Today in the MHSAA: 12/4/17

December 4, 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. Hockey: Jake Beaune had a hat trick as Division 2 top-ranked Livonia Stevenson downing Division 1 No. 4 Northville 6-3 – Observer & Eccentric

2. Bowling: The Cadillac boys opened their season – and history as a program – with a Big North Conference championship after a slim victory over runner-up Gaylord; Traverse City West won the girls championship – Cadillac News

3. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Brighton earned a big early-season win, 5-3 over No. 8 Detroit U-D Jesuit – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. Hockey: Division 2 No. 5 Trenton won a matchup of annual titans, 4-1 over No. 4 Birmingham Brother Rice – Southgate News Herald

5. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Hartland finished a weekend trip with a 6-2 win over Division 3 No. 7 Houghton on Saturday after downing Division 3 top-ranked Hancock on Friday – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

6. Hockey: Division 3 No. 9 Grand Rapids Catholic Central jumped to a 4-0 lead on the way to downing No. 5 East Grand Rapids 5-3 – FOX 17

7. Bowling: Adrian Madison’s Isabell Young won her second straight Wildcat Bowling Blast Off, while classmate Anthony Contreras won the boys bracket – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Girls Basketball: Bronson drilled a last-minute overtime jumper to edge Centreville 38-36; Centreville was 19-2 a year ago – Sturgis Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Escanaba made nearly 50 percent of its shots in a self-admitted upset of Sault Ste. Marie, 38-37 – Escanaba Daily Press

10. Hockey: Division 2 No. 10 Midland Dow improved to 4-0 with a 4-1 win over Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, which was ranked No. 5 in the Division 3 preseason poll – Midland Daily News

Also of note …

Hockey: The Saginaw area is mourning the death of former Heritage hockey coach Gene Ayotte, who led the Hawks to more than 200 wins and five league titles from 1994-2008 – Saginaw News

Today in the MHSAA: 12/11/15

December 11, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A number of nail-biting girls basketball finishes topped Thursday’s statewide sports action, and we ran across some gymnastics, bowling and swimming and diving coverage as well.  

Girls Basketball

Cassopolis came back for a 37-29 win over New Buffalo with a big fourth quarter while playing with their thoughts on coach Nat Pittman, who reportedly suffered a heart attack Wednesday – Niles Daily Star

Shannon Bates nailed a 3-pointer with five seconds to play as Bay City All Saints edged Standish-Sterling 34-31 – Bay City Times

Sydney Stine’s free throw with 9.2 seconds to play gave Montague a 38-37 win over Hart – Muskegon Chronicle

Birch Run broke away from Millington 56-50 on 30 points and 13 rebounds by Savanah Gibson, who has averaged 25 points and 17 rebounds over her last two games – Saginaw News

Traverse City Central beat Traverse City West for the first time in nearly two calendar years, coming back from an early deficit with an 18-0 run en route to a 49-38 victory – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Niles Brandywine made 12 3-pointers to down rival Buchanan 67-47 – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Boys Basketball

Dexter scored only one point during the first quarter and trailed South Lyon by 14, but came back for a 56-52 win – Ann Arbor News

Bellevue scored with 21 seconds left in regulation to send its game with North Adams-Jerome to overtime, then emerged as the winner after three extra periods – Hillsdale Daily News

Bowling

Statewide power Battle Creek Pennfield won all-city titles with boys and girls victories over the teams from Battle Creek Lakeview – Battle Creek Enquirer

Gymnastics

In the first gymnastics headline we’ve seen this season (many teams begin competition in January), Tecumseh earned a victory over Adrian with the top two all-around finishers – Adrian Daily Telegram

Boys Swimming & Diving

Spring Lake defeated neighbor Grand Haven for only the second time ever, 96-90, and also beat Muskegon Mona Shores 149-34 – Grand Haven Tribune