The 30th anniversary of the 1994 Glen Lake Laker state championship team will be honored during a pre-game celebration Friday at 6:30, prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff between Glen Lake and Johannesburg-Lewiston.
“It hardly seems like 30 years, to be honest. It was not very long ago and I still think of the players as kids. I was just thinking about that the other day. Now they are young men with families and contributing very well to society,” former longtime Glen Lake football coach Bill Hollenbeck said. “(Winning a state championship,) is a moment in time that we all share and solidified us as a group. The younger guys, the coaches and the support people were all apart of it and we all acknowledge it that way. It’s just a moment in time that we’ll never forget, that’s for sure.”
Former Glen Lake team members and coaches are invited to walk out on the field to be announced at 6:40 p.m.
They are also invited for a meet and greet near the locker room with food and beverages prior to the game.
The 2024 Glen Lake football team will present past members and coaches with a special gift.
Fallen Lakers, Max Miller and Mike DePuy, will be recognized during the celebration.
Glen Lake will battle Johannesburg-Lewiston in a pivotal Northwest Conference game after the ceremony.
The Lakers beat Johannesburg in the first round of the playoff during the 1994 season, 47-6.
Glen Lake then avenged a regular season defeat against Manton, 17-8; before defeating Kingston 42-13. The Lakers won the first state championship in school history in a 20-10 win over Our Lady of the Lakes Waterford at the Pontiac Silver Dome in Detroit.
The current Laker squad is at 5-1 overall as Glen Lake looks to secure a playoff spot and a conference championship over the final weeks of the season.
Hollenbeck admits they never thought a state championship was possible before the 1994 season.
“I guess we should have had a better idea because we scrimmaged Beal City and they won a state championship that is the same here in a different class. We would have felt that we were better than we were, but it took us a while to come together as a group,” Hollenbeck said. “Our team really supported each other. My success was everyone’s, when someone scored it felt like everyone scored ... Trust was the biggest word and we all trusted each other, we knew what we were exposed to.”
In 1993, Glen Lake won merely four games and had a large group of juniors returning in 1994.
With only a few seniors, underclassmen had to grow into their various roles. According to Hollenbeck.
Senior captains Chay Gray and Todd Ciolek showed tremendous leadership that led to their friends jumping on board.
“It's interesting as you get older your perspective changes and you appreciate those times even more and the lesson we learned back then. That season has been applied (to my life) in a lot of different ways over the last several years,” Ciolek said.
The turning point of the 1994 season for Glen Lake was losing to No.1-ranked Manton in the second to last game of the regu- lar season.
“Losing to Manton was a point in time when we all had to step back. Look at what we were doing and how well we were doing it ... When we played them the second time, you could feel it in the air before we even got to the field, we were ready to go. I think that game was the one that just got us all ready for the next step,” Hollenbeck said.
Many Lakers still think about that remarkable season.
The Lakers ended the year with a school record 12-1 mark, bringing home – the schools – and county’s – first state and only state championship in football.
There was no shortage of spectacular performances during the state championship game.
Ryan Norkoli, who transferred from Suttons Bay, etched a Class D state finals record with 29 carries for 173 yards. He had a 68 yard run in the second quarter that was a state record as well. Junior tight end Jamie Mazurek had five receptions for two touchdowns in the game. Glen Lake junior quarterback Greg Alysworth ran for a touchdown and threw two touchdowns to Mazurek.
The Laker defense also came to play, shutting out Waterford in the second half to claim the state championship. Throughout the 1994 playoffs, Glen Lake allowed only two second half scores.
Hollenbeck was in his 12th year of coaching.
The Lakers drove 61 yards in 16 plays in a grinding drive that consumed almost all of the final period.
Jeff Wichern intercepted a pass with 3:07 left in the game to seal the state championship for the Lakers.
“It was one of those moments of time where everybody was on the same page and everybody gave it all they had,” Hollenbeck said.
Hollebeck remembers the team being ready to hit the field before the state championship game.
“I don’t remember what I said, but I’m sure it probably had something to do with: This is a big moment in your life where we’re going remember this for the rest of our lives. Go out there and do the best you can ... and they did,” Hollenbeck said.
The Lakers had great assistant coaches with Mike Hill, Dan Stark, Mark Ciolek, Brett Forester, Dan Grat and Duane Petty. Trainers included Stephanie Sepell-Kehre and Lynn Lombardi. The team’s physician was Dr. Matthew Houghton. Glen Lake’s fundraising chair was Ken Fosmore.
“I was very lucky to have such great people around me,” Hollenbeck said.
Hollenbeck couldn’t be prouder of Glen Lake’s current success and new coaching staff that took over last year.
“They’re on the right track and (coach Jesse Smith) is doing a great job. They’re all doing a great job and I’m proud in some little way, to be a part of it,” Hollenbeck said.
Glen Lake was an underdog heading into the state championship game, which was uncharted waters.
The Lakers appeared in the state semifinal round one other time, losing to eventual Class D champion Lake Linden-Hubbell in 1989.
The 1994 Glen Lake football roster: Tim Zolman, Marcus Evans, Jason Thompson, Tom Brendelberger, Zack Baker, Greg Alysworth, Kevin Mikowski, Peter Walters, Ryan Nortkoliu, Mike DePuy, Todd Ciolek, Jeremy Rice, Max Monroy-Miller, Jason Plowman, Jeff Wichern, Tim Butts, Jason Feys, Chay Gray, Chris Walker, Scott Bunting, Josh Bright, Pat Bunting, Jeff Miller, Ben LaCross, Ryan Noonan, Rob Semple, Jami Mazurek.
1994 season results: GL 54 Hale 0; GL 45 Wakefield 18; GL 41 Kingsley 18; GL 39 Mesick 13; GL 20 Frankfort 12; GL 42 Brethren 16; GL 35 Sutton Bay 0; GL 7 Manton 28; GL 42 Onekama 0.
