There are two weeks left in the MHSAA football regular season, and there are a handful of unbeaten teams remaining in West Michigan. While some of them are the standard powerhouse programs like Mona Shores and Unity Christian, there is one program that you may have never heard of.
Grand Rapids Sacred Heart, playing their first full season of varsity football, enters Week 8 with a perfect 7-0 against 8-man competition. This first season is anything but ordinary for coach Joe Hyland and the Falcons. About a year and a half ago, Grand Rapids Sacred Heart began building a strength program, with their eyes set on fielding a varsity football team. The growing school already had other sports, but football was an ambition for the athletic department. “From the get-go, there was excitement in the school,” Hyland shared. “We had great attendance each day, and the kids work hard without making any excuses”.
Last fall, the Falcons stepped on the football field for the first time. They played an eight-game schedule, six of which came against junior varsity opponents. The other two games, against Wyoming Lee and Manistee Catholic Central, were an opportunity for the Falcons’ players to get exposure against varsity teams. “In the Lee game, we were leading for most of the game before things fell apart down the stretch”, Hyland recalled. “Even against Manistee Catholic Central, it was a two-point game, and we had the ball with about six minutes left before the wheels fell off”.
This fall, Sacred Heart put together a full schedule that features nine varsity opponents. Similar to many West Michigan parochial schools in their infancy, the Falcons do not have a stadium to call home. This means that they will be the road team for all but one of their games, the lone exception a September 20 date against Blanchard Montabella. “Coach Brian Haverman and Northpointe Christian was extremely kind in allowing us to host a game at their field”, Hyland expressed. “It gave us the opportunity to have a Senior Night and to be the home team for a night, and that was a great experience.”
Life on the road is a minor hurdle compared to the challenges that this team overcomes each day. For starters, Sacred Heart has no football facilities. There is no locker room, weight room or practice field to be found. Instead, they workout in the school’s courtyard, and practice across the street in John Ball Park. “You work hard for what you get, and appreciate the talents and resources that you have”, Hyland remarked. “We even have the classic ‘Penn State-style’ uniforms. That’s just our way. It’s all of us, working together.”
Though the football program may be newly starting, Joe Hyland has been in this situation before, both as a head coach and the creator of a football program. Many in West Michigan will remember when he coached West Catholic from 2016-18, when he led those Falcons to the 2016 and 2017 Division 5 State Championships. Although he experienced success at the highest level here in Grand Rapids, Hyland said the situation that prepared him the most for this job came in 2007, when he started an 11-man football program at St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Greenville, South Carolina. “It’s so much different starting something on your own, rather than keeping the existing culture”, Hyland explained. “We have the opportunity to instill values and skills that resonate for life, while using the game of football as the teaching platform”.
Though this group is still learning the game, their buy-in and work ethic has continued to encourage Hyland. “They always hustle, and run to the ball on every play. They leave it all on the field, and although we have been fortunate to get away with some mistakes so far, this group works hard every day, and as a coach we couldn’t ask for anything more”.
Sacred Heart is a school that emphasizes the classic Catholic education and faith in the classroom, and those values translate to the gridiron. “That combination of faith and high academic drive is such a strong foundation to build upon,” Hyland praised. “They work hard in the classroom, taking school seriously, and that has translated to the football field as well. The values these kids have are exactly the type I want to work with.”
Hyland has had the unique opportunity to coach his son, as Will Hyland serves as the Falcons’ quarterback. Will Hyland is a dynamic player in the run game, and his partnership with center Max Demick has provided a strong foundation for the offense. On the other side of the football, Rob Blouw has been a stout leader, joined by Oliver Wurm and Isaac Bir to produce a unit that has allowed just 100 points this season. In total, Sacred Heart has outscored their six foes (one forfeit victory not included) 211-110. Three of those victories came against programs familiar to West Michigan football fans, as they defeated Calvin Christian, Muskegon Heights and Wyoming Lee.
Though there are two weeks left in the season, Sacred Heart currently holds the highest playoff point total in 8-Man Football Division 2. They look to finish the season strong and secure both an unbeaten regular season and a playoff berth in the next two weeks. This Friday, they will rematch the Lee Legends in a game that was played back in Week 1 (a 41-18 Sacred Heart victory). On October 25, they will conclude the regular season on the road against Marcellus (currently 5-2). Regardless of how this season finishes, Hyland and Sacred Heart have built a foundation as a program on the rise in West Michigan.
