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: 10/22/18
October 22, 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.
Lower Peninsula Girls Golf, Boys Tennis and Upper Peninsula Cross Country Finals dominated the non-football headlines this weekend, and you'll find coverage of all on Second Half. Today's "Today" list instead includes 10 headliners of note from District boys soccer, league volleyball and LP cross country.
1. Boys Soccer: Unranked Utica Ford upset top-ranked Troy Athens 1-0 to win a Division 1 District title – Macomb Daily
2. Boys Soccer: No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian downed No. 5 Holland Christian 4-1 in a Division 2 District Final – Holland Christian
3. Boys Soccer: No. 5 Detroit Catholic Central prevailed in a Division 1 District Final 3-2 in overtime over No. 9 Novi – Observer & Eccentric
4. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 9 North Muskegon downed Division 2 No. 10 Whitehall to win the West Michigan Conference Tournament championship and a share of the overall league title – Local Sports Journal
5. Boys Soccer: Griffin Doran’s goal gave Haslett a 1-0 Division 2 win over DeWitt and its first District boys soccer title since 1999 – Lansing State Journal
6. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 3 Kalamazoo Hackett won its eighth straight District title, downing Battle Creek Calhoun Christian – JoeInsider.com
7. Cross Country: Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart swept championships at the annual Class D championship meet; both teams are ranked No. 2 in LPD4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
8. Volleyball: Division 3 honorable mention Muskegon Western Michigan Christian came back multiple times to get past Ludington and win the Lakes 8 Conference Tournament – Local Sports Journal
9. Cross Country: The Hudson girls (LPD4 T-No. 10) and Erie-Mason boys clinched Lenawee County Athletic Association championships – Adrian Daily Telegram
10. Boys Soccer: Muskegon Orchard View outlasted rival Oakridge 5-4 to claim a Division 3 District championship – Local Sports Journal