Get Prepped for a Fantastic Finale
May 24, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We love this time of year. And not just because school is nearly out for summer.
There’s little argument that the week ahead is the most exciting of each MHSAA school year. And you’ll want to set your bookmarks for MHSAA.com and Second Half for updated results and coverage not just next week – but through the rest of this spring season.
The MHSAA.com Score Center is our home for scores from all District softball, baseball and soccer games, which begin Tuesday. You also can view real-time brackets for every District by going to the “Sports” page for each, and updated brackets for lacrosse by visiting our girls and boys pages for that sport as well.
In the Lower Peninsula, we’ll have same day or next morning results as golf Districts are played, and first-day results from next weekend’s Girls Tennis Finals on May 31 – followed by final results at the conclusion of play June 1. We’ll post Finals results for Upper Peninsula golf and tennis as we receive them Wednesday and Thursday, and then results for all seven Lower and Upper Peninsula Track and Field Finals as they come in June 1.
But results are only the start. As we have during the fall and winter, Second Half will provide coverage including photos from every MHSAA Final – beginning with Wednesday’s Upper Peninsula Girls and Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals. Keep an eye on Second Half throughout the week, or follow the Second Half feed on the cover page of MHSAA.com.
Transfer rule clarification
We released Monday the actions our Representative Council took earlier this month at its Spring Meeting, including an addition to the athletics-related portion of our transfer rule. Based on some questions we’ve received and read, here’s some further explanation of what will be installed for 2014-15:
The longer period of ineligibility for athletes who transfer because of athletics is not new. This has previously existed for cases in which a school could prove that it lost a student to another school purely for sports-related reasons.
What’s new is what must be proven and by whom for the longer ineligibility period to take effect. Now, a school that lost a student does not have to file a report with the MHSAA for the case to be considered. As long as one of a set of offending activities can be verified – including practicing, competing or training with a member of the new school’s coaching staff during summer or non-school sports activities or seasons – that student will have to sit 180 days instead of the usual period of roughly a semester. The 15 exemptions that allow a student to be eligible immediately – like making a full move to a new district or a student’s school closing – may still apply.
So, to conclude: The longer athletics-related ineligibility period is not new, just how athletics-related transfers are considered and reported. Click to read the full release.
Kickoff is coming
And that means we’re collecting varsity football schedules.
In fact, we have most of them thanks to our athletic directors, their secretaries, coaches and many others who chip in to help us keep complete and accurate information throughout the season.
But there are still plenty of steps in getting ready for August – and a huge one is locking down correct leagues for our teams this season, especially as schools continue to switch things up.
Check out your school’s schedule page by click on the “Schools” button in the menu bar at the top of MHSAA.com and searching for your school. Once on the school page, click the blue “Boys” button next to football. The schedule will appear in the middle of the page, with standings to the left.
See an error in a schedule or the standings? Email me at [email protected]. I thank you in advance.
Kramer’s words of wisdom
Long before Roy Kramer served as athletic director at Vanderbilt University, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference and creator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for Division I college football, he coached multiple sports at East Lansing High School.
He recently was named winner of this year’s Duffy Daugherty Award, given in honor of the former Michigan State University coach to a valued coach or contributor to college football. The award, presented in East Lansing, is among those recognized by the College Football Hall of Fame.
Kramer finished his acceptance speech with a stirring endorsement of the sport that brought the crowd of more than 300 to its feet. If you’re a fan, former or current player or coach, see below.
PHOTO: Athletes race toward the finish of a relay during this spring's Alma College Invitational. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)
Shamrocks Clinch 7th-Straight Division 1 Title with Familiar Finals Dominance
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 8, 2026
PLYMOUTH — In another dominant championship game performance, Detroit Catholic Central made it seven straight Division 1 titles Saturday with a 6-0 win over a Northville team making its first appearance in a Final.
As has been the case often in the championship game, Catholic Central was just too much at USA Hockey Arena.
The Shamrocks outshot the Mustangs, 47-15.
Junior Myles Schlack had a goal and two assists, and juniors Sam Masek and Elian Szerlip each had a goal and an assist to lead the way for DCC (29-1-1).
“It doesn’t get old,” Catholic Central head coach Brandon Kaleniecki said. “I think each one’s special in their own way. We try not to look at the numbers in a row. Each year is its own special team, and that’s what makes it so much fun for us.”
It was even more fun for Schlack, a defenseman who netted three points.
“We didn’t know much about them coming in,” Schlack said. “We just wanted to play our game. We knew we could dominate them that way, and we did.”
Northville ended its longest MHSAA Tournament run at 23-9.
“We have absolutely no regrets,” Northville head coach Ryan Ossenmacher said. “We didn’t lose a minute of time this year to get better. For some of the guys it’s just a start, for some of the guys it was a great finish.”
Catholic Central peppered Northville with shots in the first period but couldn’t get on the scoreboard until there was 2:16 left before the first intermission, when junior Luke Perdue jumped on a rebound in front of the Northville goal and shot it into a half-open net to make it 1-0.
The Shamrocks made it 2-0 with 10:34 remaining in the second period on a goal by Masak, who fired a point shot that went just underneath the crossbar.
Catholic Central then took a 3-0 lead 2:19 later when Schlack scored on a shot near the top of the left face-off circle.
The Shamrocks took a 4-0 lead with 12:53 remaining in the game on a goal by Szerlip, who took a shot that deflected off a Northville defensemen and fluttered underneath the crossbar.
With 9:07 left, Catholic Central went up 5-0 when junior Lucas Szmagaj scored on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
Senior Kristian Marchese then got into the act, scoring on a shot from the right face-off circle to give Catholic Central a 6-0 lead with 3:10 left.
“It was not a year where we were going to show up and dominate from the get-go to the end,” Kaleniecki said. “We knew there were going to be some challenges and a building experience as the year went on. The record sounds great whatever it ended up being, but there was a lot of challenges along the way where these guys rose to the occasion and got better at the end. Obviously, I love the way we played down the stretch.”
PHOTOS (Top) Detroit Catholic Central players celebrate during their Division 1 Final win Saturday and USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) Northville’s Jake Jurcisin (12) controls the puck on his team’s end of the ice. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)