Today in the MHSAA: 3/5/20

March 5, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A series of hockey Regional championships and a titanic girls basketball District clash headlined a busy Wednesday across Michigan that saw both tournaments continue to advance.

1. Hockey: No. 7 Howell ended at least five seasons of losses to No. 3 Brighton with a 4-2 win in a Division 1 Regional Final – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

2. Hockey: L’Anse Creuse Unified clinched its first Regional championship, downing Rochester in Division 1 3-0 – C&G Newspapers

3. Girls Basketball: Michigan Center finished a fourth-quarter comeback with a 42-41 win over Grass Lake – State Champs Sports Network

4. Hockey: No. 10 Grand Rapids Catholic Central upset No. 8 Forest Hills Central 5-0 to claim a Division 3 Regional title – FOX 17

5. Girls Basketball: Munising finished the regular season 6-13, but defeated Rapid River 44-31 in Division 4 to claim a third-straight District title – Marquette Mining Journal

6. Hockey: No. 6 Traverse City Central downed Muskegon Mona Shores 6-1 in Division 2 to win the sixth Regional title in program history – Traverse City Record-Eagle

7. Girls Basketball: Unbeaten Port Huron came back from a double-digit deficit to beat Macomb L’Anse Creuse North 44-41 in a Division 1 District Semifinal – Detroit News

8. Hockey: No. 9 Midland Dow locked up a Division 3 Regional title with a 2-0 win over Flint Powers Catholic – Midland Daily News

9. Hockey: Muskegon Reeths-Puffer came back to defeat Traverse City West and clinch a Division 1 Regional championship – Local Sports Journal

10. Girls Basketball: Centreville got past White Pigeon 63-57 in a Division 3 District matchup of local rivals that split during the regular season – JoeInsider.com

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Chelsea coach Todd Blomquist announced his retirement after 20 seasons and more than 300 wins – Chelsea Sun Times News

Today in the MHSAA: 8/25/2015

August 25, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A soccer coach celebrated his 1,000th game and a community mourned the passing of a longtime football program leader.

Those and a feature on a member of our Student Advisory Council are among today’s notable headlines and links to coverage below.

Football

Newaygo is mourning the passing of longtime coach Mark Puff, who guided the varsity to 128 wins and seven league titles over 22 seasons before retiring in 2000 – Muskegon Chronicle

Girls Golf

Jackson Lumen Christi went from two returning members last season to 17 golfers total this fall and won its first tournament since 2013 by edging Parma Western by six strokes at Hanover-Horton’s invitational – Jackson Citizen Patriot

Boys Soccer

Fraser coach Thaier Mukhtar coached his 1,000th high school soccer game Monday (boys and girls games combined), guiding his team to a 5-0 win over Romeo. He formerly coached the Warren DeLaSalle boys and leads both teams at Fraser – Macomb Daily

Saginaw Heritage has posted three shutouts during a 4-0 start after finishing 9-10-1 last season; Monday’s was a 4-0 win over Flushing – Saginaw News

Alma’s Brevan Bender is coming off a season during which he set a school record with 30 goals, and Monday he netted five in an 8-0 win over Birch Run – Saginaw News

Volleyball

Left over from Saturday: St. Louis has long been one of the dominant programs in Class C statewide and against all classes in the mid-Michigan area; Ithaca beat the Sharks for the first time since 1993 when they faced off at the Alma Invitational – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Good Read

Muskegon senior Jared Pittman played in last season’s MHSAA Division 3 Football Final, and after his team was defeated handed the trophy to Orchard Lake St. Mary’s as a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council. He’ll be a significant contributor to his team and the Council this fall – Detroit Free Press