(VIDEO) Wounded Warrior Project: DeWitt vs Portland
October 13, 2011
DEWITT -- The meeting of two state-ranked teams always will ratchet up a typical football night. Both communities, naturally, want to see which is better on the field.
But during the hour before the opening kickoff Oct. 14 of DeWitt’s game against Portland, those teams and their supporters together recognized a grander cause. The night was dedicated to the Wounded Warrior Project, which aids U.S. soldiers (and their families) who have suffered service-related injuries and illnesses.
Rain washed out some planned attractions, but the evening certainly was memorable. Both teams wore camouflage jerseys and each sent its captains to the pre-game coin toss with an honorary captain representing the military. A number of other service personnel were involved – including a local color guard that presented a 30-foot flag for the national anthem.
It’s understandable if people’s visions of wars and our military are focused an ocean away. But connections hit close to home. DeWitt’s honorary captain, Lansing’s U.S. Army Spc. Jacob Shumway, recently returned from a deployment and has been in the service for two and a half years. He’s a 2003 Lansing Everett graduate, and his mother Susan Land is the principal at Lansing Eastern. His cousins Ethan and Collin Rennaker start for DeWitt, and he walked alongside them for the pregame flip. Shumway plans to attend Lansing Community College and study digital graphic design.
Both teams are considered contenders for their respective state titles next month; DeWitt is ranked No. 7 in Division 3, while Portland is No. 4 in Division 5. And they played like it – Portland prevailed 22-20 in overtime.
A great game, no question. But similarly significant was a preliminary figure of more than $11,000 raised for the WWP.
For more about the Wounded Warrior Project visit http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Record Win Streak Setters Meet in Opener
September 4, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Friday’s varsity football season opener between Ithaca and Hudson at Alma College was the first time the teams had met on the field.
But the programs have been mentioned in the same conversations concerning record success frequently over the last decade. They are the only programs statewide that have won more than 44 consecutive games during the state’s long history of the sport.
The Hudson teams from 1968-1975 put together a 72-game winning streak that remains the MHSAA record and fourth longest in national high school football history. The Tigers’ streak ended at the first MHSAA Finals with a loss to Ishpeming in the inaugural Class C championship game.
Beginning on opening night 2010 and until a loss in the 2014 Division 6 Final, Ithaca mounted a serious challenge to Hudson’s accomplishment, winning 69 straight games to rank second in Michigan and tie for seventh on the national winning streak list. The Yellowjackets’ run included four straight Division 6 championships. Coincidentally, both teams won their first MHSAA Finals titles in 2010 – Hudson won Division 7 that fall.
Ithaca won Friday’s first matchup against Hudson, 38-24, and the teams came together after for this photo below (and partially above).
Journalist’s Schools to Remember Him
Southwestern Michigan is mourning the loss of Sturgis Journal sports editor Corky Emrick, who died unexpectedly Aug. 19.
The high schools he covered for two decades also will be honoring the memory of their ardent supporter.
Bronson, Burr Oak, Centreville, Constantine, Colon, Mendon, Sturgis, Three Rivers and White Pigeon all will be wearing helmet stickers and uniform patches with “CE” in green and yellow during this 2019-20 school year.
Emrick joined the Journal staff fulltime in 1999 and took over as sports editor in 2008, according to the paper’s report after his death. Click to read that Sturgis Journal piece in full.