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Small Schools, Big Northern Lights Finish

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

February 29, 2016

HANNAHVILLE — Not too many high school conferences in Michigan have their own basketball tournament.

The Northern Lights League in the Upper Peninsula, however, is one of the exceptions to the rule.

Each year the league’s eight schools meet at Hannahville for their annual tourney.

“This is such a great tournament for our conference,” said Maplewood Baptist boys coach Steve May. “What an opportunity for small schools. These are the types of things these kids will never forget. This is their chance to shine. They get to experience March Madness, although it comes a little early.”

The tournament, traditionally held in late February, showcases all the talent these schools have to offer.

This year’s girls tourney featured the league’s first all-U.P. player in senior Hannah May, a second-team selection a year ago.

“This is really a nice tournament,” Hannah said. “All the small schools come together and make some new friendships. This is the highlight of the year. This gives us something to shoot for.”

Hannah May showed why she’s all-U.P. in the championship game Feb. 20, sinking a buzzer-beating 20-foot jumpshot from the right wing to force overtime in Maplewood’s 79-70 triumph over Wilson Nah Tah Wahsh.

She scored 35 points, and classmate Harmony Bailey added 24.

“We enjoy this tournament,” said Maplewood girls assistant coach Caroline May. “We look forward to it every year.”

Senior Selena Williams, looking to play ball at Gogebic Community College in Ironwood next season, led Hannahville with 26 points. Sophomore Cecilia Beaver added 23.

“I love our team,” said Beaver. “We all get along. We’re also real good friends with Maplewood Baptist, and we get along with the other teams. We’ve developed a lot of friendships.”

The Maplewood Baptist boys also captured the league tourney crown in a 73-54 conquest of Hannahville.

Senior Patrick Gomes scored 19 points for the Kinross-based school, which placed four in double-digits. Senior Cody Meshigaud paced the defending champs with 24.

The tournament provides plenty of opportunity for team bonding and camaraderie among all the teams.

“I like it and the kids enjoy it,” said Ojibwe Charter girls coach Ashley Bishop. “You see the upsets and victories. It’s nice to see all the teams get together. All the schools are very small, and I think the kids make better friends this way. At the motel we stayed at in Escanaba, we had kids and coaches from 4-5 schools hanging out together.”

Ojibwe boys coach Brandon Kerfoot believes the tournament is part of the learning process for a team with no seniors.

“I think being able to end the season with schools about our size is a big stepping stone for the kids,” he said. “It’s a different game once you hit the tournaments. Anything can happen once you reach this point.”

The Ojibwe boys started two juniors and a sophomore, freshman and eighth-grader in a 69-46 semifinal loss to Maplewood Baptist.

Ojibwe’s girls started two juniors, two sophomores and an eighth-grader in a 56-34 loss to Hannahville in the semifinals.

PHOTOS: (Top) A pair of Kinross Maplewood Baptist defenders surround a Wilson Nah Tah Wahsh player bringing the ball upcourt during the Northern Lights League Tournament. (Middle) A Maplewood defender works to wall off a Bay Mills Ojibwe Charter guard. (Photos by Paul Gerard.)

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.