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: 2/25/20

February 25, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The MHSAA Skiing Finals capped another winter season with four team championships awarded Monday – find Second Half coverage to the right – while Hockey Regionals also began and a pair of girls basketball results made big headlines.

1. Girls Basketball: West runner-up Brighton advanced to the Kensington Lakes Activities Association title game with a 49-38 win over East champion Wayne Memorial – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Girls Basketball: Lake City moved to 19-1 by handing Bellaire its first loss of the season, 37-27 – Cadillac News

3. Hockey: Kalamazoo Eagles avenged a 4-3 overtime loss to Capital City with a 2-1 Division 1 Regional win – JoeInsider.com

4. Hockey: New Boston United and Southgate-Monroe split during the regular season, but NBU came out on top 8-3 in Division 1 Regional play – Southgate News-Herald

5. Hockey: The No. 9 Traverse Bay Reps opened Division 1 Regional play with a 6-2 win over Grand Rapids Christian – MI Sports Now

6. Girls Basketball: Hartland also advanced to the KLAA final with a 46-25 win over Dearborn – Detroit News

7. Boys Basketball: Fife Lake Forest Area upset Gaylord St. Mary 87-72 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. Girls Basketball: Pinconning downed Whittemore-Prescott 66-28 to move to 13-6, guaranteeing its winningest season since 2002 – Bay City Times

9. Boys Basketball: Pickford improved to 15-2 with a 55-46 win over Engadine – MI Sports Now

10. Boys Basketball: Gladstone picked up a 79-61 win over Ishpeming Westwood – Escanaba Daily Press

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: From Friday, Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart downed Blanchard Montabella 62-40 to clinch the Mid-State Activities Conference championship – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Girls Basketball: From Thursday, Niles Brandywine got past rival Buchanan 73-38 to lock up the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Red title – Niles Daily Star