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: 9/17/15
September 17, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Today’s know-your-sports checklist includes catching up on impressive feats by some of the state’s top-ranked girls golf teams and enjoying a pair of inspirational stories about leading soccer scorers.
Girls Golf
Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 4 Lake Orion won the Oakland County Division 1 Tournament for the second straight season, edging No. 6 Novi by one shot and No. 1 Rochester by two – Oakland Press
Three Spring Lake golfers carded three birdies apiece to lead the LP Division 3 No. 1 Lakers to a 53-stroke win in the Lakes 8 jamboree on their home course – Muskegon Chronicle
Boys Soccer
Freeland improved to 11-1 with its first win over Saginaw Swan Valley in three seasons, also handing the Vikings their first loss this fall – Saginaw News
Boys Tennis
Midland Dow, No. 1 in Lower Peninsula Division 2, fell to No. 3 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at the Midweek Classic, but still won the tournament thanks to No. 6 Detroit U-D Jesuit’s win over FHC – Midland Daily News and Saginaw News
Volleyball
Ionia swept reigning Capital Area Activities Conference White champion Williamston, beating the Hornets for the first time under sixth-year coach Jeanna Kraatz – Ionia Sentinel-Standard
Niles emerged as the biggest winner from the SMAC 6-Pack Tournament on its home floor with victories over Battle Creek Lakeview, Battle Creek Central and Richland Gull Lake, all in two games – Niles Daily Star
Bay City John Glenn improved to 9-1 with a win over Tawas, opening North East Michigan Conference play as the reigning champion and with nearly the same lineup as in 2014 – Bay City Times
Good Reads
We’re big fans of athletes who play multiple sports, and Port Huron’s Jon Miller is one of the latest – he’s the soccer team’s leading scorer and the top field goal kicker in school history, plus one of the football team’s leading receivers. A great line from the story: “But if there’s one kid that can take this on, it’s the kid that’s loading his senior year with as many memories as possible.” – Port Huron Times-Herald
Andrew Shippell is Marshall’s leading scorer this season, and after three years of fighting is preparing to celebrate a milestone – the end of his chemotherapy in February – Battle Creek Enquirer