Did You See That? (April 29-May 5)
May 7, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The resignation of one of Michigan's winningest boys basketball coaches made arguably the biggest headlines during a week that also saw sad news about two more coaches who will be remembered fondly in their respective communities.
But before we get to those, here's also a look at the story of another coach making his way back from a challenging situation:
Good Read of the Week
DeWitt welcomed back by his teams: Last Monday's Holland Calvary vs. Holland Freedom Christian baseball doubleheader at Fifth Third Ballpark was more than just a chance to play some big games on a bigger-than-usual stage. The teams also welcomed coach Lanny DeWitt, who coaches basketball at Calvary and baseball and Freedom Christian and is recovering from a stroke suffered March 20. (Holland Sentinel)
Boys Basketball/Volleyball
Keener leaves for Arizona: Detroit Country Day boys basketball coach Kurt Keener – whose 678 victories are second in MHSAA history only to legendary River Rouge coach Lofton Greene – announced he was leaving Country Day after 35 years Friday to move to Arizona, where he will coach a high school team in Scottsdale. Keener led Country Day this winter to its ninth MHSAA boys hoops title. (Oakland Press)
Mona Shores hires veteran leaders: Muskegon Mona Shores announced Wednesday that it hired former Muskegon Community College athletic director and men’s basketball coach Gene Gifford to take over its boys hoops program, and former Fruitport coach Dan Potts to take over the volleyball program. Potts led Fruitport to the 2005 MHSAA Class B championship. (Muskegon Chronicle)
Girls Basketball
Detroit mourns Knott: The Detroit Public School League and its basketball community are mourning the death of recently-retired Detroit Cody girls hoops coach Charles Knott, who was reportedly shot and killed Tuesday. Knott – hired at Cody in 1988 – was a graduate of Detroit Southeastern and also coached softball during his tenure. (Detroit News)
Softball
D2 powers split: Division 2 No. 4 Coloma and honorable mention Portland split a doubleheader Wednesday. Portland won the first 1-0 before Coloma handed the Raiders their first loss this season, 2-1. (Ionia Sentinel-Standard)
Stevenson surges: Sterling Heights Stevenson moved up to No. 1 in Division 1 this week in part because of a split Saturday against previously top-ranked and now No. 5-Mattawan. (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Boys Golf
Lansing Catholic dominates: The Cougars, keyed by senior Jacob Johnson and junior Brent Marshall, won Friday’s Capital Area Activities Conference Open by nine strokes over East Lansing. The event matches the teams from all four divisions of the CAAC, which currently includes four top 10-ranked teams including Division 2 No. 1 Haslett and Lansing Catholic – which is No. 1 in Division 3. (Lansing State Journal)
Lakeview cards record: Battle Creek Lakeview shot a 290 during the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Association Championships last week at Island Hills Golf Club in Centreville, breaking the previous team record of 295 shot in 2010. Lakeview is ranked No. 5 in Division 1. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Girls Track and Field
Bark River-Harris reigns in Central U.P.: The Broncos – who finished ninth at last season’s MHSAA Upper Peninsula Division 3 Final – clinched their second Central Upper Peninsula Conference title in three seasons Tuesday by edging Rapid River by nine points and Eben Junction Superior Central by 43. Superior Central was runner-up at that MHSAA Division 3 Final last spring. (Escanaba Daily Press)
Boys Track and Field
Algonac tops at Muskrat Classic: Algonac not only won the Division 2 portion of its annual invitational, but scored 100 points to top all of the Division 1 schools as well. (Port Huron Times-Herald)
Baseball
Hessbrook throws third no-hitter: Ithaca’s Logan Hessbrook threw not only his third no-hitter of the season Thursday, but his second straight as the Yellowjackets downed St. Charles 15-0 and then 4-0 in a doubleheader. He had seven strikeouts in seven innings. (Saginaw News)
DCC gains big split: Unranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a 9-8 win over No. 3 Birmingham Brother Rice on Thursday before falling 4-1 in the second game. (Mlive Detroit)
Football
Williams heads to Ypsilanti: Lamanzer Williams – who played at the University of Minnesota and also has served as football coach at Kalamazoo Central and Inkster – has resigned as Holland High football coach after one season to become athletic director at the new Ypsilanti Community High School. (AnnArbor.com)
Grand Rapids mourns Julian: Former Grand Rapids West Catholic and Grand Rapids Community College football coach Fred Julian died Saturday after a battle against prostate cancer. The Detroit Pershing grad taught and coached at West Catholic for 16 seasons and also played professionally for the old American Football League’s New York Titans. (Grand Rapids Press)
Wrestling
Boyer nears end at Pennfield: Larry Boyer, who led Battle Creek Pennfield's wrestling team to a 1992 MHSAA title, will retire from the school after this spring and 36 years including the last 13 as athletic director. He also has coached football and track and field. (Battle Creek Enquirer)
Today in the MHSAA: 3/9/17
March 9, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
High winds and power outages couldn’t down Wednesday’s eight MHSAA Hockey Quarterfinals and a number of boys basketball District games all over the state.
Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.
Boys Basketball
Detroit Public School League champion Cass Tech got past rival Detroit East English 72-67 in a Class A District Semifinal – MLive-Detroit
Freeland edged Sanford Meridian Early College 46-42 in a Class B matchup of teams that entered the night a combined 36-3 – Saginaw News
Newberry clinched its first District title since 1998, downing St. Ignace 67-55 in Class C – Marquette Mining Journal
Rapid River won its first District title also in more than a decade by downing Rock Mid Peninsula 60-50 in Class D – Escanaba Daily Press
Walled Lake Western and Walled Lake Northern met for the fourth time, with this last matchup going to Western 49-45 in Class A – Oakland Press
Onsted, which had fallen twice to Hillsdale this season, handed the Hornets their first and only loss in a Class B District Semifinal – Hillsdale Daily News
St. Joseph similarly had fallen twice to Portage Central, but came back to win their third matchup 50-47 in Class A – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Hockey
No. 3 Brighton returned to the Division 1 Semifinals with a 7-0 win over Lowell – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
Division 1 No. 4 Northville continued its run toward a possible first championship game berth with a 6-2 win over Macomb Dakota – Macomb Daily
Top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central booked a return to the Semifinals with a 6-2 win over Bay City Central/Western in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric
Grandville also is becoming a regular in the Semifinals and will return after an 8-4 Division 1 win over Rockford – Grand Rapids Press
In a matchup of the top two ranked teams in Division 3, No. 1 Flint Powers Catholic came away with a 3-2 overtime win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central – Flint Journal
Calumet will play in the Division 3 Semifinals for the first time in six seasons after a 7-3 win over Big Rapids – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Warren DeLaSalle got past Detroit Country Day 4-0 in Division 3 – Macomb Daily
Dearborn Divine Child continued its surprise Division 3 run with a 4-3 win over Chelsea – Dearborn Press & Guide
Volleyball
Buchanan coach Lisa Holok resigned after 13 seasons and more than 500 victories, plus a trip this past fall to the Class B Semifinals – South Bend Tribune
Good Read
Only a few weeks before Mark Blentlinger was to take over the Schoolcraft bowling program in 2010, his daughter Kyleigh – who helped start the girls team – died suddenly. He thought of her much during the girls team’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals on Friday – Kalamazoo Gazette