Montrose Junior Named NFHS Network's Best
By
John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus
April 26, 2017
Eric Vandefifer, a junior at Montrose High School, was named today the Best Student Broadcaster nationally in the NFHS Network School Broadcast Program Awards.
For the second straight year, James Kitts, the coordinator of the School Broadcast Program at Montrose, was a finalist in the Teacher of the Year category.
Just last week, Montrose was named the “Program of the Year” in the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program Excellence Awards for 2016-17, claiming the top honor for the fourth straight year. Montrose took first place in four categories.
Vandefifer also was honored recently by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association as the top Student Broadcaster in Division 3. Vandefifer and his broadcast partner David Sackrider placed second in the Play-By-Play Category in the MHSAA SBP awards and first in the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation Sports Announcing Team category this year.
In its eighth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics.
The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
All sporting events – live or delayed – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.
Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of live video streams being produced by SBP members (All times Eastern):
Wednesday, April 26
- JV Softball – Onaway at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- JV Softball – Onaway at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 27
- Girls Soccer – Lake Fenton at Montrose, 4 p.m.
- Baseball – Rudyard at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Troy Athens at Lake Orion, 4:30 p.m.
- Baseball – Rudyard at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- Softball – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Calumet, 6 p.m.
- Boys Lacrosse – Holt at East Lansing, 7 p.m. (On Demand)
Monday, May 1
- Baseball – Mt. Morris at Montrose, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Baraga at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- Softball – Baraga at Calumet, 6 p.m.
- Girls Soccer – Clarkston at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 2
- Baseball – L’Anse at Calumet, 4 p.m.
- JV Softball – Oscoda at Rogers City, 4 p.m.
- JV Softball – Oscoda at Rogers City, 5:30 p.m.
- Baseball – L’Anse at Calumet, 6 p.m.
- Girls Soccer – Montrose at Corunna, 7 p.m.
Be sure to check the Upcoming Events page at MHSAA.tv for schedule additions every day.
The NFHS Network has announced new pricing for 2016-17, eliminating the Day Pass and lowering the cost of a Month Pass to $9.95. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.
PHOTO: Montrose's Eric Vandefifer (left) and Conner Pyrc call an MHSAA Girls Soccer Semifinal last season for the NFHS Network. (Photo courtesy of Montrose High School digital media.)
More Championships Come to MHSAA TV
October 31, 2017
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
Championship action in two sports plus the second week of PrepZone gridiron coverage will provide fans of MHSAA action lots to choose from this weekend.
Coverage begins with four District Final games in the MHSAA Football Playoffs – powered by the Michigan Army National Guard – on the PrepZone on FoxSportsDetroit.com and FOX Sports GO! on Friday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m.:
- Canton at Belleville (Div. 1)
- Grand Rapids Catholic Central at Wyoming Kelloggsville (Div. 4)
- River Rouge at Chelsea (Div. 4 – Also available on FOX Sports Detroit Facebook page)
- Pewamo-Westphalia at New Lothrop (Div. 7)
On Saturday (Nov. 4), the four championship games of the Lower Peninsula Boys Soccer Tournament will have live streaming video on MHSAA.tv and live streaming audio on MHSAANetwork.com, and the Finish Line Cam at Michigan International Speedway returns at the L.P. Cross Country Finals on MHSAA.tv.
All four PrepZone games feature clashes of highly-ranked teams in the final Associated Press polls for 2017. Belleville was ranked second and Canton ninth in the final Division 1 poll; Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Wyoming Kelloggsville were 1-2 in Division 4; River Rouge and Chelsea were 7-8 in the final Division 3 poll; and New Lothrop finished the season atop the Division 7 rankings with Pewamo-Westphalia in third.
The River Rouge at Chelsea game will receive bonus coverage, streaming live on the Fox Sports Detroit Facebook page. That game drew 49 percent of the votes in a Twitter poll conducted Monday.
All PrepZone games will be archived on MHSAA.tv.
Saturday’s Boys Soccer Finals will be live on MHSAA.tv with games at Noon and 3 p.m. The games will be played at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek and Comstock Park High Schools, with divisions at each site to be announced after the Semifinals on Wednesday (Nov. 1). All of the games will also have live streaming audio at MHSAANetwork.com.
