Spencer Ambrosius took a deep breath, then stepped forward and did what senior quarterbacks are taught to do.
He took reponsibility.
"This was my fault," Ambrosius said, standing tall but obviously fighting the urge to run off and sit by himself somewhere at Ford Field. "I feel terrible. It's hard. I don't want to take off my jersey because I know it won't go back on.
"This isn't how it was supposed to end. I wasn't prepared for this," the St. Francis signal-caller said after the Gladiators stumbled their way through a 20-0 loss to Mendon in the Division 7 state championship game Saturday. "I didn't play well. The guys worked so hard to get here, and I feel like I let them all down."
Ambrosius, a 6-foot-1, 178-pound carrot top whose level-headed demeanor helped St. Francis roll through the playoffs and into the title game, was intercepted twice and also fumbled against the Hornets "” on three consecutive possessions. So it is easy to see why he was willing to point a finger at himself.
But his teammates weren't buying it.
"I don't think Spencer should take all of the blame. That's ridiculous," said fellow senior captain Jacob Schell. "We had missed tackles, we didn't read holes on offense, we fumbled. I had one myself.
"This is not all Spencer," said Schell, looking every bit as devastated by the outcome as Ambrosius. "I don't want him to take the blame. We couldn't have asked for more from him. He's such a confident kid. He got us here."
"We lost 20-0," added senior Parker Prusick. "A couple of mistakes (by Ambrosius) didn't lose this game. We're all to blame for that."
Ambrosius, who entered the game with 18 touchdown passes and only two interceptions, hadn't turned the ball over since the fifth week of the season. That was over two months ago.
So his mistakes were a shock to his system, and he dissected them with the same concern and attention to detail that he used while pouring over game film this fall.
"Oh, yeah, I already have regrets," Ambrosius said. "Those few plays will haunt me for a long time. Our offense played hard, our defense played hard, and those three turnovers killed us."
Ambrosius said his first interception, which came in the end zone with the score tied 0-0 in the first quarter and St. Francis ready to pounce at the Mendon 19-yard line, could have easily been avoided. He said he forced the ball into double coverage, making it almost impossible for 5-8 Andrew Rushlow to catch it.
"As soon as I let go of it, I saw them closing in on him," Ambrosius said. "It was stupid. I should have thrown it away. I knew I'd made a bad choice.
"But there was plenty of time left at that point, obviously," he said. "I was ready to get back out there."
Ambrosius' fumble on the Gladiators' next possession ended another drive in Mendon territory, however. Then came Ambrosius' final turnover, one that he said hurt the most "” not just because it resulted in points but because he knew head coach Josh Sellers had no choice but to pull him from the game.
"I tried to squeeze that one in there," Ambrosius said of the pass, which deflected off of Max Bullough's hands and into those of Mendon's C.J. Nightingale, who returned it 43 yards for the first touchdown of the game. "I had a lot of confidence throwing that because of how my receivers played all year, but I shouldn't have thrown it there.
"That's one play I'll think about for a long time."
When Sellers removed Ambrosius for junior Corey Williams with 3:32 remaining in the first half, Ambrosius said he supported the move.
"I wasn't playing well, and Corey's a good quarterback," Ambrosius said. "I knew he could get the job done. I was just mad at myself."
As it turned out, Ambrosius got another shot late in the game, but by then the score was 20-0 and Sellers wanted his senior quarterback to finish the season exactly where he had started it "” on the field.
"I know he's devastated, but every senior on our team is devastated," Sellers said. "He has to put it all in perspective "” he's the reason we're here.
"Schell and (Andrew) Rushlow and (Dan) Brick, they were able to run as well as they did because Spencer passed as well as he did. I think that someday he'll be able to look back at this and see it for what it is."
Ambrosius, of course, doesn't think that will be any time soon.
"Some day, maybe. It's hard to tell," he said. "We really wanted to win a state championship. We don't care about stats or anything else; it's all about winning.
"So this game is what I'll remember about this season "” not the conference title, not the playoff run. This game. The guys look to me to be a leader, and I didn't get the job done.
"So I'll always wonder, 'What if I had played better?' "
No one, on the other hand, will ever wonder about Ambrosius' character.
Football
Jeff Peek: Ambrosius a team leader, even in defeat
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Oregon feels right for Fisher
Jake Fisher went to Oregon last weekend and came home a Duck. The Traverse City West standout ended a whirlwind month of recruiting on Wednesday when he signed his national letter of intent to play football at the University of Oregon.
Continued ... -
LMC could vote St. Francis out
Area football leagues are exploring numerous possible changes, including a movement in the Lake Michigan Conference to kick out Traverse City St. Francis in football.
