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.
His 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.
The Holly volleyball team played for something bigger tonight
Beloved PA announcer Anthony Coggins died on Friday night from a heart attack
Tonight v. Carman-Ainsworth, the Broncho community wore his favorite colors: maize & blue🟡🔵@HollyHighSchool|@BronchosAD
⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lPCRjjdmyL
— Brandon Green🍀 (@BGreenReports) October 24, 2023
Focused on Finish, West Bloomfield Completes Run to Reign Again
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 23, 2024
EAST LANSING — Following Friday’s overtime Semifinal win over Rockford – a rematch of last season’s Division 1 championship game – many may have thought West Bloomfield already had clinched this year’s title.
But the deciding matchup with Grand Blanc still loomed Saturday, and trying to get over Friday’s emotional high was a bit of a task for the Lakers.
“A little bit,” West Bloomfield senior Summer Davis said. “But we came here for one goal, and that was to win a state championship. I think everybody got that.”
West Bloomfield left no doubt that there wouldn’t be a letdown from the start Saturday, holding Grand Blanc to just one point in the first quarter and ultimately cruising to a 60-30 win.
It was the second championship in three years for the Lakers, who finished a mission that began following a tough loss to Rockford in last year’s championship game.
The Lakers finished this season 27-1, unbeaten in Michigan with their only loss to an Ohio opponent.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our players,” West Bloomfield head coach Darrin McAllister said. “I’m super proud of our seniors. I’ve had them since they were sophomores. I kind of watched them grow up. They turned out to be two-time champions today, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
West Bloomfield wouldn’t have been in the title game if not for senior Indya Davis banking in a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer Friday, forcing overtime in the Lakers’ eventual 55-47 win over the Rams.
West Bloomfield continued to roll right into Saturday, scoring the first 10 points against the Bobcats and ultimately leading 15-1 going into the second quarter.
“We had to have the mentality coming out of ‘don’t underestimate them,’” Summer Davis said. “Just play hard.”
The Lakers built their lead to 33-17 by halftime, and then all but put the game away outscoring Grand Blanc 18-8 in the third quarter and taking a 51-25 lead into the fourth.
The game was a rematch of a regular-season finale between the teams, which West Bloomfield won by 39 points.
Summer Davis scored 14 points, senior Kendall Hendrix had 13 and Indya Davis had 11 points and eight rebounds for West Bloomfield, which shot 53.7 percent from the field and 8 of 18 from 3-point range.
Grand Blanc was making its first appearance in a Final and finished its season 23-5. Senior Chelsea Bishop scored 20 points to lead the Bobcats, which shot 26.2 percent from the field and made just 2 of 15 shots from 3-point range.
Grand Blanc also turned the ball over 19 times, and West Bloomfield capitalized with 12 points off those changes in possession.
“We thought we had to get a good start out of the gate, and we just didn’t,” Grand Blanc head coach Bob Taylor said. “We got behind early, and it seemed like it was all uphill.
“That team is very, very good. Every time they had a shot, they made it. They got the ball into the high post, they moved the ball and they played good defense. When we got behind, it was just hard.”
PHOTOS (Top) West Bloomfield players celebrate their Division 1 championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Several players including the Lakers’ Kendall Hendrix (11) challenge for a loose ball. (Below) Indya Davis (24) pulls up for a jumper with Grand Blanc’s Kate DeWitt (20) defending. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)