Drive for Detroit: Week 7 in Review
October 13, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Just as things are finishing up this MHSAA football regular season, plenty is getting started.
The 11-player playoff field is nearly half full with two weeks to play – 126 teams have earned automatic berths, with 66 more one win from joining them.
Two leagues – the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Detroit Public School League – finished their league schedules over the weekend but will play one and two weeks of playoff games, respectively, to finish the regular season. The Detroit Catholic League will finish its league schedule this week in advance of its Prep Bowl games during Week 9.
And there's plenty more to come. Read on for some of the results that helped further shape the scene all over the state last week.
Mid-Michigan
The deciding game in the Capital Area Activities Conference White didn’t end up much of one after halftime. Cougars junior quarterback Tony Poljan averaged 20 yards a completion in throwing for 404 total with four touchdowns, and he also ran for a score as Lansing Catholic (7-0) broke away with a 22-0 third-quarter run. Williamston is 6-1 and has a slim chance of seeing the Cougars again in the playoffs if both fall into Division 4. Click for more from the Lansing State Journal.
Also noted:
Hartland 29, Grand Blanc 26 – The Eagles (6-1) battled back from a loss in the league opener to take a share of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association West title from co-champ Grand Blanc (5-2) in the final league game of the season.
Okemos 27, Holt 20 – The Chieftains (4-3) reached four wins for the first time since 2011 and should make the playoffs for the first time since that season with their final two opponents owning a combined two wins this fall.
Lansing Everett 38, Grand Ledge 24 – The Vikings (5-2) set themselves up to face Sexton this week with a chance to share the CAAC Blue title, while knocking third-place Grand Ledge (4-3) out of contention.
Charlotte 39, Battle Creek Pennfield 36 – A 39-yard field goal by Sy Barnett with 20 seconds to play kept Charlotte (4-3) in the hunt for a third straight playoff berth.
Greater Detroit
Walled Lake Western 31, Walled Lake Central 14
Western, Central and Waterford Mott all split the KLAA North championship thanks to the Warriors (6-1), who earned a fourth-straight win over their local rivals. Western scored 21 unanswered second-half points to earn the opportunity to play Hartland this week for the Lakes Conference championship. Click for more from the Oakland Press.
Also noted:
Berkley 32, Birmingham Groves 29 – Berkley dealt Groves (6-1) a painful blow heading into Groves' game this week against Oakland Activities Association Blue leader Farmington that could decide the league title; Berkley (6-1) will now root for Groves to win and make all three teams co-champions.
Canton 30, Plymouth 20 – Canton (6-1) outlasted the rival Wildcats (5-2) to claim the KLAA South championship for the second straight season.
Hudson 12, Ida 7 – The Tigers (6-1) avenged last season’s loss to Ida (6-1) that led to a shared Lenawee County Athletic Association title to keep pace with co-leader Hillsdale, Hudson’s Week 9 opponent.
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 26, Lutheran Westland 6 – The Knights (6-1) finished off their fourth Michigan Independent Athletic Conference title in five seasons by defeating second-place Westland (5-2).
Bay and Thumb
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker 32, Bad Axe 30
The Lakers (7-0) needed a second-half comeback to keep their best start since 2002 alive, but also came away with a share of the Greater Thumb Conference West championship and can clinch it outright next week against 1-6 Reese. The Lakers, league runners-up to Reese last season, rode more than 300 yards rushing by Dustin Kady to edge Bad Axe (4-3) – which has already guaranteed its best finish since 2001. Click for more from The Saginaw News.
Also noted:
Goodrich 37, Lake Fenton 36 – After claiming a nail-biter over Lake Fenton (1-6), second-place Goodrich (6-1) will be rooting for Montrose this week as the Rams face Genesee Area Conference Red leader Flint Beecher in the final game on the league schedule.
Harrison 57, Beaverton 28 – Harrison (7-0) avoided a potential Jack Pine Conference spoiler in Beaverton (4-3) and now will face reigning champion Clare for the league championship.
Bay City John Glenn 33, Saginaw Nouvel 6 – The Bobcats (5-2) have more wins this fall than in 2012 and 2013 combined and need one more to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2011; Nouvel has a slim postseason hope at 3-4 but will need to win out including a big win over Freeland in Week 9.
