Cat Fight! Lions Face Cougars for Regional Title

Lansing Catholic (8-3) at Newaygo (9-2) Saturday 1pm

By Ken DeLaat
Photo by Alexis Mercer

It has truly been a stellar season for the Lions. Capturing the Districts in an exciting fashion over a pair of tough opponents and now a home game for the Regional title and a shot at reaching the Final Four. Uncharted territory for this or any previous Newaygo football team.
But not for their coach.

Coach Ralph Munger is well acquainted with the postseason and what it takes to succeed once you get there. This team has improved dramatically as the season has progressed and under the tutelage of Coach Munger and his staff they now know they not only belong here, they are a force to be reckoned with.

But so is Lansing Catholic. The Cougars are a D6 team playing in a conference filled with D4 and D5 teams including  top D4 contender Portland. In their season finale LC pulled out a win over perennial powerhouse Pewamo Westphalia and in the tourney they took down an undefeated Chesaning team before squeaking by a rugged Ovid Elsie squad. Three years ago Jim Baker took the reins as Head Coach of the Cougars after nearly 3 decades as their o-line coach. All they did was capture a state title that year.

Quarterback Alex Fernandez will be a lot to contain. In that win over  P-W he accounted for 418 yards and 5 TDs. His favorite targets are Braden Rabideau and Xavier Luae and Fernandez is no slouch on the other side of the ball either. The trio are just a few of the weapons Newaygo will be facing Saturday afternoon. 

The Lions are also packed with talent on both sides. Blake Kerr has done all he’s been asked to do, mixing his effective passing prowess with some tough rushing yards. Porter Slominski? He is an absolute beast coming out of the backfield with a bevy of sturdy lineman giving him opportunities. The defense is solid and Luis Alvarez, Konner Bisel and Henry Wood are names you will often hear Brian Janke bellow out after tackles.

They both played Lake Odessa Lakewood, with Newaygo winning 53-36 and Lansing Catholic winning 40-14.
​ Both teams deserve to be here Few Cinderellas ever make it to the Regional Final.
Call me a homer but I’m going with the Lions. They got the talent, the tenacity, the Coach…
And a boatload of heart.
Go Lions!

An earlier post stated the teams did not play a common opponent. Thanks to Erik Larsen for helping us correct this.-KD