Today in the MHSAA: 5/31/17

May 31, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

This spring’s first night of baseball, softball and girls soccer Districts enjoyed more drama than usual, with a number of upsets changing how brackets were expected to look this weekend – especially in the Bay City and Oakland County areas.

Each weekday during the school year, we’ll gather and post media links covering the most significant and intriguing high school events from all over the state.

Baseball

Bay City Central scored two runs in the seventh inning to upset Bay City Western 3-2 in Division 1 – Bay City Times

Also in Division 1, Ann Arbor Skyline upset No. 10 Brighton 1-0 in nine innings – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

No. 14 Holt downed Battle Creek Lakeview 7-1 in a matchup of teams currently or formerly ranked in Division 1 – Battle Creek Enquirer

Battle Creek Harper Creek got past Marshall 2-1 in nine innings in Division 2 – Battle Creek Enquirer

Bloomfield Hills earned a stunning 5-2 win over No. 3 Birmingham Groves in Division 1 – Oakland Press

In Flint Southwestern’s final regular-season doubleheader ever, Chris Jones broke the school’s single-season stolen base record with his 50th in 54 tries – Flint Journal

Boys Lacrosse

Canton followed a seven-goal comeback against Saline with a five-goal comeback to beat Plymouth 8-7 in overtime in a Division 1 Regional – Observer & Eccentric

Girls Soccer

No. 9 Middleville Thornapple Kellogg opened with perhaps the most stunning win on the first night of the soccer tournament, taking down No. 5 Richland Gull Lake 4-1 in Division 2 – Grand Rapids Press

After the teams split during the regular season, No. 17 Portage Central won the Division 1 District game 1-0 over Mattawan – Kalamazoo Gazette

Saginaw Heritage downed Bay City Western 2-1 in overtime in Division 1 after falling to the Warriors 5-1 earlier this spring – Saginaw News

After seeing a two-goal lead dissolve late, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian downed No. 9 North Muskegon 3-2 with a shootout in Division 4 – Muskegon Chronicle

After falling to Marine City in the District the last two seasons, Richmond downed the No. 18 Mariners 1-0 in overtime in Division 3 – Clinton Township Voice

Division 2 No. 16 Stevensville Lakeshore came back from two goals down to beat Vicksburg 3-2 – St. Joseph Herald Palladium

Softball

Barely a week after being swept by Bay City Western, Bay City Central upset the Warriors 7-4 in Division 1 – Bay City Times

Holland scored in the seventh inning to down Grand Haven 5-4, also in Division 1 – Grand Haven Tribune

No. 3 Escanaba jumped to a 7-0 lead on honorable mention Petoskey in Division 2 and finished with an 8-2 victory – Petoskey News-Review

Today in the MHSAA: 1/20/16

January 20, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Buzzer beaters and milestone basketball victories made headlines all over Michigan today, and check out as well a moving video that tells of the importance of our national anthem.

Girls Basketball

Reigning Class C champion Calumet added another accomplishment to the long list with its first win over Houghton since 1999, 44-31 – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Three Rivers’ sophomore Arionne Fowlkes went baseline to baseline for a last-second layup to give her team a 43-41 win over Niles – Niles Daily Star

Class A favorite Saginaw Heritage remained undefeated with a 53-38 win over rival Midland Dow, also ranked in Class A – Saginaw News

One-loss St. Ignace handed Newberry its first defeat of the season, 64-57 – Sault Ste. Marie Evening News

Cedar Springs also knocked a team from the unbeaten ranks, with Sam Taylor’s 3-pointer in the closing seconds ending Kent City’s perfect run, 50-47 – Grand Rapids Press

Muskegon edged East Kentwood 50-47 after trailing by 10 and on the strength of 26 points and 22 rebounds by senior Mardrekia Cook – Muskegon Chronicle

Boys Basketball

Despite being outscored 30-22 in the fourth quarter, Southfield Christian held on for an 82-79 win over Southfield – MLive-Detroit

Merrill earned its first win since 2013 by downing Coleman 49-36 – Midland Daily News

One-loss Alma handed previously-undefeated Ithaca its first, 56-53, as Dylan Carl hit 3-pointers to send the game to overtime and then win it – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Muskegon Oakridge’s Brady Luttrull drilled a 3-pointer during the final seconds to push his team past Scottville Mason County Central 67-66 – Muskegon Chronicle

Cassopolis followed a strong third quarter by Deoin Gatson to hand Niles Brandywine its first loss, 61-47 – Niles Daily Leader

One-loss Clarkston also handed out a first loss Tuesday, to Rochester Adams, in a matchup of top Class A teams – Oakland Press

Caleb Brown’s only basket for Northport was the game winner during the final seconds of a 51-49 victory over Central Lake – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Nate Dugener’s sixth 3-pointer of the game gave Muskegon Western Michigan Christian a 52-49 win over Holland Christian – Grand Haven Tribune

Boys Swimming & Diving

In a matchup of top teams on the west side of the Lower Peninsula, Division 1 No. 6 Zeeland got past Division 2 honorable mention Holland 104-73 – Holland Sentinel

Worth Watching

We ran across and were moved by Virginia Tech’s honoring of veterans at the start of this men’s basketball season. Check out this meaningful presentation and how it relates to providing proper respect during The Star-Spangled Banner.