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)

Football Rivalries Top This Week’s MHSAA.tv, Media Partner Broadcast Schedules

By Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

September 22, 2021

A series of football rivalries will be showcased on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network, as well as media partners Bally Sports Detroit and State Champs! Sports Network during another busy weekend of broadcasts Sept. 24-26.

This week’s Bally Sports Detroit live cable football broadcast will feature Lansing-area rivals Grand Ledge (4-0) and DeWitt (3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday with first place on the line in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue. That game can be watched on BSD’s PLUS channel or online on BSD’s website or app. On Sunday, State Champs will broadcast live on its website the annual “Boys Bowl” between Detroit Catholic League Central contenders Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice (3-1) and Detroit Catholic Central (3-1), with kickoff at 1 p.m.

This weekend’s MHSAA.tv football schedule includes more than 165 games, including a number of notable Friday night rivalry clashes. Annual powers Rockford (4-0) and Hudsonville (2-2) are among four teams undefeated in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red play after two league games, and Dearborn Fordson (4-0) takes on Belleville (3-1) in a matchup that regularly helps decide the Kensington Lakes Activities Association East champion. Pewamo-Westphalia (4-0) faces Fowler (2-2) for first place in the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, Edwardsburg (4-0) and Plainwell (4-0) match up to decide the leader in the Wolverine Conference, and Frankenmuth (4-0) and Freeland (4-0) will clash for first place in the Tri-Valley Conference East. While not a league game, Boyne City (4-0) and Traverse City St. Francis (4-0) also will meet in a matchup of undefeated teams.

See links below to those and a few more events of note being broadcast on the Network this week:

FOOTBALL

Sept. 24, 6:35 p.m.: Fowler at Pewamo-Westphalia
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Novi at Canton
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Belleville at Fordson
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Freeland at Frankenmuth
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: West Bloomfield at Lake Orion
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Montrose at New Lothrop
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Edwardsburg at Plainwell
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Hudsonville at Rockford
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Muskegon Mona Shores at Zeeland East
Sept. 24, 7 p.m.: Clinton Township Chippewa Valley at Romeo

Sept. 25, 1 p.m.: Boyne City at Traverse City St. Francis

VOLLEYBALL

Sept. 22, 5:25 p.m.: Kalamazoo Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m.: Maple City Glen Lake at Leland
Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m.: Cadillac at Gaylord

BOYS SOCCER

Sept. 22, 6 p.m.: Midland at Flint Powers Catholic
Sept. 25, 10 a.m.: Berkley at Rochester
Sept. 25, 12:30 p.m.: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian at Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett

The MHSAA.tv schedule total also includes more than 200 volleyball and more than 80 boys soccer matches this week. Click the links below to see all three sports’ listings in full:

Football – Volleyball – Boys Soccer

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.

More than 400 MHSAA member schools are participants in the School Broadcast Program, now in its 13th year, producing games using traditional hands-on student crews or via Pixellot cameras installed at stadiums and gymnasiums across the state. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.