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.)
De La Salle Continues Reign, Delivering Previously-Unbeaten Unity's Lone Defeat
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
November 1, 2025
GRAND LEDGE — Call this the continued resurgence of a program that’s long been a state boys soccer power.
Before last season, tradition-rich Warren De La Salle Collegiate hadn’t won a Finals championship in nearly two decades after claiming five from 1990-2005.
De La Salle seems to have returned to its glory days again, capping back-to-back championships Saturday for the first time since 1992 and 1993 with a 2-0 triumph over Hudsonville Unity Christian in the Division 2 Final.
It was the seventh state title in school history, all under legendary head coach Thaier Mukhtar.
“Credit goes to the boys,” Mukhtar said. “It goes to them for just listening to what they were supposed to do, and they got it done.”
In winning title No. 7, De La Salle (21-4-2) did something no other team was able to do before the championship game – defeat a Unity Christian contender also looking for its seventh Finals title.
De La Salle scored first with 29:03 remaining in the first half on a goal by senior James Spicuzzi.
Following a throw-in into the box by senior Max Wyszczelski, the ball deflected off the head of a Unity Christian defender to the foot of Spicuzzi, who buried the chance to make it 1-0 De La Salle.
“I was kind of anticipating it coming to me,” Spicuzzi said. “It definitely was just composure. That was really it.”
De La Salle then took a 2-0 lead with 3:41 to go in the first half when senior Nikolai Zacharko converted a penalty kick after Wyszczelski was fouled in the box.
Unity Christian had a golden chance to get back in the game with 21:36 remaining in regulation as De La Salle was called for a foul in its box, giving Unity Christian a penalty kick.
But Pilots junior goalie Dominic Baldarotta saved the kick and the ensuing rebound to keep the score 2-0.
“I knew right when he placed the ball down where he was going,” Baldarotta said. “He placed on the other side so I just went the other way. It was a lot of momentum. It really changed the entire course of that second half.”
From there, De La Salle held firm defensively, preventing Unity Christian from getting quality scoring chances as the clock ticked down.
“Once a team gets a lead, the other team knows they have to get it done and they throw everything at you,” Mukhtar said. “We weathered the storm and settled the ship down a little bit. The game worked out the way we wanted it to work out.”
Unity Christian, which won the Division 3 title two years ago, finished its season at 19-1-4.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Unity Christian head coach Ian Billin said. “They play very similar to us. Just a lot of high pressure and try to make things chaotic. Kudos to them. They get one early, and that changes the dynamic of the game.
“For us, I was really proud of our guys in the second half. To go down 2-0, we really settled in and we created in the second half quality corner kicks, free kicks and we got the PK as well. We just couldn’t get the back of the net today. But I’m really proud of this group and what they’ve done all season.”
PHOTOS (Top) De La Salle’s James Spicuzzi (5) and his teammates celebrate during Saturday’s Division 2 Final. (Middle) The Pilots’ Andrew Corder (14) controls the ball with Unity Christian’s Landon Crump (19) and Kyler Berghuis (3) working to gain possession. (Below) Berghuis gets up high to stop a shot headed toward his team’s goal. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)