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.)
D4 Eagles Regain Championship Stride
March 16, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING – Southfield Christian began this winter minus two starters who left the program for other schools and with just two wins in its first seven games.
In early January, the Eagles faced a decision to guide the rest of their season.
“Our conversation repeatedly after a couple of those games was we’ve gotta choose if we’re either going to be great, of if you’re going to be OK and we’re going to be OK with being .500 and just being average,” Southfield Christian coach Josh Baker recalled Saturday. “Beat some teams, and lose to some better teams and call it a season.
“What are we going to do here? So as a team, we just collectively decided we were going to put in more work, and we were going to put in more time and … we’re just going to give extra effort. That’s the only thing we know how to do.”
Once again, Southfield Christian figured out the rest. The Eagles finished 19-1 after that opening stretch and finished Saturday as a repeat MHSAA champion with a 63-39 win over Frankfort in the Division 4 championship game at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
The title was Southfield Christian’s fifth this decade. In addition to last season’s, the Eagles also won Class D in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
The team’s only loss since Jan. 5 came to River Rouge, an eventual Division 2 finalist.
“This is very sweet. I’m not going to lie to you,” Eagles junior guard Da’Jion Humphrey said. “We worked hard – me, Jon (Sanders), everyone on the team, we put in countless hours. And as you can see, it pays off. Southfield Christian basketball is still here, and we’re still thriving.”
Humphrey and Sanders, a senior guard, were returning starters from last season’s team. They took on bigger roles as Harlond Beverly – the leading scorer in last year’s Class D Final – left for a prep school, and Caleb Hunter transferred to Detroit U-D Jesuit.
On Saturday, Humphrey led with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds, and Sanders had 19 points. Junior guard Noah Rheker added 10 points.
The Eagles jumped out to a 13-2 lead over the first 3½ minutes, and pushed the advantage to 24-12 by the end of the first quarter despite Frankfort making 63 percent of its shots from the floor during the period. The Panthers’ problem was they struggled to get many off, with eight of their 16 turnovers also coming over the first eight minutes.
Rheker scored Southfield Christian’s final basket of the first quarter and five more points during the first six minutes of the second as the Eagles extended their lead to 21.
“I was really trying to bring a spark, because I knew our biggest emphasis was to try to pressure the ball and really get after it,” Rheker said. “So I just really tried to set the tone and let these guys pick it up after me.”
Senior guard Will Newbold led Frankfort with 17 points and seven rebounds. With the game decided in the fourth quarter, the coaches emptied their benches. Panthers’ freshman Blake Miller quickly became a fan favorite during his hustle-filled four minutes – he ended up the team’s second-leading scorer with seven points to go with a pair of steals.
“The moment can kinda get you, but I thought our guys did a good job,” Frankfort first-year head coach Dan Loney said. “They didn’t back down. They played to the end. And as a coach, you couldn’t be happier.
“Look at the crowd out there. You see the kind of community we come from. We’re down 30 and they’re cheering like we’re up. As a coach, I really can’t explain the feeling when you see that. … The future is going to be bright in Frankfort, and we plan on being back here.”
Loney’s team finished 21-6, and the trip to the championship game was made more impressive by the fact the Panthers had graduated all of their starters and a top sub from last season’s 20-3 run.
“The fans and the crowd, it was so much different than back home,” Frankfort senior forward Jack Reznich said. “To be able to see all our fans, come out and see the (U-D) Jesuit school, all of them cheering for us. Just having everybody here, see all the lights and noise, it was a crazy feeling. It was life-changing.”
PHOTOS: (Top) Southfield Christian’s Jon Sanders (10) gets a shot up over Frankfort’s Conner Smith during Saturday’s Division 4 Final. (Middle) Will Newbold works to drive past the Eagles’ Rahmon Scruggs.