top five were Caledonia with a score of 674 (341-333), followed by Seaholm with a 691 (354-337) and Flushing with a 693 (355-338).
With total focus and motivation bordering on obsession, the Dreadnaughts dominated the state's best Division II teams. The state title was Dexter's third in the last four years.
"Last year was really bittersweet," said Dexter junior Katelyn Young. "We tried so hard, and to lose by one stroke, it's haunted us all year.
"We said it (state title) was ours this year. We always talked about it and said we were getting it back. We said we were going to do it this year. We knew we could do it."
Individually for Dexter, senior Katelin Davis led the way, finishing second as state runner-up with a two-day score of 147 (75-72).
"I couldn't be happier," said Davis, who'll play at the University of Michigan next season. "These were my two lowest rounds of my life, so I'm going out with a bang. I'm so happy we ended like this."
Davis placed sixth last season, carding a 159. Shooting 12 strokes better and winning her third state championship this year, not surprisingly, pleased Davis.
"Three's a charm, it never gets old and it feels really good," she said. "After last year, losing by one stroke, it was awful. We came back this year with some vengeance, a little bit of anger and a lot of practice. We all just tried really hard and it worked out. It's awesome."
06-07-07 - Echoing assistant coach Tom Barbieri, Dexter head coach Chris Hanlon summed up, in a few words, what most Maroon and Gold fans felt last Saturday in Zeeland.
"It's a good day to be a Dreadnaught," he said.
Indeed.
In an almost legendary-like performance, Dexter's boys' track and field team, led by arguably the finest group of long distance runners in the state, if not the Midwest, captured a Division II track and field state championship last Saturday. The title is the school's first in track and field.
The Dreadnaughts raised the state championship hardware with a team score of 48 points.
Rounding out the top five were state runner-up East Lansing with 35 points, followed by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern with 32 points, Detroit Renaissance with 28 points and Ferndale with 25 points.
Locally, Chelsea tied for ninth place with Battle Creek Lakeview with 21.50 points.
With the boys' track and field state title, Dexter now has four state championships to its credit this year. And with the No. 3-ranked girls' soccer team tearing through the state playoffs, the Dreadnaughts could make it five state titles in one year.
"It was a great season," Hanlon said. "We can look back at this year with pride. The Dexter guys showed their battle-tested spirit."
The "Dexter guys" Hanlon was referring to included seniors Dan Jackson and Ryan Neely, along with juniors Ben Steavenson, Alex Hess and Bobby Aprill and sophomore Jason Bishop.
That core group not only helped lead the Dreadnaughts to a track and field state title last Saturday, but have also been the nucleus of Dexter's five straight cross country state championships, as well.
Jackson, who'll run at the University of Notre Dame next season, spearheaded the Dreadnaught attack winning two individual state titles. In the 1,600-meter run, he finished first in 4:15.84. In the 3,200-meter run, Jackson blew away the field placing first with a clocking of 9:07.38. His time in the 3,200-meter run was, by far, the best in the state regardless of class.
Hanlon said Jackson's effort in the 1,600-meter run inspired the rest of Dexter's team.
"With about 200 meters left, he pulled away," Hanlon said. "He just buried the competition. It was a goose bump moment. It really fired up the team."
Neil Grundman of Crosswell-Lexington finished second in the 1,600-meter run in 4:18.10.
In the 3,200-meter run, the Dreadnaughts basically clinched the state championship, capturing four of the top five places and five of the top seven spots.
"That race alone would have netted us third place (in the state)," Hanlon said. "It was (almost) a repeat of the regional meet."
At the regional meet, Dexter claimed the top five places.
"The state meet is all about bunching together," Hanlon said. "The guys peaked at the right time. They were all well prepared. They were all ready."
11-08-07 — The pain of the moment showed on Bobby Aprill's face last Saturday. The senior All-State runner for Dexter was trying to find the words after the Dreadnaughts, who had won five consecutive state championships, finished second at last Saturday's Division II boys' cross country state meet at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
Fremont dethroned Dexter, winning the state title with a score of 105 points. The Dreadnaughts finished as state runner-up with 138 points.
Rounding out the top five was Linden with 147 points, followed by Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern with 157 points and Grand Rapids Christian with 201 points.
Like his Dreadnaught team, Aprill, last season's individual state champion, finished second Saturday, with a time of 15:16.2. St. Clair senior Addis Habtewold won the individual title in 15:10.6.
"Obviously, I wanted to win," said Aprill. "But I gave it everything I had in the race from start to finish. In the last 50 meters, my legs hit the wall. I ran a really gutsy last mile. Sometimes it doesn't work out."
Despite not winning their sixth consecutive state title, Aprill said he was proud of his teammates.
"They're my best friends," he said. "They ran with their hearts. It's been a tough season, but we pulled together at the end of the year. Our team goal was to win. Anything less than that is going to be disappointing. We ran as good as we could have."
Dexter coach Jaime Dudash said he was pleased with his team's effort last Saturday.
"Today was a win for us," he said. "We had three guys in the top five. Dexter is all about improving and the kids stepped up today. We put our best effort on the line. It's not always about winning. Sometimes it's about revealing character. These seven guys represented Dexter High School to the absolute highest level. We have a lot to be proud of today."
11-08-07 — The Dexter High School soccer team had a bulls-eye on its back all season, but it wasn't until the state finals that an opponent hit the mark.
Hudsonville Unity Christian took a 2-0 lead and held on for a 2-1 victory in the Division 2 state finals Saturday in East Kentwood. Dexter, last year's Division 2 state champions, finished 21-4-2 and for the first time in school history made back-to-back trips to the finals.
Unity Christian ended a perfect season at 24-0-1. The only blemish was a 2-2 tie with East Kentwood, which won the Division 1 state championship Saturday with a 2-0 win over Clarkston.
"(Unity Christian) was the best team we've ever played," Dexter senior Peter Jebson said. "They were bigger, stronger, and faster."
Jebson paused for just a second, and then continued.
"They were more talented," he said. "We had to play a great game just to keep it close."
And keep it close they did. In fact, Dexter had chances to win the game. And when you get to the finals, having chances is really all you can ask for.
"To be honest I thought we should have beat them, but they played a really good game," said senior Adam Umstead. "We just couldn't finish our chances."
Dexter Coach Scott Forrester, proud of his team even in defeat, said you can't miss chances against a team as good as Unity Christian and expect to win.
"The big thing today was capitalizing on opportunities," Forrester said. "Two quality teams played against each other. I thought we created enough chances where we could have come out as champions. They had chances too, the difference was they capitalized on them."
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