30 years later, Tyrone Wheatley still feels the excitement of football status at Robichaud

It was late November 1990, and a young Tyrone Wheatley had the time of his life with some of his closest friends. Parading through the neighborhoods of Inkster, the late night party continued into the morning hours. Wheatley was a senior in high school at the time and he celebrated Dearborn Heights Robichaud’s first and only state high school championship.

Wheatley lived with his aunt on the street of Florence in Inkster and loved his hometown. This evening would be remembered as one of his favorites in the city.

The party came to Wheatley’s house at about 1 a.m. and he remembers what his aunt told him.

She looked at me and thought, go ahead and be safe, Wheatley remembered. She knew how high we were. We just walked around from house to house, and I think we just partied a bit and listened to the moms and dads.

At the time, Wheatley was still building his strong athletic legacy as a multi-position player for Robichaud. It was a legacy that would see Wheatley star as a running and athletic athlete at the University of Michigan, then playing 10 seasons in the NFL with the 1995-2004 New York Giants and Oakland Raiders. He had many incredible efforts while in Michigan and in the NFL, including his famous 1993 Rose Bowl game when he rushed for 235 yards and 3 touchdowns on just 15 carrys in a win over Washington.

But looking back over his entire athletic career, Robichaud’s 21-7 Kingsford win in the Class B Championship on November 23, 1990 will always be the game that stands out above the rest. While that may seem surprising to football fans who are well versed in college and professional endeavors, Wheatley says nothing compares to winning a championship alongside his childhood friends.

People ask me about the games in the pros and games in college, and I’m having a hard time with that, Wheatley said. But those are (high school games) the games you really remember because of the simple fact that you change the direction of your school’s trajectory.

Top of the mountain

In 1990 it was a bit more difficult to make the playoffs compared to the modern setup, as the state tournament allowed only four innings instead of five, meaning only 16 teams made the playoffs for each of the eight classes . It was a time when teams that crept into the state tournament with three losses were rare. In fact, any loss puts a team in danger of not reaching the state tournament.

The journey to reach that mountaintop was damn near impossible, Wheatley said.

Before Wheatley’s senior season, Robichaud had made the playoffs only twice in the history of the school, none of which occurred during his first three years in high school. Despite three winning seasons and 7-3 records in his first and second years, Wheatley still had a chance to win a title. Surrounded by teammates he grew up with, Wheatley set out to write history for the Bulldogs in 1990.

Wheatley said the team turned hardcore brackologists and mathematicians for that season, trying to map out a path to the postseason, keeping track of how well each of their opponents was doing. With most teams on Robichaud’s schedule not achieving a winning record, Wheatley knew that winning was not good enough for the Bulldogs. To make the playoffs, Robichaud had to win big.

We were like, we should be merciful to everyone before half-time, Wheatley said. That was our goal. It was not an arrogant deal and it was not an arrogance. It was more or less to say that we cannot leave this to anyone or a computer. We had to make it clear that we deserved it (in the playoffs). That’s what we did.

Aside from losing 12-7 to Highland Park, a 6-3 team from a school with twice as many students as Robichaud in week 6 of the regular season, the Bulldogs dominated the regular season competition, beating opponents 338-49 over the course of nine games. The Bulldogs averaged 37.5 points per game, but according to Wheatley, Robichaud still qualified with the skin of his teeth for the state tournament.

It was one of those deals where you really had to understand that you had to have a damn near-perfect season, flawless to make it, Wheatley said.

Wheatley recalled watching the bracket selection show on television and noticed the number of great posts from the late season being shed. After a grueling season in which approximately 85 percent of Robichauds snapped 35-40 players for both attack and defense, Wheatley was finally able to make a run at a state championship when he saw Robichaud’s name.

Get the Silverdome

When Robichaud entered the playoffs, Wheatley already established himself as one of the top athletes in Michigan. In the spring of his junior year, he became the only athlete of a class B school in a lower peninsula to ever win four individual event titles in athletics, jumping the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 110 meters won hurdles.

Wheatley’s athletics and versatility translated to the soccer field as he raced, quarterback and wide receiver in the attack. In the defense, he played strong safety, free safety, cornerback and defensive end. He was also the team player and extra-point kicker. Given that he also returned kick-off and point points, there was really nothing Wheatley couldn’t do on the football field.

