Watch Spring Finals on Comcast
June 7, 2013
Arrangements have been finalized to have MHSAA spring tournament finals in baseball, lacrosse, soccer and softball shown on a delayed basis on Comcast Channel 900.
The package starts with the airing of Saturday’s (June 8) Lacrosse Finals. The Boys Finals will be shown on Tuesday, with the Division 1 match-up of defending champion Birmingham Brother Rice and Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern at 7 p.m. followed at 9:30 p.m. by the Division 2 title tilt between defending champion Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central and Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood. An encore presentation is set for June 15 in the same time slots.
The Girls Lacrosse Finals will debut on Wednesday at 7 p.m., with Rockford facing Bloomfield United in the Division 1 championship followed at 9:30 p.m. by the Division 2 finale pitting defending champion East Grand Rapids against Livonia Ladywood. Those games will get a second airing on June 16, with Division 1 at 3 p.m. and Division 2 at 6 p.m.
The Lacrosse Finals will be available on the Internet Saturday with live dedicated video (MHSAA.tv) and audio (MHSAANetwork.com) streams of the championship games at East Grand Rapids and Rockford. Here’s the complete live schedule:
Boys Lacrosse at East Grand Rapids
2 p.m. – Division 1 – Birmingham Brother Rice vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern/Eastern
4:30 p.m. – Division 2 – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbroo-Kingswood
Girls Lacrosse at Rockford
2 p.m. – Division 2 – East Grand Rapids vs. Livonia Ladywood
4:30 p.m. – Division 1 – Rockford vs. Bloomfield United
Next weekend, MHSAA Network coverage will include live streaming audio of the Semifinals and Finals in baseball and softball and live streaming video of the Finals in both of those sports as well as girls soccer. All of the video also will be shown on Comcast Channel 900. The complete schedule can be found on the MHSAA Website.
Division 6 Final: Play it Again, Yellowjackets
November 29, 2011
DETROIT – So began the legacy of Ithaca quarterback Travis Smith.
And so continues an incredible run by one of Michigan’s newest football powerhouses.
The Yellowjackets pushed their winning streak to 28 and claimed their second straight MHSAA championship by downing Constantine 42-14 in Friday's Division 6 Final.
They did so led by a number of last season’s top players, but minus their 2010 Final star. That’s where the sophomore Smith came in, joining the starting lineup in the season’s second week and bringing Ithaca back to Ford Field for another title.
“It’s more special just because this is the last time to suit up for most of us. We’re not going to be able to play another game next year, and we get to end on the biggest stage high school football has to offer in Michigan,” Ithaca senior linebacker/running back Garrett Miniard said.
“I think it was almost a little jealousy of the seniors last year of being able do that, being able to go out on top. I think that kept us going throughout the season, throughout the offseason. Being able to have that luxury of going out on top just like they did.
Ithaca (14-0) hasn’t lost since its 2009 Semifinal against Montague. With two more wins to start next fall, the Yellowjackets can become the 14th team on the MHSAA record book list with at least 30 straight victories.
And Smith should be there to lead the way. He connected on 18 of 25 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown Friday, and ran for 43 yards and a score. Miniard rushed for 43 yards and two touchdowns, and had 14 tackles. And senior David Brown caught six passes for 122 yards and also ran for a score.
Smith followed the path this fall of another former sophomore starter at his position – Alex Niznak, who graduated in the spring, plays at Central Michigan now, but didn’t leave before leading the Yellowjackets to both their first Semifinal berth and MHSAA championship over the last two seasons. Niznak’s title game performance last season included 251 yards passing, 138 rushing and an MHSAA Finals-record five touchdowns running the ball.
Brown originally took over at quarterback this fall. But he was injured on opening night – after running for three touchdowns against Williamston – and missed significant time, allowing Smith to take hold of the offense. Smith finished his first varsity season with a not-too-shabby 2,310 passing yards, 969 rushing yards, and a combined 48 touchdowns throwing or running.
“Coach (Terry) Hessbrook told me to just go in there and do what I can do, and just play football,” Smith said. “I’ve got so many good athletes around me. I just need to get my players the ball and let them do what they can do.”
Ithaca twice had catching up to do in the Final, with Constantine (11-3) scoring first and then taking a 14-7 lead midway through the first quarter – before the Yellowjackets rolled to 35 unanswered points.
“These kids had this goal since last year … of getting back here,” Hessbrook said. “We didn’t want Ithaca football to just be one and done, or a one-year wonder. And they’ve worked really hard.”
Constantine junior Ben Mallo did run 17 times for 189 yards and both scores. But the Falcons were without quarterback Tommy Reed, who was injured during last week’s Semifinal win over Ecorse. They played Ithaca to a 14-14 halftime tie before the Yellowjackets’ offense broke the game open.
“We’ve played offenses with that type of talent. Last week, for instance. And I’m sure Coach Hessbrook watched those films and saw some things he could do against us," Constantine coach Shawn Griffith said. "It’s a lot different than what we do, and you saw we caused them a little bit of problems early in the game as well. We do our thing, they do theirs. They do their thing very well. We did ours well. We just weren’t quite there on a couple drives that ended short.”