Flights, Flexibility, Fun & New Friends All Parts of Beaver Island's Sports Story

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

August 27, 2021

Chartered flights and overnight stays for all away games are part of the normal routine for one northern Michigan high school’s student-athletes.

Opportunities to make lots of new friends always come with the games too.

That’s the norm for Beaver Island athletes representing the Lakers in soccer, volleyball and basketball while competing in the Northern Lights League.

“We fly everywhere, and it is awesome,” says second-year soccer coach Bryan Doughman. “I thoroughly enjoy the travel.

“The biggest challenge is the kids forgetting something, and I am ultimately responsible for ‘How am I going to fix this?’”

Beaver Island is the largest island in Lake Michigan, northwest of Charlevoix in the Lower Peninsula and southeast of Manistique in the U.P. The island is home to 600 year-round residents, with 60 students kindergarten through 12th grade, including 17 in grades 9-12 this school year.

Doughman manages a restaurant on the Island. He is a native of Cincinnati. Coaching the co-ed soccer team has permitted him to make his first trips to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island.

But social aspects provide the most benefit for the student-athletes. The Islanders will make their first trip of the season Sept. 15 to Concord Academy Boyne. As they do at home, the Islanders will play a game Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The overnight experience is provided by the home school.

Beaver Island volleyball“The kids will be seeing and meeting new friends,” Doughman noted. That’s what they ultimately look forward to … socially with different people.

“We all know the situation of going to work where you interact with the same people over and over again and can’t wait to meet new people,” he continued.  “That’s what they kinda go through their whole lives.”

Beaver Island’s girls volleyball team opened its season Aug. 27 with a pair of losses at Maplewood Baptist in Kinross, located in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

The soccer and volleyball teams will open their home seasons Sept. 10 and 11, hosting Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh, another U.P. opponent.

“The island community enjoys being able to come and cheer on the island teams,” noted second-year volleyball coach Bridget Martin.

The boys and girls basketball teams will go through their seasons this winter similarly. Athletics and social opportunities are a source of satisfaction for Kerry Smith, Beaver Island’s athletic director. She grew up on the Island and competed for the Islanders.

“The best part of being an AD on an island is the great deal of satisfaction I get from watching our kids be able to connect with other kids their age and play a sport and have a great time doing it,” Smith said.  “The kids here know what a privilege it is to be able to have a sports program, and they show their appreciation through their outstanding sportsmanship – and that makes me beam with pride!”

Dianna Behl, Beaver Island’s language arts teacher, will take over the girls basketball team this winter. She has served as the school’s Nordic ski club advisor the past four years and has practiced with the basketball team frequently. She was a three-year letter winner at Charlevoix High School.

She’s expects her team to benefit from players taking part in fall sports.

“I am very excited for our season because many of the players are participating in soccer and volleyball, so they should be in great shape for basketball season,” she said.  “I hope to build on their solid base.”

Dan Burton will be entering his seventh season as the varsity boys basketball coach. He’s also developing an elementary basketball program and guiding the middle schoolers. He expects to have a middle schooler or two join the high school team to fill out the roster this winter.

Beaver Island soccer“The best part of coaching is getting these the students an outlet for sports,” said Burton, a business owner on the island.  “Otherwise, there’s nothing much else to do in a small town like this. 

“Keeping a sports program is the most important thing.”

The soccer team also is relying on middle schoolers as it attempts to find enough players to compete.  The co-ed roster is dominated by girls, and the Islanders have only two seniors and one junior on the squad.

“I just hope we can improve a lot on our basics this year,” Doughman said. “I hope to just have fun. The biggest challenge is they’re all first and second-year players, except for a handful.”

Weather is the most difficult challenge of being an island-based sports team, the coaches acknowledged. 

“The greatest challenge of coaching an island team is Mother Nature,” Behl said. “The girls practice hard for days and then at the last minute bad weather comes in and the planes aren't flying us out, or our competition in, for the games.

“It is heartbreaking and happens every season,” she continued. “Nonetheless, I am so impressed with how well the girls handle it. It is a life lesson in flexibility, and they are pros.”

Because of those frequent weather changes, spotting the athletic director in the school hallways often is a bad sign.

“The weather is a major frustration and always a factor for us,” Smith said. “On game day, I try not to  show my face down in the high school wing because the kids always think I am coming to deliver bad news.”

Beaver Island basketballThe school often chooses which teams will go on to MHSAA postseason play based on their success in the league. Beaver Island sent its boys basketball team to Districts last season.

The last Beaver Island team to move past the first round of Districts was the volleyball team in 2013. The Islanders beat Mackinaw City and went on to play Engadine before seeing their season come to an end. The school’s best-ever tournament run was by the soccer team in 2005.

“They were District winners; this was the farthest any team has ever gone,” Smith recalled. “It was a huge celebration. The team was greeted by the fire trucks, parents and pretty much the whole community when they flew home that day.”

Beaver Island anticipates sending the boys basketball team to Districts again this year, and possibly the girls basketball team as well. 

Mackinac Island is the Islanders’ favorite place to travel, according to coaches’ consensus. That’s the host for the volleyball and soccer Northern Lights Conference tournaments.

“One of our favorites would have to be Mackinac Island because the girls enjoy flying to another island, riding in the horse drawn carriage and the rare treat of getting to go to a Starbucks,” she said.

