Article - High School Sports Scene

Ben Murphy

Sports Scene

They were district champions last year. The Freeland Falcon girls soccer team is off to a strong 7-0-1 start to this year, but first-year head coach Lauren DeRoo isn’t anywhere near satisfied.

“I look forward to the rest of the season,” she said. “We’re doing pretty well so far, but I think that we can only get better. There’s only more to come.”

If DeRoo’s prognostication proves true, it could mean exciting things for the Falcons. Aside from a 1-1 tie with Bay City Western, Freeland has dominated its opponents, outscoring them 43-2.

“I feel like they’re really coming together as a team,” DeRoo said. “Having a new coach is tough. They definitely respect me, which I appreciate. I play a different style than what they are used to, but they are very dedicated and are learning fast. My starters are a very good group of athletes with a lot of background in soccer, which is great.”

DeRoo, who played collegiate soccer for Schoolcraft College and for Saginaw Valley State University, and who coaches the Midland Fusion travel soccer team, isn’t surprised with her team’s progress. “Everybody works well together,” she said. “We kind of feed off each other. It’s kind of like a support system that we have with each other. If somebody gets burned, the team recognizes that and say that it’s my turn to step up. They don’t want to let each other down, which is a great feeling.”

DeRoo was actually hired to be the team’s strength and conditioning coach near the end of last season by former head coach Rodrigo Barassi. It was just before districts, and she was given the task of getting the Falcons into prime shape for the playoffs.

“I think they had some kind of comfort level with me,” she said of transitioning to head coach. “I’m not sure that they trusted me, but they had a comfort level with me. Now, we’re like a big family, we trust each other, and everybody works hard.”

Just three girls graduated from last year’s team, including all-state selection Darby McCracken. The Falcons have been getting strong play from the likes of Taryn Taugher (eight goals), Michelle Herring (seven goals), Gabby Mills (seven goals), Kelsey Ropp (captain), and Macey Miller (captain).

“Ropp and Miller, they are both seniors and my two captains,” DeRoo said. “They do a really good job getting them warmed up, getting them focused and ready to go. When I get there, I don’t have any problems, we just get right into it. They’re good leaders.”

Add in the hard work, the comfort level, and the family atmosphere, and the Falcons will take the results, whatever they may be, the rest of the year. Although if they get that perfect mixture, the results should be exactly what they’re looking for.

“Well, for the rest of season, I really hope we don’t lose a game,” DeRoo said. “We just want to become an even better team and just continue to grow. We want to win our district and move further than we did last year. Hopefully we can win our regional. Our hope is that all the hard work and dedication will get us a regional title.”

DeRoo may be a first-year head coach, but she’s already well aware of what it will take for her team to make a good run in the postseason.

“Lots of conditioning, running, making sure that the girls are fit, and making sure that they’re technically sound and tactically ready,” DeRoo said. “We have to go over drills and set plays and make sure they’re ready for whatever comes at them. You can kind of tell what kind of competition you will have, but you never know until you hit the field. Hard work and dedication, that’s what’s going to get us there.”

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Ben Murphy

Sports Scene

The Bay City Western softball team made it all the way to the Division 1 championship game last year, where it fell to Mattawan 2-1. Early signs are indicating that the Warriors are a force to be reckoned with once again this year, as they’ve started the young campaign 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Saginaw Valley League North.

“We have our all-state senior pitcher, Hannah Leppek, back,” head coach Rick Garlinghouse said. “She threw 38 scoreless innings in a row in the state tournament last year, and she is currently 5-0 with two no hitters.”

Western did lose three starters to graduation, but Leppek isn’t the only returner from last year’s 37-3 team.

“We have all-state honorable mention shortstop Meredith Rousse, who is a four-year senior lead-off hitter currently batting .556,” Garlinghouse said. “Rousse led the team in hits last year. She has power and has plenty of range at shortstop.”

Seniors Kaylynn Carpenter (center field), Ashtyn Decatur (third base), juniors Blair Miller and Leah Vandervort (catcher), and sophomore Kelsie Popp also return from last year’s team.

“Making it to the state championship game and losing 2-1 to a school that has won two of the last three state championships is nothing to be ashamed with and says we can play with anyone, and they better be ready for a complete game from us,” Garlinghouse said. “The hardest thing about last year was we played as well as we could, and it still wasn’t quite enough. The positive thing to take away was we didn’t give the game away, we just got beat by a better team on that one particular day.”

