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Second Half by MHSAA

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: 10/3/17

October 3, 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. 11 Holland partially avenged an earlier 4-0 loss by tying Division 3 No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian 1-1 – Holland Sentinel

2. Girls Golf: LPD1 No. 3 Traverse City West and lead scorer Anika Dy (72) finished with championships at the Traverse City Central Invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle

3. Girls Golf: Unranked South Lyon East edged rival and LPD2 No. 4 South Lyon by a stroke to win the inaugural Lakes Valley Conference tournament with a score of 344; South Lyon ended with the overall league title – Observer & Eccentric

4. Girls Golf: LPD2 No. 3 St. Joseph shot a 338 to win the South Haven Invitational ahead of runner-up and LPD4 top-ranked Kalamazoo Hackett (349) – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

5. Boys Tennis: Big Rapids capped an undefeated regular season with a 7-1 win over Mount Pleasant – Big Rapids News

6. Girls Golf: Utica shot a 386 to win the Macomb Area Conference Blue tournament, with Macomb L’Anse Creuse’s Maddie Quick (84) earning the individual title – Macomb Daily

7. Volleyball: Cadillac outlasted Traverse City West in five sets, winning the last 15-13, to avenge an earlier sweep against the only team that’s beaten the Vikings in the Big North Conference – Cadillac News

8. Boys Soccer: Division 4 No. 7 Hillsdale Academy added to its recent success against its rival with a 2-0 win over Hillsdale High – Hillsdale Daily News

9. Boys Soccer: Ben Holscher’s three second-half goals helped Gaylord to a 5-2 win over Alpena – Gaylord Herald-Times

10. Football: As Fox Sports Detroit wrote in describing this installment of its “Earning the Letter” series, “Corunna Football homecoming spirit extends beyond pep rallies and spirit days in this tight-knit community” – Fox Sports Detroit

Also of note …

Boys Cross Country: From Saturday, Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly (14:53) and Otsego’s Alex Comerford (14:55) posted the fastest boys times in the state this season in finishing first and second, respectively, at the Otsego Invitational – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Girls Swimming & Diving: Also from Saturday, Midland Dow won its seventh straight Tri-Cities Swimming and Diving Championships, led by star sophomore Claire Newman – Midland Daily News