Article - High School Sports Scene

St. Louis was recently recognized by the Tri Valley Conference West Division for being the boys division champ in cross country this fall.

Connor Pillmore of St. Louis was recognized as the top boys runner in the league. He was followed by John Lambrecht of Ithaca, Collin Shaw and Even Goodell of St. Louis, James O’Boyls of Ithaca, Paul Pack of Carrollton, Austin Brittain of Breckenridge, Caleb Kruger of Michigan Lutheran Seminary, Parker Morris and Zack Ross of St. Louis, Noah Keller of Carrollton, Jake Partee of Breckenridge, D’Anthony Goodwin and Cuyler Shepler of Carrollton, Matt Stary of St. Louis and David Delu of Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

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Shepherd was recently recognized by the Tri Valley Conference Central Division for being the girls division champ in cross country this fall.

Taylor Thrush of Shepherd was the individual girls champion. She was followed by, in order, her teammates Kaylie Rhynard, Katelyn Hutchinson, Taylor Priest and Kyle Hutchinson, who was followed by Jenna Gregory of Freeland, Alex Love of Ovid Elie, Rachel Mathers of Shepherd, Rachel Kolb of Alma, Clarice Sheedlo of Ovid-Elsie, Sarah Bellinger of Shepherd, Claudia Raines of Swan Valley, Katie Powell of Shepherd, Serephina Provenzano of Alma, Rachel Buckley of Shepherd and Madison Krupp of Chesaning and Rachel Travis of Shepherd.

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Shepherd was recently recognized by the Tri Valley Conference Central Division for being the boys division champs in cross country this fall.

James Sira of Bullock Creek was the individual boys champion.

Behind Sira, Alex Stowell of Freeland was second, followed by Jake Morey of Alma, Walker Priest of Shepherd, Brody Cragg of Chesaning, Ryan Hilbrandt of Hemlock, Tyler Travis of Shepherd, Collin Lott of Alma, John Sira of Bullock Creek, Andrew Hutchinson of Shepherd, Dominic Garcia of Alma, Sam Zoellner of Chesaning, Mike Massal of Hemlock, Landon Honsinger of Hemlock and Ty Pardee of Ovid Elsie plus Jacob Pifer of Shepherd, Jacob Collins of Chesaning and Shane Mudd of Bullock Creek.

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Morley Stanwood, the 2012 Class C state champs, opened their girls basketball season with a 55-40 victory at Beal City Tuesday night.

Mekayla Carey led the Mohawks with 16 points and 18 rebounds. Lindsey Veersma netted 15 points. Mallory Raven had 10 points and four assists for the Mohawks. Also having a big night with four assists was Jennie Kizer.

It was a non-league game for both teams.

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Big Rapids Crossroads girls basketball team opened its season Tuesday with a 53-27 victory over Marion in non-league.

Crossroads had eight players in double-digit figures in points while Alyssa Larson scored 13 and Miranda Carlson had 12.

Crossroads outscored Marion 24-8 in the second quarter.

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Big Rapids Cardinals opened their season with a 74-33 loss to McBain on Tuesday.

The Cardinals were down at halftime 25-10.

Reba Bowen led Big Rapids with nine points while Kailey Hunt had eight. Aliza Hengensbach had eight rebounds.

The Cardinals were coached by Dawn Thompson, filling in for regular coach Jessica Haist, out temporarily for maternity leave.

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Big Rapids’ hockey team lost 2-1 to Wyandotte Saturday in the title game of the Big Rapids Thanksgiving Tournament.

Sophomores Christian Conati scored for the Cardinals who had fallen behind 2-0 prior to coming back to make a game of it. The Cardinals were on the power play for the final 39 seconds and pulled their goalie but couldn’t pull out the tie.

Big Rapids was outshot 29-21

The Cardinals fell to 1-4.

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The DeWitt Panthers sneaked through the semifinal round with a 21-20 victory over St. Clair and seemed ready to take home that elusive state title. Rob Zimmerman, in his 15th year as coach, entered the Division 5 state title game with a 149-34 record. Win No. 150 at Ford Field would have been sweet.

