Winter Finals TV Announced
February 11, 2015
By John Johnson
MHSAA communications director
Five weekends of coverage of MHSAA Winter Championships will be featured beginning next week on the MHSAA.tv website.
The schedule begins Feb. 20-21 in Marquette with live video streaming from the Upper Peninsula Swimming and Diving Championships, and concludes on March 28 with live coverage of postgame awards and press conferences plus on-court halftime activities at the Boys Basketball Finals.
Here’s the complete schedule:
- Feb. 20-21 – Upper Peninsula Swimming & Diving Finals - Marquette
- Feb. 27-28 – Team Dual Wrestling Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals – Battle Creek
- March 5-7 – Individual Wrestling Finals – Auburn Hills
- March 6-7 – Girls Competitive Cheer Finals – Grand Rapids
- March 12-14 – Ice Hockey Semifinals and Finals – Plymouth
- March 13-14 – Girls Gymnastics Finals – Rockford
- March 14 – Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals – Holland, Rochester, Ypsilanti
- March 19-20 – Girls Basketball Semifinals and Postgame Press Conferences – East Lansing
- March 20 – Postgame Awards and Press Conferences; Halftime Shooter’s Challenges; Women In Sports Leadership Award and Miss Basketball Award presentations at Girls Basketball Finals – East Lansing
- March 26-27 – Boys Basketball Semifinals and Postgame Press Conferences – East Lansing
- March 28 – Postgame Awards and Press Conferences; Halftime Shooter’s Challenges; Scholar-Athlete Award, Charles E. Forsythe Award and Mr. Basketball Award presentations at Boys Basketball Finals – East Lansing
All game coverage is live on MHSAA.tv on a subscription basis. All events become available for free On-Demand viewing 72 hours after the conclusion of each game. All of the awards, press conferences and on-court presentations at the Basketball Finals will be live and available at no charge. Video subscriptions run $9.95 for a Day Pass and $14.95 for a Month Pass. The purchase of a Month Pass during the Team Wrestling Finals, for example, would allow viewing through the Boys Basketball Semifinals.
It’s also another busy week for School Broadcast Program members, which will have cameras at more than 40 sporting events.
The School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
Here’s the schedule of School Broadcast Program members planning to cover varsity competition over the next week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv. The following events will have live streaming video unless otherwise indicated:
Wednesday, February 11
Boys Basketball – Central Lake at Onaway, 7 p.m.
Wrestling – Division 2 District Semifinal, Wayland vs. Plainwell, 6 p.m.
Wrestling – Division 2 District Final, Wayland/Plainwell vs. Byron Center, 7 p.m.
Thursday, February 12
Girls Basketball – Atlanta at AuGres-Sims, 6 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Lincoln Alcona at Hillman, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Dryden at Montrose, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Whittemore-Prescott at Rogers City, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Friday, February 13
Ice Hockey – Green Bay (WI) Notre Dame vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood @ MIHL Showcase, 6 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Belding at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Flint Southwestern at Davison, 6 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Holt at East Lansing, 6 p.m. (VOD)
Boys Basketball – DeWitt at Haslett, 6 p.m. (HD)
Boys Basketball – Engadine at Newberry, 6 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Three Rivers at Plainwell, 6 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Edwardsburg at Dowagiac, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Rogers City at Posen, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Three Rivers at Plainwell, 7:15 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Belding at Comstock Park, 7:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Flint Southwestern at Davison, 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Holt at East Lansing, 7:30 p.m. (VOD)
Girls Basketball – DeWitt at Haslett, 7:30 p.m. (HD)
Saturday, February 14
Ice Hockey – Rochester vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood @ MIHL Showcase, 4:40 p.m.
Monday, February 16
Girls Basketball – Houghton at Calumet, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – AuGres-Sims at Posen, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, February 17
Boys Basketball – L’Anse at Calumet, 7 p.m.
Ice Hockey – Houghton at Calumet, 7 p.m.
Boys Basketball – Grand Rapids Covenant Christian at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Ann Arbor Huron at Haslett, 7 p.m. (HD)
Boys Basketball – Mio at Rogers City, 7 p.m. (VOD)
Boys Basketball – Posen at AuGres-Sims, 7:15 p.m.
Girls Basketball – Coloma at Plainwell, 7:15 p.m.
Live stats of select basketball games also are available on MHSAA.tv. Check out the MHSAA.tv website on game night to see which schools are streaming live stats, or stop by to view stats following games on an On-Demand basis. A Day Pass to view live stats is $1.95.