One Soccer Semifinal game will be Live on MHSAA.tv on Wednesday – a Division 3 matchup at Cedar Springs between Ludington and Grand Rapids South Christian, at 6 p.m.
MHSAA.tv will also offer a free live video stream on Saturday of the finish line at the Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals at Michigan International Speedway. The stream will include audio commentary from announcers around the course throughout each race. The morning session with the boys and girls races in Division 3 and 4 begins at 9:30 a.m., and the afternoon session with races in Divisions 1 and 2 starts at 1:30 p.m. Live timing of each race will also be available on the Cross Country page of the MHSAA Website.
A month’s subscription to watch live on MHSAA.tv is $9.95 and allows access to the full schedule of MHSAA Tournaments during the month of November:
- Nov. 4 – Boys Soccer Finals
- Nov. 11 – Selected Football Playoff Regional Finals
- Nov. 16-17 – Girls Volleyball Semifinals & Finals
- Nov. 18 – Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals
- Nov. 18 – Football Playoff Semifinals (12 games)
Live coverage of Football District Finals and Girls Volleyball District games also takes place this week on MHSAA.tv, being produced by SBP schools:
- Volleyball – Ishpeming Westwood v. Ishpeming at Negaunee – Tuesday, 6 p.m.
- Volleyball – Gwinn at Negaunee – Tuesday, 7 p.m.
- Volleyball – Lake Orion at Clarkston – Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.
- Boys Soccer – Ludington v. Grand Rapids South Christian at Cedar Springs – Wednesday, 6 p.m.
- Volleyball – Gladwin at Harrison – Wednesday, 6 p.m.
- Volleyball – Standish Sterling v. Grayling at Harrison – Wednesday, 7 p.m.
- Volleyball – Clarkston/Lake Orion winner v. Ortonville Brandon/Holly winner at Clarkston – Thursday, 7 p.m.
- Football – Lansing Sexton at Plainwell – Friday, 7 p.m.
- Football – Haslett at East Lansing – Friday, 7 p.m.
- Football – St. Louis at Breckenridge – Friday, 7 p.m.
- Football – Traverse City Central v. Traverse City West at Thirlby Field – Friday, 7 p.m.
In its ninth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot is used by schools wishing to stream games but which lack the ability to staff the events. The SBP program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
All sporting events – Live or On-Demand - are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.
A weekly staple on the MHSAA.tv website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube is back for another year with highlights of selected games last week produced by members of the Association’s School Broadcast Program.
This week’s highlights package consists of clips from Pre-District football games Parma Western at Haslett and Oscoda at Breckenridge, and a boys soccer Regional Final match with Petoskey at East Lansing.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.
More than 15 football games are featured each week on the State Champs! Sports Network Extra Point – powered by the Michigan High School Athletic Association – Saturday at 10 a.m. on FOX Sports Detroit.
The half-hour program features highlights from more than a dozen games each week, including clips from games produced by MHSAA School Broadcast Program members. The program airs multiple times each weekend on FOX Sports Detroit and on Comcast Channel 900, and will be archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.
Here are some of the games to be featured this week on State Champs! Extra Point:
- Canton at Belleville
- Macomb Dakota at Clinton Township Chippewa Valley
- Warren DeLaSalle at Port Huron Northern
- Grand Rapids Catholic Central at Wyoming Kelloggsville
- River Rouge at Chelsea
- Grant at Muskegon Oakridge
- Kent City at Montague
- Laingsburg at Ithaca
- Pewamo-Westphalia at Ithaca
- Petersburg-Summerfield at Ottawa Lake-Whiteford
- Morrice at Deckerville
PLUS - Additional coverage from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, Upper Peninsula and School Broadcast Program games.
The MHSAA also has a presence on other State Champs! Network programs throughout each weekend. The MHSAA Minute is a weekly part of the State Champs! High School Sports Show on FOX Sports Detroit at 9 a.m. every Sunday – with multiple replays on FOX Sports Detroit and Comcast Channel 900 throughout the week. That program also is archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.
This week’s MHSAA Minute on State Champs talks about The Scholar-Athlete Award.
The MHSAA also has content on the State Champs Scoreboard! High School Football Radio Show on Friday nights during the football and basketball seasons, originating on WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit and carried on more than 10 radio stations across the state. This Week In High School Sports and Be the Referee are weekly features on the program.