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.

Today in the MHSAA: 5/25/17

May 25, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Last-minute goals tipped the statewide drama toward boys lacrosse and girls soccer Wednesday, as the Regional tournament continued in the former and league titles were awarded on the pitch.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Baseball

Division 3 No. 7 Madison Heights Bishop Foley downed Division 2 No. 8 Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard 9-1 to claim the Detroit Catholic League Class C-D title for the fifth time in six seasons – MLive-Detroit

Standish-Sterling shut out Shepherd twice to claim the Tri-Valley Conference Central title – Bay City Times

From Tuesday, Division 3 No. 4 Homer downed Athens to win the Big 8 Conference championship, and in the second game gave coach Scott Salow his 500th win – Jackson Citizen Patriot

From Monday, Livonia Clarenceville won its first league title since 1982 by downing Dearborn Heights Robichaud in the Western Wayne Athletic Conference Red – Observer & Eccentric

Boys Golf

Jonesville secured the Big 8 Conference championship with a 26-stroke victory at the league tournament – Hillsdale Daily News

Boys Lacrosse

Vicksburg, No. 7 heading into the postseason, downed Battle Creek Harper Creek for the third time this season, this time 10-8, to advance to a Division 2 Regional Final – Kalamazoo Gazette

Canton came back from seven goals down to get past Saline 13-11 in a Division 1 Regional game – Observer & Eccentric

Plymouth scored with 38 seconds to play to edge Ann Arbor Pioneer 8-7, also in Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

Girls Soccer

Division 1 No. 2 Brighton scored with 1:01 left to play to beat No. 6 Novi 2-1 and earn the Kensington Lakes Activities Association overall title – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

Roseville came back to down Sterling Heights 5-4 and claim its first soccer league title, in the Macomb Area Conference Silver – Macomb Daily

Division 2 No. 4 Trenton finished a sweep of second-place Brownstown Woodhaven to claim the Downriver League title – Southgate News Herald

Division 3 No. 5 Grosse Ile clinched the Huron League championship with a 3-2 win over Riverview – Southgate News Herald

From Tuesday, Division 4 No. 20 Harbor Beach finished an undefeated run through the Greater Thumb Conference North with a 4-1 win over Bad Axe – Huron Daily Tribune

Softball

Parma Western’s Taylor Nichols threw a five-inning perfect game in the first of a sweep of Mason – Jackson Citizen Patriot

From Tuesday, Quincy swept Springport to lock up the Big 8 Conference title – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Also from Tuesday, Lake Odessa Lakewood earned a share of the Greater Lansing Activities Conference title, their fourth straight league crown – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Track & Field

The Chesaning boys and Shepherd girls won Tri-Valley Conference Central championships; for Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 6 Shepherd, it was the sixth straight – Saginaw News

Bay City Western’s girls, ranked No. 9 in LP Division 1, won their first Saginaw Valley League title in 20 years, edging No. 7 Davison by six points; Flint Carman-Ainsworth won the boys title by seven points over Western – Midland Daily News

The Breckenridge boys won their first league title in this sport since 1995 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Traverse City Central swept the boys and girls championships at the Big North Conference meet; the boys are tied for No. 7 in LP Division 1 with Traverse City West – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Good Read

Longtime sports editor Bill Broderick writes that the Big Ten should stay away from playing football on Friday nights. We couldn’t agree more – Battle Creek Enquirer