But the Panthers were denied by a tough and talented Zeeland West team that walked away with a 34-27 victory and the Division 3 state title.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” Zimmerman said. “13-1 is a doggone good season. When you lose to a team like this, obviously we’re not happy we lost. But I’m proud of what our kids accomplished and what we did this year.”

The Panthers have appeared in previous state final games and been unable to pull out a win. But this year, there was plenty to smile about, as far as the DeWitt coaching staff was concerned.

“This was a much closer game and a much better game,” Zimmerman said. “This was as good of a team as we’ve played. The mentality all week in practice was great. Their preparation was outstanding. We made some mistakes, but I thought we played very good football. To come back from being down…generally, when these guys get on someone like that they blow them out. To come back like we did is a great tribute to the character of these kids.

“I’m pretty proud of what we accomplished. [Media] can take the negative approach if you want. But I’m proud of what we accomplished as a program. I think there’s a few schools that would like to be in our shoes.”

Zeeland West team is coached by nine-year veteran John Shillito, who has an 85-21-9 record and has also had success at other schools like Orchard View and East Kentwood.

“They deserve all the credit in the world, their coaching staff and kids,” Shillito said. “To hang in there when you’re down like that…they made some plays.”

“John’s a great coach and has a lot of senior kids,” Zimmerman said. “This is the first team we faced that matched us physically. I thought our kids rose to the occasion. We didn’t win…generally when they get up, it’s ‘Katy, bar the door.’ Our defensive coaches did a nice job at halftime and our kids played their hearts out. It’s a tough loss. I’m proud of their effort.

“[Danny Bauber] presents some major problems. If you key on him too much, the other guys are good enough that they can hurt you. It’s a tough loss; we knew we’d have to play our best game to beat them.”

Zimmerman had an emotional final huddle with his team when the game ended.

His message?

“How proud [I am] of them,” he said. “We have to have a great off-season. But we have a lot of talent returning. We return our quarterback, we have a good starting quarterback there.”

Another junior who will return next year is starting safety Ben Zamiara. “It’s very tough, I feel for our seniors,” he said. “We worked so hard this year. We listed our goals for this season and accomplished every goal up to this point. When we reflect, we’ll realize we had one heckuva season. It’s tough right now.

“I’ll never forget these guys. Our relationships will last a lifetime. It’s tough, coming that close.”

But the Panthers can take pride, Zamiara agreed, in coming back from a huge early deficit. “In the halftime lockerroom, we talked about it; that we weren’t going to lay down,” he said. “We talked all year about getting back up and fighting back. And we did. It’s a testament to our team. We never give up.”

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The final game of the Division 3 football season went down to the wire, but the result wasn’t what the DeWitt Panthers wanted. DeWitt’s bid for that elusive state title fell short short at Ford Field with a 34-27 loss to Zeeland West.

Both teams ended their years at 13-1. Zeeland West built a 28-7 halftime lead, but DeWitt fought back with a 20-6 scoring edge in the final two quarters.

“It was tough to lose a game like this,” said DeWitt coach Rob Zimmerman. “We played our hearts out tonight.”

“We completely dominated the second half,” he continued. “I can’t believe there’s a better group in the state of Michigan than these kids.”

Late in the game, Zeeland West punted in DeWitt territory The punt was nearly blocked. If it had been, DeWitt might have been able to go for the tying or go-ahead score. But the Panthers missed the block and were called for roughing the kicker.

Zimmerman noted that going for the block nearly worked. “We had 48 seconds left and had no time out, so if they punted and we get it at our 10, it’s a long way to go,” Zimmerman said. “It obviously didn’t turn out in our favor. But you have to take chances when you’re in that situation.

“We had to make a choice. If they punt and it pins us, we have to go 80 or 90 yards with no timeouts. So we decided to go after it. Obviously, we didn’t have a very good angle on it. I would call the same thing every single time in that situation.”

