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: 9/30/20

September 30, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A possible preview of the Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Finals tops today’s lineup of Tuesday’s headliners, followed by more girls golf standout performances and a few league championship clinchers.

1. Girls Golf: No. 2 Plymouth shot 327 to edge No. 3 Northville by four strokes and No. 4 Grand Blanc by eight and win the Ann Arbor Pioneer Invitational against a field featuring five of the top 10 teams in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – We Love Ann Arbor

2. Girls Golf: LPD3 No. 3 Big Rapids clinched its 10th league championship in 11 seasons by winning the Central State Activities Association Tournament – Big Rapids News

3. Girls Golf: Repeat medalist Lauren Reed led repeat team champ Battle Creek Harper Creek to the All-City title – Battle Creek Enquirer

4. Boys Soccer: South Lyon downed Walled Lake Western 3-2 to clinch a share of the Lakes Valley Conference championship – Oakland Press

5. Girls Golf: Anci Dy shot a career-low 64 to lead LPD1 No. 10 Traverse City West to the Cheboygan Invitational championship – Traverse City Record-Eagle

6. Volleyball: Onsted earned an impressive sweep of Division 3 No. 7 Hudson – Adrian Daily Telegram

7. Girls Swimming & Diving: Zeeland swam past Holland 106-69; they are honorable mentions in LPD1 and LPD2, respectively – Holland Sentinel

8. Cross Country: The Manistee girls and Mason County Central boys won six-team races in Ludington – Manistee News Advocate

9. Boys Soccer: Detroit Catholic Central moved to 5-0-2 with a 3-1 win over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice – Observer & Eccentric

10. Volleyball: Division 3 No. 8 North Muskegon remained undefeated in the West Michigan Conference with a four-set win over Hart – Local Sports Journal

Also of note …

Girls Golf: Durand set a school and conference record shooting 359 to win the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference Tournament – Owosso Argus-Press