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.
With Hodos Again Showing the Way, Pittsford Primed for Another Title Chase
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
February 26, 2025
Becky Hodos waited about an hour before she called her husband, Chris.
“I know. I saw it,” he said when he answered the phone.
“I think you should take it,” Becky responded.
The two were discussing a Facebook post in October in which Pittsford announced it was looking for a varsity girls basketball head coach.
“They posted it on the Pittsford Facebook page at 8:30 in the morning,” Hodos said. “I had eight or nine calls by 10 o’clock. Then my wife called.”
Chris Hodos indeed applied, interviewed and got the job as the Pittsford girls basketball coach, returning to a job he thrived before stepping away five years ago. The results have been eerily similar to before.
The Wildcats are 21-0, ranked among the top Division 4 teams in the state and about to start what Hodos hopes is another long tournament run.
“I really didn’t know what to expect from the girls,” Hodos said. “I’ve been away from it. I wasn’t paying very close attention.”
Everyone is paying attention to Pittsford now. The Wildcats have already clinched the Southern Central Athletic Association East championship and are one of just two undefeated teams remaining in Division 4. They are the top seed in next week’s District at Reading.
“There is little doubt having Chris back on the sideline was a good thing,” Pittsford athletic director Mike Burger said. “Our community loves our kids and the effort they put into everything they do. Chris brings energy every day, so I know they are happy with the swagger he brings.
“(Plus) I thought it was good for him,” Burger said. “He just seemed a little withdrawn. Coaching helped bring his fire back.”
Hodos stepped aside after the 2018-19 season. His son was about to play college baseball in northwest Ohio, and he planned on relaxing and watching baseball. He had been coaching football, basketball and baseball at Pittsford.
“No one believed me when I said I was stepping away,” he said.
The Wildcats went to three Class D Finals in a row from 2015-2017 under Hodos, winning championships in 2016 and 2017. If Pittsford defeats Waldron on Thursday, it will be the sixth time in his nine seasons as head coach that the Wildcats have gone unbeaten during the regular season.
Pittsford has had some close calls this season but has found a way to come back even from double-digit deficits in multiple games.
“When you have the best player on the court every night, that helps,” Hodos said.
His best player is Grand Valley State University signee Ava Mallar. She is a four-year starter who is just shy of 1,600 career points, and played significant roles as Pittsford won 18 games each of the last three seasons.
“I honestly was pretty shocked on how well we are doing,” Mallar said. “We lost two seniors, one of which put up a lot of points. I wasn’t expecting this. It’s been awesome. Beating Reading after losing to them twice last year was really good.”
Mallar was a student manager for Pittsford and Hodos years ago.
“I was the manager when he coached my older sister,” she said. “He worked well with our last coach (Aaron Davis). So, when he came, the expectations were the same and practices were sort of the same.”
Hodos also was familiar with Mallar in another way. His day job is as a salesman at Frank Beck Chevrolet in Hillsdale. He sold Mallar a car a couple of years ago.
“He has a good relationship with our whole family,” Mallar said.
Hodos is highly complimentary of his lead scorer.
“She’s the real deal,” he said. “Against Saline (Washtenaw) Christian she had 17 points in the fourth quarter and we came back from 10 points down. She had 27 of our 37 against Reading.”
Mallar said she elevated her game against Washtenaw Christian.
“There’s a point where I know where I have to step up,” she said. “The best part of my game is when I am driving to the basket and making people guard me and creating shots for my teammates. I knew I had to take over if we were going to pull it off.”
Mallar had a triple-double earlier this season and came within two assists of a quadruple-double.
“I honestly thought I had a horrible game, then I found out I had a triple-double. I guess it wasn’t too bad,” she said.
While Hodos has built the team around his star senior, he is also building for the future. Two Wildcats starters are freshmen and two more freshmen come off the bench. He said he is planning to stay at least five years this time around.
“Mike (Burger) asked me if this was just for one year,” he said. “I said, ‘No, I’ll stay five.’ I might stay longer. We’ll see.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a news and sports reporter at the Adrian Daily Telegram and the Monroe News for 30 years, including 10 years as city editor in Monroe. He's written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. He is now publisher and editor of The Blissfield Advance, a weekly newspaper. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Chris Hodos (left of scorer’s table) coaches his Pittsford girls basketball team this season. (Middle) Ava Mallar sets up for a free throw against Reading. (Photos by Joe Flaherty/Hillsdale Daily News.)