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: 10/26/18

October 26, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

The top two ranked teams in Division 4 soccer faced off in a Regional Final on Thursday, and the Division 1 reigning champion saw its season come to a close as well as upsets reigned on the pitch.

1. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Leland topped No. 1 Muskegon Western Michigan Christian in a shootout to claim a Division 4 Regional championship – MI Sports Now

2. Boys Soccer: Unranked Grand Blanc upset reigning Division 1 champion and current No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central to win a Division 1 Regional title – WJRT

3. Boys Soccer: Unranked Richland Gull Lake stunned No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian to win a Division 2 Regional Final, and No. 3 Kalamazoo Hackett earned another Semifinal berth in Division 4 – WWMT

4. Boys Soccer: No. 9 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood downed No. 8 Dexter to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Oakland Press

5. Boys Soccer: Unranked but reigning Division 4 champion Ann Arbor Greenhills claimed the shootout to get past No. 6 Adrian Lenawee Christian in a Regional Final – Adrian Daily Telegram

6. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 10 Ann Arbor Skyline downed Dearborn 2-0 to clinch a Division 1 Regional title – We Love Ann Arbor

7. Boys Soccer: Macomb Lutheran North beat Freeland to move on to a Division 3 Semifinal – Macomb Daily

8. Boys Soccer: Detroit Country Day shut out Tecumseh to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Oakland Press

9. Boys Soccer: East Kentwood downed Holt in Division 1 and top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern defeated Haslett in Division 2 to win Regional titles – Grand Rapids Press

10. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 8 Fruitport downed Muskegon Mona Shores and Reeths-Puffer to earn a shared Ottawa-Kent Conference Black title with Division 1 honorable mention Jenison – Grand Haven Tribune

Also of note …

Volleyball: Trenton beat Allen Park in four sets to create a shared Downriver League championship between the two teams – Southgate News-Herald

Volleyball: From Saturday, Division 1 No. 8 Northville broke Novi’s seven-season winning streak at the Kensington Lakes Activities Association tournament by claiming the championship, downing the honorable mention Wildcats in the final – Observer & Eccentric