Hoops History Filled with District Stunners
By
Ron Pesch
MHSAA historian
March 9, 2018
The opinions expressed in the following are those of MHSAA historian Ron Pesch, and are not, necessarily, those of the folks who grant Pesch the chance to express them.
You are advised.
Life, sometimes, is unfair.
Despite healthy eating habits, lots of exercise, plenty of sleep, appropriate amounts of water, brain teasers, and blood pressure medicine – all those things that should, hopefully, extend a life – occasionally, our last breath arrives before the awarding of the gold watch or a trip to Disneyland.
The MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament, sometimes, is like life. And that’s the way it should be.
The postseason is where all teams across the state are rewarded with a second chance, regardless of regular season win-loss record. In the thrilling one-and-done playoffs, highly ranked foes can be next-door neighbors or distant strangers; known only via rumor, newspaper rankings, or in these high-tech times YouTube clips. A knockout punch, ousting a team from the tournament, is most often delivered by a “worthy” opponent.
From time to time however, the end of the road arrives when least expected, via defeat by a less talented team vying for a cherished brand. “Underdog,” “Long Shot,” “Dark Horse” and “Cinderella” are the Nike®, Addias®, Reebok®, and Under Armour® of the unknown and under-achieving. Each brand is worn with pride. Everyone, including sportswriters, loves a sleeper.
In Michigan, with minor alterations, the MHSAA basketball postseason functions much as it always has operated. Champions are rare – by design, only four teams can finish the season with victory. Logistics and economics mean a team’s toughest opponent might arrive anywhere along the path. Districts are established based on schools of similar enrollment size found in logical geographic boundaries. District champions advance to play opponents in defined regions, and Regional winners move on to the final three rounds to determine those four statewide MHSAA champions. The state’s largest schools battle for the Class A title, while the smallest chase the Class D crown.
Therein lies the beauty. The playoff experience for today’s athletes is very much the same as it was for their fathers, their grandfathers and their great-grandfathers. The next opponent is luck-of-the-draw, based on a district line, and beyond a team’s control. Come game time, a blown breakaway, a bricked or air-balled jumper, or a rimmed shot that doesn’t fall can mean dreams of trophies, medals and glory, vanish from view. Tournament time does not discriminate. End game can happen to anyone.
Just like in daily life.
Sometimes, the toughest challenges arrive quicker than we feel they should. Within can be heartbreak, and, often, our greatest lessons.
Beware – the tournament tipped off again this week, and more than 120 District titles will be up for grabs tonight.
The MHSAA Tournament pre-dates Disneyland by 30 years. After assuming administrative control of high school sports in the fall of 1924, the Association made a move to expand the annual boys basketball tournament from three classifications to four with the addition of Class D in 1926.
Five years later, beginning in 1931, the public schools from the city of Detroit exiled themselves from the tournament. A year later, the schools in the Upper Peninsula did the same. Those moves, recent research shows, came from a general philosophy by local and national education authorities that there was an over-emphasis on competitive athletics. In the city of Detroit, the move meant a departure from statewide competition that would last for more than 30 years.
“The elimination of Upper Peninsula schools from state competition was the recommendation of its two (seats) on the (MHSAA representative) council,” came the report from the Lansing State Journal. “They deplored the long distances involved in sending teams from that section to the state tournament.”
Certainly, the depth of the nation’s Great Depression was a force that also insured distinct peninsula tournaments, at least in the earliest years of the separation. So, from 1932 through 1947, the MHSAA sponsored both Upper and Lower Peninsula tournaments, and crowned titlists on both peninsulas.
In 1941, and for nearly 20 years, the state’s smallest schools christened their own Class E champion. By far, the overwhelming majority were located in the vast Upper Peninsula, so it was a U.P.-only tournament.
Thereafter, a few twists of fate combined with population demographics to alter the shape of the event.
The number of schools, as well as their enrollments, played into the scheduling of action. For many years, Class A schools (as well as Class B schools for a few seasons), didn’t begin tournament play until the Regional round. Classifications were based on enrollment, with the state’s largest schools playing in Class A. Since there were relatively few Class A schools, when compared to Class C or Class D, fewer postseason games were required to identify a state champion for schools in the upper classifications. During the 1953-54 school year, there were 75 Class A schools, all in the Lower Peninsula. In Class B, there were 180 schools, (including 17 in the U.P.), while Class C included 246, (18 across the Straits). There were 181 Class D schools in the Lower Peninsula, (with 21 schools each in Class D and Class E in the U.P.). Hence, the path to a crown was, at least statistically speaking, more challenging for a smaller school.
