Eventually, the sun will shine ...
April 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We all believe that, right?
Rain – and snow for some – has been the buzzword of this spring sports season. Just about every newspaper is writing about it and every athletic director, coach, player and parent is dreading it on a now-daily basis.
But eventually, we expect the weather to clear up and teams to play catch-up. To that end, there are limitations teams in some sports face when attempting to make up their games – but also opportunities to take advantage of while trying to fill out their regular-season schedules.
- Girls soccer and girls and boys lacrosse teams may play only three games during a week, Monday through Sunday. A weekend tournament – which generally includes 2 to 3 shortened games – counts as only one in this equation.
- Baseball and softball teams can play as many games as they want in a week, but no more than two on a school day – and baseball pitchers must not pitch for two days following their 30th out in a week.
- For tennis, an individual may not play more than three matches in one day – unless she or he is playing in a league championship tournament featuring more than eight schools for which a fourth match would decide the championship. That player also could not have played more than six sets that day heading into that fourth and final match.
- Golf and Track and Field do not have weekly contest limitations. Track and field athletes can compete in only four events per day.
As expected, a number of teams – especially for baseball and softball – are scheduling to smash in as many contests as possible into the next four weeks. Postseason play for tennis and lacrosse begins May 16 – three weeks from today.
But teams do have options.
One rarely used but anticipated to be used more this spring is an opportunity to continue playing regular-season contests through the final day of the MHSAA tournament in that sport. For example, a baseball team can continue making up games through June 15, the day of the MHSAA Finals in Battle Creek. A tennis team can play regular-season matches through June 1, etc.
Also, the MHSAA Executive Committee approved Thursday to allow for this spring two additional multi-team tournament dates for soccer and lacrosse, which will give those teams an opportunity to get in a few more games. That means soccer teams will be allowed to play in four multi-team tournaments instead of two, boys lacrosse four instead of two and girls lacrosse five instead of three.
Teams will have to do some juggling, no doubt, and all other tournament stipulations still apply (games generally are shortened so more can be played, etc.). But with a little creativity, teams could at least get in a few of their make-up games in this way.
Also, the Executive Committee approved a motion to waive the four-contest MHSAA tournament entry requirement for all Upper Peninsula schools in all sports this spring. As of the weekend, snow still covered parts of the U.P.
Gaps shrinking
Much has been discussed about minimums for all four MHSAA classes for 2013-14, and how they are the lowest student totals in at least a decade.
It’s true. The floor in Class A is 893 (down from 911 this school year), Class B starts at 429 (down from 449), Class C at 207 (down from 217) and Class D at 206 (down from 216).
However, there is a better way to crunch the numbers: Consider the shrinking gaps between the largest and smallest schools in each class.
For 2013-14, the gap in Class A is 1,888 students – 261 students fewer than 2007-08 and nearly 900 students fewer than in 2005-06. The gaps between largest and smallest in Classes B, C and D also are trending smaller – which means each class actually includes schools more similar in size, instead of a perceived other way around.
SAC 2013-14 on the way
We’re thankful for a valuable group of students who help us throughout the school year – our 16-member Student Advisory Council, made up of eight seniors and eight juniors from all over the state who are charged with providing feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, while also assisting at MHSAA championships and with special projects like the “Battle of the Fans.”
Selecting the next class to join is a highlight of every spring – but hardly an easy process.
A six-member selection committee, myself included, considered 62 sophomore applicants today from all over the Lower and Upper Peninsulas, representing all four of our classes and nearly every sport we sponsor.
Every candidate is impressive for a variety of reasons. That’s what makes this difficult – we could pick any number of combinations to make up our new SAC class, and no doubt leaders galore will emerge from another impressive group.
But there are only eight spots on the council. And we’ll announce who received them later next week.
PHOTO: A golfer attempts to keep warm during a round on a dreary day earlier this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Grand Haven Playmakers Rising to Challenge After Loss of Senior Standout
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
September 9, 2026
Grand Haven was expected to have one of the state’s best backfield duos this season in seniors Andrew Willemsen and KV Korenstra.
That duo became singular in July, when Willemsen tore his ACL for the second-consecutive year, a gut-punch both for him and the Buccaneers’ coaching staff – which was planning on handing the ball to Willemsen 20-plus times per game.
Despite that emotional setback, Haven is off to its first 2-0 start since 2018, as the team’s many other offensive standouts – notably Korenstra and senior quarterback Easton Hintz – have stepped up their games.
