Wrong End of the Microscope
October 14, 2016
Those who love and lead high school football in Michigan may be looking through the wrong end of the microscope.
Attention to large schools, varsity programs and the postseason is a waste of time if we fail to closely examine smaller schools, lower level programs and the start of the season.
Are we adequately nurturing our roots and promoting the future of the game? Do high school coaches spend more time with civic and parent groups describing the benefits and defending the safety record of school-sponsored football than they do airing their grievances against other coaches in the media?
Do we understand how increasing the number and enrollment ranges of 8-player football programs affects our smallest schools, whether they conduct 11- or 8-player programs? Do we see where and how the same proposal can serve one school very well but another school terribly?
Do we understand what's happening in junior high/middle school programs? Do we play enough games to be attractive to kids and their parents, and do the practice policies and playing rules of this level promote an extra degree of participant health and safety?
Do we understand how starting practice so much earlier than academic classes in the fall may turn off kids and parents, especially at lower levels of play; and are we keeping up with rapidly changing calendar changes of member schools?
Ultimately, the future health of varsity high school football programs depends on the outcome of these kinds of questions, answers and efforts ... and has little to do with the size and system of the postseason playoffs. And positive efforts will be negatively affected by coaches airing dirty laundry in public.
Performance of the Week: Colon's Justin Wickey
October 27, 2022
Justin Wickey ♦ Colon
Football ♦ Senior
Wickey caught 10 passes for 138 yards and five touchdowns as Colon finished an undefeated regular season with a 60-14 win over Tekonsha. In the process, the senior receiver set two more MHSAA 8-player records, for 31 receiving touchdowns to break the previous single-season record of 27 set by Lawrence’s Matthew Cammire in 2013. Wickey also is up to 55 career receiving touchdowns over the last two seasons, which broke Cammire’s record of 53 set from 2013-14.
Those are just the most recent records Wickey has broken this season. He’s up to 90 catches for 1,569 yards this fall – the 90 catches easily setting a record and the yardage ranking second all-time, 129 from tying the record in that category. His 3,076 career receiving yards in another record, as are his 154 career catches – and his 18 catches against Adrian Lenawee Christian set a single-game 8-player record. That 40-24 win over Lenawee Christian on Sept. 16 ended the Cougars’ 27-game winning streak.
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2022-23 Honorees
Oct. 20: Owen DeMuth, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood tennis - Report
Oct. 13: Mia Melendez, Ann Arbor Greenhills golf - Report
Oct. 6: Shawn Foster, Grand Ledge football - Report
Sept. 30: Hannah Smith, Temperance Bedford swimming - Report
Sept. 22: Helen Sachs, Holland West Ottawa cross country - Report
Sept. 15: Nina Horning, Lake Orion volleyball - Report
Sept 8: Arturo Romero, Muskegon Oakridge soccer - Report
Sept. 1: Austin King, Midland Dow tennis - Report
Aug. 25: Olivia Hemmila, Troy Athens golf - Report
(Photos courtesy of the Colon athletic department.)