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Program Builder Boyd Honored by Our Lady

October 12, 2016

By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half

WATERFORD – Mike Boyd always had a grand vision how his last home game as head coach at Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes would play out.

As it got into the later stages of a nearly 50-year tenure as football coach, athletic director and so much more at the school, Boyd had one specific idea for how he wanted to go out.

“I always said that the last game I coached before I retired, I was going to play it here under the lights,” said Boyd, referring to the field at the school that doesn’t have permanent lights. “I didn’t get a chance.”

Boyd did not, since in April 2013 he decided to retire as football coach from WOLL after a 46 year-career in order to move full-time to Sarasota, Florida.

However, last Friday proved to be the next best thing for Boyd and the Our Lady of the Lakes community.

In a ceremony that was more than three years in the making after he made his retirement official, Boyd was brought back for the honor of having the entire athletic complex at Our Lady of the Lakes named after him.

To top it all off, the ceremony took place under portable lights in what doubled as the first night game ever at the school.

The game was against Royal Oak Shrine, which is not only the biggest rival for Our Lady of the Lakes, but coached by Boyd’s longtime best friend in coaching, John Goddard.

All anyone needs to do is look at MHSAA record book for evidence that it was a no-brainer for Our Lady of the Lakes to name the athletic complex after Boyd, one of the state’s all-time greatest prep athletic figures.

As football coach, Boyd won 357 games in his 46 years, which currently is good for fourth place on the all-time wins list for coaches in that sport.

He led the Lakers to three appearances in MHSAA football championship games, with the zenith of his coaching career on the gridiron coming in 2002 when his Our Lady of the Lakes team won its only Finals title in school history with a 13-10 overtime win over Gaylord St. Mary in Division 8.

Facing a 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line that day, Boyd didn’t hesitate in sending his offense out to go for the win on a do-or-die running play, and the decision paid off when running back Murray Percival broke the goal line to give Boyd his long-awaited title.

The jubilation was apparent on Boyd with how high he jumped over and over again in celebration following the handshake line.

While that was the only time Boyd celebrated an MHSAA championship in football, he did so plenty of times on the softball diamond.

Boyd led Our Lady of the Lakes to what remains a team state-record eight MHSAA championships in softball, going a perfect 8-for-8 in title game appearances and finishing with 703 career wins before retiring from that sport in 2007.

During his tenure, Boyd also coached two games for the hockey team, track & field and started the baseball program by coaching it for its first year of existence.

When not on a playing surface, Boyd was a principal, bus driver, the athletic director and overall face of not only what has become one of the state’s best small-school athletic programs, but the school as a whole.

One of Boyd’s big contributions was creating the home football field at Our Lady of the Lakes behind its school in stunningly quick fashion after some unexpected news.

Our Lady of the Lakes used to play home games at other high schools or middle schools in Waterford, but that changed suddenly in 2001 before a scheduled home game against Royal Oak Shrine.

“They got a new school board one year,” Boyd said. “We used to pay like $250 a game. They came back and said ‘We want $1,200 a game.’ The Dads club got together and put (the press box) up on one week and got the field ready.”

Indeed, in a matter of days a three-story press box was built (fully furnished later in the season) and space for a football field was created (the right side of it through the infield of the baseball diamond) to allow Our Lady of the Lakes to play games on its campus.

It was fitting that the first home game in 2001 was against Shrine and that the ceremony last week was against Shrine, given his nearly 50-year friendship with Goddard.

The two had a nice chat on Shrine’s bench before the game last Friday, and one can only imagine the stories that were re-hashed.

In fact, when Boyd announced his retirement in 2013, he said how much he would miss playing against “that old turkey” in Goddard.

No doubt, Goddard misses competing against Boyd just as much.

“One year he had a kid that got hurt during practice during that week and he shows up at our place for a game, and after kickoff he comes out and starts running a single-wing,” Goddard said. “I go, ‘What the heck is this offense he is running?’ We beat them, but it took us half a game to figure what he was doing. He made it up on Saturday and we played on Sunday. He was a great coach.”

Boyd still follows the Our Lady of the Lakes program from Florida, watching film online and communicating regularly with current Our Lady of the Lakes head coach Josh Sawicki, a player on that 2002 title team – although Boyd was quick to point out he wants no part in decision-making with the Lakes team. “He’s his own coach,” Boyd said of Sawicki.

Boyd also returns to Michigan every August to help out with preseason practices for Lake Orion, which is coached by his son-in-law, Chris Bell, and he visits Sawicki at his preseason practices while in the area.