All sporting events – live or delayed – are available on MHSAA.tv on a subscription basis for their first 72 hours online. A portion of each subscription is returned to the school originating the broadcast. Video subscriptions run $9.95 for a Day Pass and $14.95 for a Month Pass. Some schools also are offering Annual Passes at a discounted rate. All sporting events become available for free On-Demand viewing three days after they have been posted.
To view all of the recent School Broadcast Program productions, go to MHSAA.tv, click On-Demand on the nav bar of the left side of the page, and on the Filters tab at the top of next page, click on All States and then select Michigan.
Also available below is an SBP highlights package from the past week, including a 53-50 victory by Plainwell over Mattawan in a boys basketball contest, plus a 53-36 win for Calumet vs. Hancock in girls basketball.
Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.
2011 8-Player Final: Carsonville-Port Sanilac Wins Inaugural Title
December 16, 2011
MARQUETTE – Carsonville-Port Sanilac sophomore Dan Rickett emerged from his team’s final huddle of this season, pulled close to an assistant coach and said, “This one says MHSAA this time.”
His Tigers also celebrated a championship last season – a perfect season in fact, but unofficial title because the MHSAA has not yet instituted playoffs for the now 3-year-old sport.
This year, the first playoffs were held. And that made Friday’s 59-20 win over Rapid River at the Superior Dome – and the trophy C-PS then received – mean so much more.
The Tigers are the first MHSAA 8-player football champions.
“All the people saying last year was nothing, this will shut them up,” C-PS senior quarterback Hayden Adams said. “It means a lot more because we actually had to make a run in the playoffs. It’s that much harder, and we had to play that much better every game.
“I think we topped it off at the end of the season.”
A total of 1,433 fans – most wearing Rapid River’s purple and yellow – cheered on the teams in the inaugural game. C-PS finished 12-1 overall to move to 21-1 in coach Tim Brabant’s two seasons. The Rockets finished 11-2 in their first season of 8-player.
The sport was added by the MHSAA in 2009 to provide another option for schools with enrollments so small they had difficulty fielding an 11-player squad. Playoffs were added this season after the necessary 20 schools announced they’d be sponsoring 8-player teams.
That was not lost on either team, even for Rapid River in the loss. The Rockets had won one game each of the last two seasons playing 11-player teams.
“We had never played in the postseason at all since I’ve been here,” Rapid River senior running back Jacob Berglund said. “To make it this far, it’s awesome.”
Offense has reigned in the early stages of the MHSAA 8-player game. The Final kept to that standard.
The teams combined for 901 yards. Adams completed 12 of 17 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns, and ran for 130 more yards and two scores. Two of his scoring passes were to his brother Trevor Adams, also a senior, including a 43-yarder on the second play of the game. Rickett ran for 78 yards and a touchdown on five carries, and also caught six passes for 133 yards and two scores.
The Tigers jumped out to a 19-0 lead and pushed it to 27-6 by the end of the first quarter. But in 8-player football, a 21-point advantage generally is not a safe one.
Rapid River outscored C-PS in the second quarter to get within 39-20 by halftime. After completing just one pass during the first quarter, Rockets sophomore quarterback Jake Pearson threw for 144 yards and two scores during the second.
But then something somewhat unimaginable happened. The Tigers held the Rockets scoreless the rest of the game.
“At halftime we made some adjustments on what we should do when they motioned. We picked it up real fast,” said C-PS senior linebacker Steven Koehler, who finished with a game-high 20 tackles, including 12 solos.
“I think that the fact they had 10 seniors, and the speed. They’re a year older, two years older in some cases,” Rapid River coach Steve Ostrenga listed as reasons his team had difficulties. “You get two more years of development in that respect as far as strength, and their speed was noticeable. I think that was the big key, their speed.”
Half of C-PS’s players were seniors who had served large roles on this and last season’s teams.
“It’s very fun to watch when we have a group of kids who are that athletic, hard working, and very polite. It’s hard for me to send these guys off,” Brabant said. “I get emotional just thinking about it. But … I know they’re going to be very successful in life.”
The Rockets, meanwhile, graduate just seven players, and also had seven freshmen and three sophomores this fall. Said Pearson, “It was a great learning experience. We know what we have to do for next year now.”
“Now all the teams are going to see what we do,” Adams said. “And they’re going to start doing all the things we do.”