Football, Basketball Successes May Be Just Start for Talented Ludington Crew
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 13, 2026
Thad Shank has coached basketball at Ludington for almost 30 years and has lived in the quiet, Lake Michigan shoreline town for most of his 58, and he’s never seen anything quite like it.
“We have a lot of young talent in Ludington right now, some really special athletes coming through at the same time,” said Shank, whose team completed a memorable 24-3 season with a loss to Freeland in Tuesday’s Division 2 Quarterfinal at Mount Pleasant.
“And they are only going to get better.”
That’s a scary thought for Ludington’s opponents, who have already felt the wrath of the new-look Orioles in football and basketball this year.
Ludington posted its first undefeated regular season in football last fall since 1989, outscoring its nine opponents by an average of more than 40 points and winning the West Michigan Conference Lakes title for its first outright conference championship since 1999.
Many of those same athletes jumped right onto the hardcourt, where the Orioles were once again perfect in the WMC Lakes (12-0) and won District and Regional titles – the 16th boys basketball Regional championship in school history.
Moments after that basketball run ended Tuesday night in Mount Pleasant, the Orioles were already talking about next year.
“I can’t wait for my senior year,” said Ludington junior Taj Williams, a 5-foot-11 point guard and wide receiver who led all scorers with 24 points. “We have a lot of athletes coming back, and we will be even better. This offseason is going to be huge for us to get bigger and stronger.”
Tuesday night was the passing of the torch, in an unfortunate way, as senior leader Cam Gunsell left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and Williams stepped forward as the Orioles’ new leader.
Gunsell, who has committed to play quarterback and defensive back at Ferris State, surpassed 4,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards during his career, and also topped 1,000 points in basketball.
Williams, a definite college prospect at receiver, led the Orioles last fall with 31 catches for 900 yards.
Williams showed off his basketball skills on a statewide stage Tuesday, alternating between draining mid-range jumpers with his smooth, lefty stroke and acrobatic finishes at the basket. The Orioles’ floor general also led the team in scoring at 19 points per game.
Returning alongside Williams next year in both sports will be three multi-talented Himes brothers – Messiah (junior), Kyle Jr. (sophomore) and Mikey (freshman) – who all bring electric energy and tremendous speed and leaping ability.
“It’s different now,” said Kyle, who scored 14 points off the bench in Tuesday’s Quarterfinal. “Ludington is kind of known for having big guys, but not a lot of speed. We are the opposite. We’re pretty small, but we have a lot of athleticism.”
Mikey Himes has already been tabbed as Gunsell’s replacement at quarterback by new football coach Brent Gillett, who was promoted from his offensive coordinator spot after Charlie Gunsell stepped down after 22 years. Messiah and Kyle will both play key roles as receivers and ball-carriers.
Ludington could potentially start a small but extremely athletic basketball lineup next winter with Williams and the three Himes brothers, but the list of returnees to watch doesn’t stop there. In fact, six of the Orioles’ nine players in their regular rotation are underclassmen.
Juniors Steele Stowe and JT “Country Strong” Keith also are playing key roles among several contributors whereas they might have been counted on to shoulder more on past Ludington teams.
While the Orioles had great seasons in football and basketball, Williams noted there is certainly unfinished business in both sports.
Ludington football still has just one playoff victory in school history, which came during the COVID year of 2020, after a heartbreaking 32-31 loss to Big Rapids in last year’s Division 4 District opener – a game which Ludington led by 11 points with less than six minutes remaining.
In basketball, Williams & Co. would love to get back to the “Final Four” at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, where Ludington advanced in 2017 (lost in Finals) and again in 2019 (lost in Semifinals).
“You look at it and we lost last year in the Regional Finals when most of these kids were sophomores,” said Shank, whose father, Gene, was also a basketball coach at Ludington.
“We took that next step this year, and we’ll see what next year brings. The best part is these kids are not just great athletes, they work hard and they love to compete. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Ludington’s Kyle Himes Jr. (21) brings up the ball during a game against Mason County Central on Dec. 20. (Middle) Taj Williams looks up court during the Orioles’ 64-43 victory. (Photos by Leo Valdez/Local Sports Journal.)
