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.)
Football Finals Re-Air for Christmas
December 20, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
FOX Sports Detroit will present Michigan high school football fans with eight presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, re-airing the championship games from the 2016 MHSAA 11-Player Football Playoffs – presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.
The action begins at 4 p.m. each day, with the odd-numbered divisions being shown on Christmas Eve and the even-numbered title games on Christmas Day in the order they were played at Ford Field in Detroit.
Here’s the complete schedule:
Dec. 24
4 p.m. – Division 8 – Muskegon Catholic Central 35, Ottawa Lake Whiteford 6 – Muskegon Catholic Central broke this one open in the second half. QB Cameron Martinez ran for 154 yards and one TD while passing for a second score.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
6 p.m. – Division 2 – Detroit Martin Luther King 18, Walled Lake Western 0 – King does it with defense, picking off four Western passes and returning two of them for touchdowns.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
8 p.m. – Division 6 – Jackson Lumen Christi 26, Maple City Glen Lake 14 – Bo Bell comes up big for Lumen Christi, rushing for 238 yards and one TD.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
10 p.m. – Division 4 - Grand Rapids Catholic Central 10, Detroit Country Day 7 – This one was dominated by the defenses. The only GRCC first down of the day came on a fourth-quarter 44-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch from Jack Bowen to Michael Brown.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
Dec. 25
4 p.m. – Division 7 – Pewamo-Westphalia 28, Detroit Loyola 14 – Nothing can stop the PW Pirates. Jimmy Lehman throws for two touchdowns and rushes for a third against the Loyola Bulldogs.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
6 p.m. – Division 1 – Detroit Cass Tech 49, Detroit Catholic Central 20 – Cass Tech QB Rodney Hall ties a Final game record with five touchdown passes against DCC.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
8 p.m. – Division 5 – Grand Rapids West Catholic 43, Menominee 7 - Gaetano Vallone passes for 311 yards and four scores as the Falcons fly over the Maroons.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
10 p.m. – Division 3 – Orchard Lake St Mary's 29, Muskegon 28 – This went down to the wire. Ky’ren Cunningham dives to catch an 18-yard pass from Caden Prieskorn with four seconds to go to give the Eaglets the win.
Watch @ MHSAA.TV - Buy Video DVD - Listen @ MHSAANetwork.com - Instant Audio Download
DVD’s cost $24.95, and Instant Audio Downloads are $4.99.
Things are winding down for the holidays on MHSAA.tv with School Broadcast Program members heading into a break.
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 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.
Here’s the schedule of events School Broadcast Program members plan to stream the rest of the month for broadcast at MHSAA.tv. On-Demand listings may be available as soon as one hour following an event’s completion. (List as of Dec. 16):
Tuesday, Dec. 20
- Boys Basketball – Romeo at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.
- Girls Basketball – Zeeland West at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Petoskey at Alpena, 7 p.m.
- Boys Basketball – Escanaba at Marquette, 7:10 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 21
- Girls Basketball – Sault Ste. Marie at Alpena, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 22
- Ice Hockey – Kingsford at Marquette, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 3
- Girls Basketball – L’Anse at Calumet, 7:20 p.m.
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. Some schools also will be selling Annual Passes at a discounted rate. 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.
Fans can also access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.