Today in the MHSAA: 11/9/18

November 9, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

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

Thursday’s 32 Volleyball Regional Finals saw the elimination of 12 top-10 teams but all eight contenders ranked No. 1 or 2 move on as next week’s Quarterfinals were set.

1. Volleyball: No. 2 Pontiac Notre Dame Prep downed No. 3 North Branch in a power-packed Division 2 Regional title matchup – Oakland Press

2. Volleyball: Reigning Class C champion and current top-ranked Bronson moved on in Division 3 with a 3-2 Regional title win over No. 3 Schoolcraft – Sturgis Journal

3. Volleyball: Top-ranked Farmington Hills Mercy continued its run this fall over rival and No. 6 Bloomfield Hills Marian with a Division 1 Regional Final sweep – Oakland Press

4. Volleyball: Unranked Richland Gull Lake avenged two sweeps by No. 3 Mattawan this season with a 3-1 Regional Final win in Division 1 – Kalamazoo Gazette

5. Volleyball: No. 2 Lake Orion swept league rival and No. 9 Rochester Hills Stoney Creek for a Division 1 Regional title – Oakland Press

6. Volleyball: No. 2 Mendon came back from dropping the first set to clinch a Division 4 Regional title with a four-set win over No. 5 Battle Creek St. Philip – Sturgis Journal

7. Volleyball: Honorable mention Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian continued a title-filled run with a 3-1 win over No. 7 North Muskegon in a Division 3 Regional Final – Grand Rapids Press

8. Volleyball: No. 7 Adrian Lenawee Christian came back from a two-set deficit to down No. 3 Camden-Frontier in a Division 4 Regional Final – Adrian Daily Telegram

9. Volleyball: Honorable mention Onaway came back from losing the first set to upset No. 10 Rudyard in five in a Division 4 Regional Final – Alpena News

10. Volleyball: Kingsley won its first Regional since 2009 and ended Cadillac’s streak at nine with a sweep in a Division 2 matchup of honorable mention teams – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Also of note …

Volleyball: No. 5 Manchester swept Bath in Division 3 to earn its first Regional title in 25 years – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Volleyball: Kingston downed No. 8 Merrill in Division 4 to clinch its first Regional title in this sport – Saginaw News

Football: Central Lake coach Rob Heeke has announced his retirement; he led the team to the 8-player Division 1 title in 2017 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Today in the MHSAA: 2/27/19

February 27, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Hockey Regionals and a few Boys Basketball Districts continued Tuesday, but the evening was dominated by some of the final big-time girls basketball matchups of the regular season – including a rematch of last season’s Class A Final that this time came down to the final seconds.

1. Girls Basketball: In a rematch of last season’s Class A championship game, Saginaw Heritage came back to come out on top again, 55-53 over East Lansing – Saginaw News

2. Hockey: No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle got past No. 10 Grosse Pointe South 3-1 in a Regional matchup of ranked Division 3 teams – Macomb Daily

3. Girls Basketball: Wayne Memorial downed Brighton 61-48 to claim the Kensington Lakes Activities Association Tournament championship – Observer & Eccentric

4. Girls Basketball: Centreville downed Bloomingdale 51-34 to clinch the Southwest 10 Conference championship – Sturgis Journal

5. Girls Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary clinched a third straight Ski Valley Conference title with a 60-29 win over Johannesburg-Lewiston – Gaylord Herald Times

6. Girls Basketball: Stanton Central Montcalm pulled within one more win of a second-straight perfect regular season with a 48-42 victory over Kent City – FOX 17

7. Hockey: No. 8 Plymouth came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat South Lyon 5-4 in a Division 2 Regional – Observer & Eccentric

8. Boys Basketball: Jimmy Benoit’s putback gave Sault Ste. Marie a last-second Division 2 District win over Cheboygan – WPBN

9. Hockey: No. 9 Alpena avenged last season’s Division 3 Regional loss to Sault Ste. Marie with a 4-0 victory – Alpena News

10. Hockey: Howell moved on in the Division 2 bracket with a 6-2 win over Canton – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Also of note …

Volleyball: Longtime Michigan State University coach Chuck Erbe is taking over at Ada Forest Hills Eastern – Grand Rapids Press

Girls Basketball: Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Juliana Paoletti went over 1,000 career points during a win over Clinton – Monroe News