“We all feel so bad for Andrew, and it just makes us appreciate things so much more,” said Korenstra, a Ferris State commit who rushed for 519 yards and caught 26 passes for 291 yards last fall.
“It’s good for our morale to be 2-0, but we all know that we can play so much better and that we have to play so much better, especially on offense.”
Grand Haven (2-0) heads into the gauntlet of its schedule the next three weeks, starting with Friday night’s Ottawa-Kent Conference Red opener at defending league champion Hudsonville, followed by East Kentwood at home and at Rockford.
The Bucs have found a way to win two tight games, a 35-34, triple-overtime thriller over visiting Spring Lake in the opener and then a hard-fought, 17-14 road win at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer last week.
“It hasn’t always been pretty, but we have been able to finish games out, which hasn’t been the case in the past,” said fourth-year Grand Haven coach Andrew Biedenbender, a Mount Pleasant native who played offensive line at Grand Valley State. “We can’t puff our chests out. We understand what’s ahead of us, but going into it with the confidence we now have is big.”
Senior quarterback Easton Hintz has been the catalyst, completing 28-of-42 passes (67 percent) for 359 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions. The dual-threat playmaker also has rushed for 168 yards and a score.
Hintz employs a variety of receiving options, starting with 6-foot-2 wideout Amani Frierson, another Ferris State commit, who has 11 catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.
An emerging weapon for the Bucs is junior tight end Grayam Beyer (6-6, 225), who had a breakout game against Spring Lake with four catches for 43 yards, including two TDs. Beyer already has five Division I college offers and visited Ohio State last Saturday.
If those weapons draw excessive attention, Hintz often hooks up with shifty junior slot receivers Lennon Jorgensen and Drew Hammerle.
Korenstra has been solid, if not spectacular, with 157 rushing yards and two TDs through two games. Korenstra, who finished third at the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals in the 100-meter dash last spring (10.79), has been slowed by a sprained ankle which he suffered early in the opening game.
“If you saw him early last week, you would have never thought he could play a football game,” said Biedenbender of the senior speedster, who was clocked at 4.28 seconds in the 40-yard dash this summer.
“So he has been fighting that ankle but still has hit a couple of 15- or 20-yard runs, but we’re waiting for him to break off a couple of 40- or 50-yarders.”
While he waits for Korenstra to get back up to full speed, Biedenbender occasionally allows himself to imagine what might have been this fall if Willemsen had stayed healthy.
The three-sport standout and athletic freak burst onto the scene as a sophomore with 1,321 yards and 11 TDs. He missed his entire junior year after tearing his ACL during summer workouts but came all the way back and was part of two school-record sprint relay teams in track this spring.
His recovery was so impressive (running a 4.3 40-yard dash and squatting almost 500 pounds early this summer) that he was offered a scholarship at Grand Valley. Willemsen was working out at GVSU in July when the unthinkable happened – a full tear of his other ACL.
“It’s like having a sports car in your garage that you never had a chance to drive,” said Biedenbender, whose main assistants are Matt Naber (offensive coordinator) and Eric Rozema (defensive coordinator). “He’s one of the best athletes ever at Grand Haven that no one’s going to know about. He has some great football ahead of him but, unfortunately, it won’t be for us.”
The Buccaneers still possess a variety of weapons that other teams would love to have, with an experienced senior quarterback in Hintz directing the show. Hintz (6-0, 185) threw for 975 yards last fall despite missing about one-third of the season with an injury, but is now on pace to easily eclipse the 1,000-yard passing plateau.
Haven’s 2-0 start also has put the team in position to make some noise in the conference race and compete for five wins and the school’s first playoff berth since 2019.
The quick start is a continuation of success at Grand Haven, which won the Division 1 boys volleyball title in the spring, to go along with a Finals appearance in softball and a fifth-place team finish in boys track.
“So much of it comes down to belief,” said Hintz, a crafty left-hander who is just as comfortable throwing on the run as he is in the pocket. “Our aiming point is making it to the playoffs and then winning a playoff game, which is something that hasn’t been done at this school in a long time. I believe we have the team to do it.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Fourth-year Grand Haven coach Andrew Biedenbender celebrates with wideout Amani Frierson (1) during last week’s victory over Muskegon Reeths-Puffer. (Middle) KV Korenstra (12) follows his blockers against Spring Lake. (Below) Senior quarterback Easton Hintz (9) prepares to take a snap against Reeths-Puffer. (Photos by Josh Walters/JWaltVisuals.)