10 to Remember: Winter 2014-15
April 2, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
As one might imagine, six straight weekends of MHSAA Finals produce enough highlights to distract us from our seemingly endless Michigan winters.
As explained to preface “10 to Remember” many times before, all championships are lifetime memories for those who achieved them. Those listed below are just one person’s thoughts on which moments from this season will continue to be discussed most in the seasons to come.
10. Brother Rice Rides Team Effort to Repeat
Birmingham Brother Rice repeated as Lower Peninsula Division 1 swimming and diving champion, and did so by winning by more than 100 points for the second consecutive season. But what made this Warriors finish so impressive was that it didn’t include a single individual championship – they won the opening and closing relays of the meet and took seven second-place individual finishes along the way.
9. Kearsley Sweeps Bowling Championships … Again
Flint Kearsley varsity bowlers are guaranteed one other title this season – MHSAA champions. Both the girls and boys teams won team titles in Division 2, just as they had in 2014. The Kearsley girls again defeated Bay City Western in the championship match, this time by a mere 30 pins, 1,242-1,212. The Kearsley boys also earned their title by defeating Bay City Western, and by only seven pins – 1,351-1,344.
8. Rockford/Sparta Owns the Weekend
Rockford hosted the MHSAA Gymnastics Finals, making the cliché “bringing home the title” a short trip – twice. The Rams, a co-op with Sparta, won the team competition by 1.750 points over reigning champion Canton; Rockford’s only other MHSAA gymnastics championship also was the first in any sport in school history, in the Lower Peninsula in 1989. Juniors Madi Myers and Morgan Korf led the effort with the third and fourth-highest all-around scores of the Team Final – and Korf came back the next day with a stunning move to take the Division 1 individual championship. She had finished 18th in Division 1 as a sophomore.
7. Breckenridge Returns to Cheer Elite
In its second season back as a competitive program, Breckenridge added to its stature as one of the most powerful competitive cheer programs in MHSAA history by claiming the Division 4 championship by nearly 24 points over runner-up Pewamo-Westphalia. Breckenridge has won eight MHSAA titles in cheer, but didn’t have a team for six seasons because of low participation until bringing back the program for 2013-14.
6. Cowboys Lasso First Basketball Title
First Detroit Western International won its first Detroit Public School League championship since 1922. Then it made its first MHSAA Semifinals since 1974. The Cowboys capped this season with its first MHSAA Final victory, a nail-biter 62-59 over Saginaw Arthur Hill in Class A. Western also defeated Detroit Catholic League A-B champion Detroit U-D Jesuit in the Semifinal, and finished the season 26-0.
No team traveled farther to the MHSAA Basketball Finals than the Calumet girls – and it can be argued that no team came from farther away in expectation to become an MHSAA champion. The unranked Copper Kings traveled more than 500 miles to arrive at the Breslin Center, then defeated top-ranked Laingsburg in a Class C Semifinal and perennial power Flint Hamady in the championship game to claim its first MHSAA title in the sport.
4. Skatzka, Olson Become Latest of the Greatest
Richmond’s Devin Skatzka and Davison’s Lincoln Olson pushed the list of MHSAA four-time individual champions to 21 by finishing their careers with big victories. Olson actually was the 20th, winning his match at 135 pounds by technical fall in Division 1. Skatzka then became No. 21 with four MHSAA titles, with a technical fall in the 160-pound match in Division 3.
3. Brighton Claims First Title in Final Match
Few Finals in any sport this winter carried the drama of Brighton’s 31-25 win over Hartland in Division 1 wrestling. Bulldogs 112-pounder Lee Grabowski entered the final match carrying his team’s three-point lead but facing the scenario that if he lost even by decision, and the team score went to 28-28, Brighton would lose the tie-breaker. Oh, and Grabowski was facing an opponent he’d lost to twice in league competition earlier in the winter. Grabowski won a 4-2 decision this time, and Brighton won its first team title.
2. Godwin Heights, Powers North Central Cap 3-Season Surges
Wyoming Godwin Heights and Powers North Central made the MHSAA record book by adding to a pair of the most successful three-season runs in boys basketball history – and capping them with championships. Godwin Heights won its first MHSAA title, downing Detroit Henry Ford 85-68 in the Class B Final, to finish the last three seasons a combined 74-5. North Central, meanwhile, downed Morenci 67-47 in Class D to win its first title since 1984 and cap a three-season 75-5 run.