Western is no stranger to lengthy postseason runs, and the Warriors are hoping for yet another one this year.

“With four seniors on this year’s team, they have been to the final four twice, and they know we can get back, but we also know we have to play well, don’t beat ourselves, and have some luck along the way,” Garlinghouse said. “There are 35 games or so to be played before the state championship game, so there is plenty of time to perfect our team game.”

Garlinghouse, in his tenth year as Western head coach, admits the prospect of even playing in another state title game is pretty exciting.

“Just to have people talk about our team and a state championship is very rewarding for our staff for all the time and effort it takes to be recognized at the state level,” he said. “After our last doubleheader, we had a full-blown practice in an effort to prepare for our next games.To me, that exhibits the character and perseverance of this team.

“This team has plenty of talent, as much as any team,” Garlinghouse added. “As much as any team we have had at Bay City Western, but we need to get some games in, because everyone is not at the same level they need to be at or that it takes to be completely successful.”

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Jeff Chaney

Sports Scene

EAST LANSING, MI – During a person’s life, people drift in and out on a daily basis.

Whether it’s a life-long relationship or a chance encounter, a person’s persona is largely made up by the people they meet in their time on this earth.

As a star basketball player for the Michigan State University men’s basketball team, senior forward Adreian Payne has had his share of Sparty lovers drift into and out of his life during his time on the team.

He has touched the lives of so many people in the Spartan nation – a strong young man who was raised by his maternal grandmother in a rough part of Dayton, Ohio, who turned himself into one of the top recruits of 2010, a recruit that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had to have.

Payne did not disappoint and has been a key contributor in keeping the Spartans one of the top teams in the nation in his four years.

But it was one of those chance encounters during a team-sponsored hospital visit in 2011, when Payne met a little Spartan that changed his life, that he showed the world what is good in mankind, and what is great about sports.

During that visit, Payne met Lacey Holsworth, a little girl with a big medical problem. Holsworth, who was from St. Johns, was fighting neuroblastoma, a nerve cancer that was terminal.

Visits to hospitals by sports athletes occur all the time. It’s a great thing when kids and adults get a visit from some of their heroes – it’s a visit that usually brightens a day in the lives of those who need their days to be brightened.

But Payne, who is dealing the the daily rigors of being a student/athlete on a high-profile basketball team at a Big Ten school, took his visit to the next level.

He adopted Lacey as a little sister and took her places that every Spartan fan dreams of, like walking out with him on Senior Night or cutting down the nets in Indianapolis after Michigan State won this year’s Big Ten Tournament.

He also played games with her, colored with her, and bought her stuffed animals, just like a good big brother would for a sick little sister.

But Payne said that Lacey gave much more to him, a different perspective on life, and how precious it is.

One of those perspectives is that life can be cruel. On April 8, Lacey lost her battle to cancer.

There is no way a beautiful eight-year-old should be taken from this earth too soon, and there is no way a star forward who is getting ready to take his talents to the next level should have to deal with loss of a little sister.

But these tragedies happen every day and are dealt with by people worldwide. We were just lucky enough to see an incredible friendship play out and to watch as a sick little girl give so much strength to a 6’10” power forward.

Payne said the “Princess Lacey” will always be a part of his life. Thankfully, their beautiful story will always be a part of my life, and a reminder of why sports, and the athletes who play them, are so great.

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Jeff Chaney

Sports Scene

CORUNNA, MI – Hannah Dean was just looking to get a little stronger to help her increase her shot put and discus distances in track and field, and her brother Aaron told her that she needed to start lifting weights.

The Corunna junior really took to weight lifting, enjoyed her time in the weight room, and became stronger than even she could imagine.

So she decided to test her strength against other girls from across the state, and the result was a state championship.

Dean won the state title for the 220-pound weight class March 7 at Whitmore Lake High School.

She won with a lift of 270 pounds in the squat, 175 pounds in the bench press, which is a new state record, and 320 pounds in the dead lift, for a total weight of 755 pounds.

“I am very surprised I won,” Dean said. “I could have told you going into state that I would have benched this much, or squatted that much. It shocked me that I did that much weight.”

Hannah’s mother, Lori Dean, was more proud than shocked at what her daughter accomplished. “I’m so proud of her,” she said. “Her brother got her into lifting; they just wanted to get stronger for track because they are both throwers, and she took to it.