Before the game last Friday, Sawicki spoke about how little the topic of the ceremony came up with Boyd during conversations in the days leading up to the game.

“He was talking to me Wednesday or Thursday night, and there was not one question about (the ceremony),” Sawicki said. “It was all about the game plan. ‘What have you got? What have they got? What will you do if they do this? Watch out for Goddard because he likes to do this and likes to do that.’ Still to this day, that was all he was talking about.”

Sawicki said doing things without fanfare is who “Coach” has always been, and it’s a legacy that will be carried on in name now that the athletic complex is named after Boyd.

More importantly, it will also be carried on in spirit.

“He built that brand,” Sawicki said. “It’s the responsibility of the coaches and the players to continue that brand on. That is what we are focused on doing.”

PHOTOS: (Top) Our Lady of the Lakes football coach Mike Boyd hoists the Division 8 championship trophy in 2002 after his team defeated Gaylord St. Mary at the Pontiac Silverdome. (Middle) Boyd (left) receives a plaque from Rev. Lawrence Delonnay, Our Lady’s pastor, on Friday to recognize the naming of the school’s athletic complex in Boyd’s honor.

Second Half by MHSAA

Week 8 Football Playoff Listing

October 15, 2013

Here is a list of Michigan High School Athletic Association football playing schools, displaying their win-loss records and playoff averages through the seventh week of the season.

Schools on this list are in enrollment order. An asterisk (*) beside a record indicates that a team has eight or fewer games scheduled. A caret (^) beside a school’s name indicates that a team is one win away from playoff qualification.

Those schools with 11-player teams with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules, or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer, will qualify for the MHSAA Football Playoffs beginning Nov. 1-2. Schools with 5-4, 4-3 or 4-4 records may qualify if the number of potential qualifiers by win total does not reach the 256 mark. Schools with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer may be subtracted from the field based on playoff average if the number of potential qualifiers exceeds the 256 mark.

Once the 256 qualifying schools are determined, they will be divided by enrollment groups into eight equal divisions of 32 schools, and then drawn into regions of eight teams each and districts of four teams each.

Those schools with 8-player teams will be ranked by playoff average at season’s end, and the top 16 programs will be drawn into regions of eight teams each for the playoff in that division, which also begins Nov. 1-2.

To review a list of all football playoff schools, individual school playoff point details and to report errors, visit the Football page of the MHSAA Website.

The announcement of the qualifiers and first-round pairings for both the 11 and 8-player playoffs will take place on Oct. 27 on the Selection Sunday Show at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Detroit. The playoff qualifiers and pairings will be posted to the MHSAA Website following the Selection Sunday Show.

