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10/16/06 It’s official… The Novi Wildcats won’t be going to the playoffs this season. But, what a long great trip it’s been. In the last 7 years, the 'Cats have taken a lot of people to places they’ve never been, and we’ve all enjoyed the ride. I had a nice talk with Mitch Maier in the Kansas City Royals clubhouse a couple of weeks ago, and he remembers fondly that in 1999, it had been many years since the team had made it to the postseason, and he was proud of the fact his group broke through, and he should be. That set the stage for an incredible run this millennium; In 2000… Matt Gorman, Jake Ray, et al, and their great win over Portage Northern 24-14. Northern’s Joey Sarantos went on to start at linebacker for Michigan. In 2001… Novi’s valiant effort at heavily rated and highly ranked Canton. Pundits had picked the home team to win by 2 TD’s, but Canton was lucky, barely escaping with a 9-7 victory over a gritty Novi Team. The secret was out, the Cat’s were for real. In 2002… Led by Chase Chandler, the dream season was capped by awesome playoff wins at Milford and Lake Orion, where they captured the District Championship 17-13. Falling only to eventual State Champion Catholic Central, the Novi Wildcats carried that momentum into the next season, resoundingly. In 2003… The Novi air attack passed teams silly as they went undefeated in regular season play. All-Stater Josh Buck was a beast on both sides of the ball. In the playoffs, after beating Taylor 41-0, they faced #2 State Ranked Adrian in a game for the ages. Adrian’s Kellen Freeman-Davis now starts at TE for Michigan State. An incredible game in front of 8,000 people, Hart tossed TD passes to Trevor Hoover and Joey Fratto, and Mark Angelocci kicked a game winning field goal with just seconds left as Novi prevailed 26-24 to capture back-to-back District Championships. One week later, Novi got themselves a Regional Championship by nipping Detroit MacKenzie 20-19. The following week the season ended literally inches from the Dome as Brother Rice escaped 31-28 in a game Novi dominated in every way except on the scoreboard. I truly believe to this day Novi would’ve beaten their next opponent, Rochester Adams, to capture the State Championship had they advanced. In 2004… Led by the multi-talented Kevin Cislo, now playing baseball at the University of Michigan, Novi found itself once again playing for the District championship, falling short to South Lyon, after having defeated them soundly weeks earlier. In 2005… For the seventh straight season, Novi made the playoffs, and lost to Milford, again, a team they had owned a couple of weeks prior. Seven years, 7 playoff victories, 2 District Championships, A Regional Championship, and countless lifetime memories. Stand tall and proud Cats, you’ve always been a classy group. Act like you’ve been there before, and act like you’re going back. Because you have, and you will… (c) 2006 Novi
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