1. Record Comeback Sends Saints Home as Champs
St. Ignace trailed undefeated Pittsford by 20 points two minutes into the Class D Final when it launched a comeback equaled by only one other team in MHSAA girls basketball history. The Saints tied the score with 35 seconds to play in regulation and continued the rally in the extra period to claim a 64-60 title-clinching victory. Detroit Cass Tech, in the 1987 Class A Final, also had come back from 20 down in the third quarter to win. The championship was St. Ignace’s fifth in girls basketball.
PHOTO: St. Ignace basketball players celebrate after the Saints tied the largest comeback in MHSAA Finals history on the way to claiming the Class D title. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Concord Basketball Celebrates Rare Feat: Foursome of 1,000-Point Scorers
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2026
Concord has a rich basketball tradition, but something has happened this year that no one could have predicted.
The Yellow Jackets have had four players – two girls and two boys – reach the career 1,000-point milestone.
“It seems like a pretty rare occurrence,” Concord athletic director Matt Lehman said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve never seen anything like it. There was a time where we’d go years without having one player do it. To have four players do it in one season is crazy.”
Senior Cieara Barrett started the avalanche when she reached the milestone just after Christmas against Adrian Lenawee Christian.
A couple weeks later, during the same game, Concord seniors Connor Stevens and Jett Smith both scored their 1,000th points on back-to-back possessions during the Yellow Jackets’ win over Quincy. It was also Senior Night.
“It was a close game, too,” said Smith. “I got it, then the next time down the court, Jett got his 1,000th point. We called timeouts both times. It was pretty cool.”
Stevens went into the game needing just six points to reach 1,000. “I knew I should get it that game,” he said.
Smith needed a bigger night to accomplish it the same game – and he came through, pouring in 35 points in the Concord win.
“It was cool,” Smith said. “A lot of people said they’ve never seen that before.”
Against Vermontville Maple Valley on Feb. 18, junior Bradie Lehman reached 1,000 points on a pass from Barrett off a steal.
Barrett, who is also Concord’s all-time assists leader, has played for three coaches over her four varsity seasons. After a 4-17 season her freshman year, Concord has won 20, 22 and 20 games. This year’s team is 20-2 heading into the District Semifinals on Wednesday.
“I’ve had multiple coaches, and they all have had a different style,” Barrett said. “I’ve had to learn how to play in all of them. I think they each have given me something different I can use in my game.”
Reaching 1,000 points, she said, “wasn’t my focus, but once I knew I was close it became a goal.”
Lehman, the daughter of the athletic director, also was brought up to the varsity at the start of her freshman season. She said that season she wasn’t a big scorer.
Concord’s girls play an up-tempo offense, averaging 55.7 points a game. Lehman said the team plays tough defense, too, which sets up the offense.
“We score a lot in transition, off turnovers,” she said.
Reaching 1,000 points took a burden off of her, she noted.
“I was out for a lot of games last year, so I didn’t think I could get it this year,” she said. “Once I got there, it was kind of a relief. I was thinking about it so much. I just wanted to get it done and move on.”
Lehman thinks the Yellow Jackets are poised for a deep tournament run again. Last season they reached the Division 4 Semifinals.
“I definitely think we can make it there (again),” she said. “We have a lot of pieces.”
The Concord boys (20-4) put the finishing touches on their Division 4 District title Friday.
During his four seasons on the varsity, Stevens – also Concord’s all-time leading rebounder – said he’s grown as a player.
“I’ve gotten stronger and better,” he said. “I’m more aggressive now. That has helped my confidence, too.”
Smith said he’s always had a shooters mentality. He had 36 points in the District Final and is among the top scorers in his area. The success of this year’s team is no surprise, he said, given the bulk of the team has been playing together since middle school. The Yellow Jackets have won 67 games over the past four years.
“We’ve been talking about this since the eighth grade,” he said.
Concord boys basketball coach Marcus Gill said Smith and Stevens are polar opposites in terms of personalities, but they make it work.
“They couldn’t be more different dudes,” he said. “Jett is wired to score. From day one, he was wired to score. He never met a shot he didn’t like. Connor, he’s so unselfish it’s almost selfish. I tell him we need him to score more.”
All four players now have banners hanging up in the Concord gym recognizing their accomplishment. The athletic department also has a Wall of Fame outside the gym that all of them may someday join.
Gill summed it up: “It’s a special time for Concord basketball.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Four Concord basketball players have reached 1,000 career points this season – from left: Bradie Lehman, Cieara Barrett, Connor Stevens and Jett Smith. (Middle) Lehman brings the ball upcourt. (Group photo by Doug Donnelly. Lehman action photo courtesy of the Concord athletic department.)