Today in the MHSAA: 10/30/15
October 30, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Thursday’s Boys Soccer Regionals saw another reigning champion and one more top-ranked team fall, and two of the top small-school volleyball teams in the state matched up as that regular-season for that sport rolled toward a close.
Boys Soccer
Division 1 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central shut out No. 10 Portage Northern to move to 21-0-3 – Grand Rapids Press
Division 2 No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern downed No. 5 and reigning champion East Lansing in a shootout – Grand Rapids Press
Williamston, No. 3 in Division 3, eliminated top-ranked Flint Powers Catholic from the MHSAA Tournament for the second straight season – Lansing State Journal
No. 2 Grand Rapids South Christian earned a trip to the Division 3 Semifinals with a 1-0 win over No. 7 Paw Paw – Grand Rapids Press
No. 4 Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood reached the Division 2 Semifinals with a 1-0 win over No. 18 Ortonville-Brandon – Oakland Press
Division 4 No. 7 Kalamazoo Hackett scored twice during the second half to get past No. 10 Hartford – Kalamazoo Gazette
Volleyball
Class C No. 1 Bronson closed the regular season with three-set wins over Class D No. 2 Battle Creek St. Philip and Sturgis – Sturgis Journal
Whitehall finished 3-0 at the West Michigan Conference tournament to claim its eighth straight league title, with a little help from Shelby, which eliminated Class C No. 4 Montague – Muskegon Chronicle
Today in the MHSAA: 1/20/16
January 20, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Buzzer beaters and milestone basketball victories made headlines all over Michigan today, and check out as well a moving video that tells of the importance of our national anthem.
Girls Basketball
Reigning Class C champion Calumet added another accomplishment to the long list with its first win over Houghton since 1999, 44-31 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette
Three Rivers’ sophomore Arionne Fowlkes went baseline to baseline for a last-second layup to give her team a 43-41 win over Niles – Niles Daily Star
Class A favorite Saginaw Heritage remained undefeated with a 53-38 win over rival Midland Dow, also ranked in Class A – Saginaw News
One-loss St. Ignace handed Newberry its first defeat of the season, 64-57 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News
Cedar Springs also knocked a team from the unbeaten ranks, with Sam Taylor’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds ending Kent City’s perfect run, 50-47 – Grand Rapids Press
Muskegon edged East Kentwood 50-47 after trailing by 10 and on the strength of 26 points and 22 rebounds by senior Mardrekia Cook – Muskegon Chronicle
Boys Basketball
Despite being outscored 30-22 in the fourth quarter, Southfield Christian held on for an 82-79 win over Southfield – MLive-Detroit
Merrill earned its first win since 2013 by downing Coleman 49-36 – Midland Daily News
One-loss Alma handed previously-undefeated Ithaca its first, 56-53, as Dylan Carl hit 3-pointers to send the game to overtime and then win it – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun
Muskegon Oakridge’s Brady Luttrull drilled a 3-pointer during the final seconds to push his team past Scottville Mason County Central 67-66 – Muskegon Chronicle
Cassopolis followed a strong third quarter by Deoin Gatson to hand Niles Brandywine its first loss, 61-47 – Niles Daily Leader
One-loss Clarkston also handed out a first loss Tuesday, to Rochester Adams, in a matchup of top Class A teams – Oakland Press
Caleb Brown’s only basket for Northport was the game winner during the final seconds of a 51-49 victory over Central Lake – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Nate Dugener’s sixth 3-pointer of the game gave Muskegon Western Michigan Christian a 52-49 win over Holland Christian – Grand Haven Tribune
Boys Swimming & Diving
In a matchup of top teams on the west side of the Lower Peninsula, Division 1 No. 6 Zeeland got past Division 2 honorable mention Holland 104-73 – Holland Sentinel
Worth Watching
We ran across and were moved by Virginia Tech’s honoring of veterans at the start of this men’s basketball season. Check out this meaningful presentation and how it relates to providing proper respect during The Star-Spangled Banner.