Ramping Up for Prepapalooza 2014
May 27, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Over the next five days, thousands of teams representing more than 700 MHSAA high schools will compete for championships at the District, Regional and Finals levels in 11 sports in what annually is the busiest week in Michigan high school sports.
MHSAA.com and Second Half are the places to be for results, coverage and live video from championship events all over both Peninsulas.
Total, 26 Finals champions will be crowned in girls and boys tennis, girls and boys track and field and Upper Peninsula girls and boys golf, with 36 Regional champions rewarded in girls and boys lacrosse and Lower Peninsula boys golf and 320 winners earning trophies in softball, baseball and girls soccer. All tournament rounds combined, more than 8,000 medals will be presented to individual winners or contributors on those team champions.
Game scores as they are reported for baseball, softball, soccer and lacrosse will be available on the MHSAA Score Center throughout the week. Full results from golf Regionals also will be posted over the next five days, as will Finals tennis and golf results as we receive them from Lower and Upper Peninsula hosts (Lower Peninsula tennis opening rounds late Friday evening). Track and Field Finals results will be posted Saturday evening.
All MHSAA Finals from both peninsulas will be covered with stories and photos on Second Half by a crew of valuable correspondents from around the state. Second Half will continue its coverage at the Lacrosse and LP Boys Golf Finals on June 14 and the Baseball, Softball and Girls Soccer Finals from June 19-21.
Live championship races from all seven sites of MHSAA Track and Field Finals will be available on a subscription basis on MHSAA.TV, beginning with the 3,200-meter relays at 10 a.m. at each site. The rest of the Upper Peninsula races then will continue, with Lower Peninsula championship races beginning again at 1 p.m. Highlights from this week's golf and tennis championship events will debut on MHSAA.TV in July.
PHOTOS: (Top) Runners push toward the finish during the 2013 LP Division 3 Final. (Middle) Members of the Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart tennis team hold up number ones to signify their place at last season's LP Division 4 Final.
Thanks in Part to Super Subs, Balanced Lincoln Set to Make Finals Debut
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2024
EAST LANSING – It may be that Warren Lincoln is short on star power.
But success certainly isn't lacking.
In fact, the Abes' latest includes the chance to play in their first state championship game after surging to a 60-48 win over Flint Powers Catholic in Friday's first Division 2 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
Warren Lincoln does have four players averaging more than nine points per game. But coach Wydell Henry said it's hard to single out a particular player as a bona fide star.
"Who is our superstar? We don't have one," said Wydell, whose team advanced to Saturday's 6:45 p.m. finale. "Sometimes a star shines through, but today it was the bench."
How impressive was the bench? Warren Lincoln's subs outscored Powers’ 27-1, with a handful of non-starters on the floor for a devastating 19-7 run over 10 minutes from the last minute of the first quarter to the 7:10 mark of the third.
It's a bench which has evolved during the season, junior guard Markus Blackwell said. Four months ago, during the opening weeks of practice, there were some roles which were up in the air. But Blackwell said those roles were quickly defined, and success followed.
"We knew in the summer we were going to have depth," said Blackwell, who led the Abes with 20 points. "We just needed to get better and learn to make shots. Everyone can score, everyone can make their shots. That's what makes it a lot of fun."
Warren Lincoln (23-4) trailed by as much as 17-9 with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. But the Abes tied the game 20-20 on a 3-pointer by Christopher Morgan with 5:15 left in the half, then outscored Powers 17-6 in the third quarter.
The closest Powers came after that was 47-40 with five minutes left in the game, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Blackwell clinched the win.
Javontae Ross led Powers (22-6) with 16 points, and Connor Kelly added 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Wydell said his team goes nine deep and considering the returning experience this season, he was expecting Lincoln to be a factor. The Abes finished 9-1 to claim the Macomb Area Conference White title, and all four its losses this season were to strong Division 1 teams.
"I knew we had eight back and that was going to be deep enough," he said. "I didn't know who, but we have guys who work hard. We just needed to put it together.”
Defensively, Warren Lincoln held Powers to just 40.8-percent (20 of 49) shooting from the field. The Chargers were slowed by 14 turnovers, many when it seemed they could make a run.
"Offensively, we got a little bogged down today; we couldn't find any rhythm. They scouted us well. It wasn't any particular player, we just couldn't find the hoop," Powers coach Zach Collins said. "They definitely have depth, they go about nine deep and they're huge. They go 6-5, 6-6 and can roll in a lot of guys. They can roll in a lot of guys who understand their scheme. We knew that was something we'd have to contend with."
Wydell said the game-clinching run came after a timeout in which he told the players ignore any pressure.
"We called a timeout, got together and just told the kids to relax," he said. "Hopefully it would work because we really didn't have any answers. We just had to settle down and play the right way."
PHOTOS (Top) Warren Lincoln’s Markus Blackwell (2) cuts between Flint Powers Catholic defenders Grant Garman (2) and Dempsey Cull (35) during Friday’s Division 2 Semifinal. (Middle) Jamari Culver (23) looks for an opening with Cull attempting to wall off his path. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)