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: 5/19/23

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 19, 2023

1. GIRLS SOCCER Division 1 No. 6 Okemos got past Division 3 No. 5 Williamston 2-0 to claim the Capital Area Activities Conference Gold Cup – Lansing State Journal

2. BASEBALL Division 4 No. 19 Merrill finished its first league title run since 1985 with a sweep of Coleman in the Mid-State Activities Conference – Saginaw News

3. GIRLS SOCCER Division 4 No. 2 North Muskegon’s 3-0 win over Ludington finished a fifth-straight West Michigan Conference title run – CatchMark SportsNet

4. GIRLS SOCCER Walled Lake Northern avenged its only league loss with a 2-1 overtime win over Milford in the Lakes Valley Conference Tournament final – Oakland Press

5. SOFTBALL Division 3 honorable mention Traverse City St. Francis swept Elk Rapids to clinch a third-straight Lake Michigan Conference championship – Traverse City Record-Eagle

6. BASEBALL Division 1 No. 14 Allen Park finished an outright championship run in the Downriver League with a big win over Trenton – Southgate News-Herald

7. BASEBALL Division 1 No. 2 Bay City Western claimed the Saginaw Valley League championship with a sweep of Davison – Midland Daily News

8. GIRLS SOCCER Cheboygan downed Tawas 3-1 to complete a repeat run in the Northern Michigan Soccer League East – Cheboygan Daily Tribune

9. BASEBALL Division 1 No. 6 Zeeland East clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green title outright with a shutout of Grand Rapids Union – Holland Sentinel

10. BASEBALL Marion finished a perfect run through the West Michigan D League with a sweep of Mason County Eastern – Ludington Daily News

Also of note …

SOFTBALL Division 4 honorable mention Indian River Inland Lakes clinched a share of the Ski Valley Conference championship with a sweep of Gaylord St. Mary – Cheboygan Daily News

SOFTBALL Division 4 No. 5 Hillman clinched a share of the North Star League Little Dipper title with a sweep of Posen – Alpena News

SOFTBALL Division 1 No. 7 Hartland and Division 2 top-ranked Gaylord split a high-powered doubleheader – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

BOYS LACROSSE Linden earned its first postseason win, 16-10 over Flint Powers Catholic in a Division 2 Regional, with Mitchel Luck scoring 10 goals – Mid-Michigan Now