St. Clair 25, Warren Woods Tower 21 – St. Clair (6-1) knocked Woods Tower (6-1) out of a tie for first place with Marine City in the Macomb Area Conference Gold, but will root for the Titans to beat the Mariners this week and make all three teams co-champions.
Lower Up North
Cadillac 17, Traverse City West 12
The Big North Conference was the source of most of the north's significant action this weekend, although by Sunday leader Cadillac remained atop the league standings and with a share of the championship – after its second straight win by a less than a touchdown. Cadillac (7-0) got up 17-0 in the third quarter before West (3-4) – playing to remain in the playoff hunt – took advantage of Vikings turnovers to pull within striking distance. Click for more from the Cadillac News.
Also noted:
Traverse City Central 14, Alpena 7 (OT) – Central (5-2) kept its shared Big North Conference title hopes alive by a sliver, edging Alpena (3-4) to remain one win back with Cadillac coming up in Week 9.
Gaylord 49, Petoskey 42 – The Blue Devils (5-2) scored twice during the fourth quarter to ruin Petoskey’s chances at remaining in Big North contention while inching closer to a first playoff berth since 2007; Petoskey (5-2) can earn a return to the postseason for the first time since 2011 against Alpena this week.
Manton 30, Leroy Pine River 27 – The Rangers may be out of the Highland Conference title chase, but they secured their best record since 2005 and need one more win for a first playoff berth since 1994; Pine River (4-3) has its best record since 2007 and by winning out can make the postseason for the first time since 2005.
Elk Rapids 70, Grayling 26 – The Elks (4-3) remain alive for the playoffs although they’ll next face undefeated Boyne City; at 3-4, Grayling will need help to grab an at-large bid.
West Michigan
Cedar Springs 14, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern 8
Most of Cedar Springs’ last 15 seasons have ended in the 4 to 6-win range with a hint of league title contention on occasion. But this one is shaking up as special for the Red Hawks (6-1), who sit alone atop the Ottawa-Kent Conference Bronze after sending Forest Hills Northern (6-1) into a second place tie with Grand Rapids Northview. Cedar Springs can clinch a share of the league title next week against Greenville (4-3) or in Week 9 vs. Forest Hills Eastern (3-4). Click for more from the Grand Rapids Press.
Also noted:
East Kentwood 35, Hudsonville 28 – The Falcons (6-1) scored with less than two minutes to play to remain a game behind Rockford in the O-K Red and drop Hudsonville (4-3) out of title contention.
Rockford 27, Grand Haven 21 (OT) – The Rams (6-1) needed overtime against a Grand Haven (3-4) team trying to stay alive for the postseason and now playing for an at-large bid.
Grandville 54, Holland West Ottawa 14 – Grandville (3-4) kept a small playoff hope alive by winning big over former O-K Red co-leader West Ottawa (5-2).
Muskegon Oakridge 50, Whitehall 22 – Oakridge (6-1) regained a share of the West Michigan Conference title and can clinch outright this week; Whitehall (6-1), now tied for second with Ravenna, needs Mason County Central to come through with an upset.
Upper Peninsula
Marquette 35, Constantine 10
Even at 5-1 entering last weekend, Marquette’s chances of extending its playoff streak to five seasons looked a tad shaky – Constantine was 6-0, and together the Redmen’s final three regular-season opponents were 16-3. But Marquette held Constantine to its fewest points this season (by 21) and tied its biggest offensive output to remain undefeated since falling to Traverse City Central on opening night. Click for more from the Marquette Mining Journal.
Also noted:
Ishpeming 28, Negaunee 0 – The Hematites earned a share of their second straight Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference title and haven’t given up a point since Week 4; Negaunee (4-3) faces two more tough opponents as it works to earn a playoff berth.
Munising 42, Bark River-Harris 0 – The Mustangs (6-1) secured a share of the Mid-Eastern Football Conference title by dominating second-place Bark River-Harris (5-2); Munising also hasn’t given up a point since Week 4.
