Photo by Matt Boltz Bishop Foley senior Sean Patwell turns upfield as senior Mason Kaiser looks on during the team’s 30-6 victory against Notre Dame Prep Sept. 19. At press time, the Ventures were 4-2 and heading toward their fourth playoff appearance in five years.

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

MADISON HEIGHTS — First it was a slant route and an easy catch.

Next was a hitch, followed by a post, a fade, and finally, an out.

James Fredal ran each of the routes, and when the ball was in his vicinity, the senior made the catch every time.

Not bad for the team’s starting linebacker and leader in tackles with 50.

“It’s an offensive day,” Madison Heights Bishop Foley coach Paul Stanton said while watching an Oct. 6 practice. “In case of emergency, we always want to get him some work. Everybody needs some reps.”

In actuality, Fredal isn’t too shabby at the receiver spot. As a matter of fact, last season, when Foley was quite liberal with its passing game, Fredal was the team’s fourth-leading receiver.

This year, however, Fredal hasn’t had a ball thrown his way during a game. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that Stanton has stuck with his preseason goal of keeping everyone’s legs fresh by limiting the number of two-way players. So far, all but four starters have been limited to one side of the ball.

“We made a commitment at the beginning of the year that we were going to play more guys one way than we had in the past,” Stanton said. “It’s tough to do that with a Division 6 program, but we’ve made it work, and it’s helped with our success.”

“Playing one way has allowed a lot of us to really focus on specific jobs,” said Fredal, a Rochester resident. “We’re more rested, can give a better effort and have played a lot better. It’s been an idea we’ve all enjoyed.”

After stumbling last season with a 3-6 record and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003, Stanton understood the predictions he and his boys heard heading into 2008.
They were supposed to struggle, and any shot at a league title or a playoff berth simply weren’t realistic.

But that’s not how it’s turned out, as the Ventures were 4-2 at press time and had a legitimate shot at making the Prep Bowl and the state playoffs.

“It’s been fun so far,” junior offensive lineman and Rochester resident Mike Wille said when asked about the team’s success. “What’s happened is we’ve had some great senior leadership; we’ve had some guys really step up; and we’re playing good football.”

At press time, Foley, 3-0 in the Catholic League Intersectional 1 Division, was preparing to host Detroit Loyola for what could be the determining game in the division. Loyola was 2-1 entering the Oct. 10 battle.

“The thing is, you never know how high school football will go,” Stanton said. “(The coaches) sat down before the year and mapped out the games we felt we’d be successful in and the ones where we knew it would be a battle.

“One team we thought we’d beat was (Allen Park) Cabrini (a 24-18 loss Aug. 28). A team we thought we’d struggle with was (Ann Arbor) Gabriel Richard (a 7-6 win Sept. 26).

“That’s the beauty of this sport, you just never know. We heard the expectations for us coming in, but we felt we had the kind of team that could do some good things.”

You can reach Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1038.