Mountaineers forfeit state semi-final against Centreville; ‘a lot of emotions, frustration, disappointment,’ coach says
CLARKSTON — It isn’t the way you want to lose a game: by not being able to play the game.
But that’s the predicament the Everest Collegiate football squad found itself in Thursday morning on the eve of a Division 8 semi-final showdown with the opportunity to play for a state championship at stake.
Athletic director Ann Lowney delivered the bad news:
“In compliance with the MDHHS pilot testing program by which the team has been testing every couple days, the EC Mountaineers announced the cancellation of Friday’s semifinal game following positive test results on the team on Thursday,” Lowney said.
Everest was scheduled to play Centreville (10-0) tonight (Jan. 15) in what appeared to be its toughest test in the playoffs. The Mountaineers finished the regular season 6-0, including its third straight Catholic League Prep Bowl championship, and kept rolling along through the MHSAA playoffs with four wins, three by shutouts, for its first-ever district and regional trophies.
Everest also recorded its first 10-win season in its eight-year history. One of the 10 wins was by coronavirus-related forfeit.
COVID giveth. COVID taketh.
Lowney said the player who tested positive “had symptoms so mild you wouldn’t even know he had them.”
The player was re-tested on the chance that the first result was a false positive before Lowney made the decision.
“Everest remains committed to screening and safety policies and procedures,” Lowney said. “We join in prayer for the end to the pandemic. As with every circumstance or disappointment, we strive to live up to our motto: ‘Semper Altius – Always Higher.’”
Mike Pruchnicki, a Flint Powers Catholic All-State athlete and Michigan State quarterback football walk-on, was Lowney’s choice for head coach in 2013 when Everest moved away from a co-op arrangement with nearby Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes and kicked off a football program of its own.
The Mountaineers have qualified for every post-season MHSAA playoff since and have compiled a 63-20 record, 38-12 against Catholic League opponents.
Pruchnicki met with his team via a Zoom conference call. “There were a lot of emotions, frustration, disappointment,” he said. “They were a great bunch of kids who loved each other and loved to compete.”
“The life experiences this group shared will be with them for the rest of their lives,” he added. “For that we are thankful to all those that made this season possible: the parents, volunteers, our administration, especially our AD, the officials and the MHSAA.
“As hard as it is right now, this group is mature enough to know they are being called to something greater.”
Contact Don Horkey at [email protected].