With the post-war baby boom, and the growing size of the suburbs around the state, the first Class A Districts were held 60 years ago, in 1958. With that, the chase became more equal.
In 1961, for the first time, a Class A District tournament was held above the Straits. Played at Sault Ste. Marie, it included four teams, “with two U.P. teams, Sault and Escanaba, competing against two Lower Michigan quintets, Alpena and Traverse City,” according to the Ironwood Daily Globe.
In 1962, Detroit Public Schools ended their self-imposed exile and rejoined tournament play. With the return of those 20 schools, the first statewide prep tournament in 32 years now included 749 teams. Class A included schools with 900 or more students, Class B with between 400 and 899 pupils, Class C 200 to 399 and Class D for schools with enrollments of fewer than 200 students.
Beginning with the 2018-19 school year, basketball will move to divisions versus classifications, where the number of schools competing for a division title is uniform.
No. 1 Goes Down
Devastating District Defeats
It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. Every now and then, Michigan’s top-ranked teams fall in the opening round of the MHSAA tournament.
1952 – Class C - Muskegon Western Michigan Christian 39, Muskegon St. Mary 36
Given little chance of surviving opening night Class C District play at Fremont High School, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian “had to do it the hard way, coming from behind with a last ditch rally that had the overflow throng on the edge of their seats.”
Twice beaten by St. Mary during the regular season, the Warriors opened a surprising 13-5 lead through the first quarter, behind the shooting of Gordon DeKruyter and Dave Bolema. The two seniors would end the game with high-scoring honors at 14 points apiece.
“I don’t remember much,” said the 83-year-old DeKruyter, laughing at the thought that Christian’s 39-36 victory over heavily favored Muskegon St. Mary was being recalled some 65 years later. “I’ve always thought it was hard to beat a team three times in a season. I guess that’s still the same today.”
“We had some real good contests in the old 4C Parochial League,” added DeKruyter. The league included Christian, and three Muskegon-area Catholic schools – St. Jean, St. Joseph and St. Mary. “We didn’t have our own gym back then, so we practiced on a short court at Muskegon’s Froebel School. Our coach, Elmer Wolcott, went on to win a number of state championships.”
Christian’s early lead, however, evaporated as the game quickly evolved into a real battle. St. Mary closed the gap to a point, 18-17, before the intermission, and then appeared to grab control of the game, 25-18, following the break.
“The game has seen quite a transition since those days of the set-shot,” said DeKruyter, who later played at Calvin College, then refereed for 27 years. “The biggest is the 3-point shot. It’s amazing how much it has changed the game.”
Another Christian rally knotted the contest at 31-31. The Warriors then grabbed the lead 35-33, but again lost it, trailing St. Mary 36-35 with two minutes to play. Bolema responded with a basket, and combined with a stop on St. Mary’s next possession, the stage was set for a stall by WMC for the victory. However, an errant pass, stolen with 18 seconds remaining, put the game on the line. In the vanishing seconds, filled with the pressure, intensity and noise of a win-or-go-home tournament March, St. Mary’s layup, likely separating victory and defeat, rimmed the basket and fell out.
DeKruyter snared the rebound and added an insurance basket just before the final whistle.
The celebration would last until the Regional Final. Along the way, WMC vanquished White Cloud, another surprise survivor of opening day District madness, by a point, and Lansing O’Rafferty by three, before falling by eight points to Holt.
1955 – Class B – Buchanan 60, St. Joseph 57
“It took two years but Jim Letcher got sweet revenge for a foul committed late in the district final in 1953 which gave the Bears a one point victory,” wrote Ed Lukas in the St. Joseph Herald Palladium. “Last night at the Buchanan gym, Letcher poured in 30 points to lead his Buck teammates to a 60-57 upset win over the highly touted St. Joseph Bears …”
The top rated team in Class B by the Detroit Free Press, St. Joseph had beaten Buchanan in both regular-season meetings. The winner of this matchup was expected to emerge as District champion. Indeed, Buchanan did just that, but barely, with a 47-45 win over Dowagiac. The Bucks rode the victories to the state finals, their first trip to the title game since 1928, before falling to River Rouge, 51-48, ending the year with a 17-7 mark.
