Jets' Record: Never to be Broken
April 13, 2017
By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half
ESCANABA - The North Central Jets are champions.
Of the billions of words I've typed on keyboards over the years, none are more appropriate or more true than "The North Central Jets are champions."
It is more than what they have done on hardwoods and gridirons across the state.
Five MHSAA championships in the past three years underline those six words, but it is how the guys wearing red, black and white uniforms have comported themselves on those playgrounds.
They've done it with class all the way. They display wide smiles – at least where you can see their faces in basketball. They hug themselves and you after the game and thank you for coming and for your support.
They may run you over in football and leap above you in basketball, but that is their job and they have supreme joy in doing it well and getting it done the right way.
No matter who they play or where they play, the result has always been the same, another win. Think of it: They have won 134 games in those two sports, including 26 straight in football and a state-record 83 in basketball, with one lonely defeat over those past four hoops seasons. The title runs included two in 8-player football and the last three in Class D basketball.
The word “lose” is simply not in their vocabulary.
It has been a treat for all of us to watch them go about their business as they share a tremendous skill set and build an incredible legacy that has surpassed anything else in the Upper Peninsula.
Ishpeming football and girls basketball at Carney-Nadeau also have been model programs. And of course Chassell, which won three straight Class D basketball titles and 65 straight games in the 1950s.
It is unlikely North Central's current streak of 83 straight basketball wins will ever be surpassed. Don't forget, Chassell's record lasted 59 years and the Jets are now 18 games beyond that standard.
You can put this record up with Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak and the 18 majors of Jack Nicklaus as being unbreakable, along with the recently-ended University of Connecticut women's basketball streak of 111 straight wins that is beyond reality.
I don't know what the national high school win streak record is for boys basketball but found that Palmer, Iowa, is only fifth with 103 straight wins from 1986-89. (Editor’s Note: The record belongs to Passaic, NJ, with 159 straight from 1919-25, but no team has won even 85 consecutive since 2003-06.)
Let us just remember how wonderful it has been to be a spectator of this outstanding accomplishment and what it has done for the school, the community and the entire Upper Peninsula.
Thank you Jets. You are champions.
Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and 1984-2012, and as interim during the 2016-17 school year. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.
PHOTO: The Powers North Central boys basketball team holds up its Class D championship trophy last month at the Breslin Center.
Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 1
December 15, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A handful of the 16 teams we've glanced at during this week's first Breslin Bound report of the 2014-15 boys season got off the slow starts a year ago.
They aren't making that mistake again.
Each week, we’ll look at four teams from each class that stuck out over the previous seven days or the season to that point as we point toward the start of the MHSAA District tournaments March 9.
For schedules of each day’s games statewide and results as we receive them, plus links to each team’s full schedule, results and league standings, click here – and please help us by filling in missing scores or emailing them to [email protected].
Class A
Ann Arbor Skyline (2-0) – The Eagles came back from a 1-3 start last season to make the Class A Quarterfinals, and that’s carried into this winter as they opened by beating Salem 62-56 and then reigning Class D runner-up Adrian Lenawee Christian 57-49.
Canton (2-0) – The Chiefs were solid last season with 15 wins, but a win over Detroit Country Day (54-49 on Friday) generally is a sign a team is capable of bigger things.
Detroit Western International (2-0) – The Cowboys never recovered from a 1-6 start last season in finishing 4-14, but got a jump on this winter opening with a 64-36 win over Chicago Marshall at the Derrick Coleman Classic and following with a 69-57 victory over Saginaw Arthur Hill at the Horatio Williams Classic.
North Farmington (2-0) – The Raiders also got off to a big start in 2013-14 with seven straight wins, and are on the way again after two big wins last week – by 41 over Detroit Collegiate Prep and then 28 over reigning Class D champion Southfield Christian.
Class B
Battle Creek Pennfield (2-0) – The Panthers also were among those who started slowly at 1-3 a year ago; last week’s successful run included a 14-point win over rival Olivet.
Escanaba (2-0) – They Eskymos have improved from five to eight to 17 wins over the last three seasons, respectively, and a 52-50 opening-night win over last season Class C semifinalist Negaunee could be a sign of another jump to come this winter.
Freeland (2-0) – The Falcons’ .500 season a year ago started with a 31-point loss to Carrollton on opening night; a year later, Freeland opened with a 63-47 win over the Cavaliers and a 48-pointer over Pinconning.
Southfield Bradford (3-0) – The Bulldogs won 19 games last season, and opened their return to Class B this winter with three wins including 57-44 over annual power Detroit Douglass, a Class B semifinalist in 2013-14.
Class C
Blissfield (2-1) – The Royals’ positive start not only provided a serious dent toward surpassing last season’s seven wins, but included a 61-48 victory over Ottawa Lake Whiteford, which beat Blissfield by 22 on opening night of 2013-14.
East Jackson (2-0) – The Trojans went from 17 wins in 2012-13 to two a year ago, but have at least equaled that latter total thanks to a one-point victory over Brooklyn Columbia Central and a seven-pointer against Whitmore Lake.
Houghton Lake (1-0) – The Bobcats didn’t win last season until January and only four times total, so they’re surely happy to get off on a winning foot with two more Jack Pine Conference opponents on the schedule before the new year.
Vassar (2-0) – The Vulcans opened last season with a pair of losses but finished a solid 13-8; they avenged one of those defeats by beating a strong Marlette team 55-53 on Wednesday.
Class D
Marcellus Howardsville Christian (2-1) – The Eagles have had a nice run over the last few seasons and appear off on another, coming back after an opening night loss to Centreville to win the St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran Tip-Off with a 55-10 win over Watervliet Grace Christian and a 71-40 victory over the tournament host.
Mendon (2-0) – The Tigers celebrated their return to Class D last week with a 58-53 win over 2013-14 quarterfinalist Battle Creek St. Philip and then a Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference East-opening win over White Pigeon.
Rudyard (2-0) – The Bulldogs doubled their wins from 2012-13 to 2013-14; they may not be able to do that this winter coming off 13 victories, but got off to a quick start with 59 and 28-point wins last week.
Wyoming Potter’s House Christian (1-1) – Sure, Potter’s House did lose its second game last week, in overtime to annual Class D power Tri-unity Christian (which Potter’s House beat in a District Semifinal last season). But more impressively, the Pumas opened with a 47-46 win over reigning Class C runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia.
PHOTO: River Rouge edged Detroit Cass Tech at the Horatio Williams Classic in one of the top matchups of the first weekend of boys basketball season. (Photo courtesy of the Detroit Public School League.)