Irish Celebrate Homecoming Sky High
October 4, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
You’ve got to see this – from high in the sky – to believe it.
The disappointing news for Pontiac Notre Dame Prep from its Homecoming game last Friday was that the Fighting Irish fell to Detroit Catholic League AA leader Detroit Loyola by seven points.
But the Irish will remember fondly (and probably click on frequently) the video of this sky high view of the game including the team’s entrance to the field.
Thanks to a camera attached to a helicopter-like apparatus flown by local Aerial Imagery Works, Notre Dame was able to capture a rarely-seen view. See more by watching the brief video embedded at the bottom of this post.
SLC-TV Rolls 300
It's fair to assume few television stations in Michigan have been as dedicated to the local football team as South Lyon's SLC-TV, which will celebrate a milestone broadcast Oct. 11 when South Lyon faces South Lyon East.
SLC-TV has followed South Lyon football home and away games for 31 years and will broadcast its 300th game that night. SLC-TV’s games appear on WOW network channel 19 and Comcast Southfield channel 90, which reaches 33 communities in metro Detroit.
Sports director Tedd Wallace will have done play-by-play for 298 of those games, and said he believes no station in America has done TV broadcasts of a team’s home and away games as consistently. Check out more about the network’s weekly work on its Facebook page.
Friendly gesture to opponent in need
One of the most heart-warming parts of following high school sports is experiencing the camaraderie among athletes from opposing teams they likely know nothing about except for what they learn during competition.
Concord’s volleyball team shined especially brightly in this way last week.
Amazingly, Union City junior Marissa Mead played in her team’s match against Concord on Sept. 24 despite her home being destroyed by a fire that morning. As told by the Jackson Citizen-Patriot’s Leanne Smith, Concord’s players had heard about the tragic event and were surprised to then see Mead take her place as defensive specialist that night.
On the bus ride home, the Concord players decided they needed to do something to help Mead and her family. As a team, the players collected $80 – and then pushed the total to $300 with the help of teachers, parents and administrators. They delivered the funds in a card to Mead at Union City’s home match two days later.
It’s a gesture that might seem small, but speaks loudly to the awesome way our athletes relate to each other not just on, but off the court as well. Click to read the entire report.
Official of the Year
Marcy Weston, Central Michigan University’s Executive Associate Director of Athletics/Sports Administration and a longtime contributor to MHSAA officiating initiatives, has been named the Naismith Women’s College Official of the Year.
Weston spoke at the 2001 MHSAA Officials Banquet and has served as part of the association's officials committee and with the National Federation of State High School Associations as a liaison to its Basketball Rules Committee.
She also served as NCAA national coordinator of women’s basketball officiating from 1991-2005 after working as a women’s college basketball official from 1964-84. Click to read more from CMUChippewas.com.
Southfield Christian Boys Win Final Event to Clinch Program's 1st Finals Title
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
May 31, 2025
HUDSONVILLE – Win and make school history.
That’s what it came down to for Southfield Christian in the pressure-packed final event of Saturday’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals at Baldwin Middle School.
The final heat of the 1,600 relay proved to be the deciding factor as the Eagles earned the dramatic victory and their program’s first Finals team title.
“We were down by three points, and we knew that we had to get first and they (Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep) had to get third,” Southfield Christian senior Brock Morris said. “I talked to my team and told them that this is going to be the last race that we will ever have, so go out and get a win.
“Crossing that line first was exhilarating, and I’m just excited to win, and make history and build a path for others to follow.”
Four points separated the top three teams entering the final race with Hackett owning a slim lead over Southfield Christian and Hillsdale Academy.
Morris joined fellow seniors Dylan Taylor-Wilkerson, Robert Brown and Jadon Staten in the clinching relay as they combined to clock a winning and personal-record time of 3 minutes, 24.36 seconds.
“We knew going into it that it was going to come down to us having to win, and I just told our guys, who are all seniors, this is the last race of your career so you have to put it all out there,” Eagles coach Andrew McFerrin said. “If you want to be state champs, you have to win this race. And that's what they went out and did, and I’m proud of them.”
The Eagles’ previous best finish was runner-up in 2019.
“We just had the pieces this year, and we were able to put it together,” McFerrin said. “I knew coming in we had fast guys, and they had to want it. They made it happen.
“It was nerve-racking throughout the day watching us go up and then down, and the 200 really helped us when we got first, third and seventh. That put us up and then we were just hoping and praying that we were going to pull it out, and that's what we did.”
Morris also anchored the winning 800 relay team and won titles in the 200 (22.31) and 400 (49.30).
“Brock is an outstanding athlete,” McFerrin said. “And just seeing how he has developed from his freshman year to now has been an absolute pleasure.”
The Eagles finished with 60 points, edging Hackett by one. Hillsdale Academy took third with 50 points, and 2024 champion Fowler (44.5) was fourth.
“To be honest, I didn't think it was going to come down to the final event and I thought Southfield Christian was going to have it from the get-go,” Kalamazoo Hackett coach Charissa Dean said. “But these boys battled their little hearts out, and I couldn't really ask them to do any more. They had a phenomenal day with PRs all over the place.”
Junior distance runner Marek Butkiewicz led Hackett with a pair of wins in the 1,600 and 3,200 and was part of the winning 3,200 relay.
“The mindset was if I just do what I've been doing the whole season, then I'm coming away with what I came away with,” Butkiewicz said. “I knew I was going to end up with leads in both of them.”
Two other athletes also repeated as Finals champions, with Fowler’s Brady Feldpausch winning the 110 hurdles and Morrice’s Oliver Long securing top honors in the shot put.
Fruitport Calvary Christian senior Bradley Richards, competing as part of a cooperative with Muskegon Catholic Central, won his second high jump title after previously finishing first in the event in 2023. The Cornerstone University basketball and track commit cleared a personal-best 6-10¼.
PHOTOS (Top) Southfield Christian's Brock Morris, middle, crosses the finish line first in the 200 on Saturday, just ahead of Riverview Gabriel Richard's Derek Lesko to his left and teammate Jadon Staten to his right. (Middle) Hackett's Sean Siems and Royal Oak Shrine's Abenezer Cerone lead the 800 championship race; Cerone would go on to finish first. (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)