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: 5/27/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 27, 2021

1. Baseball/Softball: Centreville swept Mendon on both diamonds to secure a pair of Southwest 10 Conference championships; in baseball Centreville is No. 18 in Division 3 and Mendon is No. 17 in Division 4, and Mendon is No. 8 in Division 4 softball – JoeInsider.com

2. Boys Golf: Ludington clinched its seventh-straight league title with a jamboree win in the Lakes 8 Activities Conference – Ludington Daily News

3. Track & Field: The Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart girls and Carson City-Crystal boys won Mid-State Activities Conference championship meets and overall titles; the Irish girls are No. 10 in Lower Peninsula Division 4, and the Eagles boys are No. 3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun Girls | Boys

4. Baseball: Division 4 No. 10 Marion fell 1-0 to Mason County Eastern but came back to win the second game 3-2 and clinch the West Michigan D League championship – Cadillac News

5. Boys Golf: Alma edged Saginaw Swan Valley by two strokes to clinch the Tri-Valley Conference 8 championship – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

6. Track & Field: St. Louis swept girls and boys TVC 10 championship meet wins to go with undefeated dual-meet runs this spring; the Sharks girls are No. 3 in LPD3 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

7. Track & Field: The Traverse City Central girls and LPD1 No. 4 West boys were victorious at the Big North Conference championship meets – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Girls Soccer: Division 1 No. 13 Lake Orion opened Division 1 District play with a 4-1 win over Clarkston – Oakland Press

9. Track & Field: The Midland girls and Davison boys won Saginaw Valley League championship meets – Midland Daily News

10. Girls Lacrosse: Fenton/Linden downed Grand Blanc 10-5 to advance in Division 1 Regional play WJRT

Also of note …

Hockey: This is an incredibly compelling case for hockey hopefuls to give a look at playing for their high school teams – Michigan High School Hockey Hub