Did You See That? (April 22-28)
April 30, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The clouds finally began to break last week. And as expected, teams in every spring sport quickly got started catching up on what they'd had to put off most of this month.
Read on for some of the top headlines from all over the state, plus our favorite story – which highlights a pair of officials who will be recognized this weekend for their dedication to high school athletics.
Good Read of the Week
Father/Daughter rule the diamond: Ralph Burr will be among those celebrated by the MHSAA this weekend for 50 years of service as an official. But the past 20 have been his favorite – his daughter and umpiring partner Jackie will be recognized this weekend for her two decades of service. (Muskegon Chronicle).
Softball
McClure strikes again: Manchester pitcher Katie McClure moved into ninth in MHSAA history with 511 career strikeouts after totaling 27 more at Saturday’s Concord Invitational. Her team won the event by beating the host 3-1 in the final. (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)
One vs. One: In what has become arguably the best softball rivalry in the state, Stevensville Lakeshore swept Mattawan 4-2 and 9-4 on Thursday in a matchup of top-ranked teams. Lakeshore is ranked No. 2 in Division 2, while Mattawan holds the top spot in Division 1. (St. Joseph Herald-Palladium)
Another Clinton ace: That’s Cami Prater, who has taken over for graduated standout Tierney Nelson and no-hit the No. 5-ranked host at Saturday’s Springport Invitational. Prater hit a home run as Clinton won last season’s Division 3 championship game. (Adrian Daily Telegram)
Snowbirds down No. 1: Gaylord St. Mary scored in the bottom of the seventh inning to upset Division 4 No. 1 Onaway 2-1 a week ago before settling for a hard-earned split. (Gaylord Herald-Times)
Girls Lacrosse
“Play Day” perfection: Rockford hosted its fourth “Play Day” on Saturday, and the Division 1 top-ranked Rams finished it with wins over No. 2 Hartland and No. 3 Brighton. Grand Rapids Catholic Central, No. 2 in Division 2, also beat Hartland, along with Troy Athens and Division 2 No. 3 Ann Arbor Pioneer. (Grand Rapids Press)
Boys Golf
Upper hand, DCC: Detroit Catholic Central won what is one of the most competitive regular-season events every spring, claiming the Division 1 portion of the Traverse City Central Invitational by edging reigning champion Muskegon Mona Shores. Mona Shores finished third and DCC sixth at last season’s MHSAA Division 1 Final. (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Baseball
Long time coming: Gladstone earned its first wins 4-3 and 5-0 over Negaunee on Friday, and those also happen to be the program’s first victories in more than a half century. The Escanaba Daily Press reports this as Gladstone’s first baseball team in 54 years. (Escanaba Daily Press)
East Lansing rises at Dow: East Lansing needed just about every one of its 16 runs over the final two games of Saturday’s Midland Dow Invitational, but came away with the championship after beating Division 3 No. 4 Saginaw Nouvel 8-7 in the final. East Lansing advanced with an 8-6 win over Dow. (Saginaw News)
Weisenberger throws no-no again: Sanford Meridian had three wins after Thursday, and two were no-hitters by pitcher Jonah Weisenberger. He threw his second in that night’s opener against Beaverton. (Midland Daily News)
Portage Northern rallies: The Huskies look like they could be an emerging force again from the Kalamazoo area, and moved to 5-2 by winning their home invitational Saturday. Portage Northern defeated Division 4 No. 2 Gobles in the championship game. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Track and Field
Hornets buzz: Williamston’s boys, who tied for ninth at last season MHSAA Division 2 Final, won the Spartan Classic at Michigan State University, finishing eight points ahead of Division 1 power Rockford. Reigning Division 1 girls champion Grosse Pointe South won its side of the meet by a much more significant 51 points. (Playmakers.com (full results), Lansing State Journal)
All-Battle Creek is all Lakeview: Battle Creek Lakeview continues to dominate its city’s track and field scene, and again won its all-city meets Friday. The girls won despite not running standout Sarita Dotson, who was out with an injury. (Battle Creek Enquirer).
