TRAVERSE CITY -- A year ago, Ravenna coach Dusty Fairfield made some predictions about this year's season.
"I expect to see Traverse City St. Francis in the semifinals next year," he said after losing to the Glads in the state semifinals. "And, we're not going to be a young group of boys this time."
Turns out, he was right.
The undefeated defending state champion Gladiators will take on 10-2 Ravenna at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Division 7 state semifinal. The location -- Ferris State's Top Taggart Field -- is the same place Fairfield made his prediction last year following a 28-7 loss.
"There's a healthy respect between us and Ravenna," St. Francis coach Greg Vaughan said. "Dusty's a great coach, awesome program, and has some great kids. (His prediction), you've got to want that. You don't want a coach leading the way that says, 'Hopefully we get back there.'
"They were bound and determined to get back and get back at us. We expected that and we're welcoming that. It's going to be a great game. We know if we can get through this game, we earned our spot at Ford Field and we beat a dang good team to get there."
Like last year, the Bulldogs enter the game with a 10-2 record after losses to Muskegon Oakridge and Montague. But make no mistake, this Ravenna team is improved from last season.
"Last year's game was another tough matchup between two tough teams that like to hit each other," St. Francis senior Ian Sheldon said. "I expect the same this year. After watching film, I think they're better than last year, and they're going to come out and hit us hard."
The Bulldogs benefit from returning the majority of their team, including Jamohn Martin. The senior running back has over 2,200 yards and 36 touchdowns.
"He's a kid you can't give any crease whatsoever to. He'll be gone," Vaughan said. "You can't arm tackle him because he's a strong kid and he's quick."
Sheldon called Martin the best running back St. Francis has seen this year.
"We need to dominate the line up front," senior defensive lineman Paul Britten said. "Jamohn Martin is a great player, but we need to key in on that offensive line. They're going to be blocking for him and we need to get through."
Ravenna is averaging nearly 48 points a game this season. After breaking 70 points only once before this year, the Bulldogs have done it twice this season -- including a 77-49 victory over Merrill last week.
"(Jamohn Martin) is not the only weapon they have," Vaughan said. "(Tyler Chopp), the more I watch him, I was impressed with him last year, and the more I watch him that kid just impresses me on both sides of the ball. He is a gritty football player that gets it done.
"They're very similar to us in that they've got a lot of great players that play a lot of different positions. It's going to be a classic game of which side is going to be able to stuff their gaps and make you try to do something uncharacteristic they haven't done the rest of the year."
The Glads are coming off an uncharacteristic game. After playing the previous six contests with a running clock in the second half, St. Francis was in a dogfight last Friday against Ishpeming in the Superior Dome. It took overtime, but the Gladiators survived with a 28-20 win.
"You get in a situation like we had up there, it comes down to what's your team's character," Vaughan said. "Our kids didn't give up by any means. They had short-term memories, even with the touchdown with 15 seconds left. With penalties and everything else going on, they had short-term memory, which you've got to have in order to win the big games."
Other teams may have needed the close game as a wake-up call. Vaughan, however, said his team is seasoned, thanks to 15 experienced seniors.
"They've played 40 games now in 3 years," Vaughan said. "If they had not been in championships or been in playoffs, I would say we definitely needed that. The bottom line is our kids are pretty seasoned. That's the benefit here with our kids is they've played a lot of games, they've seen a lot of different things happen. They know how to deal with those situations, whether it's a blowout or a close game, I'm confident our guys here know how to deal with it."
That experience already includes a win over Ravenna.
"They want it this year," Britten said. "Last year they came out tough and we were able to hold them off. This year we're working hard and hopefully we can do that again."
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