SMCC shares one last go-round with Huron League rivals
RIVERVIEW — While the Catholic High School League celebrates its centennial this year, another Catholic school within Archdiocese of Detroit's boundaries has instead been busy commemorating “six decades, 207 Huron League titles and one last dance.”
Historically, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central has been a Catholic League holdout, preferring to join a neighborhood conference with local public school rivals instead. But that will change for the CHSL’s second century, when SMCC comes on board for the first time during the 2027-28 school year. The Catholic League's executive board approved the school’s membership application at its May meeting.
“This is only my fifth year as AD, but we get asked (to join) every single year,” SMCC athletic director Jared Janssen said. “We just felt like the timing is right to go in that direction. It was good timing for us; good timing for the Catholic League as they’re looking to expand with the Toledo schools and Country Day coming in. So it just seemed like the time is right.”
Despite boasting a deep athletic program with 25 varsity sports, changing enrollment is one factor in the upcoming move. SMCC has 288 students and has become the smallest school in the Huron League, where the other seven members’ enrollments range from 488 to 814. Or, to put it another way, SMCC is a Division 7-sized football team playing in a league with Division 3’s and Division 5’s, and football often holds the sway for conference realignments in this day and age.
But that wasn’t the biggest factor, Janssen says.
“First and foremost, it’s in line with all our values as a school, so that’s the easiest and most direct answer,” he said. “We’re excited for something different, and excited to be a part of a league where everyone shares those same values and works together.”
As a recent example, SMCC has been without a football stadium this year since the school’s longtime home, Navarre Field, was rezoned for residential housing and put on the market. But Riverview Gabriel Richard, which cancelled its football season due to a lack of players, has allowed SMCC to use its burgundy-colored turf field — most recently for the Falcons’ last Huron League game, a showdown against neighborhood rival Monroe Jefferson, on Oct. 16.
Both teams came into the contest state-ranked and with identical records — 7-0 overall and 6-0 in league play — and for all intents and purposes, the game lived up to its hype. Before a packed house, Jefferson pulled out a late victory, 8-6.
“Yeah, it was two great football teams that came out and played a great football game. There’s nothing else to say about that. Both teams played hard right to the very end,” SMCC head coach Adam Kipf said.
“I thought we’d see a little more offense, but both defenses shined tonight. It was beautiful,” said Jefferson head coach Rob Beaudrie, who is actually a St. Mary Catholic Central grad and former assistant coach there for 10 seasons before moving across town.
The game was scoreless until the final 8 minutes, when the Bears’ Drake Jones took a handoff, approached the right side of the line, bounced off the first wave of tacklers and took the ball into the end zone from 19 yards away. Jefferson followed up with the two-point conversion, when quarterback Grady Brooks faded back to draw a big rush from SMCC defenders before finding Hunter Barton open in the end zone to catch the pass.
SMCC answered on its ensuing possession by driving 59 yards in 12 plays. Cole Reinhardt rushed for a 3-yard touchdown with 1:16 remaining, showing a similar second-effort when he appeared to be bottled by the interior linemen.
However, the Falcons came up short of the end zone when they sought to tie the game with a two-point conversion. After successfully covering an on-side kick attempt, Jefferson ran out the clock to preserve a win in the two teams’ final Huron League clash.
“I figured it would be a pretty low-scoring game or a pretty high-scoring game, both sides. I figured it would be pretty even for the most part, but I was not expecting it to be 0-0 so long,” Reinhardt said. “It was solid. It was a great game on both sides for sure, and this loss definitely builds character for the future.”
“Yeah, it was a tough game; hard-fought, I’d say. It was pretty close, it was just tough, but then they got a play. That’s what it came down to,” fellow SMCC running back Landon Barron said. “It’s a tough rivalry. We both have a bunch of talented players so it’s a fun game every year. Everyone’s pretty gritty.
“It was a tough game, it was fun, but we couldn’t get it done.”
The Huron League, which traces its roots back to 1929, is nearly as old as the Catholic League. Both Jefferson and Monroe Catholic Central joined the conference in 1969 (prior to the all-boys Catholic Central merging with the all-girls St. Mary Academy in 1986-87). There’s a deep history there, so Janssen doesn’t want to cut the cord completely.
“You can tell the tradition runs deep and a lot of the schools have a lot of great memories to get together, and hopefully those can continue in non-league contests,” he said. “Obviously it’s short travel and we’ve had those rivalries forever, so I know that was important for our alumni to still maintain those rivalries. Instead of playing them twice, you might play them once in a lot of sports.”
Kipf said, “It’s been 60-some years; I think it’s been quite a really good rivalry. We’ve got rivalries, not only with Jefferson but several other Huron League schools, you know, but it’s just time for a change. We’re sad to leave the league but excited for the new challenge that lies ahead for us.”
Even as a rival coach, Beaudrie shares some of the same feelings.
“Everybody knows everybody in the Huron; it’s a tight-knit league,” he said. “I’m sad they’re leaving, to be honest with you. It’s always nice to have them on the schedule, but they’re going to move on to different things. I understand why they’re going; it is what it is, and I wish the best of luck to them.”
