Muskegon Catholic Central Crusader Football Team wins 500th game
With its win over the Muskegon Heights Tigers on Friday night, the Muskegon Catholic Central Crusader football team added another laurel to a storied and tradition-laden football program. The Crusaders team won program win number 500. Having won them as a player and now as the head coach, Coach Steve Czerwon stated – “We spoke all week about the importance of winning number 500. These players are inspired by the tradition handed to them by the teams and players who won the previous 499 wins.”
Beginning with Mike Corgan, who coached the inaugural season of Crusader football in the fall of 1953, there have been 11 varsity coaches leading the football program to 500 wins. Along this incredible journey, the Crusaders have won 13 football state championships. Muskegon Catholic Central won its first state championship in 1974 under the watchful eyes of Coach Roger Chiaverini, and then again in 1980 and 1982 under Coach Pete Kutches. Coach Holmes teams won state championships in 1990, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2006, and 2008. These six (6) state championships and 212 career wins, earned Coach Holmes an induction into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2003. At his retirement, Muskegon Catholic Central gave the football field at Kehren Stadium his name. Since 2013, the Crusaders football team has been coached by MCC Alumna Steve Czerwon. Coach Czerwon’s Crusaders won State Championships in his first four years at the helm of the program – 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. He also can claim 81 career wins in nine (9) seasons as head coach.
Muskegon Catholic Central is proud of its history and tradition of excellence in the classroom, on the field or court of play, and on the stage. Crusaders today are driven by the successes and achievements of the students who came before them. They work with great diligence and intentionality to leave their own mark in the fabric of MCC. On Friday, October 8, 2021, the football Crusaders will take on the Manistee Chippewas as they go for win number 501.