“What’s made me proud, is that nobody told her she had to do this,” Lori added. “She faces a lot of adversity doing this – she gets teased by the boys. But she knows that she can beat them in lifting.”

Chris Curtiss, Hannah’s coach, couldn’t be more pleased with how well Hannah performed during the course of the season. “Prior to the state meet last year, she had only been to one meet, and that was regionals,” Curtis said.

“She went to the state meet, and her doing as well as she did there, that fueled the fire. And I told her she could be a state champion next year, and she did just that. We have been using her as an example, not only to the guys on our football team, because I’m the coach, but to other athletes. “Number one, she was there every single day, number two, she did exactly what her coaches wanted her to do, and the third part to this, is she worked as hard as she could, and she became successful because of that.”

And she is proving she can beat all the girls, too.“She didn’t know you could compete,” Lori Dean said. “She trained all winter, and her coach came to her and said there were regional and state competitions, and she wanted to do it.”

Hannah Dean says she loves lifting. “I like that it is an individual sport, because that is is all on me if I do good,” she said. “It is more of a sport for me now, because I have done well. But more of training to get better in the shot and discus.”

And her shot and discus are improving. She puts just over 31 feet and has thrown the discus 120 feet in practice.

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Jeff Chaney

Sports Scene

MOUNT PLEASANT – Damon Brown doesn’t have to think twice when asked who is the best coach in his household.

“Definitely my wife,” he answered. “I got into coaching because of her.”

Damon Brown just won the girls’ Class D state championship, leading his Sacred Heart Academy team to an exciting 56-53 win over Forest Park in the state title game at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center, so his wife has to be pretty special.

Brown is the husband of Keisha Brown, the former boys’ coach at Sacred Heart, who later moved on to coach the Alma College women’s team.

Keisha Brown passed away on April 10 after a seven-year battle with cancer. She was 41 years old and is survived by Damon and their 8-year-old daughter Angel.

“What really made her special is she really cared,” Damon Brown said of his wife. “It was never about Xs and Os with her; she was generally concerned about her athletes outside of basketball. Yes, the Xs and Os were important, but she really cared about people, and it was neat to see a lot of her boys come back for that final service to be with her, because she did mean a lot to them.”

Mrs. Brown was a great player as well, playing for Tulane University and later for a professional team in Finland.

In 2001, after her playing career, she moved to Michigan from Louisiana to be with her husband, who was already here.

Then her coaching career started to take off, and her husband’s coaching career began.

“She was coaching AAU and started coaching the girls’ junior varsity team at Sacred Heart in 2002,” Damon said. “At the end of that season, the boys’ varsity position opened up, and Nancy English, who was the principal at that time, hired her as the boys’ coach.

“At that time, I was officiating and on the road three nights a week, and we wanted to spend more time together, so I got into coaching,” he added. “I encouraged her to apply for the boys’ job, because I knew she could bring something to that position, but she was doubting herself, if she could coach the boys. That’s when she said to me ‘I will apply for the boys’ job if you take my junior varsity job.’ I did, and that’s how it began.”

Damon Brown assisted his wife in her new job as the boys’ coach. “It was funny when she first got the job, there were three men on the bench with her, and the officials used to come to us to introduce themselves before the game,” he remembered. “At that time, we told them the head coach was on the end bench and pointed at her.”

As her career progressed, she would need no more introductions.

From 2003 to 2009, when she took the job at Alma, Mrs. Brown led the Sacred Heart boys’ team to five straight conference titles, four district titles, three regional titles, and one state runner-up finish.

She was named the Saginaw News’ Boys Coach of the Year in 2006.

She was also the athletic director at Sacred Heart from 2006-2009.

In 2008, Damon Brown became the coach of the Sacred Heart girls varsity team and incorporated what he learned from his wife into his coaching style.

“She definitely rubbed off on me,” he said. “What I learned from her, it was about the relationships with kids — she did that and was successful, and I took that into my coaching.

“She was a competitor, being a former college and professional player. She had a fire in her, that she wasn’t going to lose, and she did that with cancer, fighting it hard until the end.”

Damon also remembers his wife as being a selfless person, always putting other people ahead of her. “During the quarterfinals for my team this year, the Cancer Treatment Center of America that was treating her wanted her to call them back about her treatment, and she refused,” he said. “I asked why, and she said this week was about you and the girls, and there is no cancer this week. That was the type of person she was, always putting people ahead of herself.”

