THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL
OF FAME
INDUCTION CEREMONY
July 26, 2018
2000 Grand Ledge Football
By Chuck Krafft
The 2000
Grand Ledge Football team had a 13-1 record and won the State
Championship. They scored 31.0 points per
game and gave up only 7.3 points per game.
After losing their second game, they finished the season with a twelve
game winning streak.
After the
players introduced themselves, Coach Pat O’Keefe told us the story of the championship
season! Coach O’Keefe thanked Grand
Ledge for giving him an opportunity to add football coaching to his teaching
and baseball coaching abilities.
Twenty-seven years as an assistant prepared him for the head coaching
role.
His first task
was to put together a good staff; he had to learn to delegate to his assistance
and the team improved after he did so.
He was quick complimentary about the skills and abilities of his assistant
coaches.
He told the
story of the championship season; after losing the second game, they won the
rest of their games. The defeated
several undefeated and higher ranked teams on their way to the final game. They had to defeat Clarkston in the
semifinals on a cold, snowy day.
The final
game against Utica Eisenhower was a tough game; Grand Ledge was behind 14-7 in
the fourth quarter. His team blocked an
Eisenhower field goal attempt to avoid falling farther behind. After his quarterback changed a play and
threw the ball for a touchdown, he decided to try for a two point
conversion. When the conversion failed,
they had to kick the ball off with limited time left in the game.
They were
able to recover an onside kick and score the winning touchdown before time ran
out. Grand Ledge won the game and the State
Championship by a 19-14 margin.
He thanked
the committee and shared some final thoughts.
One notable line from the end of the speech was his observation that “Love
beats hate every single time.”
For those
who wish to read about the entire induction ceremony, here is a link.
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