1965 – Class C – Fowlerville 59, Portland 58
“Fowlerville, which did not have a winning record during the regular season, came up with the first major upset of the state high school basketball tournament Thursday night by edging previously unbeaten and top-ranked Portland, 59-58, in a Class C district … at Sexton,” wrote Ernie Boone for the Lansing State Journal. “Greg Braun, who only had six points all night and just one in the final period when Fowlerville took over the lead, sank a free throw with five seconds remaining to provide the winning margin.”
Fowlerville’s tournament run ended that Saturday as Williamston sank six free throws in the last two minutes of the District Final to emerge with a 48-46 win.
1969 – Class D – Detroit All Saints 62, Wyandotte Mt. Carmel 60, OT
“A perfect season and dreams of a state Class D basketball title went up in smoke Wednesday night before 3,000 fans for Wyandotte Mt. Carmel,” said Hal Schram in the Detroit Free Press. “Winner of 15 straight games and rated No. 1 among state powers in its division, Mt. Carmel bowed to old tormentor All Saints, 62-60, in a frenzied overtime period.
“Mt. Carmel has lost only three games in two seasons. All three losses came at the hands of the Saints.”
Detroit All Saints, reigning Class C state champ and ranked No. 3 by Schram, grabbed the District title before falling in the opening round of the Regionals to unranked Ypsilanti St. John, 65-62. Bob Sutton led all scorers with 21 for St. John in what was the upset of the tournament to that point. The Saints finished the year at 18-2.
1979 – Class A – Detroit Northeastern 95, Detroit Murray-Wright 91, OT
“Crash!! Murray-Wright High became the first big casualty of the 1979 state basketball tournament Tuesday night when the highly favored Pilots of coach George Duncan fell before underdog Northeastern, 95-91, in overtime at Highland Park High,” wrote Schram in the Free Press, describing the mayhem of the opening round to the District.
“Murray-Wright went into the game champion of Detroit’s Public School League and rated Michigan’s No 1 Class A team. But its 19-game winning streak ended when Joe Rodgers hit four straight free throws in the final 25 seconds of overtime to give the Falcons their most prized victory of the season.
“The Northeastern victory rubbed out another whirlwind comeback by Murray-Wright, which had to score 34 points in the final period to tie the game. … With 1:11 left in regulation, Northeastern led, 85-78, but the Pilots tied it with seven seconds left on Anthony White’s basket.”
The likelihood of a rocky road to the title game for Murray-Wright was identified by Schram earlier in his write-up that accompanied his final regular-season ‘Top Ten’ rankings, a feature of the Free Press that dated back to the late 1940s. “There’s a dozen or so teams in Class A who could wind up with the big trophy. … Murray-Wright just might not get out of its own District where it has to meet and beat the likes of Northeastern, Highland Park or Northwestern.”
Much to the surprise of all the state’s prognosticators, unheralded Detroit Mackenzie, sporting a lackluster 13-7 regular-season mark, and preparing to celebrate its 50th graduating class that June, also got to celebrate its first basketball state title by downing Pontiac Central, 72-64, for the Class A crown.
1982 – Class C – Orchard Lake St. Mary 63, Redford St. Mary 55
“Orchard Lake St. Mary held off a late Redford St. Mary rally Monday night to defeat the No. 1 rated team in Class C, 63-55, in the first game of district play,” said Mick McCabe from the Free Press.
“Orchard Lake … jumped out to a 26-21 halftime lead despite the Rustics’ domination of the boards in the first half. Late in the third quarter, the Eaglets built up a 19-point lead but failed to deliver the knockout punch by missing a pair of wide open lay-ups before Redford scored the final five points of the period.”
Despite two losses – to Birmingham Brother Rice and Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher – The Associated Press and Detroit Free Press had ranked Redford St. Mary No. 1 in the state. With three losses – including a 79-77 defeat to Class A Detroit Cooley decided during the final 25 seconds – Orchard Lake St. Mary sat No. 2 in the Free Press’ final poll, while AP had the Eaglets at No. 4.
