Breslin Bound: Boys Report Week 7
January 23, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
This week is expected to see the first MHSAA record fall during a history-making season in Michigan boys basketball.
Powers North Central can both tie and then surpass the 65-game winning streak built by Chassell’s teams from 1956-58. Barring the unexpected, the two-time reigning Class D champion would win its 66th straight on Friday – and then start work on pushing the newly-set record even farther out of reach.
Friday's game will be broadcast live on MHSAA.tv, and we'll report more on the streak's significance next week. And of course, it's only one of a number of games and teams highlighted in this week’s Breslin Bound report powered by MI Student Aid.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit East English 71, Detroit Martin Luther King 57 – While its loss to Detroit Osborn on Jan. 13 remains a bit of a shocker, East English has bounced all the way back and with this win improved to 9-1 and moved into a first-place tie with King atop the Detroit Public School League East Division 1.
2. Buckley 50, Frankfort 38 – The Bears earned the upper hand both in the Northwest Conference and among the north’s Class D elite by remaining undefeated in handing Frankfort its first loss this season.
3. Hillsdale 74, Dundee 54 – This also was a meeting of undefeated teams, with Hillsdale prevailing to keep the top spot alone in the Lenawee County Athletic Association while making a nice statement in Class B as well.
4. Mount Pleasant 68, Saginaw 60 – The Oilers took a couple of tough losses early in the Saginaw Valley League North season, but they’re back in second place with this first win over league leader Saginaw since 2010.
5. Benton Harbor 62, Muskegon Heights Academy 60 – Coming off an overtime win over Stevensville Lakeshore, Benton Harbor passed another tough test edging a Heights team that is 8-4.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each class making sparks:
CLASS A
Marquette (9-1) – Since falling to Petoskey on opening night, Marquette is unbeaten. The Redmen handed Negaunee its first loss, 57-53, to start last week, and have a two-win lead on the rest of the Great Northern U.P. Conference after finishing second and only 11-9 overall last winter.
Romulus (7-2) – Somewhat quietly, Romulus has re-established itself in the Class A hunt. The Eagles always load their schedule with tough opponents, and although losses came to Clarkston and Detroit U-D Jesuit (combined 18-2), Romulus put up wins last week against Saginaw Arthur Hill, Dearborn Fordson and rival Belleville.
CLASS B
Ludington (8-0) – Counting the end of last season, Ludington has won 15 of its last 16 games, including handing Muskegon Heights Academy (mentioned above) one of its two losses this winter. That win has the Orioles sitting in first place alone in the rebuilt Lakes 8 Athletic Conference.
New Haven (9-1) – Coming off last season’s Quarterfinal march, New Haven is the team to chase in the Macomb Area Conference Blue with its last eight wins all by at least 22 points. That lone loss came by six to Macomb Dakota, a likely contender again after making the Class A Semifinals a year ago.
CLASS C
Norway (10-0) – With the school’s girls team also 10-0, it’s a great time to play basketball at Norway. The boys’ success has included handing Iron Mountain its only loss (48-44) on Dec. 16 and winning the rest of its games this winter by double digits – including 56-44 last week over reigning Mid-Peninsula Athletic Conference co-champ Negaunee.
Kalamazoo Hackett (8-0) – A 53-50 win over rival Kalamazoo Christian on Friday was the latest highlight to a perfect start that has Hackett atop the Southwestern Athletic Conference Valley standings. Going back to last season’s Quarterfinal run, Hackett has won 32 of its last 33 games.
CLASS D
Carney-Nadeau (6-3) – Life could be easier than playing in the same league as undefeated Powers North Central and one-loss Bark River-Harris, but the Wolves deserve some credit as well for upping the reputation of the Skyline Central Conference West after last week handing Munising its only loss, 59-46. Carney-Nadeau’s losses were to those league frontrunners and Friday at the Milwaukee Academy of Science.
Jackson Christian (6-3) – After opening 2-3 with those losses all to Class C teams with winning records, Jackson Christian has won four straight to take the lead in the Southern Central Athletic Association East. All of the wins have been by 10 or more points, and two of those three losses were by a combined five points.
Can't-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Wayne Memorial (7-2) at Clarkston (10-0) – Much-improved Wayne can tie last season’s win total with an upset of the Class A-contending Wolves.
Tuesday – Sand Creek (9-0) at Ottawa Lake Whiteford (8-1) – This sounds like a great football matchup, but the boys basketball teams too are tied for first in the Tri-County Conference; Whiteford did beat Sand Creek in football to win the league title in that sport.
Tuesday – St. Johns (8-2) at East Lansing (10-0) – Both are leaders of Capital Area Activities Conference divisions, St. Johns in the Red and East Lansing in the Blue, but this could be a mighty upset for a Redwings team that has won two more games already than all of last season.
