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.)
Prep Bowl Highlights Streaming Schedule
October 18, 2016
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
The final weekend of the football regular season on MHSAA.tv will be highlighted by live games on Saturday (Oct. 22) from Ford Field in Detroit from the Detroit Catholic High School League’s annual Prep Bowl festivities.
A full day of football and honors to teams from the youth to the high school level will feature three championship games: Dearborn Divine Child v. Detroit Loyola in the Prep Bowl Final at 1 p.m., Waterford Our Lady vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in the CD Division Championship at 4 p.m. and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s vs. Detroit Catholic Central in the AB Division Championship at 7 p.m.
The Prep Bowl on Saturday then leads into Selection Sunday, where the official announcement of qualifiers and first-round pairings for the MHSAA Football Playoffs, powered by the Michigan Army National Guard, will take place.
This year’s show is set for 7 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday (Oct. 23), originating from the FOX Sports Detroit studios in Southfield. Matt Shepard, Justin White and Rob Rubick will handle the on-camera duties. In addition to the cable television broadcast, the show will be available via a live video stream on the FoxSportsDetroit.com website, and for mobile users on FOX Sports GO!
There is one game with playoff implications Friday (Oct. 21) night with live streaming video on MHSAA.tv being produced by members of the School Broadcast Program. Flint Powers Catholic (5-3) heads into Davison (8-0) looking for a chance to qualify.
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 video streams available being produced by SBP members.
Tuesday, Oct. 18
- Girls Volleyball – Morrice at Montrose, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball – Houghton at Calumet, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 20
- Girls Volleyball – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at Cedar Springs, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball – Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Calumet, 6:30 p.m.
- Football – Ishpeming Westwood at Negaunee, 7 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball – Kingsford at Marquette, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 21
- Football – Birch Run at Montrose, 7 p.m.
- Football – Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills at Cedar Springs, 7 p.m.
- Football – Manton at Rogers City, 7 p.m.
- Football – Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
- Football – Flint Powers Catholic at Davison, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 22
- Football – Dearborn Divine Child v. Detroit Loyola, 1 p.m.
- Football – Waterford Our Lady v. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, 4 p.m.
- Football – Orchard Lake St. Mary’s v. Detroit Catholic Central, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 24
- JV Girls Volleyball – Sault Ste. Marie at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball – Sault Ste. Marie at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
- Girls Volleyball – Corunna at Goodrich, 7 p.m.
A subscription to watch programming on the MHSAA.tv website is $9.95 for a Month Pass, and if purchased this weekend, a viewer would have access all of the live MHSAA Tournament action online during November. That schedule includes:
- Saturday Specials - Weekly Football Playoff Coverage on Oct. 29, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12
- MHSAA Boys Soccer Finals on Nov. 5
- MHSAA Girls Volleyball Semifinals & Finals – Nov. 17-19
- MHSAA Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals – Nov. 19
- Super Streaming Saturday – All 16 Football Semifinal Games – Nov. 19
Fans also can access scores of games in-progress on the NFHS Network website via ScoreStream. Click on the Scores button in the upper right corner.
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 football games Montrose at Saginaw Nouvel and Petoskey at Alpena and a girls volleyball match, L’Anse at Calumet.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.