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: 5/14/18

May 14, 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. Boys Lacrosse: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central ended No. 6 Birmingham Brother Rice’s 13-season reign in the Detroit Catholic League with an 11-8 victory to clinch its first conference championship – Observer & Eccentric

2. Baseball: Division 4 No. 2 Frankfort took sole possession of the MHSAA record for consecutive shutout innings, running its streak to 45 during a win over Onekama – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Softball: Division 2 No. 5 Richmond split with Romeo as the Blue Devils’ win put coach Howard Stuart over 1,000 for his career – Macomb Daily

4. Track & Field: Northville’s girls won their sixth straight Kensington Lakes Activities Association championship, while Grand Blanc’s boys (No. 3 in Lower Peninsula Division 1) won their side of the meet to cap their final season in the league – Observer & Eccentric Girls | Boys

5. Track & Field: Saline’s boys won the Southeastern Conference Red championship for the eighth straight season – Saline Post

6. Track & Field: The Lake Linden-Hubbell girls and Houghton boys continued to dominate this spring with championships at the Houghton County Invitational – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

7. Boys Tennis: Reigning Upper Peninsula Division 1 champion Negaunee claimed the Kingsford Invitational title, winning five flights – Marquette Mining Journal

8. Track & Field: The Highland Milford girls and White Lake Lakeland boys won the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference championship meet titles – Oakland Press

9. Girls Tennis: Fruitport edged Muskegon Mona Shores to win the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black tournament title – Grand Haven Tribune

10. Baseball: Petoskey scored a win over Division 3 No. 10 Reed City on the way to earning the championship at its home invitational – Petoskey News-Review