Kristina Lilly, who is Damon Brown’s assistant coach and a physical therapist who worked with Keisha Brown during her fight against cancer, remembers those moments, too. “This is a huge loss,” she said. “She had the ability to touch so many people’s lives. I am personally saddened not to have her in my life anymore, but she touched my life in so many ways.

“I think one thing about her, and why she meant so much to people, she had the ability to relate,” Lilly continued. “She had the ability to have a genuine relationship with everybody she came in contact with. She meant the world to my three brothers, who all played for her. That made her versatile enough to coach the boys and the women, she could have relationships with so many. And that was evident at her funeral, because there is not many times you will see 20-year-old boys bawling for a 40-year-old woman at her funeral. She touched a huge spectrum of people in the community.”

Damon Brown didn’t know how many, until she was gone.

“What I tell people, you go from the highest of highs, winning a state title, and then the lowest of lows, having to bury your wife,” he said. “It’s been a tough month, but I have been amazed of how many people she touched. As a husband, you don’t realize how many people your wife touches. We had over 900 at the service Mount Pleasant, and another 500 in Morgan City back in Louisiana.”

Lilly was one of the 900 in Mount Pleasant. “She fought this very hard for the past seven years,” Lilly said. “She was super strong throughout, and let it never define her. I think it made her stronger and made her an incredible inspiration to me and other people.

“She was busy but never showed that she was tired. She never showed anything was getting the best of her. She was always positive and had something great to say, and that is why she meant so much to so many people.”

Former student and junior varsity player Lizzy Albaugh said that Mrs. Brown meant a lot to her, even though she didn’t play for her. “One thing I remember about Keisha, I would be having a rough time in school, and she knew I was down,” she explained. “She would come to me and say what’s up, and I would say I’m down and she said you stay up, don’t let anything get you down. And here is a woman with breast cancer at that time, telling me to keep myself up. She was definitely a fighter.”

Mrs. Brown was so strong and had the foresight that she started the Angel Wings Fund, named after her daughter to help families of those who have died from cancer.

“She waas very passionate about that,” Damon Brown said. “When she was first diagnosed in 2007, I remember her looking at me and saying ‘What about Angel?’

“Then we found out there was not a lot of resources out there for the children. She made it her life’s goal to help families, especially children, to achieve their goals And she also wanted to make awareness in the community about cancer. Now here we are, and this all started because she was worried about the children losing their parents.”

As for Angel?

“She is doing great,” said Damon, who was married to Angel’s mom for 10 years. “She is tough like her mom. She is back in her routine, and Sacred Heart has been great for her, because she likes going to school.”

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Jeff Chaney

Sports Scene

Sam Houston State University women’s bowling coach Brad Hagen knew that Erin Brown had championship qualities in her when she was at the high school level. After all, she was a main reason that the Davison High School girls bowling team won the 2012 MHSAA Division 1 team title her senior year.

That’s why he brought her down to Texas to be part of Sam Houston State’s fledgling women’s bowling program – a program that was just in its second year of existence.

“Part of the rhyme behind the reason I recruited Erin is that I follow the states that have varsity bowling,” Hagen said. “I keep up with state statistics, scores, and averages. I just followed Erin’s progress at the state tournaments and throughout the years, and there was consistency there. And she came from a state championship team, and that added to it.”

Hagen’s recruiting techniques seemed to work. Brown chose Sam Houston State, and just two years later, she helped the Bearkats win the school’s first NCAA Division I national title, winning the 2014 title at the Game of Wickliffe in Wickliffe, Ohio, in April.

Brown was the team’s No. 2 or 3 bowler all year and helped beat the University of Nebraska in the national title game 4-2.

“Funny how it worked out,” said Brown, a sophomore. “My coach found me by the Internet. He had seen me at national tournaments in youth bowling and followed me in high school. He then found me and messaged me on Facebook. I came down here in March of 2012 and knew this is where I wanted to be. People were great, and the campus was beautiful. I didn’t look anywhere else – I didn’t want to be anywhere else.”

Now Brown has a national championship to go with her state championship.

“This is definitely something we always wanted to do,” Brown said of her college team. “We knew we had a good shot at it, but when we won it didn’t set in until we got back to campus. There we had a welcoming party when we got back; that is when it set in. Knowing that we won the first NCAA Division I title is amazing.

“It was a young program, and they found me,” she added. “This is only fourth year as a program, and we won a title, so it’s been some fast progress. This is the third year going to national finals, and I have been part of two, and it’s been great.”