DeWitt is now 0-5 in state title games.

“I’m really proud of these kids and the season they had,” Zimmerman said. “That’s the most important thing. They did a great job. It’s about our kids and the program.

“We made some adjustments at halftime that I think really helped us defensively. We tweaked something offensively to get some things going. They’re a very good football team. We had to play our best football game tonight. We didn’t play our best game. But I’m proud of our kids’ effort. It wound up being a great football game after it started out looking like it was going to get ugly.”

Zeeland West was able to take advantage of DeWitt mistakes in the first half.“We had two turnovers in the first half, which hurt us,” Zimmerman said. “We traditionally don’t turn the ball over a whole lot. Those were significant. I thought we moved the ball in the first half, too. We had two turnovers. Thought it was the tale of two halves. They got the better of us in the first half. We definitely outplayed them in the second half.

“They’re physical and execute the offense extremely well. You can’t make mistakes against them. There’s a reason they beat everybody as bad as they did during the season. They’re pretty doggone good. They’re a senior-laden team. They execute well. Doggone, I would have liked one more possession.”

It appeared that Zeeland’s misdirection plays were giving DeWitt troubles early in the game.

“You have to pick your poison when you play that offense,” Zimmerman said. “You take one thing away, they’re good enough to adjust and play something else. It’s cat-and-mouse when you play the Wing T. [Danny Bauder] is a heckuva back with his speed and presents some problems. You take one thing away and you’ll get something else.”

DeWitt was down 22-0 when it scored in the second quarter on a 4-yard pass from Jake Johnson to Justice Shankel.

Chris Ruby had a 56-yard run and Jake Johnson threw scoring passes of 29 and 75 yards to Josh Borta. “Josh had a ridiculous game,” Zmmerman said of his leading receiver, who caught five passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns.

“Jake struggled a little bit early, but he made some great throws,” Zimmerman said.

Johnson was 15 of 24 for 289 yards.

“I’m extremely proud of our kids,” Zimmerman said. “I thought our defense played extremely well. We dug ourselves into a little too deep of a hole. With one more possession, who knows what might have happened?”

Despite the Panthers inability to win the state title, they may have enough talent to make a run next season.

“We’ll be very good next year. We return seven guys on offense and have five underclassmen on defense,” Zimmerman said. “I expect us to be very good. But right now all that matters is our seniors. The character they have displayed, the team unity these guys exhibited, and how hard they work…I wouldn’t trade them for any team in America. They’re great kids.”

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DIVISION 1

Kurt Richardson was in the spotlight as the coach of the Division 1 state champion and loved every minute of it.

Clarkston won its first football state championship ever with a 32-14 victory over Detroit Catholic Central Nov. 30 at Ford Field.

“This one was for every kid that’s worn a uniform for us, every fan that’s sat and frozen their butts for us, every parent that’s yelled and called me names, whatever. This one is for C-town,” Richardson said. “Our biggest goal we were striving for was balance, balance, balance. The offensive line doesn’t get enough credit. They really deserve it for this one.”

Ian Eriksen had touchdown runs of 37, 1, and 12 yards for Clarkston. The winners also got touchdown passes of 15 and 47 yards from D.J. Zezula to Shane Holler and Alexander Bock.

“A lot of these kids have been together since the fifth or sixth grade,” Richardson said. “They’ve come up through the junior ranks. We felt this could be a special season. We had some issues at the start. We talked to the kids all the time of turning the negative to the positive. We got slapped in the face in the first game. They learned from it. That was a huge coming together for us as a team.”

Clarkston lost to Rochester Adams 12-7 in the season opener but beat that school 56-28 in the regional final. The Wolves ended the year 13-1.

“The way they approach the game was a difference maker,” Richardson said.

In the state final, Clarkston was up 6-0 at halftime and 18-7 after the third quarter. It outscored Catholic Central 14-7 in the fourth quarter. Catholic Central has now lost three straight state title games.

