Today in the MHSAA: 3/7/19

March 7, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The final eight semifinalists in boys hockey booked their trips to USA Hockey Arena with Quarterfinal wins Wednesday, while Girls Basketball Districts roared on with the first champion of the week crowned.

1. Hockey: No. 11 Traverse City Bay Reps earned its first trip to the Semifinals with a 4-3 overtime win over No. 7 Byron Center in a Division 1 Quarterfinal – WPBN

2. Hockey: No. 5 Rochester United also will play in its first Division 1 Semifinal after a 4-3 win over No. 3 Orchard Lake St. Mary’s – Oakland Press

3. Hockey: No. 6 Detroit Country Day downed top-ranked Detroit U-D Jesuit 6-1 to return to the Division 3 Semifinals – MI Hockey Hub

4. Hockey: No. 1 Detroit Catholic Central edged No. 6 Salem 1-0 to earn a return trip to the Division 1 Semifinals – Observer & Eccentric

5. Girls Basketball: Frankfort locked up a Division 4 District title with a 50-36 win over Bear Lake – MI Sports Now

6. Hockey: Riverview Gabriel Richard earned a trip to the Division 3 Semifinals with a 4-3 overtime win over Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard/Greenhills – Southgate News-Herald

7. Hockey: No. 2 Saginaw Heritage got past No. 14 Capital City 5-2 to book its return to the Division 1 Semifinals – WJRT

8. Girls Basketball: Elk Rapids’ 3-pointer with six seconds to play pushed it past Manton 46-45 in Division 3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

9. Hockey: No. 5 Houghton scored three third-period goals to down No. 9 Alpena 4-1 in Division 3 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

10. Hockey: No. 11 East Grand Rapids downed Big Rapids 6-0 to advance in Division 3 – WOOD TV

Also of note …

Girls Basketball: Rachel Allen scored her 1,000th career point as Mason County Central moved on in Division 3 with a 51-36 win over Shelby – Ludington Daily News

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