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Breslin Bound: Girls Report Week 7

January 15, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We're officially midway through the MHSAA girls basketball season. And the contenders are starting to break away from the pack. 

Those on this week's list of high performers look like strong possibilities to keep rolling into their District tournaments that begin in only six weeks.

Records and scores below are based on those submitted to the MHSAA.com Score Center.  

1. Clarkston (8-1) – The Wolves have cruised since their only loss, to Macomb Dakota a month ago, and handed outstanding Southfield-Lathrup its only loss this season (37-35) on Friday.

2. Crystal Falls Forest Park (11-0) – Unless you made it for an early Class D Semifinal last season, or are a Division I college coach, you may not know much about Lexi Gussert. But get ready to hear more. 

3, Posen (10-0) – Halfway through its regular season, Posen still hasn’t experienced a game closer than 19 points.

4. Battle Creek St. Philip (7-0) – The volleyball power continues to show plenty hoops ability as well, scoring at least 50 points in every game this season.

5. Holly (9-1) – The Bronchos haven’t fallen again after losing to Hartland by five on opening night, and are only six wins from equaling last season’s total.

6. Davison (8-2) – After starting 0-2, Davison has run off eight straight wins including a strong 62-28 victory over Saginaw Arthur Hill on Friday.

7. Oxford (8-1) – The Wildcats have won six straight since losing to White Lake Lakeland (and added a seventh-straight win tonight by beating Troy by three to go to 9-1).

8. Walled Lake Western (7-2) – The Warriors need only five more wins to already equal last season’s total, and handed solid Waterford Kettering its only loss, 43-42, a week ago.

9. Gladwin (7-1) – The Flying Gs’ only loss was by two to Roscommon, and they no doubt are looking forward to that rematch on Jan. 29.

10. Sterling Heights Stevenson (7-1) -- Stevenson knows how to win the close ones, with two one-point victories plus a 60-55 overtime win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North on Thursday. 

PHOTO: Davison won its eighth-straight game last week by defeating Saginaw Arthur Hill. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

Tony Coggins serves as PA announcer during a 2022 Division 3 volleyball match at Kellogg Arena.

In Memoriam: Tony Coggins (1971-2023)

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 24, 2023

The MHSAA and Holly school communities are grieving this week after the sudden loss of Tony Coggins, a shining light in his educational community and an enthusiastic supporter of school sports as a public address announcer for several of our largest championship events.

But while that cheerful tone has been quieted, it surely will not be forgotten by the many fortunate to enjoy an event in the presence of that voice and the joyfulness he brought into every arena, press box and classroom.

Coggins, 51, died Saturday. He is survived by his wife Kristy and children Emma and Bradlee, among several family and friends from his local and greater sports communities.

Tony CogginsHis career as a PA announcer began during his freshman year of high school in 1985, when his father Dale Coggins – Flushing’s athletic director at the time – couldn’t find anyone else to announce middle school football games. That was 39 years ago, and this fall Tony Coggins was in his 24th announcing at Holly, where he taught and served as an administrator in addition to his role as “Voice of the Holly Bronchos” for football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, competitive cheer and swimming & diving over the years.

Coggins has been a mainstay among MHSAA Finals PA announcers over the last decade in football, basketball, softball and most recently volleyball. He lent his voice to college sports at University of Michigan as well. “Tony was a huge part of our Finals events. It’s hard to imagine it being the same without him,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said.

As part of the run-up to the MHSAA public address announcers clinic in 2018, Coggins said this about what drew him to the microphone:

“I have zero athletic ability whatsoever, which is interesting because my father was an all-state running back. But I enjoy being involved, and I've always been the one for history and statistics and knowing what's going on,” Coggins said. “This is a way for me to be involved. It's a way for me to use a talent I've been given; public speaking has always come pretty naturally for me.

“So I worked at my craft to get better. I got better from watching the people around me, from studying the people I like, and the people – if I saw someone I didn’t care for – I'd make a note and say to myself, ‘Don't do that.’ I take feedback from people very personally, and I mean that in a good way. If somebody takes the time to come up and say, ‘You did this well; I think you should change this,’ that means they care about the program also. We all have the same goal in mind, and that's to make the experience good for the high school student and the parents, the fans, that come there.”

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at St. John Vianney, 2415 Bagley Street in Flint. There will be visitation from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, and at the church from 10 a.m. Saturday until the time of the Mass.