Orchard Lake led by 14 midway through the final frame, but Redford went on a 9-0 run to pull within five before running out of steam. Chris Howze scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field to lead Orchard Lake to victory. Following the win, the Eaglets tore through Class C mostly uncontested until the Semifinals. Trailing by as many as 17 in the first half, Grand Rapids South Christian, a final four contestant in the previous two years, capitalized on the loss of Howze to fouls with 5:57 to play. Able to cut the margin to three with 21 seconds remaining, the Sailors couldn’t complete the furious comeback, and fell, 66-63. Orchard Lake coasted to the crown Saturday, thumping unranked Reed City, 76-48.
1995 – Class D – Detroit Holy Redeemer 75, Detroit East Catholic 66
“Hamtramck St. Florian will host the state’s second-best (opening round District) game when Detroit East Catholic (No. 1 in Class D) and Detroit Holy Redeemer hook up again,” noted McCabe in his pre-tournament column in the Free Press. “In the (Detroit) Catholic League semifinals, East Catholic got off to a huge lead against Redeemer and then hung for the victory.”
(The state’s top District opener, referred to by McCabe, ended as expected. Detroit Country Day, ranked No. 1 in the Free Press Class B rankings, rolled to an easy 55-48 victory over Orchard Lake St. Mary, the state’s No. 3 team. Sophomore Shane Battier scored 28, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.)
McCabe had noted Redeemer’s senior guard Jimmy Reyes hadn’t played that well in the Catholic League final. Reyes certainly had his game in the rematch as he scored 20 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, to lead the No. 6-ranked Lions to victory. Sophomore guard Armelius Parker added 17 as Holy Redeemer began its march to the Class D title.
The rivalry between the schools would continue in the coming years. Redeemer would again knock East Catholic out of the postseason in the District Final in 1996. East Catholic extracted some revenge in 1997, downing the Lions in the second round of the District, en route to its eighth and final MHSAA basketball championship. Both schools would close following the 2004-05 school year.
1997 – Class C – Benzie Central 73, Manton 70
In the opening game of the District 91 doubleheader, played at Benzonia, senior Nate Myers bagged eight 3-pointers, including the game winner with eight seconds remaining, as Benzie Central downed unbeaten and top-ranked Manton in the Class C District opener, 73-70. Benzie had lost an 11-point lead over the final four minutes.
“The gym was unbelievably full,” recalled Bill Lynch, a former coach at Benzie Central. “Just a great crowd. As I recall, Manton didn’t come down early to practice in the gym. I thought that was a mistake.”
Following the victory, Benzie Central cruised to the Semifinals before falling to Three Oaks River Valley in a frenzied 67-65 thriller. Trailing by 14, River Valley rallied back and was up three, 65-62, when Myers again bagged a clutch triple with just 11 seconds remaining to knot the game. But Zac Robinson would emerge as the game’s hero with a lay-up with 3.1 seconds remaining that hung on the rim “for an agonizing split second” before dropping through the net, ending Benzie Central’s dream run.
2004 – Class A – Grosse Pointe North 66, Detroit Denby 51
“Out of all the teams, that was the one team I was really concerned with,” said Detroit Denby coach Ray Reeves to McCabe about the draw of his team’s opponent prior to its Class A District opener with No. 9 Grosse Pointe North. “We beat them last year by 14, but it was a tough game. We made them play our style, and it wore them down.”
His concerns were warranted. Trailing by six to open the final quarter, North’s Mark Bramos scored 15 of his 25 points in the fourth as North toppled No. 1 Denby, 66-51, in Class A opening round District action.
“We saw them play Renaissance at Cobo, and that helped us a lot,” said guard Bryan Bennett, who scored 11 points for North. The Norsemen won the District, downing two more PSL squads Southeastern and Finney, but lost to eventual quarterfinalist Utica Eisenhower, 56-52, in their Regional opener.
Ron Pesch has taken an active role in researching the history of MHSAA events since 1985 and began writing for MHSAA Finals programs in 1986, adding additional features and "flashbacks" in 1992. He inherited the title of MHSAA historian from the late Dick Kishpaugh following the 1993-94 school year, and resides in Muskegon. Contact him at [email protected] with ideas for historical articles.
PHOTOS: (Top) Benzie Central’s Nate Myers drives between Three Oaks River Valley defenders in 1997. (Middle top) Muskegon Western Michigan Christian’s Gordon DeKruyter in 1952. (Middle) Buchanan’s Jim Letcher in 1955. (Middle below) Fowlerville’s 1965 team. (Below) Detroit Northeastern’s Joe Rogers puts up a shot in 1979. (Photos courtesy of Ron Pesch.)