Football
Stoney Creek celebrates Fisher: A Rochester Hills Stoney Creek football coach remembered Thursday how Eric Fisher was 6-foot-1 and 150 pounds as a high school freshman. That night, Fisher was selected first in the NFL draft out of Central Michigan University by the Kansas City Chiefs. (Detroit News)
Century of School Sports: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 26, 2024
For hundreds of Michigan high school athletes, this weekend’s 11-Player Football Finals will provide their first and only opportunity to play any sport where the pros play – in this case, Detroit’s Ford Field.
But for a handful, it could instead be the first of several games to come on the Lions’ home turf.
According to data at Pro-Football-Reference.com, Michigan high schools have produced 791 players from 303 schools who have gone on to play in the NFL. They’ve come from all over, predictably from larger population areas like Detroit but also from several now-closed schools like Stambaugh High School in the western Upper Peninsula, which produced a pair of pros during the 1930s before decades later consolidating with Iron River to become West Iron County.
According to that data, 81 players from 61 schools are currently active in the NFL – topped by five from Detroit Cass Tech, including Jourdan Lewis (32) pictured above making a tackle against Detroit Cass Tech during the 2016 Division 1 championship game. Several more current players experienced Ford Field as a high schooler at the MHSAA Finals – perhaps most notably among them Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, who caught a touchdown pass in Detroit Martin Luther King’s 41-25 win over Muskegon in the 2018 Division 3 championship game, went on to play at University of Cincinnati and has been an All-Pro after both of his first two seasons as a cornerback for the New York Jets.
(Coincidentally, in that win over the Big Reds, Gardner and King played against another future pro – Anthony Bradford, now a starting offensive lineman for the Seattle Seahawks.)
Gardner and Lewis are among those who have formed rich tradition as well of Detroit producing NFL talent. According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic and FOX Sports, Detroit was tied for the fourth-most players on NFL opening-day rosters this season with 14 – trailing only Miami, Fla.; Las Vegas, Bradenton, Fla; and tied with Atlanta, Ga. During the most recent NFL draft, Michigan high schools saw seven players drafted over the seven rounds, with River Rouge one of 22 high schools nationwide with multiple players selected – Ruke Orhorhoro (Atlanta Falcons, from Clemson) and Kamal Hadden (Kansas City Chiefs, from Tennessee).
Gardner was selected fourth overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, joining a collection of impressive past Michigan high school stars picked at or near the top of the board. Among recent others: 2008 No. 1 Jake Long (Lapeer West/Michigan/Miami Dolphins), 2022 No. 2 Aidan Hutchinson (Dearborn Divine Child/Michigan/Detroit Lions), 2003 No. 2 Charles Rogers (Saginaw/Michigan State/Detroit Lions), 2005 No. 3 Braylon Edwards (Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher/Michigan/Cleveland Browns), 1984 No. 3 Carl Banks (Flint Beecher/Michigan State/New York Giants) and 1991 No. 5 Todd Lyght (Flint Powers Catholic/Notre Dame/Los Angeles Rams).
From this group, Rogers also played in an MHSAA Final catching a 60-yard touchdown pass as Saginaw defeated Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice 14-7 in the 1999 Division 2 championship game at the Pontiac Silverdome.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTOS Clockwise from top left: (1) Jalen Mayfield (74) exits the Ford Field tunnel with Grand Rapids Catholic Central in 2017. (2) Muskegon's Anthony Bradford (75) makes a block during the 2018 Division 3 Final. (3) Orchard Lake St. Mary's Allen Robinson eludes an East Grand Rapids defender in 2009. (4) Detroit Cass Tech's Jourdan Lewis (32) makes a tackle in 2016. (5) Detroit Martin Luther King's Ahmad Gardner catches a touchdown pass against Muskegon in 2018. (6) Lansing Catholic's Cooper Rush throws a pass during the 2011 Division 5 Final. All were on NFL rosters at the starting of training camp this summer.