Miracle Maples

Miracle Maples is an unforgettable story of redemption and persistence, and a lesson about what happens when the shared belief in one another exceeds their abilities as individuals. These Maples created a momentum, won five consecutive playoff games in their last at bat and capturing a title as improbable as any in Michigan's long love affair with high school sports. This eclectic bunch was led by the salty and cantankerous Coach Don Sackett. Mike Carroll was a standard bearer, he and Sackett becoming the team's 'Odd Couple.' The rebel was Todd Siefken, son of a preacher and a high school teacher. Matt Newton was the football kid turned pitcher, his get-angry-and-throw M. O. tipping the scales for the Maples. Todd Glandt was the unassuming power hitter and Steve Sheckell was a basketball star turned role player. Miracle Maples is also a snapshot in time from decades ago, when suburban values rose exponentially and race and class ruled the marketplace. Metro Detroit looks nothing like it did 30 years ago, and the progress made towards changing those realities is revealed within differences then and now in high school sports.