Rivaling for a Cause
January 25, 2013
It’s impossible to include all the perspective we gain from every “Battle of the Fans” visit.
But this anecdote, although it didn't make Tuesday’s story about our Frankenmuth trip, tells of another great example for what student cheering sections can accomplish.
Frankenmuth and Millington are heated rivals, to say the least, separated by 13 miles and made more competitive by plenty of championship-deciding matchups over the years.
But for their boys basketball game Jan. 10 at Frankenmuth, student section leaders from both schools almost completely on their own set up the game as a cancer awareness night, complete with Frankenmuth students in black shirts and Millington’s wearing pink.
The idea was the brainchild of a of Frankenmuth section leader, who then received help from a local bank and contacted Millington to get the ball rolling.
Battle of the Fans has shown us the obvious – these student sections need strong leaders – but also the special things they can accomplish with additional initiative.
“Never Forgotten”
Two more rivals, Fennville and Saugatuck, met late last month for their second “Never Forgotten” boys and girls basketball games with proceeds going to the Wes Leonard Heart Team for the purchase of AEDs.
Players wore jerseys with names on the backs of friends and family members who had died, and those jerseys were then given to family members after the games. Officials Ace Cover, Chris Dennie and Kyle Bowen also donated their game checks to the Heart Team, as did the winner of that night’s 50-50 raffle.
Leonard died from sudden cardiac arrest after making the game-winning shot in a basketball game March 3, 2011. The two schools played their first “Never Forgotten” games last season.
More support for less specialization
I’m asked once a year at least about sport specialization – that is, athletes focusing on just one sport, often from an early age, and if it pays off some way down the road.
Most of my evidence to support my belief in the well-rounded athlete has been anecdotal, based on conversations with people at the high school and college levels over the years. But a British study published this fall in the Journal of Sport Sciences by University of Birmingham researchers provides some interesting empirical findings.
The study of 1,006 people from the United Kingdom showed that those who participated in three sports at ages 11, 13 and 15 were “significantly more likely to compete at a national rather than club standard” between ages 16-18 than those who had practiced only one sport.
In other words, the study found that those who played more sports at earlier ages played at a higher level during their high school-age years, which seems to contradict the one-sport focus philosophy.
Click for more perspective on the study from Chris Kennedy, the Superintendent of Schools in West Vancouver, British Columbia.
PHOTO: The boys and girls teams for Fennville and Saugatuck pose together after their "Never Forgotten" games Dec. 21 at Fennville High. (Photo courtesy of Al LaShell.)
Preview: Surprise-Filled Tournament Set to Culminate with Memorable Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 4, 2022
Every MHSAA Tournament in every sport surprises us with some of the unexpected. Soccer this fall certainly has provided a few unanticipated moments to remember.
Saturday’s four Finals feature a team making its first championship game appearance, a second also seeking its first title and a third seeking its first this century, plus a Division 4 championship match pitting unranked contenders.
Division 1 - Comstock Park - Noon
Rochester Adams vs Rockford
Division 2 - Novi - Noon
Richland Gull Lake vs Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Division 3 - Comstock Park - 3 p.m.
Holland Christian vs Grosse Ile
Division 4 - Novi - 3 pm
Muskegon Western Michigan Christian vs Ann Arbor Greenhills
Tickets cost $11 and may be purchased online only at GoFan. All four Finals will be broadcast and available with subscription from MHSAA.tv.
Below is a glance at all eight teams taking the field, with statistics through Regionals:
Division 1
ROCHESTER ADAMS
Record/rank: 16-1-6, No. 8
Michigan Power Rating: No. 8
Coach: Josh Hickey, 14th season (157-87-55)
League finish: Fourth in Oakland Activities Association Red
Championship history: Division 1 champion 1999, two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Jackson Craft, jr. F (21 goals, 10 assists), Luke Rosin, sr. D (14 goals, 16 assists), Nick Hopkins, jr. D (2 goals, 2 assists), John Coon, jr. GK (0.64 goals-against average, 12 shutouts).
Outlook: Adams is returning to the Finals for the first time since finishing Division 1 runner-up in 2014, and defeated top-ranked Troy and No. 10 Salem along the way. The Troy win avenged Adams’ only loss, and the Highlanders also had draws against No. 5 Troy Athens, No. 6 Clarkston and No. 7 Berkley in league play. Striker Connor Patritto is one of six senior starters and had added eight goals and three assists entering the week, while junior midfielder Colton Janes added six goals and 11 assists.
ROCKFORD
Record/rank: 22-0-1, No. 3
Michigan Power Rating: No. 3
Coach: Tim Boelman, second season (33-6-4)
League finish: First in Ottawa-Kent Conference Red
Championship history: Has never played in an MHSAA Final.
Players to watch: Tegan Gumbs, soph. GK (0.53 goals-against average); Benjamin Battreal, sr. F (9 goals, 11 assists); Aidan Flanders, fr. F (6 goals, 8 assists); Andrew Bultman, sr. F (16 goals, 11 assists).
Outlook: The Rams are an early-September draw against No. 12 Grand Haven from a perfect record, and their run to their first Final has included wins over the Buccaneers and No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central. They’ve allowed only one goal over six postseason games, to Portage Central in the Regional Final. Senior midfielder Zenon Fedorowych had added six goals and six assists entering the week. Boelman has coached at every level of the program since first joining the staff in 2008.
Division 2
BLOOMFIELD HILLS CRANBROOK KINGSWOOD
Record/rank: 15-1-3, No. 3
Michigan Power Rating: No. 12
Coach: Chad O’Kulich, 27th season (320-71-37)
League finish: First in Detroit Catholic League AA
Championship history: Division 2 runner-up 2014.
