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: 2/20/23

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 20, 2023

1. SWIMMING & DIVING Marquette swept Upper Peninsula Finals victories, both extending championship winning streaks to conclude the season – MHSAA.com Girls | Boys

2. BOYS BASKETBALL Detroit Cass Tech came back from a late double-digit deficit to win the Detroit Public School League Tournament final 74-70 in overtime over Detroit Martin Luther King – Detroit News

3. GIRLS BASKETBALL Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard defeated Farmington Hills Mercy 41-27 to win the Catholic League Cardinal championship, its first league title since 1993 – MLIVE-Detroit

4. COMPETITIVE CHEER Allen Park clinched a sixth-straight District title, winning in Division 2 – Southgate News-Herald

5. BOYS BASKETBALL Redford Union edged Romulus 57-55 to clinch the Western Wayne Athletic Conference title – Hometown Life

6. WRESTLING Whittemore-Prescott advanced six from the Girls Regional at Hartland – Bay City Times

7. HOCKEY Division 2 No. 3 Alpena finished an outright Big North Conference title run with a 3-2 win over No. 7 Traverse City Central – WBKB

8. WRESTLING Division 4 No. 4 Bronson qualified 12 wrestlers to the Individual Finals, including two Regional champions – Coldwater Daily Reporter

9. BASKETBALL Rockford’s girls clinched the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red title for the first time in more than a decade, and Grand Rapids Christian’s Durral Brooks went over 1,000 career points – Grand Rapids Press

10. COMPETITIVE CHEER Macomb L’Anse Creuse North and New Baltimore Anchor Bay won Division 1 District championships – Macomb Daily

Also of note …

GIRLS BASKETBALL Martin defeated Galesburg-August 52-46 to secure the outright Southwestern Athletic Conference Central title – FOX 17

BOYS BASKETBALL Sault Ste. Marie clinched the Straits Area Conference title with a 69-66 win over St. Ignace – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

BOYS BASKETBALL Lars Huffman went over 1,000 career points in Mackinaw City’s 99-58 win over Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian – Petoskey News-Review

GIRLS BASKETBALL Josie Schrot set two school records and made the MHSAA record book during St. Louis’ big win over Saginaw Nouvel – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun