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: 9/21/23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 21, 2023
1. GIRLS GOLF Macomb Lutheran North – No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 3 – won its fourth-straight Macomb County championship, with senior Lauren Timpf the medalist for the third-straight season – Macomb Daily
2. BOYS SOCCER Division 2 No. 2 Holland Christian clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Blue regular-season championship with a 3-0 win over Division 3 top-ranked Hudsonville Unity Christian – FOX17
3. BOYS SOCCER Big Rapids clinched a share of the Central State Activities Association title with a 3-1 win over Howard City Tri County – Big Rapids Pioneer
4. BOYS SOCCER Division 3 No. 2 Detroit Country Day downed No. 5 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 2-0 – Oakland Press
5. BOYS SOCCER Division 3 No. 8 Grosse Ile won another matchup of ranked teams, 1-0 over No. 9 Milan – Southgate News-Herald
6. VOLLEYBALL Gladwin defeated Sanford Meridian in a matchup of Jack Pine Conference leaders – Midland Daily News
7. GIRLS GOLF LPD4 No. 10 Traverse City St. Francis carded a 398 to win the Charlevoix Rayder Invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle
8. GIRLS GOLF After finishing runner-up at its first three league jamborees, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer won one for the first time in five years in the O-K Green – Local Sports Journal
9. BOYS SOCCER Cadex Saxton and Tony Romero both scored four goals as Flint Kearsley downed Owosso – Mid-Michigan Now
10. VOLLEYBALL Stevensville Lakeshore won its Dig Pink match with St. Joseph in four sets – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium
Also of note …
BOYS BASKETBALL The Ecorse community is mourning the death of three-sport standout Dennell Kemp Jr., who was especially instrumental in the boys basketball team's successes the last two seasons and was expected to play Division I college baseball after graduation – MLIVE-Detroit
TENNIS Salem is mourning the death of longtime coach Bill Nelson, who led the Rocks for 28 years and then continued as an assistant – Hometown Life
FOOTBALL Zeeland is mourning the death of longtime athletic director Stan Jesky, who also served as football coach and was instrumental in the reorganization when Zeeland split into two high schools – Holland Sentinel