Gwinn, Michigan – October 24, 2016 – The year was 1999. The Gwinn Modeltowners were lead by one of the greatest football players the Upper Peninsula has ever seen, Danny Mettlach. The Modeltowners were in the state semi-finals after rattling off three playoff wins against Ishpeming, Iron Mountain, and Whittemore-Prescott.
In the Superior Dome against the tough Saint Charles team, the Modeltowners got off to a fast start. Two touchdowns in the first quarter and Gwinn lead 12-0. The entire town of Gwinn was making plans to head down to the Silver Dome for Thanksgiving. Saint Charles then rattled off 40 unanswered points, and the Modeltowners season was over. It was the last time the Gwinn Modeltowners played in an MHSAA playoff football game.
That is all about to change. On Thursday night, Gwinn defeated the defending division 7 state champions Ishpeming Hematites for their 6th victory of the season. With the win, the Modeltowners automatically qualified for the MHSAA playoffs for the first time in 17 years. The ghosts of Modeltowners’ past could be heard singing “Fishin’ In The Dark” throughout the streets in celebration.
It has been a dramatic turnaround for the Gwinn program since head coach Dion Brown took over in 2014. Just three years earlier, in 2011, the Modeltowners’ varsity team was forced to forfeit the entire second half of their season due to not enough numbers to field a team. The team has improved every season since Brown has been head coach. A 1-8 record in his inaugural season, a 3-6 record last year, and now a 6-3 record in 2016. The leadership set a clear vision with a plan to get there, the kids have bought in, and the result is success.
Sports in and of themselves are an incredible entity. This is especially true on the high school level. Few things have the ability to galvanize an entire community like high school sports. Regardless of religious beliefs, political stances or any other influence, an entire community rallies around the same purpose. I can attest from personal experience that community support plays an essential role in success.
In 2010, my senior year, our basketball experienced some success. When it was all said in done, we had won the first ever Mid-Peninsula conference championship in our men’s basketball program’s history. The entire season was an incredible ride, and it was made possible by the show of support from the community. When people around the town who have no current ties to the school (no kids playing sports or even attending the school) are heavily invested in the team, it makes the players feel they are a part of something truly larger than themselves and their teammates.
This is currently happening with the Gwinn football team. Whenever I have a conversation with someone in town, the success of this year is almost always brought up, and generally not by me. There are few who are not excited about not only this year, but the future of the program as well.
The Modeltowners will face a formidable opponent in their first playoff game in 17 years. The team will travel to Iron Mountain to play a Mountaineers team in the same venue they have already lost to this season, back before labor day. Teams improve throughout the year, so the result of that game could not mean anything, or it could mean everything. This coming week we will find out if the Modeltowners have improved enough to pull off a win in a very tough venue, against a very tough team.
Back in 1999, the Modeltowners lost to Iron Mountain the second game of the year, 27-6. Gwinn had to travel to Iron Mountain to play that same Iron Mountain team in the second round of the playoffs. Gwinn ended up dismantling the Mountaineers in that game 41-10. There are many parallels between that 1999 team and this 2016 team, read into them however much you’d like. But regardless of outcome this week, I’m looking forward to being hit with nostalgia when I walk into those yellow walls in Iron Mountain Friday night.