Kingsford 10, Iron Mountain 0 – Kingsford’s at-large playoff bid hope got stronger as the Flivvers (3-4) shut out the Mountaineers (4-3), who are second in the Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference.
Powers North Central 48, Felch North Dickinson 44 – North Central’s playoff hopes are slim at 2-4, but beating North Dickinson (3-4) for the first time since 1993 is a nice consolation.
Southwest and Border
Plainwell 34, Three Rivers 28
It seems like most of Plainwell’s games this season have been among the best of the southwest – and the Trojans (6-1) are now one more win from locking up a share of the Wolverine B Conference East title. They ran Three Rivers (4-3) into second place on the legs of Jacob Geter, who rushed for 316 yards on 50 carries. Click for more from the Kalamazoo Gazette.
Also noted:
Saugatuck 26, Fennville 20 – The Indians (5-2) kept pace atop the Southwestern Athletic Conference North with Week 9 opponent Gobles while dropping Fennville (4-3) into third.
Bridgman 62, Centreville 7 – The Bees (5-1) are inaugural champs of the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Blue and have scored at least 40 points in all but one victory.
Niles 27, St. Joseph 21 – The Vikings (5-2) locked up their best record since 2003 by beating St. Joseph (4-3) for the first time since 2005.
Union City 41, Reading 34 – The Chargers (7-0) guaranteed themselves a share of the Big 8 Conference title with second-place Homer the only league opponent remaining; Reading (3-4) will hope to win out and earn an at-large playoff bid after losing its second straight game.
8-Player
Kingston 64, Owendale-Gagetown 34
Kingston quarterback – and MHSAA Student Advisory Council senior – Aaron Van Horn carried his team back into the playoff hunt with three touchdown passes and two touchdown runs as the Cardinals handed Owendale-Gagetown (6-1) its first loss. Kingston is 4-3 and faces opponents who are a combined 4-10 to finish the regular season. Click for more from The Saginaw News.
Also noted:
Big Rapids Crossroads 21, Akron-Fairgrove 20 – The Cougars have won three straight since opening 0-4 against four teams still undefeated; they look good to make the playoffs with two winnable games left.
Bellaire 38, Engadine 6 – The Eagles (7-0) may not get mentioned as much as other favorites Cedarville and Rapid River, but are lined up perfectly to make a run at the Bridge Football Alliance title with those two up next over the next two weeks; Engadine (3-4) is hanging on to the 16th spot in the playoff field.
PHOTO: Lansing Catholic's Zac Baker was among recipients of quarterback Tony Poljan's 20 completions Friday as the Cougars defeated Williamston. (Photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal.)
Adrian Football's 'Storyteller' Koehn Begins 52nd Season on Radio Waves
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
September 3, 2025
John Koehn used to collect Sports Illustrated covers – with good reason.
Koehn, 74, has been a sports broadcaster at WLEN, a 3,000-watt station at 103.9 on the FM dial in Lenawee County for more than 50 years. If you are at a football or basketball game where Koehn is broadcasting, chances are you will see a “WLEN” banner hanging nearby.
That banner has been in some unique settings.
“We used to collect Sports Illustrated covers because every once in a while, someone would take a photo and I’d be in the background with the WLEN banner doing the game,” Koehn said. “Over the years we had six or seven Sports Illustrated covers that popped up like that. We went all over back then.”
Koehn broadcast University of Michigan football and basketball games for two decades for WLEN, bringing the action home to listeners in Lenawee County long before the days of streaming services or Internet radio. He did live play-by-play at The Spectrum in Philadelphia when Michigan battled Indiana University in the NCAA men’s basketball championship game in 1976.
“That’s always been my favorite Michigan team ever,” Koehn said.
His favorite thing to broadcast – and the one that has stuck the longest – is Adrian High School football. Koehn did his first Maples football game in 1974 and has done almost every Adrian game since, live on the air. Last week he kicked off his 52nd year doing Maples football when Adrian defeated Dundee 21-0 at Maple Stadium.
“I’ve only missed a handful of games,” he said. “I had a wedding once, and I think another time or two I was sick. I thought I was going to do this maybe three or four years. Here I am. On and on it went.”
Joel Przygodski is the Adrian head football coach. Before that he was an assistant for several seasons and got to know Koehn. Now, they do a weekly pregame coaches show together.