Mackinac Island will host conference tournaments for soccer Oct. 16 and volleyball Oct. 23.

Tom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS: (Top) Beaver Island's Ella Moon passes during a volleyball match this fall. (2) Olga Burton winds up to serve. (3) Beaver Island plays its lone home soccer game during the 2020 season. (4) The Beaver Island boys basketball team participated in District play this past winter. (Photos courtesy of the Beaver Island athletic department.) 

Record-Setting Scorer Kerby Eager to Take Frankfort on Another Tournament Run

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

February 7, 2025

Three months ago, Carter Kerby’s football season ended by injury – and it left him and his coaches wondering about his basketball future. 

Northern Lower PeninsulaBut now everyone clearly knows the outcome – and it’s everything they could have desired.

Kerby immediately underwent surgery following the practice injury that prevented him from fulfilling his role as the starting quarterback for Frankfort in the MHSAA Football Playoffs. The injury was a clean break of his left collarbone. Seven pins and a plate were implanted into his shoulder. 

He was told he could start shooting a basketball four weeks after surgery. Fast-forward to today, and the right-handed Kerby is shooting with surgical precision – and with high hopes of leading Frankfort to Breslin Center for the Divisions 4 Final.

Frankfort, which plays at Gaylord on Saturday, sports a strong supporting cast for Kerby, and younger players have gained invaluable experience.

“We have a pretty well-stacked team, and we have some young sophomores and juniors,” Frankfort coach Dan Loney said. “They’re getting a ton of experience, and I think that’s going to pay off down the stretch for us.”

Kerby, a 6-foot-3 guard, is ready to finish off the regular season and begin his fourth postseason run with the Panthers. Last year Frankfort fell 44-42 in the District Final to Maple City Glen Lake, which went on to reach the Quarterfinals. In Kerby’s sophomore year, the Panthers reached the Semifinals, and his freshman season ended in the Regional.

“The goal is to go back to the Bres,” said Kerby, who tied the single-game school record of 46 points last month. “I try not to look too far ahead. We have finish off the regular season before anything, and it’s all going to come down to defense, rebounding and just grit.”

Frankfort is 9-7 and out of the Northwest Conference race this season. But the Panthers are well-known for their ability to make a playoff run.

They’re coming off a 49-37 win over Brethren on Thursday during which Kerby had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Tristin Griffin, who averages 12 points per game, added eight and collected 10 rebounds as well.

“It’s the same thing that happens most years, if I am being honest,” acknowledged Kerby, who is averaging 21 points per game.  “We’re not always a regular-season team.”

Kerby (24) launches a jump from the top of the key against Lake City.Loney, in his seventh season as the Panthers head coach, agrees with his senior star.  Win-loss records don’t accurately show the strength of his team, he notes.

“Our conference is tough,” Loney said. “I think we have the pieces to string together some postseason wins.”

Frankfort’s tournament run will begin and possibly end in Suttons Bay. The Panthers’ District features Buckley and Leelanau St. Mary – teams with similarly-strong histories of recent postseason runs. Add in Traverse City Christian, which is eyeing a potential first District championship, and the ever-improving host Norsemen.

The Panthers are anxiously awaiting the Feb. 16 release of District pairings.

“It’s a tough District,” Looney noted. “We’re definitely going to have to come to play. That’s why we’re trying to work the kinks out, get on a roll and figure out what we have to do to win these tight games.”

Four of Frankfort’s losses were by six points or fewer, including two four-point setbacks to Benzie. The Panthers won one and lost one to Glen Lake. St. Mary topped Frankfort by 10. The other loss was a lopsided one courtesy of Division 2 Grand Rapids South Christian December after the Panthers had started 5-0.

“Our record doesn’t quite show what we really are,” Loney said. “We need to find a way to win those close games down the stretch.”

Kerby, who would trade his individual school record for another deep postseason run, hasn’t ruled out topping his 46-point effort. He’s had 43 in a game this year as well.

“I would love to go for more, and it feels great putting in the time and effort and seeing things come out of it,” said Kerby, who also reached 1,000 points for his career in late January. “But I just want us to get rolling and get in a good groove – I’d give anything up for that.”

Kerby scored 28 points in a 62-52 season-opening win over Suttons Bay after being cleared the night before. He hadn’t even seen the practice floor.

The injury happened as the Panthers were practicing a potential trick play prior to their football playoff opener. Kerby was hurt attempting to catch a pass. He had surgery two days later, on his birthday.

“The ball was just a little overthrown, and the ball hit me in the hands and hit the ground,” Kerby recalled. “I stepped on the ball and flipped, landing shoulder first.”

The Panthers faced Beal City, a familiar football postseason opponent, but without their starting QB. Beal City won that matchup 47-0 and went on win the Division 8 championship four weeks later.  

Loney recalls getting the message his star shooter had been injured in football practice, and that his ability to play basketball this winter had become uncertain.

“It’s definitely not the text message I wanted to see the last week of football,” Loney said. “After surgery, we started sizing up when he would be back, and we were at peace with it.”

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Frankfort’s Carter Kerby throws down a dunk against Leland. (Middle) Kerby (24) launches a jump from the top of the key against Lake City. (Photos by Nick Cooper.)