TRAVERSE CITY -- Bill Santilli admits he's "surprised" his Crystal Falls Forest Park football team is representing the Upper Peninsula in the Divison 8 semifinals on Saturday.
The Trojans (10-2) face Frankfort (10-2) in a rematch of last November's semifinal at Marquette's Superior Dome. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
Crystal Falls, which has traveled to Ford Field for five consecutive state finals, finished third in the Great Western Conference this season, losing to league champion Lake Linden by 30 points in the final game of the regular season.
Two weeks later, though, the Trojans stunned the unbeaten Lakes 14-8 for the district title.
"I never expected to beat them in the rematch," Santilli said. "They clearly manhandled us the first time around. And we had to go back up there and play them again on their field.
"The one thing I can't explain about this team, and some of the teams we've had in the past, is they just have a will to win. It's not a coach-able trait. It's something instilled within our athletes."
Crystal Falls was trailing 8-6 with just over a minute to play last week. After blocking a punt, the Trojans took over at the Lake Linden 12. They punched it in, added a two-point conversion, and walked off the field with a 14-8 win.
"Those are the things that I say I can't explain," Santilli said. "Even though you have a group of players that give the effort on everything you ask, you still can't plan on running a punt back, blocking a punt, or intercepting a pass. You can practice some things, but you're not necessarily going to have that in your game plan, and have to rely on that to win a big game, especially a playoff game. Fortunately for us, the kids hung in there and we're still playing."
Crystal Falls and Frankfort have proud football traditions. Crystal Falls has been in the playoffs 25 times -- third most in state history. Frankfort has qualified for the post-season 24 times. They have won five state championships between them.
The two teams were senior-dominated last season when the Trojans pulled out an 8-6 win. They rebuilt their lineups and, despite not winning their conferences, are back in the state semifinals.
"We're excited to be back," Frankfort coach Matt Stapleton said. "And to have the chance to play these guys again is special. Our kids look at it as an opportunity.
"When they (underclassmen) walked off the field last year, they said, 'We'll be back.' Now a lot has to go into that. You have to put in the time and the work. And they have. I'm excited for them."
Frankfort let an opportunity slip by in last year's game. The Panthers rang up nearly 300 yards in offense and held Crystal Falls to 108 yards rushing. But the Panthers missed two field goals and fumbled inside the Trojans' 15.
"We had the edge in every statistical category, just not on the scoreboard," Stapleton said. "We had one score, they had one score. They had the two-pointer, we didn't."
Stapleton likes the way his team is peaking. In last Friday's 43-12 regional win over Johannesburg-Lewiston, the Panthers did not turn the ball over and committed only four penalties.
"We played mistake-free football," he said.
The Panthers are led by quarterback Dan Nugent, who's thrown for 1,151 yards and 18 touchdowns -- 13 to Andrew Newbold -- and rushed for 850 yards and 11 more scores. He completed his last nine passes last weekend.
"He's a darn good quarterback," Stapleton said. "He's a playmaker. He's gritty, smart and he knows how to win."
Poom Hang has rushed for 849 yards for the Panthers.
"They were in the same boat as us," Santilli said about the Panthers. "They lost a lot of seniors -- a very good athletic core of seniors. Coach Stapleton and his coaching staff have brought these guys along and they have another quality football team. They're playing extremely well. They come off the ball well, they fly around on defense. They seem to have big-play capabilities. It looks like Nugent is a go-to kid. If he was playing for me, I'd have the ball in his hands, too."
Crystal Falls likes to put the ball in the hands of running back Josh Siler, a four-year starter. Siler has rushed for nearly 1,800 yards. The Upper Peninsula sprint champion went for 2,000 yards last season.
"I've told people, 'As Siler goes, so goes our team,'" Santilli said. "The kids feed off him. He's a real good leader. He's one of those kids who's a joy to have around. He works hard, he keeps his mouth shut and plays the game with a smile on his face.
"Other than Siler, we don't have any one star. This is a team that's comprised of a lot of competitive, athletic kids. When we put them all together, they complement each other real well."
Like the Panthers, the Trojans have been a work in progress throughout the season.
"This team has made a lot of improvement over the course of the season," Santilli said. "We lost 17 seniors from last year's team. We only returned one starter on offense, two on defense. We started off very slowly. We had challenges early on. We lost to Hurley (Wis.) in week three. We had to take baby steps as the season went on. Fortunately for us, just about the time we played North Dickinson in week six, the guys started putting things together. We could see a noticeable improvement in the way they were playing."
Except for that week nine loss at Lake Linden.
"We made a lot mental errors in that game," Santilli said. "We fell apart. We had a mini-breakdown. But our kids learned from it."
Santilli said the Trojans rely on basic, fundamental football.
"We don't do anything fancy," he said. "We line up and try to play hard-nosed aggressive football. My philosophy is that if your opponent blocks better, tackles better and out plays you, they're going to beat you. We don't have a bag of tricks we dip into. We just ask for the kids to give that effort and try to play to their potential."
That's the same philosophy Stapleton preaches at Frankfort.
"We just try to beat you with the things we do well," he said.
Stapleton said the Trojans "looked good" last Saturday in defeating Stephenson 42-7.
"They get off the ball," he said. "They're not as big (up front) as they have been, but they're quick. We'll have to buckle down defensively and make sure we wrap them up."
Crystal Falls, which also beat Frankfort in the 2000 semifinals, has reached the state finals six times this decade. The Trojans won it all in 2007.
"Coach Santilli is a class act," Stapleton said. "He's a player's coach. I refer to him as the Godfather of UP football. He cares about his kids and he does things the right way. And I'd like to think we do things the right way, too."
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