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.
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: 10/22/20
October 22, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The first District soccer championships of 2020 were celebrated across the Lower Peninsula on Wednesday, with the reigning Division 3 Finals champion continuing an incredible streak.
1. Boys soccer: Division 3 No. 2 Grosse Ile clinched its 12th-straight District title in this sport, shutting out Detroit Cristo Rey – Southgate News-Herald
2. Boys Soccer: Orchard Lake St. Mary’s earned its first District title in soccer, downing Ortonville Brandon 2-1 in a shootout in Division 2 – Oakland Press
3. Cross Country: Shepherd’s girls – No. 9 in Lower Peninsula Division 2 – claimed their 11th-consecutive league title, winning the Jack Pine Conference, while Clare’s boys won for the 12th time in 13 seasons – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun Girls/Boys
4. Boys Soccer: In Division 1, Muskegon Mona Shores shut out Rockford for its first District title since 2005 – FOX17
5. Boys Soccer: Top-ranked Elk Rapids downed No. 14 Traverse City Christian 1-0 to clinch a Division 3 District championship – MI Sports Now
6. Volleyball: Division 2 No. 3 Cadillac defeated Division 1 No. 10 Traverse City West in five sets to create a two-way tie atop the Big North Conference standings – Cadillac News
7. Boys Soccer: No. 5 Riverview improved to 18-1 with a Division 2 District Final win over Gibraltar Carlson – Southgate News-Herald
8. Boys Soccer: Utica Eisenhower claimed a Division 1 District title with a 2-1 win over Clarkston – Macomb Daily
9. Boys Soccer: No. 10 Imlay City locked up a Division 2 District title with a 5-2 win over Clio – Flint Journal
10. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 2 Schoolcraft moved into first place alone in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley with a sweep of former co-leader Constantine – JoeInsider.com
Also of note …
Football: Forest Hills Central and Grand Rapids Northview worked together to create a memorable moment for one of the most dedicated Rangers supporters – WOODTV