Dunn Finishes Among Scoring Leaders
April 24, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Blake Dunn is one of the finest all-around athletes in Michigan, a four-sport star for Saugatuck who will go on to play baseball at Western Michigan University this fall.
But his most notable accomplishments may have come on the football field, and his name appears 19 times in the MHSAA record book for that sport.
Dunn, as quarterback this past fall, scored 323 points – third most in MHSAA history – to graduate with a four-season total of 827 points, which ranks second all-time for a career. He scored 42 total touchdowns as a senior to finish with 113, fourth on that career list, and his 101 career rushing touchdowns also rank fourth in that category. His 6,954 career rushing yards rank eighth all-time, and his streak of 26 straight 100-yard rushing games ranks third.
Dunn also made lists for kicking extra points, passing touchdowns, kickoff return touchdowns (four this past season tied for second-most) and for a 100-yard interception return.
As might be expected, Saugatuck as a team scored more than 500 points each of the last two seasons, finishing both 10-1. Its 53.5 ppg average this past fall ranks eighth all-time.
Click to see the football record book in full and read on for more of the latest additions for girls and boys basketball, hockey, softball, volleyball and wrestling.
Girls Basketball
Alma’s Maddy Seeley capped her high school career in 2014 with a record-setting performance in a 68-62 Regional loss to Freeland. Seeley made all 21 free throws she attempted, breaking the previous girls basketball record by one for consecutive free throws in one game. Those 21 free throws also are tied for third most in a game, as she scored 39 points total. Seeley currently plays at Northwood University.
New Lothrop teammates Monica Confer and Amber Sammons graduated in 2010 among the winningest players in MHSAA girls hoops history. The two four-season standouts finished with a career record of 97-11 and Class D titles in 2008 and 2009. Confer went on to play at Davenport and then Northwood University, while Sammons played at Schoolcraft and then Rochester College.
Boys Basketball
Trenton needed a big fourth quarter to come back against Wyandotte Roosevelt on Jan. 17 – and got one of the biggest in Michigan high school history. Trenton scored 42 points – tied for fifth most in a quarter – to edge Roosevelt 73-72 after trailing 50-31 heading into the final period. Joel Childers scored 13 points with four 3-pointers to lead the barrage.
Hockey
New Baltimore Anchor Bay senior Joey DeMarte played himself into the MHSAA records for scoring prowess twice within four days this winter. On Jan. 21, DeMarte score three goals within 37 seconds – at 8:06, 7:54 and 7:21 of the second period – in an 8-0 win over Utica to move into second place for fastest three goals by one player in one game. On Jan. 24, he had five goals during the second period of a 14-0 win over Port Huron to also rank second for most goals in a period.
Girls Soccer
Middleville Thornapple Kellogg keeper Aly Miller capped her career last spring on the MHSAA career shutouts list despite missing all of the 2014 season with an injury. She graduated with 39 shutouts over 60 games in 2013, 2015 and 2016, and was added for single-season shutouts for a second time with 13 a year ago. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg as a team made the list for fewest goals given up with seven in going 16-2-2 in 2016. Miller plays now at Webster University in Missouri.
Softball
Manistee then-junior Sydney Arendt joined the single-season doubles list last spring, knocking 18 in 36 games. She batted .537 overall last season.
Volleyball
Rockford setter Hailey Delacher upped her number of entries in the MHSAA record book to 12 in leading her team to a Class A runner-up finish in the fall. Delacher, who already had the record for most assists in one match (67 in 2015), added four more entries to the category as a junior while coming on especially strong during the playoffs – her season-high 54 came in the Semifinal, with 49 in a Quarterfinal, 46 in a Regional Final and 53 during the regular season. Her 1,635 assists this past season rank fourth since the start of rally scoring in 2004-05, and she moved into 10th on the career list with 3,802 assists and a season still to play.
Wyoming Godwin Heights enjoyed a strong senior season to end a record-book career for senior middle Mya Jordan in the fall. Jordan made the single-season kills list with a career-high 622, and with those also made the career kills list with 1,569 over four seasons. Senior teammate Tony Henry also made the record book with 128 aces for the season, including 11 in a three-set match against Wyoming Lee. Godwin Heights won its first league title in the fall in 17 years.
Wrestling
Grand Rapids Christian junior Desean Bryant became the first in MHSAA history to achieve a pin in six or fewer seconds at 112 pounds when he did so in a match during the Traverse City West Invitational on Dec. 28. That win was Bryant’s ninth straight to start the season.
PHOTO: Saugatuck’s Blake Dunn rushes toward an opening upfield during a game his junior season. (Photo courtesy of the Saugatuck athletic department.)
Mendon 8-Player Championship Game Run Paced by Record-Setting Rushing
By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 26, 2023
Mendon’s run to the Division 2 Final last fall included some of the strongest rushing performances over the history of 8-player football.
The Hornets ran for 4,317 yards, second-most all-time, on the second-most attempts (520) and with a record-setting 682 yards Oct. 14 against Marcellus. Mendon also set the record for total offense with 692 total in that game, and made the single-season touchdowns list with 76 including 66 rushing (also second on that list).
Junior Jack McCaw made the single-season scoring list with 212 points, most coming on 29 touchdowns, and Evan Lukeman made the single-game rushing list with 401 yards against Marcellus. Mendon’s defense also earned praise, twice making the fewest-first-downs-allowed list with a low of three.
See below for more recent additions to the 8-player portion of the football record book:
8-Player Football
Athens’ Landon Bennett earned a pair of record book entries after reaching the end zone seven times during his team’s 72-0 win over Burr Oak on Sept. 8. His seven scores are tied for third-most in 8-player history and included three rushing, three on punt returns and one on an interception return. The three punt return touchdowns are a record. Bennett is a junior.
