Looking for No. 10

By Mike Moore
C & G Staff Writer

Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest faces Southfield Christian in playoffs


By Mike Moore

C & G Sports Writer

ROCHERSTER HILLS — The regular season was one for the history books, as records were shattered and expectations were greatly exceeded.

Now things get really interesting.

The Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest football team closed out the 2008 regular season with a 47-35 victory against Sterling Heights Parkway Christian. It was a regular season few could have foreseen, but none will ever forget.

Nine games, nine wins — the most in program history.

“Everything we’ve done this year has seemed like some kind of history,” coach Don Justice said with a laugh. “It’s been pretty incredible.”

But Northwest didn’t have much time to celebrate what it accomplished because of what the very near future holds. For the first time since 2005, the Crusaders will make a playoff appearance, and for the first time ever, they will host a postseason game.

“We’ve been getting ready for a game like this for a while,” Justice said of the Oct. 31 Division 7 pre-district game against a 7-1 Southfield Christian team, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. “The guys are pretty excited and pretty confident. From watching some film, Southfield Christian is a team to respect. They are going to be very tough, but we feel like we have a pretty good chance.”

While the 9-0 regular season has certainly created excitement, Justice said his guys aren’t happy just being there.

“Just making it isn’t good enough,” he said. “That was the case in 2005, we were happy to just be there. Now it’s about taking that next step. Now it’s about finding a way to win.

“It’s very cool that we made it, that was one of our main goals coming into the season. But I give these guys a lot of credit. The ‘coolness,’ so to speak, has already gone away. The focus has been brilliant. They aren’t going to let one minute of practice or meetings or anything go without getting the most out of it.”

Asked specifically if he and his team had a certain goal in mind, Justice just laughed again and said, “We want to keep making history.”

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.