MHSAA Historian Picks 10 to Remember
August 9, 2016
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
It sounded simple and fun, the theme for the MHSAA's spring issue of benchmarks: a history of MHSAA tournaments.
It certainly was the latter, but simple? Not so much.
There’s no way to do justice to nearly a century’s worth of history in some sports. Complicating matters was the abundance of information and photographs for some, and the scant amount of detailed data and images for others.
MHSAA historian Ron Pesch was given an equally challenging task: recount a “Top 10” list from his days covering various MHSAA Finals. He shares them here and, he adds, they are in no order of favorites.
The Shot: 1986 Class B Boys Basketball Final at Crisler Arena – Saginaw Buena Vista’s Chris Coles’ desperation shot, launched at the buzzer from well beyond half court, dropped through the hoop to give the Knights a 33-32 win over defending champion Flint Beecher in a rematch of the 1985 Class B title game. The shot was Coles’ first of the second half and his only points in the contest.
The Smurfs: 1986 Class A Football Final at the Pontiac Silverdome – The "Smurfs" – Muskegon Coach Dave Taylor's nickname for his small, quick swarming defensive linemen – limited heavily favored Sterling Heights Stevenson to four yards rushing and 73 yards of total offense in a 10-0 win. As a 1979 graduate of Muskegon High School, I was elated.
The Drive: 1989 Class B Football Final at the Pontiac Silverdome – I slid down from the press box into the stands at the Silverdome for the end of this one. With 2:20 remaining, the atmosphere was simply electric, as Farmington Hills Harrison’s lauded quarterback Mill Coleman took the reins with his team down 27-21 to DeWitt. The senior executed a flawless two-minute drill, guiding his team to the DeWitt 9 before scampering into the end zone for the tying points. Steve Hill added his fourth PAT for the lead, then secured the victory with an interception on the next series.
King Kool: 2005 Class B Boys Basketball Final, Breslin Center, East Lansing – David Kool was a flawless 20 for 20 from the free-throw line and scored 43 points as Grand Rapids South Christian downed Muskegon Heights 67-60.
The Parade: 2004 Individual Wrestling Finals, The Palace of Auburn Hills – In 2004, I traveled to Auburn Hills to watch the MHSAA Individual Wrestling Finals for the first time. The pageantry of the Grand March, the skills on display, the roar of the massive crowd, and the ensuing beauty and chaos of a wrestling extravaganza of this scale is truly a sight to see.
A Marathon: 2007 Division 3 Football Final, Ford Field, Detroit – East Grand Rapids and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s ended regulation tied 14-14, and this would turn into a five overtime battle that required an extra hour of play. No previous football playoff game, from Districts up, had ever gone beyond four overtimes. After exchanging field goals, touchdowns, extra points and two-point conversions, East Grand Rapids emerged with a 46-39 victory.
Tawana Towers: 1994 Class A Girls Basketball Final at Kellogg Arena, Battle Creek – Flint Northern, coached by Leteia Hughley and led by 6-4 freshman Tawana McDonald, defeated 1993 runner-up Detroit Martin Luther King, 46-32, for the Class A championship. McDonald batted down an MHSAA-record 10 shots, pulled down 13 rebounds and added five points and seven assists in a stellar performance.
Never Quit: 2008 Division 2 Football Semifinal, Spartan Stadium, East Lansing – Unbeaten, No. 1-ranked and heavily favored Muskegon trailed Davison by 22 late in the third quarter and 16 with less than five minutes to play. In perhaps the greatest comeback in playoff history, Muskegon recovered two onside kicks and scored 19 points in the final 4:31 to escape with a 38-35 victory and its third trip in five years to an MHSAA Final.
MHSAA Legends: 1998-2008 – For 10 years, the MHSAA showcased great teams from the past with their Legends of the Game series. From a historian’s perspective it was a chance to meet and learn more about folks I had often known only from the pages of microfilm. It was quite the treat to see years fall away as coaches, team managers and players reunited, in many cases for the first time after decades apart.
The MHSAA Record Books: Online, 1994 – One of my first efforts as state historian was to expand the record books beyond their primary focus on football, basketball, track & field and swimming & diving. With the arrival of the internet, an enhanced version of the record books was brought online. Coaches and fans were quick to respond with letters and e-mails, happily listing entries that had been “missed.” Soon, five category headings in a sport grew to 20, then to 50 and beyond.