On the night Powers North Central broke its 8-player record for consecutive wins, claiming its 28th straight, senior Luke Gorzinski tied Jets great Jason Whitens for the record for interception touchdowns in a game with two, scoring on returns during the second and fourth quarters. Gorzinski has signed with Michigan Tech, and North Central’s winning streak is 37 games and counting.
A pair of Atlanta offensive playmakers and a top defensive lineman earned a total of seven entries in the record book for achievements last fall. Senior quarterback Tyler Currie threw for 30 touchdowns over eight games, and also made the records for six touchdowns and 419 passing yards against Whittemore-Prescott on Sept. 23; the passing yards are second-most for one 8-player game. Sophomore Landon Galea was added for 263 yards and five of those touchdowns against the Cardinals, and also for 1,418 yards receiving and 23 touchdowns over nine games. Junior teammate Tucker Kendrick made the tackles for loss list with five against Hillman on Oct. 6.
Adrian Lenawee Christian senior Brady McKelvey became the first to make the career extra points list in 8-player football this past fall. He bettered his previous single-season record making 64 of 66 extra-point attempts over 11 games and finishing his two-year varsity career with 123 extra points in 127 tries.
Sam McKissack reached the record book showcasing multiple skills for Crystal Falls Forest Park during the 2021 season – twice for rushing attempts in a game including with a record 59 against Ontonagon that Sept. 10, and then with a record 70-yard punt Oct. 30, 2021, against Lake Linden-Hubbell. Teammate Devon Basirico also made the record book with six fumble recoveries over 11 games that season. As a team, Forest Park was added twice for single-game rushing attempts – including 73 total in that Ontonagon game – and for 424 rushes over 11 games for the season. McKissack and Basirico are seniors this spring.
Nikolaus Lewis tied for eighth-most rushing touchdowns in an 8-player game when he reached the end zone six times for Carsonville-Port Sanilac in its win over Caseville on Oct. 7. He’s a senior this spring.
Bridgman has won 24 straight games over the last three seasons, and an exceptional offense – and exceptional offensive star – have played major roles. The Bees were added for 658 total yards in a win over Lawrence last season, that total ranking third all-time, and also 613 yards in a win over Eau Claire. Those included totals of 575 and 547 rushing yards, respectively, and Bridgman was added for 3,598 rushing yards (sixth on the list), 59 rushing touchdowns (fourth) and 76 total touchdowns (seventh). Senior Reid Haskins capped his four-year, 32-game varsity career with 13 record book entries, including for 254 points last season over nine games (tied for fifth all-time) and a record 620 career points, 41 touchdowns last season (fifth) and a record 95 for his career, 2,344 rushing yards last season (third) and a record 5,206 for his career, and 41 rushing touchdowns last season (third) and a record 94 for his career. Senior teammate Tanner Peters made the records three times including for 50 extra points last season (fourth) and 99 over 26 games and three seasons (second on the career list).
Mio's Austin Fox rewrote the 8-player passing record book this past fall, with his 621 yards in a game against Whittemore-Prescott setting a single-game record as he totaled four of the five-highest passing yardage totals. He also set a record with 3,516 over nine games for the season, another record with 289 passing attempts over those nine games and a third record for nine touchdown passes in that game against the Cardinals. His 41 touchdown passes total rank fourth. Teammates Gage Long and Nathan Hurst also earned several record book entries on the receiving end of those passes. Long’s 297 receiving yards against Whittemore-Prescott were tied for third most, and Hurst’s 266 against Alcona rank eighth. Long set a single-season record with 1,739 receiving yards, with Hurst sixth all-time at 1,321, and Long’s 14 receptions against the Cardinals and 70 for the season also rank second on those respective lists. Hurst set a record for longest 8-player kickoff return with a 99-yarder against St. Helen Charlton Heston. All three are seniors.
Peck was one of the first MHSAA 8-player champions, claiming the title in 2013, and Cody Abrego one of the state’s first 8-player stars. The Pirates were added to the MHSAA record book 52 times, and Abrego 14 times individually. Among the most notable entries for the 2015 graduate were for 462 points scored over his two-season career (ranking sixth all-time), 74 career touchdowns (sixth), 2,202 rushing yards in 2013 (fifth) and 35 rushing touchdowns in 2013 (sixth). Current senior Caleb Lentner was one of the stars statewide this past season, and he was added eight times including for 50 points scored in a game (ranking second), 272 points for a season last fall (fifth), eight touchdowns in a game (tied for second), 42 touchdowns in a season (fifth), an 8-player record of 2,694 rushing yards from last season, and 38 rushing touchdowns also last fall (fourth). Others to make the individual lists were Nathan Robar, Caleb Dudley, Steven VanConant, Kyle Abrego and Nathan Neihaus, Dudley for a record 20 career interceptions over two seasons and VanConant for a record 12 tackles for loss in a 2022 game and 36 tackles for loss for the season last fall. The Pirates also are all over the 8-player team record book, including for a record 97 touchdowns in 2013, a record 5,895 yards of total offense that season, 528 carries, 4,346 rushing yards and 73 rushing touchdowns in 2013 (all ranking second); and 24 interceptions in 2014, which ranks second on that list.
Senior quarterback JR Hildebrand was one of the most dynamic players in 8-player football in the fall in leading Martin to the Division 1 title. He had one of his most exciting nights in a playoff opener against Tekonsha, making the single-game touchdown pass list with six in a 68-6 victory.
PHOTO Mendon’s Jack McCaw (21) eludes a tackle during the 8-Player Division 2 Final in November at Northern Michigan University. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)