Highlight Reel: Everett/Flushing

November 5, 2014

The Flushing football team defeated Lansing Everett on Saturday in a Division 2 District opener. Click the headings below for MHSAA.tv highlights and the final link to watch the game in full. 

EVERETT TIES IT - Rhett Blackman ties the game up for Lansing Everett against Flushing in the second quarter on a 6-yard run. Blackman would score twice.

WOW FACTOR - Flushing's Jake Matus takes in a 59-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Garrett Oginsky on the last play of the first half to break that tie.

BIG PASS FOR VIKINGS - Everett tightens things up late in the third quarter on this 50-yard pass and run play from Rhett Butler to Brian Jones. It cut the Flushing lead to 29-21 at the time, and that score held up.

Watch the entire game and order DVDs by Clicking Here.

Ready for Some Football

August 12, 2014

How seriously should we take public criticism of tackle football when that public promotes boxing or cage fighting? Or how seriously should we take public criticism of football played with helmets when that public allows motorcyclists to ride without any helmets at all?

This fickle if not hypocritical focus on football deserves to be exposed. 

However, and more importantly, this does not reduce our obligation to rise above the obvious questions of fair and balanced criticism and keep pressing for a safer environment for schools’ most popular participation sport.

In Michigan this has led to new limitations on head-to-head contact in football practices that began for more than 600 high schools this week. Specifically, no team or individual may participate in more than one collision practice per day before the first game, and no more than two collision practices per week after the first game.

The new policies promote instruction in proper blocking and tackling technique. It is full speed head-to-head contact that is further reduced, not full speed shoulder contact with sleds, shields and dummies nor slow speed contact between players.

Last month, and perhaps two years too late to be helpful, the National Federation of State High School Associations hosted a high-profile, high-powered summit to discuss practice policies of the kind that we developed, debated and adopted during the past school year to be ready for this 2014 season.