Today in the MHSAA: 11/29/17

November 29, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Each weekday of the school year, we break down the top headlines courtesy of Michigan’s sports media.

Today's Top 10 

1. Girls Basketball: Walled Lake Western broke away late for a 56-51 win over Southfield Arts & Technology, which made the Class A Semifinals last season – Oakland Press

2. Hockey: Division 3 No. 3 Hancock came back from a two-goal deficit in the first period to get past neighbor and No. 7 Houghton 4-2 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

3. Girls Basketball: Two-time reigning Class D champion Pittsford opened something of a new chapter with a 50-37 win over Hudson led by a couple of last year’s contributors in bigger roles – Hillsdale Daily News

4. Girls Basketball: Benzonia Benzie Central opened with a 68-33 win over a Cadillac team coming off a Quarterfinal appearance last season – Traverse City Record-Eagle

5. Girls Basketball: Cedarville came back from a five-point deficit with 90 seconds to play to beat Hillman 44-41 in overtime – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

6. Girls Basketball: After suffering its only regular season loss last winter to Constantine on opening night, Centreville started 1-0 with a 45-31 win over the Falcons – Sturgis Journal

7. Girls Basketball: Reed City outscored Leroy Pine River 16-2 in the third quarter to come back from a halftime deficit and win 37-35 – Manistee News Advocate

8. Hockey: Division 2 No. 8 Marquette put up an impressive 4-0 win over rival Escanaba – Marquette Mining Journal

9. Football: The official formation of a 16-team Western Peninsula Athletic Conference will lead to the end of the Iron Mountain/Kingsford football rivalry after 93 years, two weeks after it was announced that the league schedule wouldn’t leave an opportunity for the 123-year Marquette/Negaunee rivalry to continue; the teams reportedly are forming the league to ensure they have full schedules – Iron Mountain Daily News

10. Football: We always applaud teams that schedule tough, and reigning Division 3 champion Muskegon will do so again in 2018 with Division 2 champion Warren DeLaSalle and semifinalist Detroit Martin Luther King added to the schedule for the first two weeks, respectively – Muskegon Chronicle

Noel Dean on Parental Expectations

July 9, 2012

At Lowell High, football parents who think their child should be playing more get an opportunity to convince coach Noel Dean of the same -- but must do so in a meeting with the parents of the player who would lose time in the process. 

Dean, who has led the Red Arrows to three MHSAA titles, recently spoke with the America Football Coaches Association about managing parental expectations and providing a wider view of his program and the decisions that must be made to parents who often see through a more narrow scope.

Click on the link below, and especially pay attention at the 2:30 mark as Dean talks about his strategy for discussing playing time.

AFCA Two Minute Warning