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11-Player Playoff Listing

1. Utica Eisenhower, 2772, 4-3, 58.429                   
2. Clarkston, 2737, 6-1, 87.286                    
3. Macomb Dakota, 2693, 7-0, 100.571                   
4. Howell, 2672, 4-3, 57.857                                         
5. Grand Blanc, 2624, 6-1, 91.000                              
6. East Kentwood ^, 2612, 5-2, 73.143                    
7. Rockford, 2572, 6-1, 91.000                                    
8. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 2506, 7-0, 104.000
9. Lake Orion, 2490, 6-1, 85.143                 
10. Dearborn Fordson, 2309, 4-3, 61.048               
11. Holland West Ottawa, 2293, 4-3, 59.286         
12. Northville, 2275, 6-1, 86.000                
13. Detroit Cass Tech, 2262, 7-0, 100.571               
14. Brighton ^, 2164, 5-2, 77.000                                               
15. Monroe ^, 2145, 5-2, 67.857                
16. Detroit Catholic Central, 2132, 6-1, 85.810     
17. Plymouth ^, 2126, 5-2, 67.429                             
18. Canton, 2078, 7-0, 106.286                   
19. Novi, 1986, 4-3, 55.571                                           
20. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North, 1965, 6-1, 85.000        
21. West Bloomfield, 1941, 4-3, 57.857                   
22. Saline, 1897, 6-1, 88.000                                        
23. Westland John Glenn, 1880, 4-3, 54.143         
24. Holt, 1866, 4-3, 58.000                                            
25. Warren Mott, 1796, 7-0, 92.571                          
26. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek ^, 1759, 5-2, 72.000       
27. Hudsonville, 1736, 4-3, 62.571                             
28. Ann Arbor Skyline, 1715, 4-3, 54.143
29. Grand Ledge, 1715, 4-3, 55.571                          
30. Belleville ^, 1714, 5-2, 69.714                               
31. Davison, 1692, 4-3, 47.571                    
32. Walled Lake Northern ^, 1688, 5-2, 70.714    
33. Traverse City West, 1653, 4-3, 61.857              
34. Rochester, 1615, 4-3, 55.286                
35. Waterford Kettering, 1604, 4-3, 54.571           
36. Temperance Bedford, 1600, 7-0, 108.571       
37. Grosse Pointe South, 1598, 4-3, 57.571           
38. Rochester Adams, 1582, 4-3, 60.286                 
39. Saginaw Heritage, 1575, 4-3, 57.000                 
40. Warren DeLaSalle ^, 1564, 5-2, 79.200                             
41. Walled Lake Western, 1556, 7-0, 99.429         
42. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1488, 6-1, 84.286    
43. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 1476, 4-3, 59.857
44. Midland, 1462, 6-1, 87.571                    
45. Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1460, 6-1, 79.714                     
46. Pinckney ^, 1452, 5-2, 72.143                              
47. Traverse City Central, 1448, 4-3, 52.952          
48. Oak Park ^, 1438, 5-2, 71.143                               
49. Detroit Martin Luther King *, 1432, 6-0, 97.714            
50. Ypsilanti Community, 1399, 4-3, 49.000           
51. Port Huron ^, 1398, 5-2, 68.548                          
52. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1373, 7-0, 102.857      
53. Portage Central, 1372, 7-0, 99.429                     
54. Lansing Everett ^, 1369, 5-2, 63.714                  
55. Portage Northern ^, 1364, 5-2, 72.571             
56. Southfield, 1356, 6-1, 93.429                               
57. North Farmington *^, 1352, 4-3, 53.810          
58. Caledonia ^, 1350, 5-2, 66.714                             
59. Battle Creek Lakeview, 1348, 7-0, 84.571       
60. Birmingham Seaholm, 1337, 7-0, 93.714         
61. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1326, 7-0, 104.857
62. Grosse Pointe North, 1323, 4-3, 58.571           
63. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1314, 6-1, 86.429   
64. Midland Dow, 1304, 6-1, 83.000                         
65. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1300, 6-1, 91.000  
66. South Lyon ^, 1277, 5-2, 72.143                          
67. Swartz Creek, 1277, 4-3, 57.024                          
68. Birmingham Groves, 1274, 7-0, 93.714            
69. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills, 1231, 4-3, 46.143
70. Fenton, 1188, 7-0, 97.143                      
71. Grand Rapids Northview, 1182, 4-3, 54.857   
72. Warren Woods Tower ^, 1170, 5-2, 55.429    
73. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 1151, 6-1, 86.143 
74. Lowell, 1146, 7-0, 110.857                     
75. Taylor Truman, 1131, 6-1, 81.714                       
76. Holly, 1124, 4-3, 55.714                                          
77. Muskegon, 1118, 6-1, 92.286                               
78. Lapeer East, 1113, 4-3, 55.714                             
79. Marquette *, 1110, 5-1, 79.381                          
