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

Today in the MHSAA: 8/26/16

August 26, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Thursday surely was about football for many Michigan communities – but a number of teams in other sports also got in some competition heading into one of the final weekends before classes start for most.

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.

Cross Country

Croswell-Lexington swept the boys and girls fields at its home Mike Jackson Invitational with five of the top 13 girls finishers and five of the top 20 boys – Port Huron Times Herald

Girls Golf

Coldwater enjoyed a long but successful day, downing Battle Creek Harper Creek and then Sturgis in match play – Coldwater Daily Reporter

Two-time reigning Lower Peninsula Division 4 champion Kalamazoo Hackett bested a field of much larger schools by 10 strokes in winning the Lakewood Invitational – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Volleyball

Cadillac didn’t give up a set over six matches and downed Midland 25-23 and 27-25 in the final to claim its home invitational – Cadillac News