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: 10/10/17

October 10, 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 Tennis: Kalamazoo Christian, tied for No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, netted the championship at the combined Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph and Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

2. Boys Tennis: Byron Center closed out an Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship just ahead of LPD3 No. 9 Zeeland East – Holland Sentinel

3. Boys Tennis: LPD4 No. 8 Ludington closed out an outright Coastal Conference championship by finishing four points ahead of runner-up Whitehall at the league tournament – Ludington Daily News

4. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 3 Leland clinched the Northwest Conference championship with a 5-1 win over Northport, which went into an interesting attack mode late trying to get the win and stay in the race – Traverse City Record-Eagle

5. Girls Cross Country: Calumet freshman Clarity Gipp won the West Iron County Invitational just ahead of Chassell star Lela Rautiola; Chassell’s LPD3 No. 1 girls and Houghton’s LPD1 No. 1 boys won the team titles – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

6. Boys Tennis: LPD1 No. 10 Hudsonville also won an O-K league title, claiming the Red just ahead of Grandville – Grand Haven Tribune

7. Boys Soccer: Unranked Hartland won its seventh straight game, this time upsetting No. 9 Northville 1-0 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus 

8. Boys Soccer: Big Rapids moved into first place alone in the Central State Activities Association Gold with a 2-1 win over Newaygo, which had beaten Big Rapids earlier this season – Big Rapids News

9. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 17 Grand Haven improved to 10-3-3 with a 1-0 win over Rockford – Local Sports Journal

10. Track & Field: Livonia Churchill announced it will dedicate Friday its stadium field to first athletic director Larry Joiner and the track to successful coach Rick Austin – Observer & Eccentric