Shamrocks complete perfect season

On Saturday, November 22nd, the Portland St. Patrick Shamrock nation travelled to the far north for the 8-man football State Championship at the Northern Michigan University Superior Dome. The Shamrocks showed just how big, fast and strong they were, and left no doubt about who was the best team this year, winning 53-0 against the North Dickinson Nordics.

The opening kickoff started out with a bang, when Aiden Fandel took the ball and returned it all the way to the 3-yard line where he was tripped up just before getting in the endzone. Jerryd Scheurer punched it in, and Brady Leonard powered in the two-point conversion, making the score 8-0 just 20 seconds into the game. The Shamrocks smothered the Nordics on the next drive, and Tyler Thelen blocked their punt, putting the ball in the potent Shamrock offense once again. Jerryd Scheurer found Charlie Thelen in the back of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown pass, and the kick was no good. The Shamrock defense again figured out North Dickinson and took the ball over on downs. St. Patrick pounded it into the endzone when Brady Leonard punched his ticket again from 8 yards out. This left the score 20-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was the Hudson King show, with him streaking loose from 30 and 21 yards respectively. Tyler Thelen made one of the extra points, and the score was 33-0 at halftime.

The Shamrocks continued to show their defensive dominance, and scored twice in the third quarter. Caleb Pline punched it in from 2 yards, and Logan Kreiger checked his touchdown box with a 2-yard plunge. Tyler Thelen hit another extra point, and the score was 46-0 after three quarters of football.

The fourth quarter went by very fast with a running clock, and the Shamrocks handed the ball to Nick Pung for their final score from 1 yard. Brody Beckhold, kicking with a broken leg, made the extra point to make the final score 53-0.

Offensive leaders for the Shamrocks were Hudson King who had 10 carries for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns, Brady Leonard had 10 carries for 57 yards and 1 touchdown and Caleb Pline who had 6 carries for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Defensive leaders for the Shamrocks were Aiden Mosser with 11 tackles, Augustus Teachworth with 8 tackles 2 sacks and 2 tackle for loss (TFL), and Ben White with 7 tackles 1 sack and 1 TFL.

The Shamrocks completed the season 13-0, scoring 588 and only allowing 122 points. Head Coach Patrick Russman had this to say about his finely tuned athletic machine. "It has been a very fun season, the boys did all we asked them to do all year. We were really focused on building speed on offense and defense. Our practices were incredibly competitive every week, with our scout teams really performing at an incredibly high level. The chemistry of our team was the reason for our success, and most importantly our young men pushed each other to grow stronger in our Faith and strengthen our Catholic Values. We know that football is a gift, and we are thankful for it, especially this season and this community which embraced this team and that was a true joy. We know this season is over, but we know that the young men will take the lessons they learned into the future. We as coaches will never forget this season and the wonderful experiences we had. Special thanks to our entire coaching staff, including the younger levels Sam Hodge, Kurt Pline, Joe Cook and all the assistants at our youth program. Behind the scenes, our statistician, and film guru, Ross Schneider was always getting us great films and taking care of our IT and stat reporting."  He also mentioned the excellent booth help from cousin Bryan Scheurer.

Defensive Coordinator Aaron Thelen had this to say about a defense that stifled every team that they ran across. "I am really proud of the effort that the guys put in during the off season, and during the season. They learned to love to play defense, and took pride in scouting the opponents and knowing their tendencies. I really love how these young men stepped up on the field, but more importantly, how they have stepped up off the field. I have known most of these kids since pre-school, and it was a privilege to see them reach their goal of a State Championship. My assistants were amazing all year as well, and we really had great chemistry as a coaching staff. Coach Brad Leonard had a special rapport with this group of young men, and Coach Todd Davlin was an exceptional special teams coach who gave us great field position to play defense, and Coach CP got us started at practice every day on time. Also huge thanks to the parents and sponsors, who made the trip such a blessing, with food and comforts on the 7-hour trip north." 

The coaches would also like to thank their wives, who went through late nights, countless planning sessions, and all the pressure of dealing with a long season.

Photos by Lindsey Cook