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.
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: 10/3/19
October 3, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
In addition to the crowning of our first MHSAA Finals champions of 2019-20 (see girls tennis coverage under "Latest Posts"), Wednesday was filled with conference championship celebrations, mostly on the soccer pitch – where a number of ranked boys teams matched up – but also for an undefeated girls golf power.
1. Boys Soccer: Division 3 top-ranked Holland Christian drew with No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian 1-1 to clinch the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship – Holland Sentinel
2. Boys Soccer: Grand Blanc scored a 4-1 win over Division 1 No. 4 Midland Dow to clinch the overall Saginaw Valley League title – WJRT
3. Girls Golf: Ann Arbor Pioneer – No. 7 in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – finished its regular season undefeated and with the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship after outpacing runner-up Skyline by 12 strokes – We Love Ann Arbor
4. Boys Soccer: Alcona tied Oscoda 1-1 to secure the North Star League championship – Alpena News
5. Boys Soccer: McBain Northern Michigan Christian shut out Big Rapids Crossroads 3-0 to win a share of the Northern Michigan Soccer League South championship – Cadillac News
6. Boys Soccer: Gladwin clinched the other half of the NMSL South title with a big win over Clare – Midland Daily News
7. Boys Soccer: Division 4 top-ranked Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett edged No. 10 Royal Oak Shrine 3-2 in the Detroit Catholic League C-D Tournament final – C&G Newspapers
0. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 15 Detroit U-D Jesuit got past Division 2 No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood 3-0 to win the Catholic League A-B Tournament title – Oakland Press
9. Boys Soccer: Walled Lake Western netted the game-winner during the final minutes of overtime to get past South Lyon 3-2 in the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title game – Oakland Press
10. Volleyball: Bridgman downed Niles Brandywine in four sets to gain an important edge in the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference Red title race – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium