All Saints Celebrates on Big Screen
July 31, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Forty years ago, Bay City All Saints brought its hometown the first of two straight MHSAA boys basketball championships – which continue to stand as the only ones won by a Bay City school.
As part of the Class of 1974’s 40-year reunion this weekend, organizers will show the broadcast of that 71-59 victory over Detroit Servite in the Class C Final, on Friday at the downtown State Theater.
The team was coached by Russell “Lefty” Franz, who sits 14th in MHSAA boys basketball coaching history with 545 wins (545-215) at All Saints, Bay City St. Stanislaus and Pinconning achieved from 1953-1991. All Saints repeated as Class C champion under Franz in 1975 with a 79-69 win over Cassopolis.
The Bay City Times caught up today with three starters from that team who are expected to return for the showing of the game. Click to read more.
Rooting for Haske
Northern Michigan basketball fans and supporters from all over are cheering on Traverse City St. Francis boys basketball coach Keith Haske, who is battling throat cancer and seeking treatment in Houston, according to a report by the Petoskey News.
Haske has coached three boys teams to MHSAA Class C runner-up finishes – St. Francis in 2012 and Charlevoix in 2004 and 2001, and also coached at St. Johns prior to taking the Rayders job in 1998. He also coached the Charlevoix girls team to a Class C runner-up finish in 2004.
Click to read more about Haske and how to donate to his treatment.
Thanks, Gary Hice
The MHSAA welcomed 43 new athletic directors to East Lansing today for training as they take over their schools’ athletic departments.
An athletic director we’ll certainly miss is Petoskey’s Gary Hice.
Hice – an MHSAA Allen W. Bush Award winner in 2002 for his contributions to high school athletics – has retired after 30 years as his school’s athletic director.
Click to read more, again from the Petoskey News, about Hice’s service to his school and community.
PHOTO: The Bay City All Saints Class of 1974 reunion this weekend will include a showing of the boys basketball team’s Class C championship game win over Detroit Servite.
Embracing Expectation, Top-ranked Cranbrook Claims D3 Title by Single Point
October 25, 2025
MIDLAND – Pressure comes with being a favorite. It also provides an opportunity.
That’s how Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood viewed this weekend’s Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals at Midland Tennis Center. The Cranes entered as the No. 1-ranked team and didn’t bend under pressure, neither of that expectation or when Detroit Country Day pressed them through the final round of the tournament.
Both teams advanced all eight flights to Saturday’s semifinals, and Country Day actually ended up with one more flight winner. But Cranbrook sent two more flights into those title-deciding matches, the difference in edging the Yellowjackets 34-33 to take back the championship – the Cranes’ second in three seasons – and after finishing third to co-champs Country Day and Ann Arbor Greenhills a year ago.
“We’ve had many tough moments this year and a lot of positive moments as well,” said senior Jace Bernard, who finished runner-up at No. 1 singles. “And both of those, especially the negative moments, have helped us get to our top level that we know has allowed us to become state champs.”
Cranbrook advanced to championship matches at seven flights with top-seeded senior Kenneth Hu at No. 3 singles, top-seeded junior Josh Day at No. 4, and top-seeded sophomore Dylan Popat and junior Andy Yu at No. 4 doubles claiming championships.
Country Day advanced five flights to title deciders, with four champions – top-seeded sophomore Ricky Jeong at No. 1 singles, top-seeded freshman Samuel Kole-James at No. 2, fourth-seeded senior Charlie Khaghany and junior Preston Blum at No. 1 doubles and fourth-seeded senior Rick Nie and freshman Shiv Kumar at No. 2 doubles.
Holland Christian certainly impacted the championship race as well. The Maroons – last season’s champions at Division 4 – finished third with 26 points, with second-seeded junior Eli Whitmore and senior Evan Disselkoen winning the No. 3 doubles championship and two other flights finishing runners-up.
“There was a lot of parity this year in our division. But we had the deepest team, and ultimately I think that depth is what got us over the hump to the victory,” Cranbrook coach Steve Herdoiza said. “It’s just nice as a coach to see it all come together. … They really worked as hard as they could, and I think they saw the fruits of that effort come today, and they really did play their best tennis today.”
Country Day’s Jeong claimed the No. 1 singles title after winning the No. 3 championship last year as a freshman. He faced a familiar opponent in the final – Bernard, who he defeated for that No. 3 flight title in 2024 – and won the matchup this time 6-1, 6-3.
Hu, meanwhile, won the No. 2 singles championship last season before adding his second championship Saturday at No. 3.
Cranbrook, Country Day and Greenhills have combined to win every Division 3 Finals team title since 2008, and Greenhills finished fourth this time with 23 points as those four teams put some distance between themselves and the rest of the field.
“Today could have (gone) any way. DCD could have gotten it, Greenhills could have gotten it, Holland Christin which was a severe underdog, could have gotten it as well,” Hu said. “At the end, it came down to how this team is shaped.
“At the beginning of the season, our team wasn’t as high of a level as we are currently. But that’s how every season goes. We start low, a little shaky with the form and bonding. But as the season progresses, the bond deepens. And everyone feels closer, and it’s just a big family here. I think this is what made us come over the top today.”
(PHOTOS by High School Sports Scene.)