The road to the championship wasn’t easy.

On Thursday, the Bearkats bowled every team in the tournament in a round robin format and went 2-5 and ended up as the eighth seed going into match play on Friday.

On Friday, Sam Houston State beat the No. 1 seed, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 4-2, in a best-of-seven match.

Then the Bearkats beat the No. 4 seed, the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, 4-2.

The tournament was double elimination, and Sam Houston State had to go against top seed Maryland Eastern Shore again, and it won 4-0.

That set up the final matchup against Nebraska, which Sam Houston State won 4-2. Nebraska was also 3-0 in match play up to that point.

Brown bowled well, ending up 15th individually after Thursday’s games with a 1405. In match play, she did well bowling in a Baker games format.

Brown carried an average of over 200 during her time at Davison, and averaged 218 in league play this year at Sam Houston State. But she acknowledges that bowling in college is more difficult than in high school, not just for the obvious reasons.

“Moving on to collegiate bowling, it is the same concept, but a bigger deal,” she said. “I had to move on from one to the other to accomplish this, that’s because the tournaments are much longer and more demanding in college, and the patterns on the lanes are harder. So you have to know more about mechanics of bowling and have to have a better style to bowl in college.”

When Brown left Davison, she didn’t have a chance to defend the Cardinal title, but she will have that opportunity at Sam Houston State.

“That is the first thing I asked my teammate and friend on the team,” Brown said. “We looked at each other and said, ‘What do we do next year?’ We won’t let this determine anything, we won’t let this get to our heads. We will still will work hard and practice hard and try and do it again next year.”

Her high school team has won two more team titles and is currently on a three-peat.

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By BUTCH HARMON

‘Deep and talented’ is the way to describe the DeWitt baseball team this year. With a host of veterans back from a team that won a second consecutive CAAC Red title, the Panthers are again one of the premier teams in mid Michigan.

A total of 13 players return from a team that went 24-5 last year.

In senior catcher John-Michael Moody, the Panthers have a four-year varsity player who was second-team all-state last year. He hit .427 a year ago with four home runs and 34 RBI.

Moody is joined by fellow senior Justice Shankel. A three-year varsity player and all-region selection, Shankel led the team in hits (35), runs (32), triples (3), and stolen bases (20 of 21) last year. He was also second in home runs (3) and RBI (29) and is a true five-tool player who can run, hit, throw, hit for average, and hit for power.

Senior Sam Smith is another three-year varsity player. An all-region player, he is a pitcher and first baseman who hit .432 last year with 24 RBI.

The Panthers also return a pair of players who were hit by injury last year. Junior shortstop Keaton Sackett returns to anchor the infield after an ACL injury last year, while senior pitcher Evan Smith returns to the starting staff after a broken wrist cut short his season.

“This year’s team is a veteran, experienced bunch,” said coach Alan Shankel. “We return 13 varsity players from a 24-5 league championship team. Many of the starters have multiple years of varsity experience. We are carrying 19 players this year, so the key will be getting everyone to accept and fulfill their role to the best of their ability. Depth will be a strength of this team, if everyone commits to the mission.”

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By BUTCH HARMON

It took awhile, but the snow and cold of winter finally gave way to the boys of spring, and area high school baseball teams finally made it onto the diamond. A big season of baseball is underway, with area teams trying to replicate the feat that Bay City Western and Beal City accomplished last year and make it to the state championship game. Bay City Western won the Division 1 state title, while Beal City was runner-up in Division 4.

Following is a look at the state of baseball at the high school level this spring.

DIVISION 1

Top teams in the state: Brother Rice, Sterling Heights Stevenson, Lake Orion

Brother Rice has a team stocked full of some of the best players in the state. Senior pitcher Matt Ruppenthal is one of the premier pitchers in the state and is headed to Vanderbilt University, while junior pitcher Josh Smith is the top junior in the state and has committed to the University of Kentucky. Senior first baseman Ty Kiafoulis is a University of Michigan commitment.

Top area teams: Rockford, Midland, Grand Ledge, Bay City Western, East Lansing, Midland Dow

Rockford reached the state quarterfinals before falling to eventual state champion Western. Rockford returns a slew of talented players this year and could be hoisting the trophy this June. Midland has a number of talented performers, led by Tanner Gross. Grand Ledge went 29-6 last year and returns a deep and talented senior class, led by Nathan Langenfeld, Keefer Johnson, and Nick Karmada. Dow has a solid team, and with the addition of talented pitching transfer Evan Marquardt, has the potential for a deep tournament run.

