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.
Unity Christian Stacks 4th-Straight Finals Title, 24th-Straight Postseason Shutout
By
Drew Ellis
Special for MHSAA.com
June 13, 2026
EAST LANSING – The unblemished championship run of Hudsonville Unity Christian continues.
The Crusaders completed their fourth-consecutive playoff run without allowing a single goal Saturday, this time defeating Bloomfield Hills Marian 2-0 in the Division 2 championship match at DeMartin Field.
“It’s a credit to the girls,” Unity Christian coach Randy Heethuis said of the recent run and 14th title in program history. “I know it is a cliché, but we just play one game at a time. Next game, next team up and let’s put our best foot forward and let’s do what we do, and what Unity soccer does. They know the prescription for success and they were able to carry it out, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Unity Christian (24-0) has claimed its second-straight D2 title after winning the Division 3 championships in 2023 and 2024. In all four cases, the Crusaders didn’t allow their opponents to get on the scoreboard throughout all six postseason matches.
This time, the Crusaders allowed just one goal for the entire season, matching an MHSAA record previously set by Livonia Stevenson in 1997.
On top of all that, Unity Christian has now gone 55 consecutive matches without being defeated, a run dating back to May 22, 2024.
“I’m not sure how much they are really aware or think about records or streaks or this, that, and the other thing,” Heethuis said of all his team’s accomplishments this season.
Marian (21-3) knew the lore Unity Christian had created for itself, but the Mustangs were appearing in their 15th MHSAA Final, seeking their 10th title in program history.
They survived the early charge from the Crusaders and started to turn the momentum of the match in their favor midway through the first half.
“We didn’t start quickly enough. That pressure that (Unity Christian) put us under in the first 5-10 minutes, we rode it. We rode that pressure,” Marian coach Danny Price said. “I felt like we defended well through it and then sort of grew into the game a little bit.”
The Mustangs thought they may have had the first goal 30 minutes in when junior Nia Bordogna put a shot that went off the bottom of the crossbar and bounced near the goal line before Unity Christian senior goalie Payton Barendsen corralled it.
“It that goes in, their record is gone. It changes the game and puts them under a little bit more pressure,” Price said of the near-goal. “Now somebody’s scored on (them) and they’ve conceded (a goal) in the Final. So, I felt the momentum swing a little bit after that.”
Just five minutes later, the Crusaders would get the first goal of the game. Senior Kiersten Witte made a run toward the net and collided with a pair of Mustangs, including keeper Caitlyn Curtis. The ball trickled over to the foot of junior Myla Obande, who casually put it into the back of a wide-open net to make it 1-0.
“I just knew that this shot had to go in and when I hit it, the ball was rolling so slowly, it felt like it took forever to go in,” Obande said. “When it went in, I was so relieved, and so happy. I just wanted to help the team get the job done.”
With three minutes left in the half, Unity Christian junior Kyla Kobrzycki got in open field and charged toward the Marian goal. She played a shot that hit the right-side post, but then landed on the foot of senior teammate Tessa Ponstein for another goal to make it 2-0.
In the second half, Marian made Unity Christian earn the shutout. Barendsen recorded five saves in the match, including a pair of diving saves during the final 40 minutes.
Not to be outdone, Marian’s Curtis, a freshman, tallied 10 saves as she kept the Crusaders from building on their lead.
“She was brilliant,” Price said of Curtis. “She made some cracking saves. She’s just fantastic. She’s a good kid and she reads the game well, and has good positioning. What a performance from a freshman goalie in a big, big game like this.”
Avery Dekker, Ava Steen, Karli Rose, and Ruthie Hall handled the back-line defense for Unity Christian in yet another shutout, the program’s 23rd of the year.
“Our entire team, they bought into their roles, whether they are on the bench or whether they start,” Heethuis said. “They just do what is asked of them, and that’s a credit to them.”
PHOTOS Unity Christian’s Kiersten Witte (14), Marlie Moelker (15) and Myla Obande (24) celebrate during their team’s Division 3 Final victory Saturday. (Middle) The Crusaders’ Kyla Kobrzycki (21) attempts to nudge the ball past Marian keeper Caitlyn Curtis, far left. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)