Games Galore highlight MHSAA.tv
October 10, 2012
The fall season is winding down, but the opposite is true for MHSAA.tv and the School Broadcast Program, which produced 28 events last week covering a multitude of teams from all over Michigan.
See those listings below, plus links to the MHSAA Football Friday Overtime on Fox Sports Detroit and the Comcast/Xfinity game shot last week -- Grosse Pointe North vs. Grosse Pointe South -- plus a link to this week's MHSAA Perspective.
MHSAA.tv: Click on the "Schools" tab on MHSAA.tv to find these games:
- Atlanta vs. Hillman football
- L'Anse vs. Calumet football
- Rudyard vs. Rogers City football
- Sault Ste. Marie vs. Cheboygan football
- Traverse City West vs. Petoskey football
- AuGres vs. Mio football
- Manton vs. Lincoln Alcona football
- Johannesburg-Lewiston vs. Onaway football
- Parma Western vs. Mason football
- Lansing Sexton vs. East Lansing football
- Flint Southwestern vs. Davison football
- Pellston vs. Indian River Indian Lakes football
- Montrose vs. Flint Beecher football
- St. Johns vs. Mason swimming and diving
- Oscoda vs. Lincoln Alcona volleyball
- Taylor Truman vs. Trenton volleyball
- Kalamazoo Christian vs. Galesburg-Augusta volleyball
- Davison vs. Flint Powers Catholic volleyball
- Montrose vs. Goodrich volleyball
- Grand Ledge vs. East Lansing volleyball
- Brownstown Woodhaven vs. Allen Park volleyball
- Spring Lake vs. Ludington volleyball
- Alanson vs. Ellsworth volleyball
- Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian vs. Cheboygan soccer
- Allen Park vs. Brownstown Woodhaven soccer
- Cheboygan vs. Roscommon soccer
- Oscoda vs. Lincoln Alcona soccer
- Mason vs. Jackson Lumen Christi soccer
- Also, click under "MHSAA" and "Recent" for the 1994 Class A Boys Soccer Final between Canton and Warren DeLaSalle, won in sudden-death overtime by Canton, 1-0.
FOX: At midnight after each Friday's games, Fox Sports Detroit airs its Football Friday Overtime. Last week, the show was expanded to an hour, with highlights from 13 games.
XFINITY: Friday's 17-15 Grosse Pointe South win over Grosse Pointe North is available to subscribers On Demand on Xfinity's High School Sports site.
MHSAA Perspective: Our John Johnson gives his take not on the NFL replacement officials, but rather, on how treatment of them by players and coaches set a poor example for those at the high school level - Listen
Below: This week's School Broadcast Program highlights, drawn from the L'Anse at Calumet, Flint Southwestern at Davison and Lansing Sexton at East Lansing football games, and a volleyball match between Montrose and Goodrich.
Division 2 Final: 'Anything is Possible'
November 29, 2011
DETROIT – That was the motto of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice’s football team this season.
And the Warriors had to believe it in order for Friday’s dream finish to become possible.
Brother Rice qualified for the Division 2 playoffs at 5-4 last month and after finishing just fourth in the Detroit Catholic League Central. But riding the legs of senior running back Devin Church, the Warriors finished this season with a 24-14 win over Lowell at Ford Field to earn their seventh MHSAA championship and first since 2005.
Church, who ran for more than 900 yards during the playoffs, piled up 244 and three touchdowns rushing in the Final.
“We did it to make Coach proud,” Church said. “We kept the tradition going.
“That’s everybody’s dream, to win a state title. To walk away with a ring, that’s a blessing.”
“Coach” is Al Fracassa, who finished his 43rd season by winning his 405th high school game. But this run provided a new experience for the longtime leader.
Playing in a conference that also includes Division 1 finalist Detroit Catholic Central, Division 3 finalist Orchard Lake St. Mary and playoff qualifier Warren DeLaSalle, the Warriors lost three league games by a combined four points. Brother Rice (10-4) picked up its fourth loss in Week 8 against Cincinnati LaSalle.
But wins over strong teams – Detroit Martin Luther King and Ann Arbor Pioneer among them – likely gave Brother Rice the playoff points boost it needed to get into the postseason.
“We were worried about making the playoffs again. You get down, but the kids, they taught me a lesson. They came out and they worked their tails off,” Fracassa said. “We had a motto before our season started. … Anything is possible. This motto really personifies this football team. Anything is possible, and they’re going to remember it the rest of their lives.”
Church – who will sign with Northern Illinois in February – ran the ball 33 times. His yards were the sixth-most in an MHSAA Final ever. And they were followed by some flattering comparisons from Lowell coach Noel Dean.
“I don’t want to belittle their team by making it about one player; they have a great team,” Dean said. “(Church) is a fantastic football player. One of the better ones I’ve seen. And I’ve coached against some pretty good running backs in my day. The Grady brothers and the Ducketts, I’ve seen some pretty good ones. He’s fantastic.”
Fracassa added: “He’s done that all year, for the last three years. This is not only his good game he played. He’s played good in every game he’s played.”
And while Church ran wild, the Warriors were able to contain Lowell all-state quarterback Gabe Dean, who was making his third straight appearance in the Division 2 Final. A senior now, he led the Red Arrows to a championship game win in 2009
Dean did throw for 190 yards and two touchdowns, but was able to get free for just 34 yards on the ground as Lowell (12-2) attempted to catch up, and catch Church, most of the afternoon.
“The veer offense, we learned how to shut it down this week in practice. And we did a great job in the game,” Brother Rice junior linebacker Jon Reschke said. “We got them out of the veer and into a shotgun formation, the spread offense, which they didn't want to be in, which helped us.”
Senior linebacker Mark Doman had a team-high 13 tackles for Brother Rice, and Reschke had 10. Junior linebacker Reed Stormzand had 20 to lead Lowell, followed by sophomore linebackers Garrett Stehley and Jake Stehley with 14 and 12, respectively.