Kids: 2004 Football Finals, Pontiac Silverdome – (OK, this is No. 11 ... consider it an extra point). For the first time, my sons joined me for my annual excursion to Metro Detroit for a Thanksgiving Day football weekend. They got to see the Silverdome before the move of the MHSAA Football Finals to beautiful Ford Field. Future Big Reds, they also got to see their future alma mater win another title.
PHOTOS: (Top) An MHSAA boys basketball tournament game is played at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. (Middle) Flint Northern's Tawana McDonald blocks a shot during the 1994 Class A Final.
St. Mary's Avenges Regular-Season Sweep to Claim 1st Finals Title Since 2008
March 8, 2025
PLYMOUTH — Orchard Lake St. Mary’s never really went away.
Yes, it had been 17 years since the Eagles won their last MHSAA hockey championship, but they’ve always been a factor.
Whether it was running into Division 1 powers Brighton and Detroit Catholic Central when St. Mary’s played in the biggest-school division in the MHSAA Tournament, losing in overtime twice in Regional Finals or getting shut out in two championship game appearances, and even forfeiting due to COVID policies in 2021, the Eaglets had some great teams come up just short in the postseason.
A program that won three MHSAA Finals in four seasons from 2005-08 finally put it all together again for five tournament games, winning the Division 3 championship with a 3-0 victory over 2024 champion Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood on Saturday at USA Hockey Arena.
Winning MHSAA championships is apparently more difficult than St. Mary’s made it look way back when.
“It’s hard,” said Brian Klanow, who has won 404 games as St. Mary’s coach over 26 seasons. “You’ve got to go through Regionals, and you certainly have to be on your game. Our team is playing its best hockey of the season right now.”
The last time St. Mary’s won a Finals championship was in a game that has now taken on mythical proportions. The Eaglets and Marquette played eight overtimes in the 2008 Division 1 Final tied 1-1 before the game was called and co-champions were declared out of concern for player safety.
So, why was this team the one to end the streak? Certainly, the Eaglets were loaded with talent, as they are most years. But they also had intangibles working in their favor.
“The difference between this year and previous years was we were close this year,” junior co-captain Charlie Roberts said. “Most of these guys have played with each other before. It played a big role. We were like a family out there. You can’t beat that.”
St. Mary’s senior goalie Will Keane has been trying for three seasons to bring a championship back to a school with a strong hockey tradition. He stopped all 26 shots he faced to backstop the victory.
“It’s unbelievable,” Keane said. “I’ve spent now three years here. My first one was a struggle; we didn’t even win a Regional. The guys who were in that room knew it was pretty tough. Last year, we came in and thought we had the team to do it. You don’t get a bounce. You have to get lucky. I don’t think we did last year, but we came back out and knew this year we had the team and we knew we could break that streak. That’s exactly what we did. The result’s unreal, nothing better.”
Keane split the goaltending duties nearly 50/50 throughout the regular season, partially because he missed time in late December with an injury. But St. Mary’s rode him for all five playoff games and he delivered, allowing only four goals for a 0.80 goals-against-average and .968 save percentage.
“Both of our goaltenders have done a great job this year,” Klanow said. “Mason Shea stepped in when Will was injured. They typically would split. It’s probably close to 50/50, 60/40, but I think it’s important to pick a guy and we needed to ride him.”
Cranbrook Kingswood swept the two-game season series with St. Mary’s, winning 4-3 and 6-2. But the Eaglets locked it down defensively this time and did something they were unable to do in the previous meetings — get an early lead.
Emmett Pilch scored 5 minutes and 20 seconds into the game. St. Mary’s nursed that one-goal lead for more than 27 minutes until Matthew Mourad gave the Eaglets a 2-0 lead with 1:14 left in the second.
Jacob Fedor scored into an empty net from a faceoff circle in St. Mary’s end with 2:53 remaining to seal the victory and deprive the Cranes of back-to-back titles.
“The leadership was unbelievable this year,” Cranbrook coach John LaFontaine said. “These guys came together really quick. They always wanted to do the extra things to be a team. We didn’t have individuals, we had a bunch of guys who were battling together. They will keep these memories for the rest of their life.”
Senior forward Nick Timko concurred.
“The bond I made with all these guys, it’s going to be life-long,” he said. “It stinks to end it this way, but I’ll forever be thankful for these years I’ve had with them.”
PHOTOS (Top) Orchard Lake St. Mary’s players celebrate their championship win Saturday with the student section and USA Hockey Arena. (Middle) St. Mary’s Charlie Roberts considers his next move with Cranbrook’s David Schmitt defending. (Below) The Eaglets’ Matthew Mourad (11) sends a shot into the net during the second period.