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: 5/30/18

May 30, 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.

1. Girls Soccer: Freshman Justina L’Esperance scored with just under 11 minutes to play to push unranked Hartland past No. 2 Brighton in a Division 1 District opener – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Baseball: Unranked Waterford Mott upset No. 5 Lake Orion 8-7 to move on in a Division 1 District – Oakland Press

3. Boys Lacrosse: Top-ranked Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central downed No. 3 Vicksburg 25-12 in their Division 2 Regional Final as the Bulldogs played courageously for a teammate killed in a car crash over the weekend – Kalamazoo Gazette

4. Boys Lacrosse: Bloomfield Hills, No. 7 in Division 1, avenged an earlier 10-3 loss to Lake Orion by downing the No. 8 Dragons 8-7 to win its first Regional title in this sport – Oakland Press

5. Baseball: Unranked Union City upended No. 6 Bronson 3-0 in a Division 3 District game – Sturgis Journal

6. Boys Lacrosse: Top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central defeated No. 6 South Lyon United 17-8 in a Division 1 Regional Final – Observer & Eccentric

7. Boys Lacrosse: No. 9 Rockford won its second straight Division 1 Regional title, thanks to five goals from freshman Nick McCreery in a 15-5 win over Zeeland East/West – Grand Rapids Press

8. Girls Soccer: Boyne City earned its first postseason win in girls soccer, defeating Traverse City St. Francis in Division 3 – Petoskey News-Review

9. Softball: Division 4 No. 5 Frankfort opened its District with a win over West Michigan D League champ Bear Lake – Manistee News Advocate

10. Baseball: Midland Bullock Creek scored all three of its runs in the bottom of the seventh inning in downing Shepherd 3-2 in a Division 2 District opener – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Novi coach Brandon Sinawi will take over Detroit Catholic Central after leading the Wildcats to the Class A Semifinals this winter – Observer & Eccentric