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ESCANABA -- The 15th Annual Quarterback Club Wall of Fame Induction will take place on Saturday during the halftime festivities of Escanaba's home game against Grayling (4 p.m. kickoff).
Six individuals and one team will be inducted as part of this year's class. Here are the inductees who earned this prestigious honor.
Gary Bougie
Bougie grew up in Escanaba's "Nort Town" enjoying family, friends, the outdoors, sports and most particularly football. Bougie lived and breathed sports and the relationships they brought to his life.
Bougie was not the biggest guy on the team, but using his given talents, he thrived on the playing field. He became an integral part of the 1973 and 74 Eskymo teams. As a junior, Bougie played defensive back and worked his way up in the depth chart, never backing down from a challenge and always being an integral part of the team. That year, the Eskymos went undefeated with a 9-0 record. Bougie's hard work and commitment saw him starting as defensive back his senior year with an unprecedented six interceptions in a nine-game season. Bougie continued to play recreational sports in Escanaba after graduation. He married Julie Cloutier and loved each of his five children, watching them grow and becoming Eskymos themselves. His courage, dedication, character, and zest for life was apparent in all parts of his life.
Bill 'Jake' Carlson
Head coach Al Sigma's 1959 varsity football team was led by four strong upperclassmen, including Bill "Jake" Carlson. With Carlson at quarterback and Bill Rae as running back, the Eskymos pounded their opponents offensively. Carlson had as many carries as the other backs and was praised by his teammates that he never ran away from an opponent, he ran at them.
On defense, Carlson stood out from his teammates. He was moved around a lot, playing multiple positions. No matter where he played, he punished the opponent to the point that no one wanted to be on the other side facing him. Carlson always wanted to physically punish his opponent whether playing offense or defense.
After his school, Carlson worked several jobs and enjoyed playing local amateur sports. Unfortunately, Carlson passed away too soon. He is survived by his children, Jeff, Brad, Torrey, Derick, Casey, Chad, Jake, Jolee Addie and Caz, as well as 28 grandchildren.
Dan Criel
Criel grew up in a small town in Wisconsin before moving to Escanaba in 1967. He began playing Eskymo football in seventh grade and was a three-sport athlete in high school in football, basketball, and track.
In his freshman year, due to an injury, Criel was asked to play quarterback. He continued as quarterback all through high school, as well as safety on defense and was the team's kicker. The team lost only one game his junior year and was undefeated his senior year. Criel was All-Conference and All-State Honorable Mention both years.
Criel went on to play football at Northern Michigan University and, as a sophomore, was part of the Wildcats' Division II National Championship team in 1975.
Criel resides in Clarkson, Michigan and is the proud father of Ariana and Karsten. Criel spent the bulk of his career in the print industry and now has a career in selling Medicare plans to the senior market.
Charles Detiege
Detiege played as the varsity center all four years of high school. During his sophomore year, he also played defensive tackle. Detiege was also the long snapper during his career and was able to play with the help of his quarterback using non-verbal communication. His senior team had a 7-2 record and received Honorable Mention for the State Football team. He also lettered in Wrestling where he achieved U.P. Champion and was given an All-American wrestler award.
Detiege graduated from Escanaba with honors and attended Michigan Tech where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering. He is married to his wife Cheryl and they have one daughter, Alli. He is now back in Escanaba working at Billerud and is proud his daughter Alli is part of the Eskymo marching band.
Charles has fond memories of playing football and he loves that he is again able to watch Escanaba football.
Dave Meehan – Growing up in Escanaba and living close to the football field, Eskymo football was always very important to Meehan. Nothing was better than watching the team run into the Igloo or hearing the marching band play the Eskymo fight song. He knew it was something he wanted to be a part of and was honored to wear the orange and black.
During his varsity football years, the Eskymo teams never lost to another U.P. team. In his junior year, they went to the State Championship game and finished runner-up. During his senior year, he earned All-Conference and All-State Honorable Mention. He was also nominated to the Escanaba Football All-Century Team.
After high school, Meehan attended UW-Superior before returning to Escanaba where he met his wife and they started a family before moving to the Fox Valley in Wisconsin where they reside today. They raised three kids and he was instrumental in starting the Pop-Warner program at their local school. He coached seventh and eighth grade football for several years and has helped to build the next generation of players.
Jim Myllyla
Myllyla earned All-Conference and U.P. recognition as quarterback in 1984 and his receiving group broke over 15 passing records over 2 seasons. Some of his individual records included 80 pass completions in one season, 1188 yards passing in one season, a career high passing yards of 1810 and a career high 22 touchdown passes.
Myllyla also earned individual records during a thrilling comeback behind victory over Traverse City where he finished 16 of 24 with 4 touchdown passes. With three seconds left in the game, he drove into the endzone for a touchdown to tie the game and with the extra point, they won the game. That was Jerry Cvengros last game and he will never forget how they carried the coach off the field after the big win.
Myllya is a lifetime member of the Quarterback Club and treasures all the memories with his teammates and coaches.
After high school, Myllyla attended NMU where he earned his teaching degree. In 1991, he began teaching at Kingsford Middle School where he has also coached football, basketball. and track for 30 years. Myllyla and his wife Shelly have two children Kalyn and Cole.
2017 Varsity Football Team
The 2017 Escanaba Varsity team had a season record of 7 Wins and 2 Losses. They went on to State Playoffs and won the Pre-District, District and Regional before losing to Grand Rapids Catholic, who won the State Championship that year, in the Semi-Finals.
The team was coached by Head Coach Dave Howes and Assistant Coaches Jason Micheau, Dave Wilson, Scott Clapop and Dan Howes.
Team members include Jared Nash, Scout Wunder, Ryan Robinette, Nicholas Onate, Joshua Grassel, Adam Claes, Courage Krueger, Craig Kamin, Hayden Haslow, Alex Lynch, Christopher Carne, Hunter Deter, Aaron Young, Gage Kitson, Justin Bink, Justin VanDrese, Nicholas Ramos, John Stevenson, Bryce Viau, Terence Hirn, Isaac Cooper, Logan Carroll, Tyler Cook, Brett Guindon, Christopher Salo, Marak Maeder, Blaine Reinhart, Charlie Wilson, Soren Thompson, Cody Vandermissen, Johnny Schlenvogt, Ezekiel Strand, Brandon Kangas, Robert Froelich, Noah Tourangeau, Ean Bevins, Nicklas Shanahan, Brayden Huffman, Lucius Padaoan, Isaiah Olson, Gavin Schwalbach, Colton McKeever, Austin Willette, Nathan Fuson, Riley Mayville, Triston Sexton, Benjamin Stier, Jacob LaFavee, Benjamin Willis, and Garrett LaMarche.
The Eskymo Football Wall of Fame is one of the major projects of the Escanaba Quarterback Club and was begun in 2009 with our first induction ceremony. This program is designed to recognize individuals who have made a major impact on the Escanaba football program. This has included players, teams, coaches and other individuals who have contributed to the legacy of Eskymo football. Each inductee is memorialized by a plaque under the football stadium depicting their photo and a brief biography outlining the part they played in our football success, as well as the important impact these individuals have had after leaving the football field.
The rich history and success of Eskymo football has always been a pride for our community and we look forward to that continuing in the years to come.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Quarterback Club or learning more about the Wall of Fame program, please contact Quarterback Club President Rusty Bluse at 906-789-9291.