Hoping to be 'Hardly Noticed,' 50-Year Official Allen Certainly Recognizable, Respected
By
Mike Dunn
Special for MHSAA.com
December 18, 2025
Editor's Note: An extended version of this article appeared originally in the Cadillac News in March. Since then, Allen has been inducted into the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan's Hall of Honor in October and is wearing the striped shirt again this basketball season, officially his 50th year.
CADILLAC – Bill Allen’s story is similar to that of many area sports officials, particularly those officials who have been active for many years.
A background in sports, typically playing team sports while growing up, combined with a desire to continue to be involved after high school or college, coupled with an inner urge to be part of the solution – these characteristics find a natural outlet for those brave souls who choose to be officials. and these traits are nearly always part of the make-up of the officials who receive high grades for their efforts and serve capably for many years.
Allen, of Cadillac, would not say this about himself. But he is one of those officials whom coaches are glad to see on the floor because they know they’re getting someone who will be fair and consistent. The same could also be said of Allen when he was umpiring, though he doesn’t work the diamonds anymore.
As Allen can tell you as he enters his 50th year wearing the striped shirt on the hardwood, officiating is a demanding vocation – and it is rewarding at the same time. It requires the right temperament as well as an above-average level of mental and physical fitness, especially as age makes its inevitable demands. It requires the ability to make decisions quickly, sometimes under very stressful conditions. It requires the ability to face criticism, sometimes expressed loudly or very loudly. It requires the ability to be a peacemaker at times and also the willingness not to hold grudges or become petty.
For those like Allen who have what it takes, those who are up to the challenges and the rigors that officiating requires from an individual, there is a deep satisfaction in knowing they are making a positive difference.
“I think that’s a common thread among all the officials, whether it’s basketball or baseball or softball,” Allen said. “You obviously want to do your best, but you want to manage the game in a way that helps it to flow the way it should flow and enables everyone, the players and the coaches and the fans, to get the most out of it.
“It’s an old cliché but it’s true: The best officials are the ones you hardly notice. If you can officiate a game and walk through the crowd afterward and no one recognizes you, then you’ve probably done your job pretty well that game. That’s what every official strives for.
“You’re never going to get every call right, and you have to be willing to accept that going into it,” he added. “But you know the rules and apply the rules the best you can, you put yourself in the best position to make the calls, especially in basketball, and you call it the way you see it.
“Are you always right? No. But if you put yourself in the right position and make the call you believe is correct, you can live with that and normally the coaches can too, even if they’re angry about a particular call in the moment.”
Allen, like most officials, was an athlete himself growing up in Traverse City and playing multiple sports for what was then known as Traverse City High School, the largest high school in Michigan in the early 1970s. By his own admission, he wasn’t one of the top stars in basketball and baseball but he was a good, reliable player for his coaches and a dependable teammate who loved the atmosphere of the arena during each season as well as the sense of achievement that the act of competing brought out in him like nothing else.
“I was pretty athletic growing up, but not a great athlete at Traverse City High School,” he said. “I was good enough to make the teams, but I wasn’t what you would call an impact player. A lot of officials have the same kind of background as mine. Maybe we weren’t the greatest players, but we still enjoy sports and we like being part of the action.”
It was during his final two years at Michigan State during the mid-1970s that Allen received his start in officiating.
“In my junior year at Michigan State, one of the fellows I roomed with did assignments for the intramural programs at the college,” he said. “Everything from touch football to basketball to slow-pitch softball. He told me to take the officiating class and he would assign me to games, and that’s how it all started 50 years ago.”
Allen jumped into the world of officiating eagerly with both feet, working a sporting event “nearly every night” at MSU.
“I would go to school during the day, ref at night, and do it again the next day,” he recalled.
“There were so many contests, maybe thousands, that I got to work with a number of other officials. Tim McClelland, who later became a Major League umpire and made the illegal pine tar bat call against George Brett, was a colleague back then. It was a lot of good experience and good mentoring and laid a great foundation for what turned out to be ahead.”
