Fasting doesn’t stop the players from doing their best

DEARBORN — When a football team loses a game, it’s only natural for both fans and outsiders to point fingers. Everyone wants to know what went wrong and what’s being done to fix the problems. That’s just the way it is in today’s media-saturated sporting culture.

But when a football team loses a game to its rival, well, that’s when things get really intense. Intense as in 364 days straight of questioning and second-guessing that seems to go on without end.

Dearborn Fordson had lost three straight years to their cross-town rival Dearborn High School, so you can only imagine the kind of criticism they’ve had to put up with.

It’s usually nothing football teams can’t handle, but in the case of the Tractors, they faced a form of criticism entirely unique and even more difficult than usual.

Because of the fact that Ramadan and the accompanying fast fell right in the middle of football season and the big game with Dearborn, people were beginning to wonder just how much the Fordson players were being affected.

After all, the vast majority of its players are Muslim, and playing football on an empty stomach without being properly hydrated is not exactly an easy thing to do. From the moment Fordson lost their first game of the streak to the Pioneers in 2004, the fasting became an excuse.

But 2007 brought a major change to the Fordson program as new head coach Fouad Zaban stepped in for Jeff Stergalas, who left to become defensive coordinator at Dearborn of all schools.

Zaban, a former Fordson running back and Muslim, made it his mission to embrace the challenge and opportunity for personal growth the Ramadan fast presented and to make beating Dearborn a priority. He instituted the slogan that would become a rallying cry for his players: “No Excuses.”

T-shirts were printed, and Zaban got the players’ attention focused on the task at hand. The Tractors suffered a couple of tough losses to Allen Park and Monroe earlier in the year, but their preparation for the Dearborn game never wavered.

On Friday, October 5th, Dearborn Fordson came out on a warm evening ready to do gridiron battle with the Pioneers on empty stomachs. Just behind their bench were two giant banners hung by the hometown faithful, reading “No Excuses” and “Beat Dearborn.”

The Tractors erased many concerns about the fast slowing them down as they jumped out to an early lead behind the arm of quarterback Mohammed Bazzy. He threw a 30-yard pass to Baquer Sayed that would lead to a Hassan Amen short touchdown run and a 7-0 lead. A field goal by Ali Alaboody gave the Tractors a 10-7 lead going into half-time.

Sundown had arrived and Fordson players could finally replenish their depleted energy reserves with food and drink in the locker room.

But in the second half, the favored Pioneers re-took the lead as a blown coverage led to a 70-yard Dearborn touchdown pass from star quarterback Anthony Mifsud to Cody Larson. Dearborn was up 14-10 late in the game and suddenly the Tractors found themselves facing adversity yet again.

This time, however, the Tractors dug deep for those last few ounces of energy and made a comeback, as Bazzy engineered a touchdown drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown by Amen. The key play happened when Bazzy scrambled right and then avoided the rush and went back to his left before finding Amen out of the backfield for a 34-yard gain on a key third-down play.

The Tractors stopped the Pioneers on defense and got the ball back before running out the clock, and suddenly, the doubters had been silenced and the grumbling turned to cheers and wild celebration after a 16-14 victory.

“I’m speechless,” said Bazzy after the game while celebrating with friends and family, who reminded him that good things come to those who stay faithful and mobbed him with hugs.

“I feel great, it’s just unbelievable,” said Bazzy as he boarded the team bus while several Fordson fans honked their car horns in celebration.

The players probably didn’t have a chance to catch the WDFN Sportsradio 1130 High School Football radio show that night considering the short ride home, but if they had tuned in, they would have heard something pretty special. The first call-in to the show was from a die-hard Fordson fan, his voice swelling with pride as he praised the perseverance and effort of the Fordson players and coaches, reveling in the emotion of the night his team proved all the doubters wrong.