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2021 D3 Boys Basketball Semifinal - Flint Beecher

Beecher's Journey Turns Toward Familiar Destination

By Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com

April 8, 2021

EAST LANSING – Within three days of each other last April, members of the Flint Beecher High School basketball family lost loved ones to COVID-19.

One was the father of head coach Mike Williams.

While winning a sixth Division 3 championship Saturday won’t take the sting out of their losses, the Bucs (15-1) moved one step closer to another title with a 47-34 Semifinal victory over Hanover-Horton (20-2) on Thursday at the Breslin Center.

“I lost big time a year ago on the (April) 13th,’’ said Williams. “This has been a long road. This week is special to me because of things that probably don’t need to be said. This season for me has been about the journey, not necessarily the championship. It has been about showing strength for my family, for our families and our community and the people that have lost during this pandemic.’’

A stingy defense and an offense led by senior Keyon Menifield Jr. and Carmelo Harris paced the Bucs. Both scored 15 points for the winners.

“They are such a great defensive team,’’ said Hanover-Horton coach Chad Mortimer. “I thought our zone was good in the third quarter, but at the other end we couldn’t make shots. We went 2 for 19 from three. We just couldn’t make shots.’’

Conner Mortimer – Chad’s son – and Brogan Brockie combined for 25 points.

Beecher/Hanover-Horton Division 3 Semifinal 2

“Nobody expected us to be here, so we exceeded expectations,’’ said Conner.

Trailing by 13 to start the third quarter, Hanover-Horton went to a zone defense and trimmed the deficit to 25-17 on a three-point play by Carson Sanders.

Beecher had issues with the zone and watched the lead dwindle. The Bucs were held scoreless to start the second half until a floater by Menifield with 2:33 left in the third got them on the board.

“We just had to be patient and figure out how to attack their zone,’’ said Menifield.

A layup just before the buzzer by James Cummings II gave Beecher a 32-20 lead with eight minutes to play and the Comets still shooting under 30 percent from the field.

With the lead, the Bucs were content to run clock and play keep-away. When the Comets were forced to go back to a man-to-man defense, the Beecher offense went into high gear again, opening up a 40-26 lead on a lay-in by Harris.

Williams, who is in his 17th season at the helm, clearly had his team ready for the challenge as the Bucs’ speed and quickness started to assert itself in the second quarter.

Beecher led 12-8 after one but scored the first nine points of the second quarter to opened up a 21-8 lead on a lay-in by Taylin Muldrew.

The Comets finally ended their drought on a basket by Brockie.

Undaunted, the Bucs scored the next four points to increase the lead to 25-10 as the Comets had trouble penetrating the quick man-to-man defense.

Menifield led all scorers at the half with 11 points as Beecher was ahead 25-12.

Beecher shot 42.3 percent from the floor in the first half and held the Comets to 24 percent and scoreless from 3-point range.

Click for full box score. 

PHOTOS: (Top) Beecher's Carmelo Harris pulls up for a jumper during Thursday's first Division 3 Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Hanover-Horton's Brogan Brockie gets up a shot. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)

Tony Coggins serves as PA announcer during a 2022 Division 3 volleyball match at Kellogg Arena.

In Memoriam: Tony Coggins (1971-2023)

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 24, 2023

The MHSAA and Holly school communities are grieving this week after the sudden loss of Tony Coggins, a shining light in his educational community and an enthusiastic supporter of school sports as a public address announcer for several of our largest championship events.

But while that cheerful tone has been quieted, it surely will not be forgotten by the many fortunate to enjoy an event in the presence of that voice and the joyfulness he brought into every arena, press box and classroom.

Coggins, 51, died Saturday. He is survived by his wife Kristy and children Emma and Bradlee, among several family and friends from his local and greater sports communities.

Tony CogginsHis career as a PA announcer began during his freshman year of high school in 1985, when his father Dale Coggins – Flushing’s athletic director at the time – couldn’t find anyone else to announce middle school football games. That was 39 years ago, and this fall Tony Coggins was in his 24th announcing at Holly, where he taught and served as an administrator in addition to his role as “Voice of the Holly Bronchos” for football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, competitive cheer and swimming & diving over the years.

Coggins has been a mainstay among MHSAA Finals PA announcers over the last decade in football, basketball, softball and most recently volleyball. He lent his voice to college sports at University of Michigan as well. “Tony was a huge part of our Finals events. It’s hard to imagine it being the same without him,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said.

As part of the run-up to the MHSAA public address announcers clinic in 2018, Coggins said this about what drew him to the microphone:

“I have zero athletic ability whatsoever, which is interesting because my father was an all-state running back. But I enjoy being involved, and I've always been the one for history and statistics and knowing what's going on,” Coggins said. “This is a way for me to be involved. It's a way for me to use a talent I've been given; public speaking has always come pretty naturally for me.

“So I worked at my craft to get better. I got better from watching the people around me, from studying the people I like, and the people – if I saw someone I didn’t care for – I'd make a note and say to myself, ‘Don't do that.’ I take feedback from people very personally, and I mean that in a good way. If somebody takes the time to come up and say, ‘You did this well; I think you should change this,’ that means they care about the program also. We all have the same goal in mind, and that's to make the experience good for the high school student and the parents, the fans, that come there.”

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, at St. John Vianney, 2415 Bagley Street in Flint. There will be visitation from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, at the Swartz Funeral Home, 1225 West Hill Road, and at the church from 10 a.m. Saturday until the time of the Mass.