Wherever you put me or wherever you need me, Wheatley said.

After driving past Macomb Lutheran North, 19-13 in the playoff opener, the road to the Pontiac Silverdome for the state championship couldn’t get any easier. Robichaud managed to withdraw from the eternal power of Marine City, 41-27, in a high-scoring game in the regional final. In the state semifinals, Robichaud played the unbeaten Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in Jackson and took a 27-0 win.

Upon reaching the state championship, Robichaud’s opponent was at the Silverdome Kingsford, a small town team on the Upper Peninsula. Kingsford was also a team Robichaud knew nothing about. Despite victories over prolific opponents like Marine City and St. Mary Catholic Central, Wheatley said Robichaud had no intention of getting headstrong.

We said, guys, remember the two teams we had to play to get here, Wheatley recalled. They weren’t cupcakes at all. If you think this team, Kingsford, is coming in here and is some kind of cupcake, you are mistaken.

The Big Game

Entering the field in the Silverdome was a dream come true for Wheatley. While he would play a handful of games in the Silverdome during his professional career, those days were still faraway dreams.

However, the pageantry subsided quickly, as Kingsford scored first and took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter. From that moment on, Robichaud allowed no other point.

This is where we hung our hats: We knew we were in better shape than any team we would play, Wheatley said. We knew that. It was almost like playing a fast-break game every time we played. We knew we wanted to push the envelope down every time.

Since many players played in both directions for Robichaud, the Bulldogs began to map out a path to victory and only called timeouts when a breather was needed.

Robichaud tied the game 7-7, late in the second quarter, when quarterback Andrew Parham scored from 11 yards and Wheatley made the extra run. Wheatley then found the endzone in the third quarter and also scored from 11 yards to take a 14-7 lead after making the extra run. Wheatley added another run in the fourth quarter after Ralph Irvin found a three-foot paydirt to make it 21-7.

Kingsford came out and they played hard, Wheatley said. They came after us with that first wave and scored. Then, boy, they wanted to make a statement. I think that third series came out and we could see that they slowed down a bit. Once we felt that little bit, I think it gave us a little more energy to continue our game plan and just play.

When the game ended and Robichaud claimed his first state title, Wheatley had a statline worthy of his legend, ending with 168 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries (7.6 yards per carry). Fittingly, his touchdown run was ultimately the winning game.

As the last championship game played at the Silverdome that day, the party didn’t end.

Half the city was there, Wheatley said. It was incredible to see our city there. We turned off the lights in the Silverdome. They had to kick us out.

A Lifetime of Memories

As the championship celebration continued for the rest of the night in the school parking lot and beyond, the memories of that day are still vivid for Wheatley as he says he can still remember every game in the game.

Aside from the details and the party, Wheatley will never forget the names of his teammates and the experiences he’s had with them along the way. Names like Parham, Irvin, Greg Murphy, Sanjua Sunny Cooper, Ernest Bassman and Joe Reyna are just a few of the many he can recite from that season. Wheatley can still remember about 30 players cramming into the basement of Parhams to play the video game Double Dribble on the original Nintendo system.

Aside from names, Wheatley can remember each of his teammates personalities and skills on the football field. Through thick and thin, Wheatley enjoyed every moment of his high school football season. Especially during the football season, Wheatleys became an average 25-30 minute walk to school in the morning.

That team, we all got together as freshmen, Wheatley said. Many of those guys played JV (as freshmen) while others played varsity, but we got together. I think that’s what made that team so special. I’m not trying to respect a Robichaud team that preceded us, but when you talk about brotherhood and guys sticking together, we were.

While Wheatley receives high praise for his four individual track titles as a junior or his nine overall track titles in three years, Wheatley looks at his team’s performance with more affection. Even when he won his four individual track titles as a junior, Wheatley said he was more concerned about winning the team title that day, which Robichaud did.

After becoming his NFL days coach at Robichaud and the University of Michigan, Wheatley begins his second season as a collegiate head football coach at Morgan State in Baltimore. Of all the football games he has been involved in, the echoes from the end of November, when Robichaud won the Football State Championship, will never stop resonating.

It happened 30 years ago, but it could just as well have happened yesterday.

The nostalgia and tension of it all never goes away, Wheatley said.

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