Moment: Rouge Ends '60s with 6 Titles
April 16, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
After three years without a championship, River Rouge returned to the Class B Final in 1969 and won its sixth title of the 1960s by defeating Kalamazoo Hackett 83-50.
The Panthers finished 25-2 for the season, and the championship began another string of four straight that concluded in 1972.
Rouge dominated the 1969 Final led by 6-foot-4, 250-pound forward Dwayne Johnson (reaching for the rim in bottom photo), who scored 23 points. Teammate Rod Wimphrey added 16 points, but more importantly held Hackett's Bob Calligton to nine. Calligton had scored 31 points in Hackett's Semifinal win one night earlier.
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Moment: Jets Advance on Buzzer Beater
March 23, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Seth Polfus couldn't believe it. Watching the clip four years later, it's easy to remember why.
Powers North Central's 2017 Class D Semifinal against Southfield Christian had stretched nearly 40 minutes. And when Polfus' shot fell with one-tenth of a second left on March 23, 2017, it gave the Jets an 84-83 win over Southfield Christian, sent them back to the Class D championship game and increased their nation-leading winning streak to 82 games.
We're tipping off a string of daily "MHSAA Moments" with this incredible finish, described after by Polfus, in part: "I didn’t really know where I was. And then I saw the 6-4 kid coming at me, pump-faked him like I always do when I’m really scared. And then just launched it, and I saw it hit off the rim, thought it was an air ball, and then I just didn’t know what happened.”
Click to read Second Half's coverage – Jets' Streak Withstands Mightiest Challenge – and relive the shot below with coverage from the NFHS Network.