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March 12, 2012
Check out our must-know scores and news from March 5-10.
(Click on links for coverage.)
Gymnastics
Where no team has gone before: Grand Ledge indeed accomplished what no team had before Friday by winning its fifth-straight MHSAA team championship. Senior Christine Wilson and junior Sara Peltier then won the Division 1 and 2 individual titles, respectively, on Saturday. (Second Half Team) (Second Half Individual)
Swimming and Diving
Celebratory dip: Saline isn’t the first boys swimming and diving program to win three straight MHSAA championships. But it’s definitely the program of the day after claiming another Division 1 title Saturday and breaking four records -- including two all-division/class records -- in the process. (Second Half)
Hockey
Consider it avenged: There are few better ways to go out than with a championship after falling in the Final the year before. That’s how Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice and super senior Mackenzie MacEachern finished off this season Saturday, beating Grosse Pointe South 4-1 after falling by the same score in the 2011 championship game. (Second Half)
Girls Basketball
Only one can move on: Detroit Martin Luther King won its third and final meeting this season against Detroit Pershing to move on to this week’s Class A Quarterfinals. King had lost to Pershing by five during the regular season, then beat Pershing by three in the Detroit Public School League Final before defeating Pershing again 54-53 on Thursday in a Regional Final. (Mlive.com)
Boys Basketball
Another championship down, two to go: Top-ranked and reigning Class B champion Lansing Sexton eliminated what was perceived heading into the postseason as one of the biggest obstacles standing between the Big Reds and a repeat. They downed No. 4 Lansing Catholic 66-56 in a District Final on Friday to improve to 22-1. (Lansing State Journal)
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Pioneers Find Winning Way Again, Edge Forest Hills Eastern
By
Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com
June 12, 2021
HOWELL — If East Grand Rapids senior Ted Campbell was the difference-maker for the Pioneers during the MHSAA Division 2 Final on Saturday, junior Jack Higgins had to be the answer.
Campbell scored three early goals to help East Grand Rapids build a 4-1 lead, and Higgins scored two key goals to help his team fend off comeback attempts by Ada Forest Hills Eastern during the Pioneers’ 12-10 victory.
“I think I was just in the right spot at the right time,” Higgins said. “The coaches had us going through our offense, and the ball came to me and the opportunity presented itself. I just finished.”
The first of his two goals came in the opening minutes of the second half. Forest Hills Eastern had trimmed the lead to 4-3 thanks to scores by seniors John Morgan and Kevin Sprague. Higgins scored unassisted to build the lead back to two.
Late in the third quarter, with the Hawks again applying pressure after cutting the lead to 8-6 on a goal by senior Nicholas Mesler, it was Higgins who once again stepped up and scored to make it a three-goal game.
“The coaches drill it into our minds that there are going to be ups and downs throughout the game and we just need to keep our composure, play our game and we’ll come out on top,” Higgins said after the game.
The Pioneers weathered a couple more Hawks rallies in the fourth quarter. This time it was Campbell who answered the call. He scored the first two goals of the final period — giving him six for the game. Forest Hills Eastern would not get within two goals after that point.
“I just try to get everyone fired up to play every day and make things as fun as possible,” said Campbell, who finished the day with six goals. “If helping the team win means scoring goals, that’s what I’m going to do.”
The state championship was the Pioneers’ third since the 2017 season, but the first for Campbell, who was on the junior varsity team the last time his school won a title in 2018.
“It feels amazing. It was an underwhelming season in 2019 — to say the least,” he said. “We thought we had a chance last year, then the season got canceled. We had no chance, so to even just be out here on this field — let alone win it — feels so great. This is the best way to bounce back.”
Morgan finished with a team-high three goals for Eastern (15-6), which also finished runner-up in 2019. Mesler and Sprague finished with two goals apiece for the Hawks, while Samuel Bowen, Kaden Dietrich and Preston Hoexum scored one. Senior George Hoexum made six saves in goal.
Mason Margherio had three goals and two assists for East Grand Rapids, which finished the season (20-2). Kase Vandermolen also scored for the Pioneers. Junior goalie Adam Hall made 10 saves to get the win for EGR, which also beat Eastern 7-6 in their early-season matchup.
“They’re a different team. We’re a different team,” EGR interim head coach Adam Brant said. “We’ve made changes since we watched that film from a month and a half ago. I’m pretty pleased with our overall effort. I think that’s what it came down to, hustle.
“This team is just so resilient. They’re just an incredible group of guys. This is a testament to the players. I’m just so happy for them. I can’t think of a group of guys who deserve it more.”
PHOTOS: (Top) East Grand Rapids players celebrate during Saturday’s Division 2 championship game. (Middle) A pair of players work to gain possession.