Greg Tunnicliff
Sports Scene
FLINT, Michigan – There was a tremendous amount of parity on top of the Metro League football standings this fall.
There was so much back-and-forth action that the league championship wasn’t decided until the final night of the regular season. Fenton, Linden, Lapeer West ,and Swartz Creek all entered week 9 with 6-1 league records.
Swartz Creek hosted Linden ,and Fenton hosted West, with the two winners capturing a share of the league title. Linden scored 36 first-half points and never looked back in beating Swartz Creek 43-0.
“Our league plays good football,” Linden coach Dennis Hopkins said. “We had four really good teams.”
Fenton used a big second half to pull away and post a 31-20 victory over West. The Eagles and the Tigers finished 7-1 in league play and 8-1 overall.
It is Linden’s third Metro title in the last four years and seventh in the last 11 years. It is Fenton’s second straight Metro crown and third in the last five seasons.
The 5,000-yard club: Linden senior Shaye Brown was 19 of 22 passing for 284 yards against Swartz Creek, pushing his career total to 5,109. He is only the sixth signal caller in Flint-area history to throw for 5,000 or more yards. Brown ranks fifth, 538 shy of Grand Blanc’s Bart Williams, who is fourth with 5,647. The Flint-area record is held by former Linden standout Cody Marks, who passed for 7,906 yards from 2007-09.
Linden cross country teams win league championships: Linden’s girls’ team secured five top-12 finishes to capture the final Metro Jamboree October 17 at Ortonville Township Park. The Eagles finished with 35 points, one point in front of Holly (34). Holly captured the first jamboree and Linden took the second, creating a winner-take-all scenario for the third. It is Linden’s first Metro crown since 2010. Sydney Elmer won the meet (19:51.6) and teammate McKayal Guy placed second (20:01) to lead the Eagles. Linden’s boys’ team captured its sixth straight league title. The Eagles, ranked No. 3, finished in first place at the third league jamboree with 35 points, well ahead of second-place Holly (72). Fenton’s Max Kryza won the race in 16:24.2. Linden’s Roger Phillips took runner-up honors (16:25) and teammate Graham Elliott took third (16:56.9).
Fenton wins first Metro golf championship since 2006: Fenton posted an 8-0 league dual-meet record and then captured the league tournament with 349 strokes, seven less than runner-up Linden (356). It is the Tigers second Metro title since girls’ golf became a league sport in the spring of 2002. Linden’s Julie Guckian took medalist honors, carding a 78. It is the second straight year Guckian has taken top individual honors at the league meet. Andrea Butarakous and Samantha Moss shot 84s to lead Fenton.
Holly tennis team wins 20th straight Metro championship: Holly captured four of the eight flights at the league tournament October 2 at Kearsley to finish with 50 points, well ahead of runner-up Brandon (38). Holly’s boys’ team is only the third Flint-area squad, in any sport, to win 20 or more straight league championships. Grand Blanc’s boys’ swimming and diving teams captured 25 straight Big Nine Conference titles from 1974-99. Swimming was not a league sport in 1976. Holly’s girls’ tennis program won an area-record 29 consecutive Metro titles from 1982-2011. Brandon senior Spencer Navarre became the first boy in the Metro’s 41-year history to win four straight league championships at No. 1 singles. Capturing doubles titles for Holly were Craig Richards and Parker Rowse (No. 1), Taylor Mills and Zac Goodrich (No. 2), Parker Cuthbert and Aaron Vergith (No. 3), and Morgan Baylis and Gunnar LaFave (No. 4). Also winning Metro individual singles titles were Lapeer East’s Drake Lamphere (No. 2) and Brandon’s Nick Skinsacos (No. 3) and Matt Jones (No. 4).
Lapeer West wins first Metro soccer championship in 13 years: West posted a 7-1 Metro record to capture its first Metro crown since winning its last of three straight titles from 1997-99. The Panthers wrapped up the championship by beating Fenton, 1-0, in the team’s final league match of the season on October 8 at West.
Fenton takes control of Metro girls swimming race: Fenton edged Brandon, 93-92, on October 18 to improve to 4-0 in the Metro. The Blackhawks fell to 3-1. Brandon appeared to have won the meet on the last event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, but its team was disqualified because its entire relay team jumped into the pool to celebrate. The rules state only one swimmer from each team can be in the pool. The disqualification gave Fenton the win. The Tigers were scheduled to swim at Lapeer on October 23. The Metro swimming and diving meet is slated for November 2 at Fenton.
Fenton and Lapeer West volleyball showdown is set: Fenton and Lapeer West were slated to meet October 23 with the league championship at stake. Both teams are 7-0 in league play entering the match. Fenton has won the last four league titles and a league-record 44 consecutive Metro matches. West last won the Metro in 2006, when it shared the championship with Lapeer East.