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.
Tri-Unity Avenges Season-Opening Loss, Earns Retiring Coach Another Finals Win
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2025
EAST LANSING — The Wyoming Tri-unity Christian High School boys basketball team was not about to end its season the way it started – with a loss to Fowler.
The Defenders also were not going to let legendary coach Mark Keeler ride off into the sunset after a 38-year career without another Division 4 championship.
On the strength of suffocating defense and two double-digit scoring runs, along with frigid Fowler shooting during the first half, Tri-unity defeated the Eagles 49-32 on Saturday at the Breslin Center to claim its second-straight title and third over the last four years.
Keeler, who announced his retirement earlier this season, departs with his seventh MHSAA Finals championship. Fowler was making its first appearance in the championship since 2002 – when the Eagles also lost to Tri-Unity.
“This is not going to be a good time for me because I’m pretty emotional,” Keeler said. “I’m so stinking proud of them. Was that good defense? I think that was good defense. We played a great team. I thought we didn’t quit.”
Keaton Blanker led Tri-unity (27-2) with 12 points, followed by Noah Silverton with 11, all in the first half.
“Our biggest emphasis was playing 32 minutes,” Blanker said. “We don’t stop fighting until that final buzzer, and we did that. I’m just so happy for all us players.”
Tri-unity graduated eight seniors from last year’s championship team, with only Blanker and Joey Mellon seeing significant playing time, so another Division 4 title wasn’t necessarily a sure thing, especially after the loss to Fowler on opening night at home.
“I don’t think a lot of people thought that we could do this,” Blanker said. “We just fought. Every day at practice was a straight grind.”
Tri-unity’s defense was smothering all season – holding teams to an average of 39 points per game, the lowest of Keeler’s tenure – and it was downright sterling Saturday.
The first Fowler basket was a 3-pointer by Jacob Halfmann more than five minutes into the contest after Tri-unity scored the game’s first 11 points. That was quickly followed by another 3-pointer by Aaron Simon, but that was all the Eagles could muster as Tri-unity led 11-6 after the first quarter.
Six quick points from Tri-unity – aided by Fowler turnovers – pushed the lead back to 11 less than two minutes into the second quarter. At that point, Fowler had three times as many turnovers (six) as field goals (two).
The lead stretched to 16 halfway through the second quarter, prompting a third Fowler timeout.
A Jacob Halfmann 3-pointer at the 3:15 mark ended another lengthy Fowler scoring drought – and a 13-0 Defenders run – and made the score 24-9. He finished with a team-high 11 points.
The Eagles (25-4) struggled in the first half to find an answer for Silverton, who eclipsed double figures in points before they did.
“Today we just started a little slow. It took a little bit for us to settle in,” an emotional Fowler coach Kam Riley said. “We kept talking about, we got to settle in and be ourselves, and I thought we did that as the game progressed. Against a good team like Tri-unity, you dig a hole, it’s going to be tough to get out of it.”
An Alex Halfmann layup with 2:05 to play in the first half was the first Fowler field goal inside the 3-point arc. Despite a solid finish to the half by Fowler, the Defenders carried a 28-16 lead into the break.
The Eagles cut the lead to seven late in the third quarter as Tri-unity suddenly appeared mortal.
“They came back at us at the start of the second half, and we knew they would,” Keeler said. “I just thought my guys played great defense. I was more excited about our defense.”
A Clayton Rowlader 3-pointer pushed the lead back to double figures. Fowler pulled within 39-30 with 3:48 to play before Tri-unity closed the game with a 10-2 run boosted by two more 3-pointers by Rowlader. The Defenders finished 4-of-10 from long range after making only one of 23 attempts combined during Regional Final and Quarterfinal victories.
Keeler said this championship was different than the others because it’s his last, and that despite the loss of so many upperclassmen from last year’s team, he had a feeling this team could win it all.
“The competitive part of me, I wanted to win and I knew we could because I’ve watched these guys mature,” Keeler said. “I love defense. It’s the old adage, if you can do offense, you’ll win games, but if you play good defense, you’ll win state championships.”
Keeler finished his career with a 721-218 varsity coaching record, his wins ranking third in MHSAA boys basketball history.
PHOTOS (Top) Tri-unity Christian’s Keaton Blanker (4) exits the game in celebration during his team’s Division 4 Final win Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) The Defenders’ Cody Osbun elevates above three Fowler players to put up a shot. (Below) Fowler’s Aaron Simon (30) makes a move into the lane. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)