ADRIAN – Randy Hutchison didn’t get to see Jake Felts play this season.
“He was hurt when we played them,” the Onsted coach said.
Hutchison saw plenty of the Clinton star this week during practices for the Monroe County vs. Lenawee County All-Star Football Game and during the game at Adrian College on Friday, June 20.
“The kid has a nose for the ball like nobody I’ve ever coached,” said Hutchison, who served as the head coach for the Lenawee County team.
Felts’ nose for the ball was so good that it tricked the officials.
“He got called for penalties for blitzing a couple of times, but he wasn’t blitzing,” said Hutchison said. “He reads were so good that when the guard pulled, he just filled the gap.”
Blitzing was not allowed in the game, but the performance of Felts could be missed. He was named the Most Valuable Player for Lenawee, which suffered a 26-9 loss.
“Tonight meant the world to me,” Felts said. “This is the last game of four-year high school career. I poured my blood, sweat and tears into it. It paid off.”
Felt lost his final high school game, but gained a lot of friends.
Lenawee scored first on a safety when a Monroe snap sailed out of the back of the end zone. After Monroe grabbed a 7-2 lead, Lenawee retook the lead when Tyler Clement of Tecumseh powered in from two yards out and Onsted’s Talan Hutchinson added the PAT.
But overall, it was a tough night for the Lenawee offense with four turnovers and numerous penalties.
“I liked our defense, Hutchison said. “There was a lot of hard hitting. It was a physical game.”
Lenawee only had four practices for the game and one of those was spoiled by weather.
“It was weird at the beginning, but we had a week of practice and became great friends,” he said of joining forces with players he had competed against for four years. “It was the experience of a lifetime that only comes once.”
“We were limited,” Hutchison said.
Monroe had four turnovers of its own. Daniel Haddix (Tecumseh) and Joe Clark (Addison) recovered fumbles and Beckett McCaskey (Hudson) and Clement (Tecumseh) intercepted passes.
Michael Narew of Erie Mason, who broke his collarbone midway through the third game of the season and missed the rest of the season, was named the MVP for Monroe.
“It was crushing,” he said of the injury. “It was a depressing week. I couldn’t function.”
So, Narew jumped at the chance to put on the pads one more time.
“I was so excited,” he said. “I really wanted to play.”
Narew caught 4 passes for 70 yards and reached double figures for tackles.
“He was all over the field,” said Kyle Reed of Monroe High, who served as the Monroe County head coach.
That came as no surprise to Reed.
“I said early in the week that he’s pretty special,” he said. “We had plans for him.”
Monroe quarterback Collin Steele completes 14-of-22 passes for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns – Phoenix Stefko of Erie Mason (7 yards), Landon Vida of Gibraltar Carlson (17) and Dean Thomas of Ida (10).
“I love slinging the ball,” he said. “We knew we were going to throw it a lot tonight.”
Narew hauled in passes of 7, 10, 30 and 23 yards.
“He’s a dog,” Steele said of Narew. “We wanted to get him the ball in space. He has a lot of speed.”
Thomas caught 4 passes for 47 yards and Trenton Eitniear of Whiteford ended the game with a 2-yard touchdown run.
“He made some throws,” Reed said of Steele. “It just took some time to knock the rust off.”
Monroe 0 14 6 6 – 26
Lenawee 2 7 0 0 – 9
First Quarter
L – Safety, ball snapped out of end zone
Second Quarter
M – Phoenix Stefko (Erie Mason) 5 pass from Collin Steele (Monroe). PAT: Wyatt Dirkmaat (Ida)
L – Tyler Clement (Tecumseh) 2 run. PAT: Talan Hutchinson (Onsted)
M – Landon Vida (Gibraltar Carlson) 17 pass from Steele. PAT: Dirkmaat
Third Quarter
M – Dean Thomas (Ida) 10 pass from Steele. PAT: failed
Fourth Quarter
M – Trenton Eitniear (Whiteford) 2 run. PAT: No try.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Monroe Rushing: Jordan Fields, Airport, 8-24; Dean Thomas, Ida, 4-19; Trenton Eitniear, Whiteford, 4-17; Collin Steele, Monroe, 4-16; Michael Narew, Erie Mason, 1-5; Donovan Howard, Monroe, 1-3; Jax Jones, Monroe, 1-3.
Lenawee Rushing: Kassidy Lanz, Blissfield, 8-16; Tyler Clement, Tecumseh, 6-12; Jake Felts, Clinton, 1-4; Byron Creech, Addison, 4-3; Chase Henline, Onsted, 2-0.
Monroe Passing: Collin Steete, Monroe, 14-22-187.
Lenawee Passing: Luke Manders, Onsted, 12-25-172; Tyler Clement, Tecumseh, 0-3-0.
Monroe Receiving: Michael Narew, Erie Mason, 4-70; Dean Thomas, Ida, 4-47; Brenden Myshock, Summerfield, 8-25; Tyler Furman, Airport, 2-21; Landon Vida, Gibraltar Carlson, 1-17; Phoenix Stefko, Erie Mason 1-7.
Lenawee Receiving: Tyler Clement, Tecumseh, 4-87; Talan Hutchinson, Onsted, 4-47; Chase Henline, Adrian, 2-23; Kassidy Lenz, Blissfield, 1-9; Daniel Haddix, Tecumseh, 1-6.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Jake Felts of Clinton earns MVP honors in All-Star Football Game
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
