Thank You from Second Half
January 25, 2013
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Next week will mark the one-year birthday of Second Half, our place to tell your high school sports stories.
And I thank you for helping us to such a great start.
We knew what we hoped to accomplish starting this site a year ago, but we've learned quite a bit during a relatively short time. Although we continue to pursue the mission of being home of the state’s best high school stories and a daily stop for fans, we’ll continue to experiment to figure out what you'd most like to see and how best we can continue to pass along the great things happening in MHSAA athletics.
A few things to call to your attention as we move ahead:
- First and foremost, we strive to tell your stories – hoping to hit every sport and all regions of our state – and have some intriguing ones coming up as we get into the second half of the winter season. Stay tuned.
- Second Half is the home for the “Battle of the Fans II.” We have visits to Buchanan and Vandercook Lake next week, followed by Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard and Zeeland East the week after. We’ll announce the winner Feb. 22. All will be found here first.
- We've revamped our video page (see menu across the top of this screen) and will be adding more videos more regularly in the year to come.
- After a brief hiatus, we’ll next week bring back “High 5s” featuring two athletes and a team that have done great things this season.
- What you’re reading now is the first of a weekly “First Pitch” blog that will allow us to post more of the quick hits we run across in our regular travels. Make sure to continue checking out the twice-weekly blog by Executive Director Jack Roberts, as well as the Viewpoints and SAC Sound-Offs supplied regularly by our friends from the Michigan State University Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and the members of our Student Advisory Council, respectively.
- We began providing in-depth statewide coverage – both previewing and then postgame reporting – of our Finals in every sport this fall, and hope to become your first and fastest source for the stories behind our championships.
We’re always looking for ideas both for stories or any other features you’d like to see – and feel free to send them directly to me at [email protected].
And again, thank you again for coming to our site today. We look forward to seeing you more in the year to come.
In Shoulder Pads & Stripes, Michigan Superbly Represented at Super Bowl LX
By
Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
February 9, 2026
MHSAA football champion? Check.
NCAA football champion? Check.
Super Bowl champion? Check.
Winning has become routine for Muskegon’s Anthony Bradford.
Bradford starred on the offensive line for the Big Reds, helping deliver the MHSAA 11-Player Division 3 championship in 2017. He kept collecting titles at LSU as part of the Tigers’ national championship team in 2019. Now, he’s reached the sport’s biggest stage as a Super Bowl champion.
The Seahawks’ starting right guard played a major role in Seattle’s second Super Bowl title, a 29-13 win over New England on Sunday in Super Bowl LX. Seattle rushed for 141 yards and allowed just one sack in the victory.
Bradford wasn’t the only former MHSAA athlete connected to the Seahawks this season. Wide receivers Tyrone Broden (West Bloomfield, 2019) and Cody White (Walled Lake Western, 2016), along with offensive lineman Logan Brown (East Kentwood, 2019), spent time on the practice squad or injured reserve. Defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins (Detroit Southeastern, 2010) was released in early December.
New England also featured MHSAA ties, with offensive lineman Mike Onwenu (Detroit Cass Tech, 2016) and punter Bryce Baringer (Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, 2017) on the Super Bowl roster.
Super Bowl LX was officiated by referee Shawn Smith, a graduate of Detroit Cody, where he played football and ran track. Smith was a registered MHSAA official for 18 years before advancing to the college ranks and eventually the NFL.
PHOTOS (Top) Shawn Smith, center with white hat, poses for a photo with his officiating crew at Sunday's Super Bowl. (Middle) Muskegon's Anthony Bradford lines up against Farmington Hills Harrison in 2017. (Smith photo courtesy of the NFL/Ben Liebenberg.)