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: 10/27/17

October 27, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

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

Today's Top 10

1. Boys Soccer: Division 2 No. 7 Coldwater handed No. 2 Dexter its only loss this season in claiming a Division 2 Regional title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

2. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 8 Buckley won its first Regional title in boys soccer with a shootout victory over No. 2 Leland – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Boys Soccer: No. 8 Holland upset No. 4 Grand Rapids Christian to claim a Division 2 Regional title – Holland Sentinel

4. Wrestling: The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced its 2018 class Thursday, including longtime Michigan official James McCloughan, who will be inducted as the Medal of Courage recipient – Stillwater (Okla.) News Press

5. Boys Soccer: No. 3 Flint Powers Catholic downed No. 9 Lansing Catholic 3-0 to win a Division 3 Regional title – Lansing State Journal

6. Boys Soccer: Farmington Hills Harrison scored the game’s lone goal against No. 17 Gibraltar Carlson in Division 2 to advance to its first Semifinal since 1987 – Oakland Press

7. Boys Soccer: Auburn Hills Oakland Christian took two-time reigning Division 4 champion and current No. 14 Burton Genesee Christian to overtime before the Soldiers took a 2-1 Regional Final win – Oakland Press

8. Boys Soccer: No. 16 Ludington moved on in Division 3 with a 2-0 win over Big Rapids in their Regional Final – Local State Journal

9. Boys Soccer: No. 4 Grand Rapids South Christian continued its impressive second half run this fall with a Division 3 Regional title win over Dowagiac – Grand Rapids Press

10. Volleyball: Class B honorable mention Cadillac and Traverse City West will share the Big North Conference championship after Cadillac’s sweep of Traverse City Central – Cadillac News

Also noted:

Boys Soccer: Stevensville Lakeshore downed No. 9 Plainwell 2-1 in overtime in a Division 2 Regional Semifinal – St. Joseph Herald Palladium

Boys Soccer: Petoskey emerged with a 1-0 shootout win to move on to Saturday’s Division 2 Regional Final in East Lansing – Petoskey News-Review

Volleyball: Trenton swept Wyandotte Roosevelt to finish an outright championship run in the Downriver League – Southgate News Herald

Volleyball: Jenison swept Class B honorable mention Fruitport to claim the O-K Black championship – Grand Haven Tribune

Volleyball: From Tuesday, Port Huron Northern came back from two sets down to defeat Sterling Heights Stevenson and win an outright Macomb Area Conference White championship – Port Huron Times Herald

Baseball: From Monday, former longtime Brownstown Woodhaven baseball coach and basketball official Robert Kloss tied after a fight with leukemia – Detroit News