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.)
Watch Boys Soccer Finals on MHSAA TV
November 4, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director
The first weekend of November will see a trio of major rematches in the District Finals of the MHSAA Football Playoffs – presented by the Michigan Army National Guard – and live video and audio coverage of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Boys Soccer Finals on FOX Sports Detroit and the MHSAA Network.
The second weekend of Playoffs on the PrepZone on FoxSportsDetroit.com will feature the following games on Friday (Nov. 6) at 7 p.m.
- St. Ignace at Johannesburg-Lewiston
- Lansing Catholic at Portland
- Detroit East English at Grosse Pointe South
- Pontiac Notre Dame Prep at Richmond
Saturday Playoff games live on MHSAA.tv are covered by members participating in the School Broadcast Program. This week’s games are:
- Petoskey at Mt. Pleasant – 1 p.m.
- Muskegon at Muskegon Mona Shores – 5 p.m.
St. Ignace (9-1) scored late in a Week 5 home game with Johannesburg-Lewiston (9-1) to win, 27-21. The Saints were No. 2 in the final Association Press Division 8 poll, and the Cardinals were ranked seventh. Portland (10-0) topped Lansing Catholic (9-1) in Week 4, 28-6 on the Cougars’ home turf. The Raiders were No. 2 and the Cougars (9-1) No. 4 in the final Division 5 AP poll. Muskegon (8-2) lost at Mona Shores (10-0) in Week 8, before a crowd estimated at more than 10,000. The Big Reds finished fifth in the final Division 3 AP rankings, and Shores was third in Division 2.
Fans can watch PrepZone games on their computer or handheld devices by following these instructions:
On Your Desktop/Laptop Computer
- Go to FOXSportsGo.com
- Click on the “All Chs” menu at the bottom left of the page
- Select “FOX Sports Go Extras”
On Your Handheld Device
- Download the free FOX Sports Go app from your store
- Click on the “All Channels” menu at the top of the app
- Select “FOX Sports Go Extras”
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 Brighton and Comstock Park High Schools, with the games at each site to be announced after today’s Semifinals. All Finals also will have live streaming audio at MHSAANetwork.com.
One Soccer Semifinal game will be Live on MHSAA.tv – today’s Division 3 matchup between Grand Rapids South Christian and Gladwin, at 6 p.m.
A Day Pass to watch live on MHSAA.tv is $9.95. A Month Pass is $14.95, and would also allow access to the full schedule of MHSAA Tournaments during the month of November:
- Nov. 4 – Selected Boys Soccer Semifinals
- Nov. 7 – Boys Soccer Finals
- Nov. 7 – Selected Football Playoff District Finals
- Nov. 14 – Selected Football Playoff Regional Finals
- Nov. 19-20 – Girls Volleyball Semifinals & Finals
- Nov. 21 – Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals
- Nov. 21 – Football Playoff Semifinals (12 games)
Other Football Playoff games available on an On Demand basis being produced by SBP schools this week are:
- Comstock Park at Ada Forest Hills Eastern
- Hudsonville at Rockford
- Laingsburg at Montrose
In its seventh 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.
Launching at Midnight every Friday throughout the season is MHSAA Football Friday Overtime on FOX Sports Detroit. Mickey York and Rob Rubick host the weekly 30-minute highlights show. The show will re-air most Saturday and Sunday mornings – and will be archived on the FOX Detroit Website. This week, FFOT will re-air at 6 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday; and 10 a.m. Sunday on FOX Sports Detroit.
The following games are scheduled to be highlighted this week on Football Friday Overtime:
- Lake Fenton at Flint Powers Catholic
- Romeo at Lapeer
- Southfield at Berkley
- Clinton at Madison Heights Madison
- Frankenmuth at Freeland
- PLUS – Highlights from this week’s PrepZone games.
This week's School Broadcast Program highlights (see below) include football games with Saginaw Swan Valley at Comstock Park, Calumet at Negaunee and Dowagiac at Benton Harbor.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.