Linked Up: 10/28/11

October 28, 2011

Each week I'll post links to stories that interest me most during my travels in online sports land. I was going to wait for next week for this first installment, but these seemed worthy of telling you about now.

See something high school sports-related that you think others would find valuable? Send me a link.

Akron-Fairgrove and Owendale-Gagetown eager for long-awaited playoff games in first season of eight-man football bracket (Bay City Times)

These two teams provide multiple reasons why 8-player football has been such a strong addition -- most notably, it is providing our smallest schools with an opportunity to still play football despite fewer players, and succeed. The sport took off in this state in 2009, and this weekend mark the start of the first MHSAA 8-player Tournament. Akron-Fairgrove will play its first postseason game since 1992, while Owendale-Gagetown will play its first since 1979.

Olivet's Peters coaching his heart out (Battle Creek Enquirer)

I covered Olivet and coach Dean Peters for more than a decade, including during last season's first-ever Eagles run to the MHSAA football finals. One of the great people in high school coaching, he needed emergency double-bypass surgery earlier this month but is back in the coaching booth. Olivet faces Lansing Catholic in a Pre-District game.

Megan Hubbard a standout for Hanover-Horton cross country (Jackson Citizen-Patriot)

This is a neat story about a runner who is second-best on her team and has never won a race -- but also is likely the second-best to ever run at her school. Usually, we hear only about who finishes first.

Standley Lake football player Rhett Gutierrez overcomes eye disease (The Denver Post)
 
Almost always, links I post will be Michigan-related. But this story is just incredible. We've seen athletes with different degrees of vision impairment do incredible things in high school athletics. But this is the first time I've heard of someone overcoming that obstacle to play quarterback for his football team.

Today in the MHSAA: 10/17/19

October 17, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first District champions are in for boys soccer – and more cross country and volleyball league champs as well – but the top headline from Wednesday highlighted a game on the pitch from earlier in the Division 1 bracket.

1. Boys Soccer: Unranked Ann Arbor Pioneer eliminated reigning Division 1 champion and current No. 4 Ann Arbor Skyline in a 2-1 District Semifinal win – We Love Ann Arbor

2. Boys Soccer: No. 8 Macomb Lutheran North got past No. 13 Imlay City 3-2 to clinch a Division 3 District title – Macomb Daily

3. Boys Soccer: Dowagiac downed South Haven 4-2 in Division 3 to win its third straight District championship – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Boys Soccer: Rochester Adams continued its surge by downing Lake Orion to clinch a Division 1 District title – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: Salem edged Canton 2-1 to wrap up a Division 1 District championship – Observer & Eccentric

6. Boys Soccer: Madison Heights Lamphere earned a Division 2 District Final win 1-0 over Warren Woods-Tower – Oakland Press

7. Boys Soccer: Ludington finished another Division 3 District run with a 1-0 win over Shelby – MI Sports Now 

8. Cross Country: Shepherd’s girls – ranked No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – and No. 11 boys teams finished a sweep of Jack Pine Conference championships in their first season in the league – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. Cross Country: The LPD4 top-ranked Breckenridge boys and No. 1 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart girls completed dominating runs to Mid-State Activities Conference titles – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

10. Boys Soccer: Unranked Holland scored late to get past No. 14 Grand Rapids Christian in a Division 2 District Semifinal – Holland Sentinel

Also of note …

Cross Country: Hanover-Horton swept the Cascades Conference meet championships; the boys team is ranked No. 1 in LPD3 – JTV

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Division 3 No. 6 Centreville came back from two sets down to defeat Division 4 No. 3 Mendon and claim the Southwest 10 Conference championship, its first league title since 2001 – Sturgis Journal

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Dexter defeated Pinckney in five sets to lock up a fourth straight Southeastern Conference White title – Sun Times News

Cross Country: From Tuesday, the LPD2 No. 10 Spring Lake girls and No. 12 Sparta boys won Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue championships – Grand Haven Tribune

Cross Country: From Monday, the UPD2 honorable mention St. Ignace girls and UPD3 No. 3 Brimley boys locked up Eastern Upper Peninsula Conference championships – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News