Eriksen had a big game with 237 yards on 32 carries. “It feels good to be able to perform in this kind of game and make it count,” he said.

Zezula passed 15 times, with 10 completions for 154 yards.

“This has been our goal a long time,” Richardson said of the school’s first state title. “We wanted to bring our program to this point. Winning breeds winning.”

DIVISION 2

Brother Rice ended the Al Fracassa era with a perfect 14-0 record and the Division 2 state title with a 38-21 victory over Muskegon at Ford Field.

Fracassa ended his 45 years of coaching the Warriors with a 386-98-2 record and three straight state crowns.

Brother Rice led at halftime 21-14, with Alex Malzone throwing touchdown passes of 16 and 34 yards to Damarius Woods and Grant Perry, respectively, in the first quarter. Malzone had a 17-yard touchdown run in the fourth on a fake field goal and also passed 21 yards to Corey Lacandaria for a score. Jason Alessi added a 36-yard field goal.

Malzone was 20 of 24 for 263 yards and four touchdowns.

DIVISION 4

Michigan high school football history was made Nov. 29 at Ford Field when Marine City’s junior placekicker Olivia Viney kicked seven extra points and became the first female to score in the state football finals.

Marine City improved to 13-1 with a 49-35 victory over Grand Rapids South Christian for the title. South Christian ended the year at 12-2.

Viney also tied the state football finals record for most extra points in a title showdown.

Alex Merchant threw three touchdown passes to Peter Patsaslis in the first half to spark the Marine City effort and lead his team to a 21-21 tie at halftime. Marine City then outscored the Sailors 28-14 in the second half.

DIVISION 5

Grand Rapids West Catholic was 0-3 at one stage of the season and 1-4 at another. It then won its last four games, including a 21-20 squeaker over Forest Hills Eastern to end the regular season, and it sneaked into the playoffs with a 5-4 record.

Five weeks later, West Catholic was the Division 5 state champion.

The Falcons ended a stunning 5-0 run in the playoffs with a 27-14 victory over previously undefeated Menominee and took the crown with a 10-4 record.

The West Catholic defense was very impressive, led by Jason McDonough with seven solo tackles and two assists. The Falcons controlled the vaunted single-wing offense from the Upper Peninsula school.

Travis Russell threw touchdown passes of 24 and 45 yards to David Bancuk and Drake Wooten and also ran 25 yards for a score. Travis Hoving passed 30 yards to Bryce Witham for another touchdown.

DIVISION 7

Ishpeming built a 22-0 lead and hung on against Loyola for a 22-12 victory in the Division 7 state final at Ford Field.

Alex Briones threw touchdown passes of 17 and 2 yards to Marcus Antilla and Mitch Laurin in the first half and had a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Loyola had touchdown passes of 34 and 31 yards from Garrett Schaller to Keith Graves for its two touchdowns.

Ishpeming was one of two Upper Peninsula schools to qualify for the state finals but was the only one to win it.

Briones was 6 of 13 passing for 76 yards and rushed for 60 yards. Adam Prisk led Ishpeming in rushing with 77 yards.

8-MAN FOOTBALL

For the second straight season, Greenville hosted the 8-man state title game. Peck reigned supreme with a 67-32 win over Rapid River from the Upper Peninsula. Tristen Haener completed 12 of 16 passes for the winners for 379 yards and seven touchdowns. His favorite receivers were Kyle Abrego with six catches for 236 yards and four touchdowns and Tyler Beurmann with five catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns.

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St. Louis runners were champs this season

Shepherd girl runs were tops in league

Shepherd boys runners celebrate championship season

Morley Stanwood girls overwhelm Beal City

Big Rapids Crossroads opens girls basketball season with impressive victory

Big Rapids girls drop basketball opener to McBain

Big Rapids hockey team second in home tournament

DeWitt coaches, players proud of entire season

DeWitt falls short in Division 3 finals

Teams celebrate state championships for football