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High 5s: 11/28/12

November 28, 2012

The final MHSAA championships of the Fall 2012 season give us our final High 5s before heading into winter. This week, we recognize both an individual and a team that achieved new heights. 

Drake Harris
Grand Rapids Christian junior
Football

A 6-foot-4, 180-pound receiver who has committed to play both football and basketball at Michigan State beginning in 2014, Harris posted one of the finest receiving season in MHSAA history capped by playing a huge role in his team's first MHSAA championship. The Eagles beat Orchard Lake St. Mary's 40-37 in overtime Saturday for the Division 3 title. His eight catches for a Finals-record 243 yards and a touchdown put his unofficial season totals at 91 catches for 2,015 yards and 25 scores. Once confirmed, the season yardage will rank as the most in MHSAA history and 12th nationally for one season (his yards per game rank fourth and yards per catch sixth on the NFHS lists). Harris also ranked fourth for catches and second for touchdown catches on the MHSAA single-season lists.

Just ducky: "I'm probably more energized now after he hit that kick," Harris said after teammate Joel Schipper's winning field goal Saturday. "I was probably more tired a little bit during the game. But we condition all practice. We play fast. We play like Oregon, move the ball, (at) a high tempo. We're all in condition, so we really weren't that tired." 

Bring on the new guy: Harris has caught more than 3,000 yards worth of passes from senior Alex VanDeVusse over the last two seasons, but will play with a new quarterback in 2013. "I've been with Alex since sophomore year. I guess I have to start over and work hard all next season and hope to get back here."  

Be like Calvin: "Calvin Johnson, I want to be just like him when I get older. I know I'm a little skinny right now, but when I get to college, I know they'll put weight on me. I watch film on him all the time, watch him running routes. So I take my game after him. He's the best wide receiver in the NFL right now, probably one of the best wide receivers to play the game, in my opinion." 

Click to read more. 

Portland football

The Raiders, unranked despite entering the postseason 8-1, finished with their first MHSAA title won in their first trip to the Finals. Portland defeated Grand Rapids West Catholic 12-9 in the Division 5 championship game after knocking out 2011 champion Flint Powers Catholic in the Regional Final. For the playoffs, Portland outscored its five opponents 169-66 while holding three to nine or fewer points. In finishing 13-1 and setting a school record for wins, the Raiders beat nine playoff teams total including eventual Division 3 Semifinalist DeWitt. 

Click to read more. 

Previous 2012-13 honorees:

Pewamo-Westphalia’s Alonna Thelen (40) moves the ball up court Thursday while defended by Roscommon’s Mara Williams.

Bengel Seizes Big-Play Moment, Takes Over Final Quarter to Send P-W to Saturday

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

March 19, 2026

EAST LANSING – Pewamo-Westphalia senior guard Elly Bengel wasn’t afraid of the big moment.

Bengel took charge when the Pirates were in the midst of a scoring drought while hanging on to a slim lead over Roscommon in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s first Division 3 Semifinal.

She scored seven of her game-high 20 points during the final period as P-W secured a 46-33 win over the resilient Bucks at Breslin Center. 

“She’s not afraid of the moment, and that’s what big-time players do” P-W coach Steve Eklund said. “They can feel it, and they can sense that the team was a little bit shell-shocked and she decided to step up and went and got a bucket.”

It was the team’s 24th win of the season by 10 points or more and sent the Pirates (26-2) to their first Final since 2019, tipping off at 4 p.m. Saturday. They will attempt to finish a P-W Division 3 sweep, as the boys team won last weekend’s championship at Breslin.

After watching a double-digit lead dwindle to six (33-27) with six minutes remaining, Bengel took matters into her own hands and sliced through the defense for a three-point play to push the advantage back to nine.

The Bucks’ Nemiah Carper (24) and Cami Hamina defend the lane as P-W’s Adrianna Eklund (10) looks to the perimeter.Roscommon would get no closer.

“We moved the ball better and got her into a catch-and-rip opportunity, and she did a good job of drawing contact,” Eklund said.

Bengel scored seven consecutive points during the final quarter and made 7-of-9 shots from the field, including a perfect 2-of-2 from behind the 3-point arc.

“This is my fourth year on the team, so I knew I had to step up and do it for my team,” Bengel said.

P-W’s defense held the Bucks to 29 percent (9-31) shooting from the field, while forcing 19 turnovers.

“A of credit goes to Roscommon because that was one of the finer defensive teams we've played all season, and they made us work for everything,” Eklund said. “But we love to play defense, and that’s what we base our program around and it stood up. We got some big stops late.”  

P-W led 26-15 at the half after back-to-back triples by Adrianna Eklund and Bengel, but the Pirates scored only seven points during the third quarter.

Adrianna Eklund, a sophomore, finished with seven points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Roscommon was making its first trip to the Semifinals since 1996 and finished 21-4.  

“That’s just a really good basketball team,” Bucks coach Greg Kauffman said. “I’m proud of the kids, they played hard, but they were just a little bit better. Sometimes it comes down to that.

“We returned 90 percent of our team so we felt like we could get here this year. We felt we deserved to be here, and we just ran into a team that was a little bit better than us.”  

Senior guard Zoey Kauffman led Roscommon with 14 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Mara Williams added 11 points.

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Pewamo-Westphalia’s Alonna Thelen (40) moves the ball up court Thursday while defended by Roscommon’s Mara Williams. (Middle) The Bucks’ Nemiah Carper (24) and Cami Hamina defend the lane as P-W’s Adrianna Eklund (10) looks to the perimeter. (Photos by Lilanie Karunanayake/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)