Allen initially earned a degree in criminal justice, graduating from Michigan State University in 1977, and worked in the field of corrections for a period of time before his love of baseball and a sense of personal confidence in his potential to officiate at a higher level prompted him to attend a school for prospective umpires in Daytona Beach, Fla.
That didn’t quite work out, but Allen was not deterred. He changed his career plans from criminal justice to education, and the switch would also lead to abundant opportunities for officiating down the road not just on the baseball and softball diamonds but the basketball court as well.
“When I didn’t get picked (for umpiring), I went back to school to earn my teaching certificate and a graduate degree in history with the goal of becoming a teacher at Cadillac,” he explained. Allen’s wife Sue already was employed as a teacher with the school district.
Bill’s goal at that point was to join Sue as a member of the faculty, as a social studies teacher, and that’s just what happened. Bill served for 26 years in the classroom before retiring along with Sue 12 years ago.
“I viewed Cadillac schools as a great organization to work for as a teacher before I got hired there, and I was right,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade my years at Cadillac for anything. Susie and I both thoroughly enjoyed our years there.”
In conjunction with teaching, Allen continued to officiate basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring and summer. He umpired a lot of men’s summer league softball games through the years and grew to love in particular working the games under the lights at Cadillac’s Lincoln Field.
He also became a registered official with the MHSAA and has continued in that role, though he decided to hang up his umpire cleats a few years ago.
“I registered with the MHSAA while I was still in Lansing,” he said. “The first place I ever did a sanctioned event was in Perry, Michigan. I had barely enough (umpiring) equipment and I’m sure I looked like a real yahoo out there, but I got through it.”
After coming to Cadillac, Allen met Dave Martin, who was an active official and a fellow teacher at Marion, and Martin became his first “crew chief.”
“They needed some JV officials and I got signed up and was off and running,” Allen recalled. “That’s how you got into it back then. You found a crew and the crew chief assigned you some games, and you were evaluated. As long as they liked you and liked what you were doing, they kept you around.”
Allen expressed admiration and appreciation for Martin and also the late June Helmboldt from Lake City, another crew leader “who had a great perspective on the game.”
Allen served as a crew chief himself for a long time and has built rewarding relationships with fellow officials through the years. He has worked many games with Penny McDonald of Cadillac, another longtime official who has earned much respect for her consistency and quality of work in multiple sports over the decades. Allen, in a reversal of roles, is the one receiving assignments from McDonald these days.
Bill Bartholomew is another longtime officiating partner with whom Allen has worked many games over the years and for whom Allen has great respect. This school year, in fact, marks Bartholomew’s 51st year as an official. There are a few others from northern Michigan who have stood the test of time and have passed the 50-year service milestone, such as Paul Williams of Mesick, Tom Post and Mike Muldowney of Traverse City, Tom Johnson of Gaylord, and Dan Aldrich of Charlevoix. All of these, Allen said, are a credit to the craft of officiating and have earned the respect they receive.
Allen also has fond memories of working frequently through the years with Don Blue of Falmouth and Jill Baker-Cooley of Big Rapids, who was chosen for the MHSAA’s prestigious Vern L. Norris Award in 2018.
“I was there when Don and Julie and Penny all got their start in officiating, and they all found their skill set and became excellent officials,” Allen said.
Bill is included in the 50-year milestone group of basketball officials now that the 2025-26 season is underway. He is pleased that he has been able to maintain his longevity; as to the future, he is ready and willing to keep going.
“As long as I’m healthy and can do it properly, I hope to continue,” said Allen, who remains physically fit, jogging regularly along with activities including downhill skiing in the winters and golf during the warmer months.
“I’ll know when it’s time to step aside. When I can’t see well enough to judge the baseline and need to rely on my partners more than I should, then it’s time to hang up the whistle and let the younger ones take over. I hope that’s not for a while though.”
Mike Dunn is a sportswriter for the Cadillac News and the sports editor of the Missaukee Sentinel weekly. He has won numerous awards through the Michigan Press Association as well as the Michigan Associated Press.
PHOTOS (Top) Cadillac’s Bill Allen, shown here following a varsity girls basketball game in February in Evart, is in his 50th year as an MHSAA registered official. (Middle) Allen waits at the baseline for action to resume. (Below) Allen talks casually with McBain Northern Michigan Christian boys assistant coach Terry Pluger prior to the start of the varsity game with Buckley on Dec. 8. (Photos by Mike Dunn.)