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: 6/8/17

June 8, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Our matchups are set for four MHSAA Lacrosse Finals to be played Saturday thanks to eight Semifinals across the Lower Peninsula on Wednesday.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Baseball

Division 2 No. 5 DeWitt rallied early and often to down Division 1 No. 14 Holt 14-0 in the 56th Capital Diamond Classic championship game – Lansing State Journal

Boys Lacrosse

No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central went ahead for good with fewer than three minutes left in overtime to down No. 3 Hartland 12-11 in a Division 1 Semifinal – Oakland Press

No. 4 Rockford played reigning Division 1 champion and top-ranked Birmingham Brother Rice closer than most, but the Warriors earned another championship chance with an 8-6 Semifinal win – Grand Rapids Press

Top-ranked East Grand Rapids scored 13 goals during the second half on the way to a 17-7 Division 2 Semifinal win over No. 3 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood – Oakland Press

No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central got past No. 4 Detroit Country Day in overtime 11-10 to advance in Division 2 – Fox 17

Girls Lacrosse

Four-time reigning Division 1 champion and top-ranked Rockford will play for another title after downing No. 6 Northville 22-4 in a Semifinal – Grand Rapids Press

No. 5 Birmingham United also needed overtime to down a No. 3 Hartland team, doing so in a Division 1 Semifinal 13-11 – Oakland Press

Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingwood will return to the Division 2 Final after a 14-8 win over No. 4 Okemos – Detroit News

Reigning champion and No. 3 East Grand Rapids also will return to the Division 2 Final after a 16-3 win over unranked Farmington Hills Mercy.

Girls Soccer

With just under eight minutes to play, Louisa Judge drilled a free kick to give No. 6 Dexter a 2-1 lead in its eventual Division 2 Regional Semifinal win over No. 4 Trenton – MLive-Detroit

Saline fought back from a rare deficit to down Brownstown Woodhaven 2-1 in a Division 1 Regional Semifinal matchup of unranked teams – Saline Post