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: 5/12/17

May 12, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A trio of exceptional highlights led Thursday’s high school action across Michigan – the 20th straight league title for a tennis team, a perfect hitting night in softball and arguably the two best soccer teams in the state meeting in a league game.

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

Detroit Catholic Central advanced to the Detroit Catholic League A-B championship game with a 4-1 win over Division 1 No. 17 Warren DeLaSalle – Detroit News

Top-10 teams Centreville and Bronson split a Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference doubleheader, Division 4 No. 3 Centreville winning the first game and Division 3 No. 7 Bronson the second – Sturgis Journal

Girls Golf

Upper Peninsula Division 1 top-ranked Houghton bested the field by more than 50 strokes in winning a nine-team event at George Young in Iron River – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Boys Golf

Calumet edged Iron River West Iron County by six strokes to win the boys tournament at George Young – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Boys Lacrosse

Division 1 No. 3 Hartland downed Walled Lake Northern 15-3 to clinch its first Kensington Lakes Activities Association Lakes championship – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

From Wednesday, Tecumseh hung on through overtime to down Dexter 10-9 and clinch the Southeastern Conference White title – Adrian Daily Telegram

Girls Soccer

Ottawa-Kent Conference White leaders Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (No. 2 in Division 2) and Forest Hills Central (No. 1 in Division 1) are still tied for first in the league after a 1-1 draw – Grand Rapids Press

Unranked Troy Athens downed Division 1 No. 20 Troy 1-0 – Oakland Press

Softball

Bay City All Saints’ Hannah Duculon went an incredible 10 for 10 from the plate in her team’s sweep of Tawas – Bay City Times

Clarkston’s Paige Blevins tied her single-season home run school record as the Division 1 honorable mention Wolves swept Rochester Hills Stoney Creek – Oakland Press

Division 1 No. 6 Utica Ford used a late rally to secure a 4-1 win over Division 2 honorable mention St. Clair – Macomb Daily

Girls Tennis

Midland Dow, No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 1, swept every flight to win a 20th straight Saginaw Valley League title – Midland Daily News

Niles Brandywine secured the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship by a point ahead of Comstock – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium