Today in the MHSAA: 12/20/18
December 20, 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.
Teams are getting in their final competitions before at least a brief holiday break, and we’re taking one too after today’s list – “Today” will return Jan. 7, although Second Half will continue publishing stories from all over the state during the final week of December and first of January.
1. Boys Basketball: Gaylord St. Mary broke a 31-game, 14-year losing streak to Bellaire with a 29-26 win – Gaylord Herald Times
2. Boys Basketball: Camden-Frontier improved to 7-0 by handing a first loss to Reading, 57-46 – Hillsdale Daily News
3. Hockey: Evan MacDonald had a hat trick as Division 1 No. 5 Brighton downed reigning Division 3 runner-up Livonia Churchill 4-1 – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
4. Boys Basketball: Mancelona gave Pellston its first loss of this season, 67-65 – Petoskey News-Review
5. Girls Basketball: Waterford Our Lady made a late run to get past Pontiac Notre Dame Prep 61-56 – Oakland Press
6. Wrestling: Grand Haven came back from a 24-0 deficit to defeat Caledonia 39-33 – Grand Haven Tribune
7. Gymnastics: Escanaba remained undefeated to start the season with wins over Marquette and Negaunee – Escanaba Daily Press
8. Boys Basketball: Portland St. Patrick closed on a 22-5 run to beat Fowler 52-42 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
9. Hockey: Brendan Pellerito had 34 saves as Mattawan shut out Portage Northern 4-0 – JoeInsider.com
10. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Hudson earned a pair of league wins over Blissfield and Onsted – Adrian Daily Telegram
Also of note …
Hockey: The status of high school hockey is on the rise with talent evaluators at the game’s next levels – Observer & Eccentric
Tennis: Longtime coach Paul Bandrowski retired after leading Traverse City St. Francis’ girls and boys teams to a number of strong MHSAA Finals finishes – Traverse City Record-Eagle
Girls Basketball: From Tuesday, Eaton Rapids came back to stun Jackson Northwest 44-41, but the Mounties’ Sydney Shafer went over 1,000 career points – Jackson Citizen Patriot
Boys Swimming & Diving: From Tuesday, Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 2 Ann Arbor Skyline edged LPD2 top-ranked Dexter 95-90 – We Love Ann Arbor
Today in the MHSAA: 10/17/17
October 17, 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. Boys Soccer: Division 1 No. 18 Novi scored the game’s lone goal to upset No. 9 Northville in a District opener – Observer & Eccentric
2. Boys Soccer: Manistee scored the winning goal on a penalty kick in overtime to upset No. 15 Whitehall 2-1 in a Division 3 first-round game – Manistee News-Advocate
3. Boys Soccer: Pontiac won its first District game in program history, downing Armada 3-2 in Division 2 – Oakland Press
4. Boys Soccer: DeWitt took East Lansing to overtime before the Trojans emerged with a 2-1 win in a Division 2 opener – Lansing State Journal
5. Boys Soccer: No. 12 Plymouth also survived a close Division 1 opener, clipping Salem 1-0 – Observer & Eccentric
6. Volleyball: Unranked Lapeer was the big winner of its tri-match, downing Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary and also Class B No. 9 Freeland in five sets – Saginaw News
7. Boys Soccer: Howell broke a tie with Pinckney late to emerge with a 2-1 win in Division 1 after playing the Pirates in overtime two of the last three seasons – Livingston Daily Press & Argus
8. Football: Coming off Farmington Hills Harrison coach John Herrington tying the MHSAA record for football wins (and since breaking it) held by Birmingham Brother Rice’s Al Fracassa, the Observer & Eccentric interviewed the legends together – Observer & Eccentric
9. Multi-Sport Athletes: Grand Haven athletic director Scott Robertson wrote a guest column for his local paper explaining the benefits of the multi-sport experience, citing a recent star at his school known well by fans statewide – Grand Haven Tribune
10. Mascots: We know our school’s mascot, but do we know why that mascot was chosen? The Tri-County Times dives into the backstories of four schools’ mascots in its area – Tri-County Times