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: 10/8/19

October 8, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

We’ve officially entered tournament time for our first few Lower Peninsula sports, with Girls Golf Regionals teeing off Monday while boys soccer and tennis teams finished their regular seasons with playoffs up next.

1. Girls Golf: No. 4 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian won its Lower Peninsula Division 4 Regional and No. 3 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep was second, with No. 5 Montague third to make the Finals for the first time – Muskegon Chronicle

2. Girls Golf: No. 3 Okemos won its LPD1 Regional against a field including No. 8 Grand Blanc and formerly-ranked Brighton – Lansing State Journal

3. Girls Golf: No. 9 St. Joseph edged Mattawan by a stroke and No. 4 Middleville Thornapple Kellogg by three to win an LPD2 Regional – Sturgis Journal

4. Boys Soccer: Utica Eisenhower downed Utica 1-0 to earn a share of the Macomb Area Conference Red title and the 200th victory for coach Josh VanHouten – Macomb Daily

5. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 3 Novi got past No. 14 Livonia Stevenson 4-0 to claim the overall Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship – Observer & Eccentric

6. Boys Soccer: A Saline win over Monroe combined with a tie between Division 1 No. 4 Ann Arbor Skyline and Pioneer gave the Southeastern Conference Red title to the No. 13 Hornets – Saline Post

7. Boys Soccer: Roscommon locked up the Northern Michigan Soccer League title with a 5-1 victory over Gladwin, which had won the last five league championships – MI Sports Now

8. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 8 Adrian Lenawee Christian repeated as overall Independent Soccer League champion with a 1-0 win over No. 9 Hillsdale Academy – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Girls Golf: No. 3 Marshall won its LPD3 Regional by 20 strokes – Niles Daily Star

10. Boys Tennis: Brownstown Woodhaven won four flights on the way to clinching the Downriver League Meet team title – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

Boys Soccer: Chippewa Valley shut out Utica Ford 4-0 to also share the MAC Red title – Macomb Daily

Girls Golf: Grosse Pointe South shot a 335 to outpace its LPD1 Regional field by 35 strokes – MHSAA.com

Boys Tennis: From Saturday, LPD1 No. 3 Northville edged No. 9 Novi to win the overall KLAA Tournament title – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Tennis: From Saturday, Muskegon Mona Shores scored two more points than Jenison to win the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black Tournament title – Local Sports Journal