Today in the MHSAA: 1/29/19

January 29, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Lower Peninsula was snowed out Tuesday, but the Upper Peninsula played on and nearly filled out today’s list with all of the coverage we could find – plus a pair of neat feature stories we included as well.

1. Girls Basketball: Riley Poupore scored 35 points to lead Iron Mountain past Ishpeming 59-48 – The Upbeat

2. Boys Basketball: Dollar Bay pulled away during the closing seconds of a 48-46 win over Ewen-Trout Creek – The Upbeat

3. Girls Basketball: Iron River West Iron County came back from a halftime deficit to edge Kingsford 39-38 – Iron Mountain Daily News

4. Girls Basketball: Baraga edged Chassell 42-39 – The Upbeat

5. Boys Basketball: Hancock downed Calumet 41-35 in overtime – The Upbeat

6. Boys Basketball: Kingsford made 62 percent of its shots from the floor in a 77-53 win over Norway – Iron Mountain Daily News

7. Girls Basketball: Munising took a big early lead and held on for a 48-32 win over Big Bay de Noc – Escanaba Daily Press

8. Girls Basketball: Felch North Dickinson also got out to a sizable first-half advantage on the way to a big win over Eben Junction Superior Central – Escanaba Daily Press

9. Boys Basketball: Bessemer fell just short of Hurley, Wis., 48-46 – The Upbeat

Also of note …

Boys Basketball: Frankfort would not play Buckley 5-on-4 to finish its Jan. 18 game – instead opting to equal things out – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Football/Basketball: Few small towns have enjoyed the level of success in these sports of late as Pewamo-Westphalia, and this series of anecdotes tells a lot of the community’s story – Lansing State Journal

Today in the MHSAA: 1/6/20

January 6, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The clashing of statewide wrestling powers and a nearly unbelievable performance on the ice highlighted a power-packed first weekend of 2020.

1. Wrestling: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central, No. 2 Davison, No. 3 Brighton and Division 2 top-ranked Lowell took the top four team places, respectively, at the 56th DCC Invitational – Oakland Press

2. Hockey: Division 2 No. 2 Livonia Stevenson downed Hartland 5-2, with Seth Lause scoring an incredible three short-handed goals – Observer & Eccentric

3. Boys Basketball: Flint Beecher downed Benton Harbor 76-62 in a matchup of teams expected to make runs at Finals championships in March – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

4. Hockey: Division 1 No. 5 Brighton handed the first loss of the season to the last team without one, 3-2 to Division 3 top-ranked Calumet – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

5. Hockey: Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central earned a significant league win 6-0 over No. 4 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Oakland Press

6. Girls Basketball: Kelsey Richards went over 30 points for the fifth straight game as Fruitport Calvary Christian earned a 50-46 statement win over Central Montcalm – Muskegon Chronicle

7. Wrestling: Division 4 top-ranked Clinton followed a pair of individual champions to the team title at the 45th Dave Elliott Memorial Tournament – Adrian Daily Telegram

8. Boys Basketball: In another matchup of championship hopefuls, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s downed Grand Blanc 69-66 – Flint Journal

9. Girls Basketball: Hart continued its surge with a 51-35 win over Calvary Christian the day after the latter’s big win noted above – Muskegon Chronicle

10. Hockey: Ann Arbor Pioneer improved to 8-2 with a 2-1 win over rival Skyline in the final of the Jilek Cup – We Love Ann Arbor

Also of note …

Football: The football community is mourning the death of Zeeland West assistant Gasper Giarmo, who coached more than 30 years combined at seven schools including a decade at Byron Center – Grand Rapids Press