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: 11/17/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

November 17, 2021

1. VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart advanced to the Semifinals for the first time with a sweep of No. 5 Traverse City Christian – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

2. VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Battle Creek St. Philip went five sets to get past top-ranked Adrian Lenawee Christian in a Division 4 Quarterfinal – Battle Creek Enquirer

3. VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central came back after losing the first set to defeat No. 3 Pewamo-Westphalia in four in Division 3 – Monroe News

4. VOLLEYBALL Indian River Inland Lakes will make its first Semifinal appearance after defeating Ironwood in Division 4 – Cheboygan Daily Tribune

5. VOLLEYBALL No. 2 Hudsonville finished a season sweep of No. 4 Rockford with a four-set win in Division 1 – FOX 17

6. VOLLEYBALL No. 5 North Branch will return to the Division 2 Semifinals after a sweep of No. 8 Cadillac – Flint Journal

7. VOLLEYBALL Honorable mention McBain held on 15-10 in the fifth set to defeat No. 6 Calumet in a Division 3 Quarterfinal – Cadillac News

8. VOLLEYBALL Allen Park Inter-City Baptist came back after losing the first set to defeat No. 7 Ubly in four in Division 4 – Southgate News-Herald

9. VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Ann Arbor Skyline is headed back to the Semifinals for the second time in three seasons thanks to a 3-1 win over No. 7 Northville in Division 1 – Ann Arbor News

10. VOLLEYBALL With its top hitter back from injury, top-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Prep advanced in Division 2 with a sweep of No. 4 Detroit Country Day – Detroit News

Also of note …

VOLLEYBALL Three-time reigning Division 2 champ and current No. 2 Grand Rapids Christian moved to within two more wins of a fourth title with a sweep of honorable mention Niles – Grand Rapids Press

VOLLEYBALL Top-ranked Bloomfield Hills Marian also will be returning to Kellogg Arena after a sweep of honorable mention Davison in Division 1 – Oakland Press

VOLLEYBALL Top-ranked Muskegon Western Michigan Christian advanced in Division 3 with a win over Watervliet – Grand Haven Tribune

VOLLEYBALL No. 10 Macomb Dakota advanced to the Division 1 Semifinals with a sweep of Dearborn Divine Child – Macomb Daily

VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Reese will be making its first Semifinal appearance since 2010 after defeating Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 3-1 in Division 3 – WJRT

VOLLEYBALL No. 3 Lake Odessa Lakewood will return to the Division 2 Semifinals after a sweep of Onsted – Lansing State Journal