Top area players: Matt DiLeo, Rockford; Zach Francisco, East Lansing; Seth Freed, Bay City Western; Tanner Gross, Midland; Tyler Gulick, East Lansing; Keefer Johnson, Grand Ledge; Nick Karmada, Grand Ledge; Reid Kelley, Rockford; Nathan Langenfeld, Grand Ledge; Evan Marquardt, Midland Dow; Matthew Pearsall, St. Johns; Alex Sova, Midland Dow; Adam Turner, Holt; Kory Young, Rockford

DIVISION 2

Top teams in the state: Grand Rapids Christian, St. Mary’s Preparatory, Milan

Grand Rapids Christian has won the last two Division 2 state titles and has a team capable of making it three in a row. St. Mary’s is a perennial baseball power that is led by senior catcher Will Salter, who has committed to Michigan State University.

Top area teams: Haslett, Portland, DeWitt, John Glenn, Mt. Pleasant, Swan Valley, Alma, Charlotte

Haslett reached the state quarterfinals last year and returns a load of experience. DeWitt returns plenty of talented players from a squad that went 24-9 last year. Senior John-Michael Moody hit .427 last year and leads a balanced offense. Few teams can match the one-two pitching punch of Portland’s Tanner Allison and Andrew Click, who both have fastballs that touch 90mph. Mt. Pleasant is always among the top area teams, and that is no different this spring. Senior Aaron Leasher went 8-1 last year with a 1.12 ERA and is also a threat at the plate. Robert Banks is another talented batter who returns for the Oilers, who went 28-9 last year. Swan Valley has a solid squad this spring. Ben Finzel is a dangerous hitter who leads a productive offense that includes Zach Mendoza.

Top area players: Tanner Allison, Portland; Auston Brandt, Portland; Andrew Click, Portland; Ben Finzel, Swan Valley; Antonio Jacobs, John Glenn; Dillon Kleinhege, Haslett; Aaron Leasher, Mt. Pleasant; Tyler Minnick, Alma; John-Michael Moody, DeWitt; AJ Rubio, Goodrich; Caleb Somerville, Bullock Creek

DIVISION 3

Top teams in the state: Bishop Foley Catholic, Hackett Catholic Central, St. Mary Catholic Central

Bishop Foley has dominated Division 3 baseball, having won the last three state titles. It is again the team to beat, while Hackett and St. Mary also have solid teams.

Top area teams: Bath, Lansing Catholic, Clare, Meridian, Ithaca, Pewamo-Westphalia

Bath returns one of the top pitchers in mid Michigan, senior Ryan Orr, along with Chris Gubry, who earned all-conference honors last season. Lansing Catholic went 30-3 a year ago. The Cougars return some key players from that squad, including all-state infielder Austin Krause and sophomore pitcher Riley Creamer. Clare went 24-5 last year and reached the state quarterfinals. The Pioneers return plenty of talented pitchers, including Charlie Bugbee, Logan Emery, and Colton Punches, who went a combined 15-1 last year. Ithaca suffered some heavy graduation losses but returns senior Logan Hessbrook, who is one of the premier players in the area. Last year, he hit .379 and went 8-1 on the mound with a 0.83 ERA.

Top area players: Drew Bergstrom, Pewamo-Westphalia; Charlie Bugbee, Clare; Logan Hessbrook, Ithaca; Austin Krause, Lansing Catholic; Ryan Orr, Bath; Colton Punches, Clare

DIVISION 4

Top teams in the state: Glen Lake, Muskegon Catholic, Lake Michigan Catholic

Glen Lake has a number of talented players back from a team that made a deep tournament run last year, led by junior first baseman Austin Onziana and catcher Trevor Apsey. Muskegon Catholic has a team loaded with young talent, like junior pitcher Nick Holt and junior outfielder Zack Winzer.

Top area teams: Beal City, New Lothrop, Breckenridge, Merrill, Sacred Heart Academy, Coleman

Beal City has been a familiar face at the Division 4 state finals, and that is likely to continue this year. Ty Rollin is a returning all-state player who leads a high-powered offense. New Lothrop has a solid squad capable of a deep playoff run. It has a deep and potent batting order and strong pitching. Breckenridge has a strong nucleus back, led by hard-hitting Derek Moulton and Wade SanMiguel, who is the ace of the pitching staff. Merrill suffered some heavy graduation losses but, with ace pitcher Hunter DeBeau back on the mound, is capable of a deep tournament run. Coleman has a solid squad this spring, with an offense paced by Matt Warner and pitcher Lars Murray.

