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.
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: 5/24/16
May 24, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The final week of the 2016 spring regular season kicked off with league championships won in multiple sports and the setup of an intriguing one-inning title clincher to come Wednesday.
Baseball
On one side of the Saginaw Valley League title race, Division 1 No. 7 Bay City Western swept Bay City Central to set up a one-inning championship finale Wednesday against No. 9 Mount Pleasant – the two had a prior game suspended with the score 1-1 in the seventh inning, and the winner claims the league title – Bay City Times
On the other side of the SVL race, Mount Pleasant split with No. 6 Saginaw Heritage, winning the first game and losing the second, to set up the title-deciding inning – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Holland Christian’s Mike Mokma was perfect over his game’s five innings and also hit two home runs in a 14-0 win over Grandville Calvin Christian – Holland Sentinel
Golf
Manton shot its lowest score in 16 years, 157, to win a three-team match by 21 strokes – Cadillac News
Boys Lacrosse
Grand Rapids Northview hung on for an 11-8 win over Caledonia in the second round of their Regional – Grand Rapids Press
Girls Soccer
Hemlock’s seventh shutout this season led to its first league title in girls soccer with a 2-0 win over reigning champion Ovid-Elsie in the Tri-Valley Conference West – Midland Daily News
Madison Enderle scored eight goals and keeper Kalyn Breckenridge finished a school-record 17th shutout this season as Birch Run finished a perfect run in the TVC Central with a 12-0 win over Otisville-LakeVille – Saginaw News
Softball
Farmington Hills Mercy and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard claimed Detroit Catholic League championships, Mercy in the A-B division and Gabriel Richard in C-D – Detroit Free Press
Norway won the Mid-Peninsula Conference championship with a 13-3 victory over Manistique thanks in part to two home runs by Bobbi Hulce – Iron Mountain Daily News