Wednesday – Michigan Center (8-0) at Napoleon (8-1) – These two are both undefeated in the Cascades Conference and also part of the same Class C District, making this the first of three possible matchups.
Friday – Bark River-Harris (8-1) at Powers North Central (9-0) – If the Jets beat Rock Mid-Peninsula on Tuesday, this matchup of the leaders in the Skyline Central Conference West could see North Central set the MHSAA boys hoops record with a 66th consecutive victory.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant downed Saginaw last week for the first time since 2010. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Morenci Rallies to Support 3-Sport Standout
By
Doug Donnelly
Special for MHSAA.com
March 22, 2021
MORENCI – It would have been easy for Rodney Zimmerman to take a night off and no one would have thought twice.
But the three-sport athlete at Morenci High School in Lenawee County wouldn’t even consider it. Even while his mom was going through cancer treatments, battling COVID-19 and pneumonia, Zimmerman hit the weight room every morning, showed up for practice every afternoon and, now, has taken a step toward his dream of becoming a college athlete.
Zimmerman committed this week to Saginaw Valley State University to run track.
“He’s just one of those kids that everyone rallies around,” said Morenci track and football coach Stefan Wilkinson. “He works really hard at everything he does. He goes all out, every time he’s on the court or field or track. He’s a very humble kid.”
Outside of his own community, few people were aware that his mother was going through cancer treatments in the fall, causing her to miss some of his games. Morenci rallied around the quiet senior.
“Everyone knew what was going on,” Zimmerman said, reluctantly. “Morenci is a small town. The parents and coaches were great to me. They would cook meals for us. That was really nice.
“Sports is a way for me to put that out of my mind,” he said. “I just go out and play the game. It is hard, but you have to do it. Football became my escape from all of that. That really helped. It wasn’t too hard to focus. Well, it was, but I just had to do it. I wanted to keep playing.”
Sports has been a part of his life since grade school. He grew up near Waldron in Hillsdale County and attended Pittsford until seventh grade when he moved schools and started going to Morenci. It was a good fit for him and the community.
His first interest was basketball, but he decided to pick up other sports as well.
“At first when I came here, I just played basketball, but I eventually picked up football and then track,” he said. “The coaches always told me it was good to play all of the other sports.”
He’s a familiar face at Morenci events because he stands out in three sports. He also wears a signature headband.
Zimmerman was a running back for the Morenci football team in the fall, is a point guard for the Bulldogs basketball team as they head into next week’s Division 3 postseason, and he can’t wait to return to the track this spring. He’s a sprinter and a good one.
As a sophomore, Zimmerman finished second at the Tri-County Conference meet in both the 100 and 200 meters. At the Division 4 Finals, he placed fourth in the 100 and helped the Bulldogs 400 relay team place fourth as well. He also qualified in the 200.
He likes how track is somewhat of an individual sport.
“I like all of the sports, but I like that in track I have total control,” he said. “The only one responsible for your performance is you. It’s all up to you.”
He missed his junior year of track due to the season being canceled because of COVID-19.
“I was really disappointed that I missed my junior season because that’s a big season for recruitment,” he said. “I was thinking we were going to still have a season. I was working out and getting ready, then it was canceled. I was still lifting and trying to stay ready.”
He has goals for this season.
“I want to go to state again, and I want to be in the top three in my events,” he said.
He committed to Saginaw Valley State, a Division II college, after visiting the campus and finding out the Cardinals were able to give some scholarship money.
“They made the best offer,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to go to college. That’s been my plan. I want to do something in business, maybe own my own gym.”
College is still a while away. Right now, there is the District tournament looming for Morenci, then track season. His mother had a scan recently to find out where she stands with cancer.
For now, he’s happy to have her in the stands, watching him compete. The community continues to rally around him. His teammates do, too. During football season, Zimmerman and other players wore green on their shoes or wrist – a lime green ribbon promotes Lymphoma cancer awareness.
“It’s nice to have her watching again,” he said. “She missed some football games. She just had a pet scan last week to see if it is all gone. We are hoping for the best.”
Doug Donnelly has served as a sports and news reporter and city editor over 25 years, writing for the Daily Chief-Union in Upper Sandusky, Ohio from 1992-1995, the Monroe Evening News from 1995-2012 and the Adrian Daily Telegram since 2013. He's also written a book on high school basketball in Monroe County and compiles record books for various schools in southeast Michigan. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Morenci's Rodney Zimmerman sprints toward the finish of a preliminary race during the 2019 Track & Field Finals. (Middle) Zimmeran was named this winter's Homecoming king. (Top photo by RunMichigan.com; middle photo submitted.)