Continued ... -
Bullough among 21 signed by Spartans
Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio is sure the off-the-field headlines that embarrassed his program last season didn't hurt him on the recruiting trail, which included signing linebacker Max Bullough from Traverse City St. Francis.
Continued ... -
Frankfort quarterback headed to Northwood
Frankfort quarterback Dan Nugent could still be throwing the football to teammate Andrew Newbold for a long time.
Continued ... -
Top 10: Thirlby gets a facelift
It took more than a decade, but Thirlby Field is slated to get its final touches.
Continued ... - Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Top 10: Glads go back-to-back
The motto for the 2009 Traverse City St. Francis football team was "Iron Sharpens Iron." Equally appropriate would have been "Taking Care of Business."
Continued ... - Friday, December 18, 2009
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West's Goodell headed to N. Illinois
Blake Goodell dreamed of playing Division I college football when he was little. That dream moved closer to reality this week when the TC West offensive lineman verbally accepted a scholarship offer to play at Northern Illinois.
Continued ... - Monday, November 30, 2009
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St. Francis convincingly wins title
Senior linebacker Max Bullough had about wrapped interviews when someone asked what advice he'd leave for his younger brother, Riley, a sophomore quarterback. "Get another one," Bullough said.
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Senior gets first pop at holding trophy
Traverse City St. Francis won the opening coin toss on Saturday at Ford Field and deferred. Gladiators coach Greg Vaughan took the same approach when it came to accepting the Division 7 state championship trophy.
Continued ... -
Swan's big day drives Glads to title
Some things are just a way of life at Ford Field. The concessions are going to be over-priced, the hometown Lions are going to struggle and Ben Swan is going explode for a big day. Lock it in.
Continued ... - Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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TCSF, Hudson met in 2003 title game
An undefeated, top-ranked Traverse City St. Francis team taking on Hudson for a Division 7 state title. This is a story thats been told once before. Six years ago, the Gladiators traveled to the Pontiac Silverdome and secured a 28-14 win over the Tigers in the state championship game.
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St. Francis has recipe for success
Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was the Traverse City St. Francis football program. St. Francis will look to add to its legacy on Saturday, but how did they get there?
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Ivan, Reyhl, Thompson earn All-State honors
Coaches at Montague and Ovid-Elsie don't take Cody Kater and Chris Robinson for granted. They are impact players who've made their marks in high school football. And that's why they were chosen the Associated Press Division 5-6 co-Players of the Year for their standout senior seasons.
Continued ... -
Finals game to be shown at State
Saturday morning's Division 7 state football championship game between unbeatens Traverse City St. Francis and Hudson will be shown live at the State Theatre.
Continued ... - Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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SF's Bullough is Player of the Year
Traverse City's Max Bullough, who spearheads a Gladiators defense that surrenders just 34 rushing yards and 5.7 points a game, is the Associated Press Division 7-8 Player of the Year, as voted on by a panel of sports writers from around the state. (Plus, Zakrzewski, Newbold and Koronka honored.)
Continued ... -
State football finals tickets available
Tickets for the Division 7 state championship game between St. Francis and Hudson are available today. The game will be shown live at the State Theatre.
Continued ... - Sunday, November 22, 2009
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St. Francis routs Ravenna in semis
The Traverse City St. Francis coaches prepared their team to fight for every yard in Saturday's Division 7 semifinal, but in the end it was the big plays that made the difference.
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Forest Park blanks Frankfort in semifinal
It was rough going for the Frankfort offense Saturday afternoon at Northern Michigan University's Superior Dome. The Panthers, who were limited to four first downs and 45 yards, were shut out by Crystal Falls Forest Park in a Division 8 state semifinal contest.
Continued ... - Friday, November 20, 2009
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Ravenna, St. Francis meet again
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. Turns out, he was right.
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Panthers look for different outcome vs. CFFP
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.
Continued ... - Wednesday, November 18, 2009
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Busy weekend for Pratley family
Mike and Andrew Pratley shared in each other's success last weekend. Andrew is the head football coach at Ogemaw Heights, and Mike is a longtime assistant at Frankfort. It sets up an unusual situation Saturday.
Continued ... - Monday, November 16, 2009
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Glads to play at Ferris on Saturday
Traverse City St. Francis will play Ravenna Saturday at Ferris State University.
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Familiar foes for Glads, Panthers
St. Francis and Frankfort will see familiar foes next weekend in the state football semifianls.
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Football: Panthers capture regional
The rebuilding year keeps getting better and better for the Frankfort Panthers. The Panthers earned their second straight Division 8 regional championship Friday at Johannesburg -- a year after losing several starters to graduation.
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Football: Glads survive scare
hings got a little scary for top-ranked Traverse City St. Francis in its Division 7 regional football final on Friday the 13th.
Continued ...
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