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.)
Friday's Game-Winner Latest, Greatest Highlight for Adrian Kicker Hassan
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
September 30, 2025
When Zack Hassan was a freshman, he decided to play two sports at Adrian High School – soccer and football.
Because he was a soccer player, the Maples’ football coaches decided he would be a good candidate to be a kicker.
“I had never really kicked a football before, but they thought I could because I played soccer,” Hassan said. “I thought, ‘Sure, why not?’”
Fast forward four years and Hassan is no longer a soccer player. He not only is the Adrian kicker – he is eying a college football scholarship and Friday had the biggest moment of his career when he booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired to give Adrian its biggest football win in years.
“I love the pressure moments,” Hassan said. “I like having all of the eyes on me and going out there and kicking.”
Hassan also played receiver and defensive back the last couple of years, but is focused entirely on kicking this season because of a knee injury suffered toward the end of basketball season. He’s delayed surgery because he didn’t want to miss his senior year of football.
“I could have played receiver this season, but I wanted to be safe,” Hassan said. “I had a choice. I could have had surgery before the season or in the middle, but I just wanted to finish out my last year.”
The injured knee part of his kicking leg – but that’s probably for the best if he had to be injured at all.
“As a kicker its almost better because I don’t have to worry about planting,” he said. “That would be constant impact on it. It’s not super bad. I think I will recover quickly. I should be 100 percent by April or May. I should probably try to save the leg, but I enjoy kicking. I like to kick as much as possible in practice.”
Hassan handles all placekicking duties for Adrian, but doesn’t punt. Maples coach Joel Przygodski said Hassan would make a good punter, though.
“He has a strong leg,” he said. “He regularly kicks off to the 10-yard line. It’s a nice weapon to have.”
Hassan’s family moved to Adrian from Sylvania, Ohio, when he was in middle school.
“When I was growing up, I thought I was going to be a basketball player,” he said.
After he joined the varsity football team as a freshman, he decided he liked kicking.
“After freshman year I thought maybe I could get some free tuition out of this,” he said.
He’s made two college visits already – to Baldwin Wallace in Ohio and Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minn., which has offered him a scholarship. He’s headed back to Macalester in a few weeks to check out what it’s like on game day.
“They are a very good school to get an education,” said Hassan, who has a grade point average above 4.0.
Hassan’s siblings stayed on the soccer route. His older sister was a college goalkeeper and his younger sister plays soccer for Adrian.
On Friday, Adrian was locked in a 0-0 tie with unbeaten Ypsilanti Lincoln. In the fourth quarter the two teams exchanged punts, swapping field position. Adrian got the ball back with fewer than 40 seconds left.
“As coaches, we talked about whether or not we wanted to play it safe, play for overtime,” Przygodski said.
After an incomplete pass on first down, running back Luke Bruggeman carried the ball up the middle and broke a tackle to put the ball past midfield. He even got out of bounds to stop the clock.
“I was thinking, okay, we are in business,” Przygodski said.
After quarterback Jaxon Dowling connected with receiver Adam Parker to reach the Lincoln 25-yard line, Przygodski knew the Maples had a chance. Hassan was warming up.
“We were telling him to be ready,” Przygodski said.
Hassan had missed two field goals earlier in the game. One of those attempts was from 48 yards out.
“My coaches just told me to get ready and told everyone else to stay away from me,” Hassan said.
With less than 1.5 seconds to play, Adrian reached the 20-yard line and called timeout. Hassan trotted out onto the field. The snap was a little slower than he was used to, he said, but he lined up perfectly and hit the 37-yarder, sending the Maples into a frenzy and stunning the home crowd of about 3,000 people at Lincoln’s homecoming.
Hassan was carried off the field by teammates – and not because of an injury.
“After we shook hands, we went into huddle and everyone was like, ‘Lift him up, lift him up,’” he said.
The win was a big one for Adrian, which continues to make strides under Przygodski’s leadership. Adrian is 4-1 with chief rival Tecumseh coming up this week. The Maples have a lot of momentum for the rest of the season.
“Going into the season we were really unsure how we were going to be, because we lost a lot of seniors last year,” Hassan said. “It’s good. We’ve had a lot of people step up. We are turning a lot of eyes right now.”
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) Adrian kicker Zack Hassan is carried by his teammates after making the game-winning field goal Friday against Ypsilanti Lincoln. (Middle) Hassan steps into his winning kick. (Photos by Marnette Sutherland.)