80. Detroit East English ^, 1109, 5-2, 64.738          
81. Detroit Cody, 1106, 4-3, 51.429                           
82. Allen Park ^, 1103, 5-2, 72.429                            
83. Detroit Renaissance, 1097, 4-3, 48.857            
84. Detroit Mumford, 1090, 6-1, 78.571 
85. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 1079, 6-1, 77.429
86. Zeeland East ^, 1071, 5-2, 72.286                       
87. Lapeer West, 1063, 6-1, 89.571                           
88. Redford Thurston, 1063, 4-3, 60.714
89. Byron Center ^, 1039, 5-2, 63.714                      
90. Mt. Pleasant, 1033, 6-1, 87.714                           
91. Riverview ^, 993, 5-2, 59.857                               
92. St. Joseph, 986, 7-0, 97.143                  
93. Petoskey, 965, 4-3, 55.571                    
94. Mason ^, 958, 5-2, 62.000                                     
95. East Grand Rapids, 949, 4-3, 56.857                  
96. Linden, 944, 4-3, 52.000                                         
97. DeWitt, 941, 7-0, 101.943                      
98. Sault Ste. Marie, 928, 4-3, 52.857                       
99. Grand Rapids Christian, 927, 6-1, 87.571         
100. Detroit Denby ^, 909, 5-2, 60.833                    
101. Haslett ^, 907, 5-2, 65.143                  
102. Stevensville Lakeshore, 892, 4-3, 51.429      
103. Fruitport ^, 886, 5-2, 58.571                               
104. Romulus, 882, 4-3, 44.000                                   
105. Milan, 872, 7-0, 94.857                                         
106. St. Clair, 869, 7-0, 92.571                                     
107. Tecumseh ^, 869, 5-2, 66.000                            
108. Sturgis, 868, 4-3, 53.286                                       
109. Wayland Union, 861, 4-3, 59.143                     
110. Melvindale, 860, 6-1, 84.286                              
111. Plainwell, 852, 6-1, 77.429                  
112. Ionia ^, 851, 5-2, 62.000                                       
113. Sparta ^, 851, 5-2, 61.571                    
114. Eaton Rapids, 844, 4-3, 49.143                          
115. Detroit Old Redford *, 838, 5-2, 59.571         
116. Zeeland West, 833, 6-1, 78.286                        
117. Charlotte ^, 830, 5-2, 71.000                                              
118. Battle Creek Harper Creek, 823, 6-1, 76.286               
119. Dearborn Heights Annapolis, 818, 4-3, 49.143
120. North Branch, 809, 6-1, 70.429                         
121. Marysville, 791, 4-3, 51.000                                
122. Detroit Collegiate Prep, 790, 4-3, 44.286      
123. Three Rivers, 789, 4-3, 43.429                           
124. Edwardsburg, 787, 7-0, 81.143                          
125. Holland Christian, 785, 4-3, 50.000                  
126. Spring Lake, 783, 6-1, 72.714                             
127. Cadillac, 779, 7-0, 94.095                     
128. Ogemaw Heights ^, 754, 5-2, 63.381              
129. Croswell-Lexington, 738, 4-3, 47.714             
130. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep ^, 732, 5-2, 65.571             
131. Harper Woods Chandler Park Academy, 724, 6-1, 70.476
132. Yale ^, 704, 5-2, 58.143                                        
133. Comstock Park, 701, 7-0, 98.667                      
134. Detroit Country Day, 700, 4-3, 54.571            
135. Fremont, 697, 4-3, 40.714                   
136. St. Clair Shores South Lake, 690, 4-3, 49.571               
137. Otsego ^, 688, 5-2, 54.143                  
138. Corunna, 686, 4-3, 45.143                   
139. Lansing Sexton, 684, 7-0, 99.429                      
140. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 678, 4-3, 48.429
141. Allendale *, 676, 6-1, 77.429                              
142. Cheboygan ^, 660, 5-2, 66.238                          
143. Belding, 654, 4-3, 44.429                     
144. Battle Creek Pennfield, 652, 6-1, 65.857       
145. Williamston *^, 651, 4-3, 46.714                      
146. Grand Rapids South Christian, 645, 6-1, 81.857
147. Saginaw Swan Valley, 644, 7-0, 85.714          
148. Richmond, 642, 6-1, 74.000                
149. Dearborn Heights Robichaud, 635, 4-3, 54.714
150. Grosse Ile, 632, 4-3, 47.571                
151. Paw Paw, 632, 7-0, 78.857                  
152. Dowagiac, 621, 6-1, 67.000                                 
153. Lake Fenton, 613, 6-1, 70.429                           
154. Ludington, 610, 4-3, 43.000                                
155. Remus Chippewa Hills, 600, 4-3, 43.286        
156. Marine City, 596, 7-0, 98.286                             
157. Wyoming Kelloggsville ^, 591, 5-2, 53.286    
158. Clawson ^, 584, 5-2, 55.429                
159. Essexville Garber ^, 583, 5-2, 60.857              
160. Livonia Clarenceville, 577, 7-0, 84.571            
161. Portland *, 572, 7-0, 89.143                               
162. Freeland, 568, 6-1, 69.429                  
