Today in the MHSAA: 9/18/15

September 18, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Volleyball upsets and a close call in boys tennis are among the attention-grabbing headlines this morning from across the state.

Boys Soccer

Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central remained undefeated at 8-0-1 with a 3-0 win over Detroit Catholic League rival and No. 16 Birmingham Brother Rice – Oakland Press

Unranked Grand Haven could take No. 20 Rockford’s spot after shutting out the Rams 3-0 – Grand Haven Tribune

Girls Swimming & Diving

Brighton closed its 40-year-old pool with a 96-87 win over Northville – Livingston Daily

Boys Tennis

Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 1 Novi earned a 5-4 win over Northville because they counted a fifth doubles match, with Novi winning all doubles flights and unranked Northville winning all four at singles – Observer & Eccentric

Volleyball

Goodrich, an honorable mention team in Class B this week, came back from losing the first set to beat No. 3 Mount Morris 3-2 – Flint Journal

Class D Marine City Cardinal Mooney came back from losing the first two sets and pushed the fifth to 17-15 to down Class B neighbor Marine City – Port Huron Times-Herald

Plainwell, another honorable mention in Class B, handed Vicksburg the latter’s first Wolverine Conference loss since 2012 – Kalamazoo Gazette

Calumet, a Class C honorable mention, held off a challenge from local rival Hancock in a match of two of the best from the norther Upper Peninsula – Houghton Daily Mining Gazette

Good Reads

Battle Creek St. Philip is playing a senior class that has only experienced 8-player football, and the Enquirer details eight chapters worth of notes from the program's transformation – Battle Creek Enquirer

Today in the MHSAA: 1/11/16

January 11, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The first full sports weekend of 2016 included notable performances in a number of sports, highlighted by one of the top swimming and diving meets of the regular season.

Girls Basketball

Ithaca girls basketball coach Bob Anderson earned his 700th win as his team beat Carrollton 66-40; he’s coached both girls and boys teams to success over 27 seasons – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

Durand handed Goodrich its first league loss in seven years while staying undefeated this season in the Genesee Area Conference Red – Flint Journal

DeWitt remained undefeated at 8-0 after handing Lansing Waverly its first loss this season in a matchup of two of the Lansing area’s top teams – Lansing State Journal

St. Joseph moved to 6-1 with a 72-35 win over Benton Harbor, a semifinalist in Class B last season – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium

Saranac was missing its leading scorer, but still managed to get past annual Class D power Portland St. Patrick 41-33 – Ionia Sentinel-Standard

Boys Basketball

Okemos handed Holt its first loss this season and won its first game on the Rams’ home court since 2010 – Lansing State Journal

Ice Hockey

Portage Central earned a win that could boost it into the state rankings, downing Division 1 No. 10 East Kentwood 2-1 on Saturday in Muskegon – Kalamazoo Gazette

Boys Swimming & Diving

Division 2 No. 1 Dexter scored 409 points to beat No. 4 Warren DeLaSalle by 33 at the annual Spartan Invitational at Battle Creek Lakeview, with the field also including reigning champion Birmingham Seaholm and Division 1 contender Ann Arbor Skyline – Battle Creek Enquirer

Lower Peninsula Division 1 honorable mention Grand Rapids Forest Hills defeated a field that included LPD2 No. 6 Midland Dow at the Forest Hills Invitational – Midland Daily News

Wrestling

Unranked Westland John Glenn got past Division 1 No. 9 New Baltimore Anchor Bay to win the Michigan Duals at Bay City Western over a field that also included No. 8 Western and Division 3 No. 5 Remus Chippewa Hills – Mlive-Detroit

Division 2 No. 9 Sparta won the Dave Dunneback Tournament with 247 points, ahead of Lake Odessa Lakewood, Belding and Division 3 No. 6 Grand Rapids Catholic Central – Grand Rapids Press

Football

Mike McDowell returned four seasons ago for his second stint coaching Morenci and led the program to its best finishes in nearly two decades. He recently resigned – Adrian Daily Telegram

Good Reads

Longtime coach Keith Haske remains cancer-free after fighting Stage 4 throat cancer only a year ago – and he’s added significantly to his day, becoming the girls basketball coach in addition to leading the boys program at Traverse City St. Francis. The Record-Eagle’s Brett Sommers documented a typical Haske day – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Carleton Airport senior Jessica Book is her school’s Homecoming Queen this year – and a cheerleader – and a wrestler – and plans to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps and defuse bombs – Monroe Evening News