Top area players: Hunter DeBeau, Merrill; Lane Levine, Sacred Heart Academy; Derek Moulton, Breckenridge; Josh Parks, Lansing Christian; Ty Rollin, Beal City; Wade SanMiguel, Breckenridge; Jacob Schmidt, Fowler; Grant Steinborn, New Lothrop; Josh Stephens, Fulton

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Some states allow their high school football programs to have workouts in the latter part of the school year, similar to a collegiate spring football format. Several southern states currently have such programs. Some states, like Ohio, are considering it.

Spring football basically gives schools options to have practices toward the end of a school year going into the summer.

Currently, there doesn’t appear to be a major push toward such a proposal in Michigan. There are some coaches, however, who don’t think it’s a bad idea.

“I don’t know of anyone in our association who views spring football as a remote possibility in Michigan, given the current policies of the MHSAA,” said Larry Merx, executive director of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association.

“That’s not something that that we’ve been approached at all for,” said Geoff Kimmerly, MHSAA media and content coordinator. “I don’t really necessarily know the reason for it. I think a lot of our football coaches are involved in track. I don’t know if that’s the reason. There hasn’t been a push for that.”

Carson City-Crystal football coach Devin Pringle opposes spring football. “Kids are pulled in enough directions already,” he said. “It would interfere with spring sports. I would rather see a dead month in the summer so families can vacation and kids can recharge. I would be in favor of less ‘on time,’ not more.”

Ithaca football coach and athletic director Terry Hessbrook agrees. “I would be opposed to something like this happening here in Michigan. I feel that the spring sport teams would suffer a great deal. Our players need to have some time off. Most of our players are not college football players. We are a small school, and we need our athletes to participate in other sports.”

Chad Klopf of Coleman favors spring football, but he has some mixed thoughts.

“On one hand, I’m a football coach; of course I want as many chances as I can to work with my football players,” he said. “On the other hand, I coach at a small school and wouldn’t want to jeopardize the chances of any of the spring sports from missing out on my athlete because he is so focused on spring football, gets hurt during spring football, or just doesn’t go out for a team because of the chance for spring football.

“What do I think a small spring football session could do for me? No. 1, it would allow me to see 100 percent who is committed for the fall. Small-school football has so many ups and downs when it comes to putting a roster together. This would make a more mandatory time period that the coaches could see who they have to count on in the fall. Second, it would give the players a good sense of where they stand leading into the summer. Have they put the work in as much as the guy next to them? Do they need to focus more on their off-season conditioning? Is coach right that I’m not ready for varsity yet?

“Third, for me personally, being a softball coach as well, I don’t have a lot of connection to my football team in the spring. So, if I could have a short session with them in the spring, we could benefit greatly.”

Clark Huntey, Morley Stanwood coach and athletic director, doesn’t like the idea. “There’s no way the smaller schools could participate in a spring football camp/practice,” he said. “ I will not pull kids out of baseball or track to run a spring football camp/practice, and I’m not going to interfere with their spring sport season they are participating in. Kids get pulled in too many directions already – let them play a sport in a season without interference from other sports.”

Marty James, Central Montcalm football coach, feels there’s merit to spring football. “In my 20-plus years of coaching high school football, I have been told numerous times by coaches at all levels of college football that kids who live in Michigan are not on a level playing field when it comes to gaining the attention of college coaches,” he said. “Coaches do most of their recruiting during the spring and at summer camps, and college coaches have the luxury in the spring of hitting the road to see recruits in action.

“Most lower level colleges do not have the resources to send coaches to watch games in the fall, and they are also wrapped up in their own season. Therefore, a coach can see a recruit ‘in-action’ in spring ball. . .something they can’t even do at summer camps.”

But James acknowledged that spring football in Michigan is a long shot right now.

“I guess it is going to take a lawsuit, like the one that it took to get the volleyball season changed, in order for the MHSAA to look at it,” he said.

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A new proposal for determining the state’s 256 football playoff teams will be presented to the MHSAA’s representative council at its May meeting with no clear indication so far whether it will pass. But it does appear that the system that has been approved by the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association and the MHSAA football committee will get a serious look from the representative council, which approved the current system in 1998.

