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Glen Lake’s Jessie Pugh (14) gets through the lane and to the basket during Thursday’s second Division 4 Semifinal at Breslin Center.

Early Jitters Fade Away as Glen Lake Makes Way to Championship Day

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 16, 2023

EAST LANSING — As far as a good sign despite futility goes, this couldn’t have been any better for Maple City Glen Lake in its Division 4 Semifinal against Adrian Lenawee Christian on Thursday.

Glen Lake had shot 3 of 20 from the field in the first quarter, despite many of those opportunities coming from close range near the basket. 

But the Lakers still led 10-4. 

From there, the shooting picked up and so did the lead throughout the next three quarters for Glen Lake, which ended up surging to a 49-31 win. 

The Lakers will attempt to win their first Finals championship since claiming the Class D title in 1978 when they meet Baraga at 10 a.m. Saturday. 

“You felt their nerves,” Glen Lake head coach Jason Bradford said. “I just told them at halftime to slow it down. Slow it down, face up, see that hoop and put it in. I think the nerves got a little bit better in the second half, and they had better composure.”

Players scramble for a loose ball during the Lakers’ eventual 49-31 victory.Glen Lake started to find the basket more in the second quarter, scoring 15 points in the frame to take a 25-11 lead into halftime. 

The Lakers built their lead to 18 points at 31-13 with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter and held a 37-20 lead going into the fourth. 

Glen Lake took a 45-24 lead with 4:50 left and was never threatened. 

Senior Maddie Bradford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and senior Ruby Hogan nearly had a triple-double registering 13 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the way for Glen Lake (25-2).

The Lakers dominated the boards, outrebounding Lenawee Christian by a 47-30 margin and collecting 20 offensive rebounds. 

“I think that was huge,” Jason Bradford said. “Rebound, rebound. We preach it in practice, and we’re always working on that. You have to be aggressive. Rebounds are kind of like extra (possessions) and free points.” 

Isabelle Kirkendall scored 11 points and Avery Sluss added eight for the Cougars (18-11). 

Lenawee Christian returned to the Semifinals despite losing four starters from last year’s team, this time guided by first-year head coach Emilie Beach. 

“Big picture, this is so special,” Beach said. “At our school, it seems like the norm to win your District, win your Regional and get to the Final Four. This is so special.” 

Glen Lake was making its second-straight Semifinal trip as well after losing in Division 3 a year ago, and seemed to overall benefit from that experience despite the slow start offensively.

“Nerves are going to come,” Hogan said. “You know it’s going to be there, and you’re going to have slip-ups because you are getting used to the big crowd at this stage. Just being able to bounce back from that in the second quarter and second half and making those shots you missed in the first quarter (was nice).”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Glen Lake’s Jessie Pugh (14) gets through the lane and to the basket during Thursday’s second Division 4 Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Players scramble for a loose ball during the Lakers’ eventual 49-31 victory.

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.