163. River Rouge, 568, 6-1, 57.619                            
164. Kingsford ^, 561, 5-2, 56.095                             
165. Wyoming Godwin Heights, 560, 4-3, 36.000
166. Parchment, 552, 4-3, 43.286                              
167. Ovid-Elsie ^, 549, 5-2, 55.429                             
168. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, 544, 6-1, 77.429
169. Clinton Township Clintondale, 544, 7-0, 81.143
170. North Muskegon ^, 541, 5-2, 51.571              |
171. Gladwin ^, 539, 5-2, 55.000                                
172. Frankenmuth, 527, 6-1, 79.000                         
173. Hopkins ^, 527, 5-2, 66.286                
174. Almont, 524, 6-1, 71.571                     
175. Newaygo, 523, 6-1, 66.000                                 
176. Standish-Sterling Central *, 520, 6-1, 72.571               
177. Olivet, 505, 6-1, 63.571                        
178. Ida ^, 504, 5-2, 60.143                                          
179. Detroit University Prep ^, 501, 5-2, 52.714  
180. Menominee, 501, 7-0, 86.857                           
181. Muskegon Oakridge, 496, 6-1, 67.143           
182. Grayling, 494, 6-1, 63.286                    
183. Reed City, 490, 7-0, 83.429                 
184. Riverview Gabriel Richard ^, 490, 5-2, 56.857             
185. Dundee ^, 489, 5-2, 45.857                
186. Lansing Catholic, 480, 4-3, 50.429                    
187. Clare ^, 451, 5-2, 51.857                                      
188. Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central, 445, 6-1, 76.286
189. Jackson Lumen Christi, 441, 7-0, 93.714        
190. Kingsley ^, 439, 5-2, 48.286                
191. Houghton, 437, 4-3, 34.196                
192. Roscommon, 431, 4-3, 36.286                           
193. Millington ^, 430, 5-2, 59.571                            
194. Warren Michigan Collegiate ^, 428, 5-2, 57.143
195. Kalkaska ^, 425, 5-2, 49.429                               
196. Madison Heights Madison, 424, 7-0, 86.857
197. Sanford Meridian, 423, 6-1, 61.143 
198. Michigan Center, 416, 6-1, 56.714   
199. Negaunee, 416, 6-1, 52.286                               
200. Hanover-Horton, 412, 4-3, 35.857                   
201. Montrose Hill-McCloy, 411, 7-0, 82.286        
202. Lakeview ^, 409, 5-2, 56.429                              
203. Grass Lake, 402, 6-1, 64.714                               
204. Shelby, 401, 7-0, 76.571                                       
205. Elk Rapids ^, 400, 5-2, 57.143                             
206. Ithaca, 399, 7-0, 80 .000                       
207. Manchester, 398, 6-1, 61.429                            
208. Hillsdale, 397, 4-3, 47.429                    
209. Niles Brandywine, 397, 7-0, 79.286 
210. Jonesville, 389, 6-1, 66.000                 
211. Grandville Calvin Christian, 388, 4-3, 47.143
212. Maple City Glen Lake, 388, 7-0, 72.000                          
213. Watervliet, 387, 7-0, 62.857                               
214. Vassar, 385, 4-3, 36.429                                       
215. Boyne City, 383, 6-1, 62.571                               
216. Clinton, 383, 7-0, 76.571                      
217. Byron Area, 380, 6-1, 58.000                              
218. Constantine ^, 379, 5-2, 46.857                        
219. Adrian Madison, 374, 4-3, 35.000                    
220. Burton Bendle ^, 374, 5-2, 51.476                   
221. Montague ^, 373, 5-2, 58.714                           
222. St. Charles, 367, 4-3, 36.000                                               
223. Quincy, 361, 4-3, 32.571                                      
224. Hartford, 351, 4-3, 39.000                                   
225. Cass City, 350, 4-3, 35.714                  
226. Indian River Inland Lakes ^, 348, 5-2, 40.333               
227. Schoolcraft, 346, 6-1, 70.429                              
228. Flint Beecher ^, 345, 5-2, 55.286                      
229. Reese, 337, 6-1, 58.000                        
230. Saginaw Nouvel, 333, 6-1, 73.429                    
231. Marlette, 332, 7-0, 69.714                  
232. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, 331, 6-1, 68.000
233. McBain, 326, 4-3, 38.571                     
234. Bath, 325, 4-3, 38.000                                           
235. Hesperia, 324, 4-3, 38.714                  
236. Carson City-Crystal, 323, 7-0, 74.286              
237. Bridgman, 320, 4-3, 39.000                                 
238. Lake City, 314, 6-1, 55.714                  
239. Whittemore-Prescott ^, 309, 5-2, 49.571     
240. Springport ^, 308, 5-2, 47.286                           
241. Lawton, 307, 7-0, 60.571                     
242. Southfield Christian, 306, 6-1, 55.571             
243. East Jordan, 302, 4-3, 33.857                             
244. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker ^, 301, 5-2, 51.714
245. Ishpeming, 301, 7-0, 67.857                   &