The new proposal will emphasize strength of schedule rather than guarantee that all teams with six wins in a nine-game schedule or five in an eight-game schedule will get into the five-week playoff system. Its supporters say that it is time to stop rewarding schools looking for six wins as a guarantee to make the postseason and instead reward those that play tough schedules.

There would still be 32 teams in eight different divisions in the playoffs, but several changes from the current format are proposed:

•Playoff divisions currently are determined on selection Sunday. After the 256 teams have been determined, they are divided into eight divisions depending on school enrollment. The new setup would divide the approximately 600 schools that play 11-man football into eight divisions prior to the start of the season.

•Six wins in nine games or five wins in eight gets a team in the playoffs currently. Seven wins would be the new automatic qualifier.

•Additional qualifiers outside of the automatic ones get in now based on playoff points by adding a Class A team, then a Class B team, then a Class C team, etc. The proposed format would use playoff points and fill additional spots until each division gets 32 teams.

•Points for wins are now based on the Classes A, B, C, and D, which the MHSFC says is an outdated system and grants the same number of points for defeating a Class B team with almost 1,000 students as it does for defeating one with under 500 students. The new way bases points on the eight divisions, with 88 for Division 1, 80 for Division 2, and so on down to 32 points for Division 8.

•Currently, a team gets more points for each win by an opponent it defeats and less for each victory by an opponent the team lost to. The new format would give a team points for all of its opponents’ wins, regardless of whether or not the team beat that opponent.

•The new system would have a bonus-point multiplier depending on the enrollment size of its opponent.

Geoff Kimmerly, MHSAA media and content coordinator, noted that a similar proposal to change the format, endorsed by the football committee, has previously come up to the representative council.

“I’m sure this will have a lot of conversation,” he said. “The people on the council are very familiar with this topic. It’s been discussed for awhile. There’s football people involved with the council.”

“The proposal we’re talking about got there last year, but the council said it would like another year of data,” Kimmerly said. “When the coaches association came to us, we took what they wanted to do and matched it up with data from the previous season.

“Some areas of the state like this proposal. Some areas, like the U.P. do not. Our council has people from all over the state. It could be an interesting vote.”

Area football coaches have differing viewpoints on the matter.

Ithaca athletic director Terry Hessbrook, whose team has won four straight state titles and is 56-0 the last four seasons, said “I do feel that the playoff system needs to be revamped to make sure that it is working for everyone. However, I am not 100 percent sure that this proposal will help everyone. This proposal does allow for more freedom in your scheduling. [However,] I think that we are really just transferring the difficulty of finding games from the ‘better’ teams to the teams that struggle.”

“I proposed a format that allowed 80 percent of schools into the playoffs,” said Devin Pringle, coach at Carson City-Crystal.

Pringle’s proposal calls for an eight-game schedule. In the ninth week, the state would divide schools into five-team districts based on geography and records. No. 1 and No. 4 would play each other for the right to move on, as would No. 2 and No. 3. “The 5-seed plays a 5-seed from another district but does not advance with a win,” Pringle said. “All schools play at least nine games. No one is afraid to schedule power teams. It’s the same number of weeks as we currently have. Jack Roberts responded to me that he was not in favor of my proposal.”

While Pringle said the proposed new system would encourage teams to schedule and play foes that are traditional powers, he sees some drawbacks.

“Many schools are locked in a conference where they have little control on ‘quality wins’,” he said. “This system would only favor the traditional ‘power’ teams, who people do not want to schedule. This system would cut down on the number of schools who get to experience playoff football for the first time.”

Chad Klopf of Coleman High School said that there’s always a need to tweak the system. “There was a season a few back where under the past proposal, Coleman would have made the playoffs with four wins, so I can see how it could help,” he said. “However, they say the 6-and-in method was causing schools to drive all over to find games and even breaking up conferences. I see that as an excuse.

“There is more than one sports team at those schools, and making the playoffs in football isn’t what is causing conferences to break up. As for searching for games, I would gladly play closer to home, but we are a conference of six teams and have more games to search for. This has nothing to do with finding a sixth win, but everything to do with filling a schedule. If conferences were breaking up because competition was too tough, now smaller conferences like ours will start to break up because they might be too weak.

“No system is perfect. But if a team with four wins gets in front of a team with six wins, regardless of strength of schedule, that’s a shame.”

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