“John has been an important part of the Adrian football community,” Przygodski said. “Friends and families of the program have had the pleasure of hearing his voice call our games for a long time. I enjoy our weekly conversations during the season, and we always seem to talk about players and teams from the past.”
Koehn’s voice is familiar to sports fans in Adrian and Lenawee County. In addition to broadcasting Maples football, he also does at least one county high school basketball game a week and still broadcasts live a handful of baseball and softball games every spring.
“Spring sports are tougher,” he said. “Games get canceled, and it becomes difficult to make them up. The weather outside is unpredictable.”
Koehn grew up in Adrian and played football for the Maples in 1967 and 1968. His father, also John Koehn, held various jobs in the county, including teaching a class at Adrian College.
“He was working on his MBA and teaching at Adrian College,” Koehn said. “For his senior business thesis class, he assigned his students a semester project to research the feasibility of starting an FM radio station in Adrian. He gave them all good grades and used the information to start the station.”
His father was granted the license for 103.9 FM in 1965.
“I was in high school, but I was here when it all started,” Koehn said. “I was pushing a broom and that kind of stuff.”
Adrian had an AM radio station at the time, but the FM station was new.
“The first few years we just gave away FM radios and FM car converters so that people could get the signal,” Koehn said.
One of the first things his father did was form a small network of five stations to broadcast University of Michigan football and basketball games.
“When we started, Michigan allowed any station to broadcast as long as they paid the fees,” Koehn said. “There were at least seven stations. Our station started doing Michigan in 1965 when they went on the air. They were able to do that until the mid-1980s before they went to (WJR) network.”
Koehn, who graduated from Notre Dame, never intended to get into broadcasting. He was at an Adrian basketball game when it happened.
“My first game was a basketball game,” he said. “I just went to help out. I was there, doing stats, and the second half started and the general manager who was doing the game said, ‘Here,’ and handed me the microphone. I got handed a soapbox.”
His dad also launched an FM station in Monroe, 98.3, and gave famed WJR host Paul W. Smith his first radio job.
“My dad knew all about big radio,” Koehn said. “He always said the only way we are going to survive is to make it local, local, local.”
For Adrian, University of Michigan football and basketball was local. He put a lot of miles on his car.
“Back in the day, Michigan basketball played games on Thursdays and Saturdays,” he said. “I remember one weekend, on a Thursday morning, I drove to Madison, Wisconsin, to do a Michigan basketball game. I drove home after the game, got home probably 6 a.m., got some sleep, did a high school game Friday night, and Saturday afternoon I went up to Ann Arbor to do Michigan-Indiana and did a high school game Saturday night. I didn’t have much in the way of pipes by then.”
He also was part of the MHSAA broadcasting network for years.
“I was probably doing 80 basketball games a season back then and driving everywhere,” he said.
During his broadcasts, Koehn keeps his own running stats and often refers back to them throughout his coverage. At halftime, he gives halftime stats, such as leading rushers in football, and tracks things like penalties and first downs.
Koehn said he is an Adrian fan for every game – except when the Maples are playing another local team.
“I’m a fan,” he said. “The only time I’m not is when Adrian is playing another county school. You have to be nonpartisan with that.”
The radio stations have remained in the family. WLEN and 96.5 The Cave, an all-sports format station in Adrian, are owned by his late father’s trust. The other two stations in Adrian, 95.3 FM and WABJ – an AM radio station that was around when WLEN was created – are owned by John’s sister Julie. All four stations are housed in one building in downtown Adrian.
Koehn, who is married, has two children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His bucket list is to broadcast a hockey game.
While he waits to do that, Koehn remains hooked on broadcasting Adrian football.
“You get to be a little crazy,” he said. “You get into doing the games. We are telling stories and creating memories for people. I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘Oh, I remember that one game. I was listening. That was one heck of a game.’ It’s all linked to some other memory outside of the football game. Basically, I’m a storyteller – a partisan storyteller.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS John Koehn begins his 52nd season as the voice of Adrian High School football, broadcasting last week from Maple Stadium. (Photos by Deloris Clark-Cheaney.)