Two terrible losses for Melvindale

BY MICK MCCABE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Cardinals quarterback David Smith, left, is chased down and sacked by Orchard Lake St. Mary's Bundrea Conway during the fourth quarter at Melvindale.
(PHOTO BY ROB WIDDIS/SPECIAL TO THE FREE PRESS)

MELVINDALE--Phil Howard thought it would be different this time.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's came to Melvindale two years ago and thumped the Cardinals in a regional final, but this time Melvindale was unbeaten and seemed so much better.

Melvindale might be better, but it made no difference as St. Mary's defeated the Cardinals, 35-21, in a Division 3 district final Friday marred by mistakes, including lost fumbles on three consecutive plays.

Melvindale (10-1) had five turnovers, not including a blocked punt, and the Eaglets (6-4) had three turnovers.

But there was no mistake that could match the one that cost Howard his coaching job.

"This was my last game," Howard said. "I resigned."

Howard said he submitted a letter of resignation, effective at the end of the season, two weeks ago, but it is likely he was going to be fired at Monday's school board meeting regardless of the outcome of this game.

It began three weeks ago, when a flyer attributing racist comments to Wyandotte coach Ron Adams was circulated in the Melvindale locker room before the Cards defeated Wyandotte, 35-0.

Adams vehemently denied the remarks, and Howard said he had no knowledge of the flyer until after the game. It was an excuse few people bought.

A volunteer assistant coach, Denny Howard, Phil's brother, took responsibility for the flyer and was fired two weeks ago, but Howard's coaching days were numbered.

And Howard's number was up against St. Mary's stingy defense, led by linebacker Earnest Thomas.

"We knew they really wanted to come in here and get a win over us," said Thomas. "That team is an aggressive team, so we had to stay level-headed and focused. There was a lot of chitter-chatter going on. It was getting rough; it was crazy."

St. Mary's Gary Hunter catches a 34-yard TD pass against Melvindale's Dezhon Oliver during Friday's Division 3 district final.
(Photo by ROB WIDDIS/Special to the Free Press)

Melvindale, on the other hand, hurt itself with fumbles and penalties.

A week ago, St. Mary's quarterback Robert Bolden didn't attempt a single pass in throttling Detroit Central, but this week he threw two touchdown passes that highlighted 21 St. Mary's points in 4 1/2 minutes.

"My arm was a little sore last week," said Bolden, who committed to Penn State. "We could obviously run the ball on them, and I didn't want to push it at all coming into this week, so last week I took it a little easy.

"Coach opened it up for me a little bit today, so I was happy about that."

There was nothing for Howard to be happy about. His coaching career at Melvindale is finished, and it will be difficult for him to get another coaching job in this state.

"I'm going to coach again someplace; I don't know if it will be in Michigan," he said. "I actually got a call from a school in Georgia this week, so I'll explore that option."

That is a shame, because he had done a good job in 17 years at Melvindale, the past eight as head coach.

"My goal as a head coach here when I left was to leave the program better than it was," he said. "We were the first coaching staff to win a playoff game. This is our ninth playoff game. We've won over 40 games in five years, so there's a lot of positive things that came out of this."

Yes, but the only thing some people will remember is that stupid flyer.

Prep Football

No logos, photographs, or graphics on the site may be reproduced without written permission.