Players to watch: Nathan Hooker, sr. M (10 goals, 8 assists); Bora Akgun, sr. GK (0.72 goals-against average). Evan Evans, sr. M (13 goals, 10 assists); Cameron Hannah, jr. M (13 goals, 5 assists).
Outlook: Cranbrook has returned to the Semifinals four times since its last championship, most recently in 2020 before taking the next step this season and returning to the Final. Hooker made the all-state third team last season and Akgun earned an honorable mention, and they with Evans and defenders Ian Chang and John Lee are senior starters. The Cranes have shut out four postseason opponents, including No. 10 Riverview in the Semifinal, and their only loss of the fall came in overtime to Division 1 No. 2 Detroit Catholic Central.
RICHLAND GULL LAKE
Record/rank: 21-3, No. 1
Michigan Power Rating: No. 1
Coach: Jeff Corstange, first season (21-3)
League finish: First in Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2020), one runner-up finish.
Players to watch: Jasek Zielaskowski, sr. M/F (22 goals, 7 assists), Ryker Corstange, jr. F/M (19 goals, 25 assists), Tariku Klipsch, sr. M (15 goals, 7 assists), Zavier Thomas, jr. F (12 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: After closing the regular season with a pair of losses, Gull Lake has defeated No. 2 Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, No. 8 Parma Western and No. 9 DeWitt on the way to this weekend. Jeff Corstange took over the Gull Lake boys program this fall after previously leading the girls varsity to three Division 2 championships and a 153-20-6 record over eight seasons. Ryker Corstange earned an all-state honorable mention last season, and junior keeper Evan Kaiser made the third team. Kaiser and junior Braden Minehart have nearly split time this season and combined for 14 shutouts.
Division 3
GROSSE ILE
Record/rank: 14-7, No. 14
Michigan Power Rating: No. 18
Coach: Jon Evans, seventh season (150-15-10)
League finish: Second in Huron League.
Championship history: Three MHSAA titles (most recent 2020), two runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Drake Rossi, sr. M (16 goals, 12 assists), Joe Molnar, sr. M (12 goals, 5 assists); Cannon Kawadri, sr. D (5 goals, 6 assists); Hayden Watson, sr. D (2 goals, 1 assist).
Outlook: Grosse Ile will be playing in its fifth-straight Division 3 Final, having won titles in 2019 and 2020 and finished runner-up in 2018 and last season. Only 8-7 at the start of the playoffs, the Red Devils have defeated No. 13 Milan and No. 2 Detroit Country Day during this run and saw Troy, Riverview and Elk Rapids as part of a strong regular-season schedule. Kawadri made the all-state first team last season, and Watson made the third.
HOLLAND CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 19-1-3, No. 6
Michigan Power Rating: No. 2
Coach: Dave DeBoer, 10th season (157-30-22)
League finish: First in O-K Blue
Championship history: Two MHSAA titles (most recent 2003).
Players to watch: Daniel Morgan, sr. GK (0.31 goals-against average,15 shutouts); Kyle Cannon, sr. F (16 goals, 3 assists); Lucas Freriks, sr. F (10 goals, 12 assists); Michael Pierce, sr. F (8 goals, 3 assists).
Outlook: The Maroons have navigated a postseason path that’s included wins over top-ranked Grand Rapids Catholic Central, No. 9 Elk Rapids and No. 15 Fennville. That lone loss came in the team’s third game of the season, against Grand Rapids South Christian, which entered the postseason No. 3 in Division 3. Morgan made the all-state second team last year and has given up seven goals this fall while playing all but two games.
Division 4
ANN ARBOR GREENHILLS
Record/rank: 8-6-4, unranked
Michigan Power Rating: No. 39
Coach: Lucian Popescu, 13th season (161-100-26)
League finish: Fifth in Detroit Catholic League AA
Championship history: Division 4 champion 2017, four runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Lachlan Rae, jr. M (5 goals, 4 assists); Michael Zheng, jr. F (15 goals, 5 assists); Jay Vigan, sr. M (4 goals, 11 assists); Adrian Bardwell, sr. D.
Outlook: Greenhills came out of a league that includes Division 2 finalist Cranbrook, and the Gryphons played mostly larger teams before entering the postseason at 3-6-4. That preparation clearly has paid off as Greenhills has yet to give up a goal over five playoff games, with wins over No. 11 Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep, No. 6 Plymouth Christian Academy and No. 3 Lansing Christian along the way. Bardwell earned an all-state honorable mention last season, and sophomore Etienne Rouillard has a 1.2 goals-against average in net.
MUSKEGON WESTERN MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN
Record/rank: 15-8-2, unranked
Michigan Power Rating: No. 11
Coach: Ben Buursma, third season (37-23-6)
League finish: Does not play in a league.
Championship history: Seven MHSAA titles (most recent 2019), six runner-up finishes.
Players to watch: Gavin Riksen, sr. F (18 goals, 5 assists); Charlie Buursma, jr. M (8 goals, 11 assists); Ashton Leffring, sr. F (22 goals, 18 assists); Cole DeJonge, soph. M (6 goals, 9 assists).
Outlook: Western Michigan Christian rebounded from a 2-5 start to get to 10-8-2 by the end of the regular season, and then reached its 14th Final despite losing a top midfielder to injury during the run. The Warriors have won eight straight games, avenging losses to No. 13 Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian and Leland during the playoffs and defeating top-ranked Hartford in a Regional Final. Leffring made the all-state second team last season.
PHOTOS (Top) Gull Lake's Jasek Zielaskowski gains possession during his team's Semifinal win Wednesday. (Middle) Greenhills' Raj Tiller gets a foot on the ball during a Gryphons' win over Monroe St. Mary. (Top photo courtesy of The Open Shutter Photo/Cindy Corstange. Middle photo by Lei Zheng.)