Traverse City Record-Eagle

Grand Traverse County

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    ST. FRANCIS VS HUDSON
November 30, 2009

Gallagher key in SF's title run

By MIKE ECKERT

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DETROIT -- Roughly 15 minutes after most of Traverse City St. Francis' team hit the Ford Field playing surface, Gabe Gallagher emerged and joined his teammates.

He was among a handful of players who took a bit longer to prep for Saturday's final, but he finally arrived.

"All that was running through my head was this is the biggest game of my life," Gallagher said. "I've been looking forward to this ever since I've been looking at football. This is all I've dreamed for all my life. I just didn't want to mess it up. We had so much talent on this team. If we wouldn't have won, it would have been a huge disappointment."

The Gladiators successfully defended their Division 7 state championship with a 42-8 win over Hudson, but the experience was new for Gallagher. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound senior linebacker/tight end transferred from Lake Leelanau St. Mary's last winter in the hopes of reaching Saturday's championship game.

"It hits you like a wall when you get out there," he said. "You walk out and you start realizing that you've made it. You've won all of these games and you've reached your goal of getting there. Now you have to play your butt off for four quarters to get the championship."

Six years ago, Gallagher watched his older brother Elliot play in a state title game with Suttons Bay, only to lose 34-13 to Constantine in the Division 6 state final.

"It gives a lot of pride to the family," Gallagher said of winning. "After watching him lose at Suttons Bay, winning it now is awesome. I can show Elliott now I can get there, too."

Gabe Gallagher not only got there, but also had a big part in Saturday's win. On a third-and-5 in the first quarter, Gallagher came up with a big tackle as Hudson ran for no gain and was forced to punt. Then on a third-and-6 in the second quarter, he pressured Tigers quarterback Nathan Smith and forced an incomplete pass.

"He's obviously talented and has a lot of ability, but he brings a lot of heart, too," St. Francis coach Greg Vaughan said. "He gets emotional and gets into it because he wants to do so well."

Gallagher finished the game with five tackles. He also started at tight end on offense, but played in a blocking role.

"I was just hungry as heck to get a win," Gallagher said.

After playing as a standout for Suttons Bay -- which hosts a co-op with Lake Leelanau St. Mary's -- the decision to leave for St. Francis was not easy for Gallagher. But he finally decided to return to St. Francis, where he attended elementary school.

"We all agreed on it, me and my family, and things weren't working out at St. Mary's," Gallagher said. "We've seen with coach Vaughan, not just with football, but academically, how well St. Francis has done. It's just a different ball game here. They are what they say they are."

That doesn't mean things came easy when he arrived.

"When he came in last winter, he had to learn how we do things and change his mentality," Vaughan said. "He's done that free-will, no pushing back and saying 'I want to do it this way.' He got after it and kept getting better and better and better."

Gallagher said he was driven by the fact he was joining a state championship team.

"From Day One, I've told myself these guys have been there before, so I knew I'd be hungrier," Gallagher said. "I used that as fuel to the fire to push me through the season. I knew from Day One I was going to have to work my butt off."

He did, and earned starting roles on both sides of the football.

Gallagher would like to continue playing football in college next year, but said that's still "up in the air." For now, he can rest easy as a state champion.

"(People at Lake Leelanau St. Mary's) probably have some bad feeling towards me for leaving, but it's mission accomplished," Gallagher said of fulfilling his dream. "I didn't leave in spite of people over there, but I sure am happy over here."

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