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: 12/10/15

December 10, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Wednesday was the first day of winter in full swing with significant matchups coming in six sports as four got into the heart of their first week of the season. Be sure to check out as well a story on MHSAA officials recruiting efforts.

Girls Basketball

Traverse City St. Francis won an early battle between two of the north’s top small-school teams, downing Frankfort (featured today on Second Half) 76-72 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

A pair of Concord players filled the stat sheet in a 62-56 win over Michigan Center; senior Lindsey Lehmen led with 24 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals, and sophomore Camryn Ward grabbed 19 rebounds – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Boys Basketball

From Tuesday, Sanford Meridian freshman Lucas Lueder will be among first-year players to watch, if his 18 points in a 65-61 win over Saginaw Nouvel are an indication – Midland Daily News

Boys Bowling

Vandercook Lake could be in line for an exciting season or four after watching freshmen Korey Reichard (278) and Conner Lackey (267) lead the way in a 29-1 win over Grass Lake – Jackson Citizen-Patriot

Ice Hockey

Division 3 No. 10 Farmington’s two first-period goals were enough as the Falcons scored a key early-season win over Division 2 No. 4 Berkley – Oakland Press

After finishing regulation tied, Division 2 No. 9 Traverse City Central needed only 14 seconds of overtime to get past Cadillac 4-3 – Traverse City Record-Eagle

Boys Swimming & Diving

Chelsea coach Dave Jolly was the mid-Michigan link to Wednesday’s Waverly Relays, the annual event for Lansing-area teams to kick off the season; his Lower Peninsula Division 3 No. 3-ranked team broke Okemos’ five-year hold on the meet championship – Lansing State Journal

Wrestling

No. 3 Davison earned one of the most significant early wins so far this season, 45-27 over No. 4 Brighton, which beat Davison in the Division 1 Semifinals last season – Livingston Daily

Saginaw Swan Valley, No. 8 in Division 3, just escaped Essexville Garber for a 32-30 win – Saginaw News

Good Read

After more than five decades as an official, Dick Kalahar is watching from the stands this season. He is among a growing number of retiring officials the MHSAA is charged with replacing over the next few years, and this piece looks at some of the challenges and opportunities, in part through Kalahar’s eyes – Jackson Citizen-Patriot