League Change Suiting Mesick Well as Talented Bulldogs Pursue Repeat
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
January 21, 2022
Who let the dogs out?
Who, who — let the Mesick Bulldogs — in?
That’s the question West Michigan D League rivals may be asking.
And, it’s more like a what … with the answer being the league’s expansion to 10 schools for the 2018-19 school year that paved the way for Mesick to enter.
Until that point, the Bulldogs were part of the Northwest Conference. They won only three games total over their last two years in the Northwest while competing against schools like Buckley – which reached the Class D championship game in both of the Bulldogs’ final two years in their old league. Mesick’s girls – 8-2 this winter – were struggling too.
The last two years in the Northwest also were the first two for the boys varsity under head coach Kyle Duby. The move may have helped turn things around for Mesick, along with extensive offseason work and youth development efforts.
The Mesick boys won five games in 2018-19 and six in 2019-2020 before going 11-6 last year and capturing a share of the West Michigan D championship – Mesick’s first piece of a conference basketball championship in 39 years.
Today, they Bulldogs are 7-0 and in the driver’s seat in league play. They have wins over league opponents Big Rapids Crossroads, Bear Lake, Brethren, Mason County Eastern, Walkerville and Baldwin.
The boys, with an outright conference championship on their minds, will finish their first run through the league schedule against Marion next week. Marion came into the West Michigan D at the same time as Mesick.
“This year we knew we wanted to win the conference outright,” said Duby, who also serves as the school’s athletic director. “That’s one of our goals.
“We also have a goal to make a run – whatever that may look like – in the postseason,” he continued. “First and foremost, we wanted to win our conference outright.”
Keeping their starters healthy and able to play has been a challenge for the Bulldogs, but scoring has not. Injuries and COVID-related absences have caused Duby to alter his starting lineup regularly as the Bulldogs are hitting 70 points-plus per game.
Senior forward Conner Simmer is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18. Another senior, Logan Wienclaw, chips in 12 from his center spot, while juniors Carter Simmer and Caleb Linna contribute 11.5 and 10 points per game, respectively.
“We have several kids who have worked hard for several years,” Duby said. “There is no one person you can shut down and expect to beat us.”
The Bulldogs, who also get almost eight points per game from junior Ashton Simerson, rack up 17 assists per games. Three-point shooting is also a strength. The Bulldogs got into the Michigan record books with 15 3-pointers on 32 tries in Thursday’s 73-45 win over Baldwin.
The Baldwin win helped erase memories of a big loss last year. Things are different as Mesick in nearing the halfway point of this home-and-home conference schedule. The Bulldogs have played the majority of their league games on the road and will be playing host a lot while enjoying their ride in the driver’s seat.
“Baldwin was the team that stopped us from an outright conference championship last year,” Duby said. “Winning in Baldwin and getting through the mental hurdle is exciting for us.”
High scoring has been a major contributor to the Bulldogs’ success to date, along with many of the current varsity having played together since middle school – the same time Duby took over the program.
Film study is another significant factor. Based on the review, the Bulldogs prepare to use a variety of presses and half court defenses from their repertoire.
“We have eight different defenses we can play depending on what the film said,” Duby pointed out. “We do what the films tells us.”
“Luckily I have had these boys since they were in sixth and seventh grade, and we played a lot of summer basketball,” he continued. “They are a high-IQ group.”
The road to success started years ago with a meeting Duby held with the parents of today’s Bulldogs.
“I knew the task of getting to this point was going to be a long one,” Duby said. “Right away, we started having them travel.
“We’d take a junior high, JV and varsity team and go down to Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Lansing … Flint and be downstate in summer about four weekends,” he continued. “We would take our whole program together and caravan and play basketball.”
Duby credits the fast start to his coaching staff, which includes Joe Lewis, Derek Linna, Nathan Hall and Jason McCree.
“My JV coach, Joe Lewis, has been with me since day one,” Duby said. “Over the years we’ve absorbed some dads to the staff.”
Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Mesick boys basketball coach Kyle Duby addresses his team during a game this season. (Middle) Logan Wienclaw (20) goes up for a jump ball. (Photos by Daniel Cochrane.)