State of perfection

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On March 17 the number one-ranked Goodrich Lady Martians capped off an undefeated season by outlasting a stubborn Grand Rapids Catholic Central team, 60-53, winning the Class B girls basketball state championship game at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University.
Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch helped Goodrich (28-0) win its first state title in school history.
Frankie Joubran led the Martians with 16 points and five rebounds. Morgan Eddy snagged 13 rebounds while Aketra Sevillian scored 13 and Destiny Stephens tossed in 11 points.
‘We had the talent to end up on top,? said Gray. ‘It’s a long difficult road to the Breslin Center. ‘We were up by five points with six seconds to go’I thought to myself’how can we blow this lead? We really can’t. Then it was over.?
‘I can’t make those girls fast or tall,? he said. We just have some very, very good players who put a lot of time in working hard at practice each day. This group of girls are so driven to win’it really paid off.?
‘Last year we looked out of place at the Breslin Center’we lost to Dearborn Divine Child in double overtime in the 2011 state semi finals’they went on to win it all last year,? he said. ‘This year beat that team (Dearborn Divine Child 68-53) in the 2012 semi finals’we belonged there.?
Gray has rolled up a 268-38 record over 13 years including three perfect regular seasons reflected on the season.
‘In the second game of the season we were trailing Grosse Pointe Woods University Ligget,? he said. ‘The girls allied from behind winning the game 70-67. It was a turning point in the season. There was just no quit in the girls. They were a lot of contributions from different players to have success’depth and balance were the keys to winning this season. No dominate players on this team.?
‘As the season continued we rolled up win after win. The streak helped us stay on task,? Gray added.
While not too superstitious Gray admitted some of his players encouraged him to keep some things consistent game-to-game.
‘I wore a pair of skull and crossbones socks during the games,? laughed Gray. ‘Lucky I had two pair to keep so they were pretty clean most of the time.?
On Monday the Class B Girls Basketball district, regional and state championship trophies were sitting on top of a file cabinet in Gray’s high school office’perhaps motivation to contimplate the 2012-13 season.
‘Six of the 12 girls will be returning next year,? said Gray. ‘It may be a different look and style with a loss of some of the height,? he added.

KeKe Sevillian ? 13.5 points per game, 3.7 steals per game, Frankie Joubran ? 11.6 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game, Taylor Gleason ? 11.1 points per game, 3.8 assists per game, 3.6 rebounds per game Tania Davis ? 8.3 points per game, 2.0 assists per game, Morgan Eddy ? 5.2 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game and Destiny Stephens ? 7.0 points per game

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By Chloe Slade
Staff Writer
One shot.
That’s all it took to nudge the Goodrich Martian Varsity Soccer team into the record books as Division III State Champions.
Under bright sunny skies at Rochester Stoney Creek a grueling 3-month, 25-game season ended when the second-ranked Goodrich Martians (21-3-1) eked out a penalty shot win over the sixth-ranked Whitehall Vikings (22-2-1).
‘It was a dream come true,? said senior Captain Bobby Short.
‘Once we got on the bus everyone was freaking out, with an occasional pinch here and there to make sure we weren’t dreaming.?
The first half defensive struggle ended with a scoreless tie. However at the 25:29 mark of the second period, junior Austin Douglas was taken down in the box and was awarded a penalty kick.
‘I was looking up at the ball, and a kid just took my legs out from under me and tripped me,? said Douglas. ‘I felt good after the call was made, but I didn’t think it would be (called) because of the contact that occurred throughout the whole game was left uncalled in various situations.?
The kick beat Viking goalkeeper Cody Sowles who made six saves on the day. Goodrich outshot Whitehall 19-4.
‘Whitehall was a very defensive team, but their offense wasn’t much of a threat,? said Short. ‘We had to watch kids from time to time, but we had an extremely strong defense.?
Martian goalkeeper Chad Frownfelter shut out Whitehall on four shots.
‘All I could think after the win, was that we gave the seniors the best season they could ask for and they deserved it,? said Arnold.
Third-year Coach Evan Huizenga called the 2008 season the most exciting ever.
‘It was amazing to me how each of the players on our team came up big when we needed them to,? said Huizenga. It was not the same player that was the ‘star? every game in the playoffs. I could not be more proud of what these young men did. They worked hard every practice and every game, from the beginning to the end. We put together the toughest schedule we have ever played to prepare ourselves for the tough post-season run.?
‘In fact, we did not have an easy road to the championship, which may have helped us. I think we beat 3 ranked teams in the post season by the MHSSCA ranking. It was a fun ride and we are all just attempting to take it all in. It is truly an honor for me to be a part of the 2008 Division III State Championship Team.
The Martians earned a spot in the state championship game by dumping Country Day 3-0 on Oct. 29. Whitehall defeated South Haven in an earlier game 1-0.

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