Did you see that?
April 30, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's only the end of April. But a number of Michigan's contenders already are in championship form.
Check out our best of results, news and notes from the week that was April 23-28.
Boys Track
What a toss: Walled Lake Central junior Cullen Prena tossed the discus an incredible 187 feet, seven inches, to win the event at the Oxford Invitational by nearly 36 feet. In fact, the toss would've won every MHSAA Final dating back to 2003. Earlier in the week he broke the Oakland County record as well. He also won the shot put at Oxford. (Oakland Press)
Girls Track
South still on top: Reigning MHSAA Division 1 champion Grosse Pointe South earned a strong early win at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational ahead of a field that included annual powers Rockford and Williamston and a strong DeWitt team. Bay City Western won the boys meet. (Playmakers.com)
Baseball
Flint Final set: Goodrich’s Bob Foreback and Davison’s Timm Rye will bring more than 1,000 victories worth of experience into this season’s Greater Flint Area Baseball Tournament championship game when their teams face off on Memorial Day. The two will meet after emerging from the field this weekend. (Flint Journal)
How do you score that: Most telling lines from the Kalamazoo Gazette’s story about Comstock turning a triple play and three double plays in one game came from Comstock coach Rich Bailey: “We have not played particularly good defense. In fact, our defense has been a problem. The skill is there; the execution hasn’t been.” (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Girls Soccer
Poll position: Rochester Adams continued to affect the Division 1 rankings while moving up itself. Adams likely helped to knock rival Rochester out of this week’s honorable mentions with a 2-0 win Thursday. The Friday before, Adams downed then top-ranked Troy 4-1. The Highlanders have opened 7-0 and are ranked No. 3 in Division 1. (Oakland Press)
Boys Basketball
Flint Powers coach moves on: Tim Herman led the Flint Powers Catholic boys basketball program only seven seasons, but they were seven of the Chargers’ most memorable. Herman resigned his post last week after more than 100 wins and the team’s only MHSAA championship, in Class B in 2009. (Flint Journal)
Football
Michigan's finest take next step: At least nine former MHSAA athletes were drafted by NFL teams (by my count) over seven rounds Thursday through Saturday. They were:
- DE Nick Perry (Detroit Martin Luther King/University of Southern California) Green Bay, first round
- DT Mike Martin (Detroit Catholic Central/University of Michigan) Tennessee, third round
- QB Kirk Cousins (Holland Christian/Michigan State University) Washington, fourth round
- WR Keshawn Martin (Westland John Glenn/Michigan State University) Houston, fourth round
- CB Chris Greenwood (Detroit Martin Luther King/Albion College) Detroit, fifth round
- S Trenton Robinson (Bay City Central/Michigan State) San Francisco, sixth round
- LB Audie Cole (Monroe/North Carolina State University) Minnesota, seventh round
- RB Edwin Baker (Oak Park/Michigan State University) San Diego, seventh round
- K John Potter (Grand Haven/Western Michigan University) New York Jets, seventh round
Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].
Bark River-Harris Girls Hoops Rolling Into February on 10-Game Win Streak
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
February 1, 2024
HARRIS — The Bark River-Harris girls basketball team has been enjoying a successful season with 10 straight victories and a 12-1 overall record to show for it.
Playing at Escanaba High School, this fall, however, was a new experience for the exchange student from Italy. The Broncos also need only to look back to mid-January to find this season’s biggest highlight to date.
BR-H overcame a 21-point third-quarter deficit to stun neighboring Escanaba 66-63 in a home nonconference match-up Jan. 19.
Senior guard Nina Bower drained a 23-foot jump shot from the left wing on a pass from junior Marissa Ives at the final buzzer, enabling the Broncos to secure that victory.
“Marissa gave me a beautiful pass,” Bower said. “I had no choice but to put it up. Coach (Matt Richer) told us going into overtime was better than turning the ball over. We beat them pretty good the first time (62-47 at Escanaba) and kind of expected to do that again.
“We had an amazing crowd, but haven’t had a game this close. It was a tournament-like atmosphere. We were frustrated at halftime because we hadn’t been playing up to what we could. Although, I think we’ve been playing well together overall and our communication has been good for sure.”
The Broncos’ only loss took place Dec. 11 at Menominee, where they dropped a 64-48 decision.
“We learned if we don’t play together, we can be beaten,” Bower said. “We also learned to overcome adversity.”
The Broncos look to match up most with Munising (11-1) at the top of the Skyline Central Conference Large-schools division this season. They face off Feb. 23.
Bark River-Harris will then attempt to take back the Division 3 District title. The Broncos defeated Menominee 37-33 to clinch the District championship in 2022, but fell to Gladstone 49-44 in overtime in a District Semifinal a year ago.
Bower is averaging 13 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals a game. Senior Lauren Zawada, with an 18-point average, is the team’s leading scorer. She also averages 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists.
“We had kind of a rough start (against Escanaba),” Zawada said. “Things weren’t working out. They’ve improved from the first time we played them. At halftime, we didn’t know how we were going to get back up. We got a little more aggressive and tightened up our defense. Once we got within single digits, our crowd really got into it.
“As seniors we knew this would be the last time we’d play Esky. They have very good players and coaches. This is kind of a feather in our hat.”
BR-H trailed 42-21 early in the third quarter before starting its comeback.
“Coach talked to us at halftime,” senior McKenzie Hoffmeyer said. “We needed to rebound better and work as a team. That was the big highlight of the season. This is the first time we’ve beaten them twice in the same season. They’re a tough team. I think that game will keep us going for a while.”
“At Menominee we just weren’t working as a team, but knew as long as we worked as a team we’d be okay. We’ve been finding the open person and working the ball for high-percentage shots. We need to work on our rebounding and box out more.”
Hoffmeyer averages 17 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists.
The Broncos have followed up that Escanaba victory with big wins against Rapid River and Crystal Falls Forest Park and defeated Marquette on Monday 38-32.
“We have to work on our attitude against other teams,” Zawada said. “We also need to work on not getting down on ourselves. We’ve been playing together for so long. Things are starting to click.”
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTOS (Top) Bark River-Harris senior McKenzie Hoffmeyer (23) drives past a Marquette defender during her team’s 38-32 win Monday. (Middle) Senior teammate Lauren Zawada (center) muscles her way to the basket. (Photos courtesy of Mitch Vosburg/Escanaba Daily Press.)