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: 3/14/22

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 14, 2022

1. GYMNASTICS, HOCKEY, BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Seven team championships and a number of individual titles were awarded over the weekend as these three sports concluded their seasons, and we had coverage of all seven events – Second Half

2. BOYS BASKETBALL No. 10 Detroit Cass Tech avenged a regular-season loss with a Division 1 District Final win over No. 3 Detroit Martin Luther King, 58-54 in overtime – Detroit News

3. BOYS BASKETBALL No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central handed No. 2 Hudsonville Unity Christian its lone loss, 68-48 in Division 2 – Grand Rapids Press

4. BOYS BASKETBALL No. 2 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s avenged a pair of regular-season defeats by downing No. 5 Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice in Division 1 – MLive-Detroit

5. BOYS BASKETBALL Michigan Center emerged as champion of a Division 3 District featuring the top three teams in the Cascades Conference, defeating No. 16 Napoleon 63-47 – Jackson Citizen Patriot

6. BOYS BASKETBALL No. 12 Grandville Calvin Christian also avenged an earlier loss, defeating No. 8 Grand Rapids Covenant Christian 61-55 in Division 3 – FOX 17

7. BOYS BASKETBALL No. 5 Parchment edged Otsego 58-55 to clinch a Division 2 District title – Kalamazoo Gazette

8. BOYS BASKETBALL Vestaburg defeated Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart in Division 4 to win its first District title since 2002 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. BOYS BASKETBALL No. 19 Benzie Central trailed into the fourth quarter but came back to down No. 4 Traverse City St. Francis in Division 3, 70-57 – Manistee News Advocate

10. BOYS BASKETBALL Ishpeming Westwood held off No. 20 Painesdale Jeffers’ comeback to secure a 76-65 Division 3 District Final victory – Marquette Mining Journal

Also of note …

GIRLS BASKETBALL Detroit Edison’s Ruby Whitehorn has been named Miss Basketball by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan – Detroit Free Press