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: 4/17/17

April 17, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first full weekend of this spring saw tournament action all over the state, with an especially notable softball tournament at Saginaw Swan Valley.

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

Longtime Comstock coach Rich Bailey earned his 500th win with his team’s 2-0 victory over Hopkins; Comstock is No. 10 in Division 3 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Zeeland East won the Holland West Ottawa Invitational by scoring a combined 50 runs over three games – Holland Sentinel

Division 1 No. 5 Midland and No. 12 Mount Pleasant split a Thursday doubleheader that should impact the Saginaw Valley League race – Midland Daily News

Boys Golf

Hartland won the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Lakes preseason tournament, led by a pair of individual runners-up – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Girls Soccer

Cadillac won the Holland Invitational, downing Black River and then the host in the championship match – Cadillac News

Softball

Escanaba improved to 6-1 to continue to make good on its No. 2 ranking in Division 2, going 3-1 at the Saginaw Swan Valley Invitational with wins over Ogemaw Heights, Lake Fenton and Division 1 top-ranked Midland before falling 7-6 to host and D2 No. 3-ranked Swan Valley in a rematch of last season’s Division 2 Quarterfinal – Escanaba Daily Press

Division 1 honorable mention Mount Pleasant also earned a win from top-ranked Midland, splitting a Thursday doubleheader – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Division 4 No. 3 Rogers City opened its season with wins over DeWitt, St. Johns and Mason to win the East Lansing Invitational against much larger competition – Alpena News

The host Dragons, No. 7 in Division 1, downed honorable mention Oxford 1-0 to win their Lake Orion Invitational – Oakland Press

Girls Tennis

Division 2 top-ranked East Grand Rapids and Division 3 No. 1 Detroit Country Day tied for the championship at the prestigious Allegan Invitational – Grand Rapids Press

Track & Field

The Adrian Madison girls followed Megan Rosales’ dominating performance in winning the Grass Lake Invitational – Adrian Daily Telegram

The Saugatuck boys and Hudsonville girls were overall champions at the Muskegon Reeths-Puffer Invitational – Muskegon Chronicle