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)
Senior-Led Forest Hills Central Completes Historic Championship Repeat
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 10, 2023
EAST GRAND RAPIDS – Repeating as Division 2 boys lacrosse champion has been no easy task.
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central had missed doing so on four previous attempts.
But Saturday, the Rangers became just the second program in MHSAA history to repeat, defeating Detroit Country Day for the second consecutive year in the Final, 11-6.
“It’s really special (to repeat). We’ve had a couple opportunities to do that before and unfortunately haven’t been able to piece that together,” Forest Hills Central coach Andy Shira said. “This year, our seniors really took a step forward with how they lead and what it was going to take to get there. We had such a fantastic season last year, and we put them to the test this year. They met the challenge each and every day. We had some ups and downs, but the kids really stayed true to themselves and we came out on top.”
East Grand Rapids is the only other program to win consecutive D2 championships, when it won three straight from 2007-09. This year’s Finals was held at East Grand Rapids High School for the first time since 2013, giving the Rangers a hometown feel Saturday.
But Detroit Country Day (19-3) couldn’t have asked for much of a better start.
The Yellowjackets opened by scoring the first three goals when Mason Gal, Bonner Upshaw and Will Thompson each found the net over the first nine minutes of play.
Shira called a timeout to regroup the Rangers (18-4), and the game was never the same.
“We just needed the kids to settle down and execute better,” Shira said. “We had a little too much going on; we were a little frantic. So, once we settled down and the kids got to work, everything started to work in our favor.”
Forest Hills Central would lock in defensively, holding DCD to just one goal over the final 15 minutes of the first half.
While the defense was in control, the FHC offense rallied behind Magnus Salmon, who scored four times in the second period to lift the Rangers to a 6-4 halftime lead.
“Magnus Salmon was the difference in my mind,” Detroit Country Day coach Chris Garland said. “Bang, bang, bang. He gets three straight goals in the second and really carried the team on his back there. That was the big momentum shift in the game.”
In the second half, it was Jonah McConnell who had the hot stick. He found the net three times during the half and four times in the game to keep DCD from getting within reach.
Forest Hills Central goalie Crandall Quinn put on a dominant final three quarters of play, holding the Yellowjackets to three goals while making nine saves in net.
“It’s amazing. It’s great to be back-to-back state champs and win it in my senior year with all my buddies,” Quinn said. “We lost to (Country Day) earlier in the year, and it was great to see us bounce back.”
On the other side of the field, Country Day goalie Kellen Curby also had a strong showing, recording 13 saves for the Yellowjackets.
“Crandall Quinn is the best goalie in the state, but I think Kellen Curby is the next great goalie in Division 2,” Garland said. “He was outstanding in spots today and played an outstanding game.”
Caden Daley had two goals to lead Country Day on the night.
PHOTOS (Top) Forest Hills Central’s Crandall Quinn (4) advances the ball during his team’s Division 2 championship win Saturday. (Middle) FHC’s Magnus Salmon (3) works a shot between Country Day’s Hugh Aaron (17) and Shafeek Halabi (11). (Below) Oliver Aaron (10) rushes upfield with Collin Webb (7) defending. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)