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.)
Port Huron Proud to Wear Perfection After First 9-0 Regular Season Since 1952
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
October 28, 2026
The T-shirts celebrating Port Huron High’s Macomb Area Conference Blue football title came in a little later this year, but for good reason.
They were in need of a design tweak to add another, even bigger accomplishment: the school’s first 9-0 season since 1952.
“It was getting to be six and seven (wins), so I looked it up and I didn’t let anybody know except for the athletic director,” Port Huron coach Dan Perkins said. “We won our league and she shared with me the shirt design. and I said, ‘Well, hold off on those, we might want to add something to it.’ So it’s pretty neat.”
Port Huron defeated rival Port Huron Northern 13-10 this past Friday to finish off its perfect regular season. While the players may not have been aware of exactly how long it had been, they did know they were part of something special.
“It means the most to me, definitely, to do it with these guys and this type of team,” senior linebacker and tight end Aiden Forstner said. “Coming through, I haven’t seen a team do it (go undefeated), and I wanted to be the first to do it. All summer long, that’s what we thrived for. Every day in the weight room, all the conditioning, all the days that sucked, we thrived to be 9-0. Getting that accomplishment means a lot to me. (Beating Northern) definitely made it special, because everyone was expecting a blowout in that game, but it being as close as it was, and it being a nail-biter, it will stay with me forever. It being the school from the north, it made it 10 times better.”
It’s not as though the Port Huron program has lacked success. This year’s playoff berth extends the Red Hawks’ current streak to eight years. The 2019 team won a District title, as did the 2011 group, which came the closest to similar perfection, falling in its final regular-season game to finish 8-1.
“It’s crazy, and Northern’s last one was 1986, so for the whole town that’s quite an accomplishment,” Perkins said. “Doing that is very, very hard. We had a team in 2011 that’s getting inducted into the (Port Huron Sports Hall of Fame) that was a juggernaut, and we just slipped up the one game. It’s quite an accomplishment.”
Led by a suffocating defense, the Red Hawks have been overpowering throughout the season, winning every game outside of Weeks 1 and 9 by at least two scores. For the season, they’ve held opponents to 12.3 points on average while scoring 37.2. The offense is quarterbacked by junior Jaxon Johnston, a 6-foot-2 junior with a big arm who is in his first year in the program.
He’s been able to grow into the system as Port Huron’s defense has been dominant from start to finish. Only Anchor Bay (in overtime) and Madison Heights Lamphere scored more than 14 against Port Huron this season.
“We can hang our hat on our defensive crew, and that’s very nice,” Perkins said. “As long as our field position is right, going 80 yards against us is hard, real hard to do. And running the football has been real difficult for teams; we’re real stout up front. But every one of our defensive backs has multiple interceptions, and as a team we’ve got 19. The whole group has done a fantastic job, and coach (Brandon) Wardlow has done an awesome job with them, and the kids have really just responded. They take on the challenges. That’s been our calling card, and then the offense has been kind of a work in progress and has gotten better throughout the year.”
The defensive line is leading the charge on that side of the ball, paced by tackles Dylan Volpe and Ja’Michael Thomas, who create havoc up the middle. Both are juniors who stand over 6 feet tall and weigh in at 280-plus. Volpe has drawn interest from Division I college programs across the country, reporting offers from Florida State and Eastern Michigan.
And they’re surrounded by even more playmakers up front.
“Our D line is crazy. I think all of us have over three sacks,” Volpe said. “Me, Ja’Michael Thomas, Parrison Rome on the other end, Jayvon Bolar, Hunter Rock and Bryant (Braley), our D line is crazy.”
It’s also making things easier for the rest of the defense.
“It makes it so much easier,” senior linebacker Jaxon Winchester said. “Sometimes the linemen can’t even get to us because they’re putting in so much work. It’s just great to have, especially like Volpe and JT up there, they’re just so fast off the ball. It’s so nice to be part of, and I get some plays out of it.”
The next test for the Red Hawks is a matchup with New Boston Huron on Friday at Memorial Stadium in the opening round of the Division 3 playoffs. A win would give them a school record-tying 10th win and make them the first team in school history to reach 10-0.
Port Huron is the No. 1 seed in its region, meaning any game through the Regional Final would be played on the Red Hawks’ home field. But with Warren De La Salle Collegiate and Detroit Martin Luther King lurking as potential District and Regional opponents, the Red Hawks still feel as though they are doubted.
“I believe we’re very underlooked,” Forstner said. “Even if it’s like, ‘Where’s the competition that these guys have played?’ I feel like we’ve played at the level competition is, and where we need to be, and it will show when those weeks come.”
If they’re able to defend home field over the next three weeks, the Red Hawks would become the first team in program history to advance to a Semifinal, which would probably warrant one more shirt design.
“It would mean so much,” Winchester said. “Senior year, so it’s the last year, and I really think we can do it. We have the team, we have to come in and work every day like we have been all season. Port Huron Red Hawks coming, man. That’s all I have to say.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Port Huron’s Dylan Volpe (64) works against a blocker during his team’s Week 2 win over Marysville. (Middle) Quarterback Jaxon Johnston surveys the field. (Below) Carter Bankston (11) contends for the ball with a Marysville player. (Photos by Ryan Dowd/Blue Leprechaun Photography.)