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April 9, 2012

Check out our must-know scores and news from April 2-7.

(Click on links for coverage.)

Girls Soccer

It starts with one: Hart and Mason County Central played more than an hour before Hart scored the game's first goal with 15 minutes remaining Wednesday. Hart then scored six more to claim a 7-0 win in a game that was much closer for most of it. (Muskegon Chronicle)

Baseball

Rice takes early edge: Some of the state's best baseball is played in the Detroit Catholic League, and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice took an early edge among conference favorites. On the arms of brothers Matt and Mike Ruppenthal, the Warriors -- ranked No. 6 in the Division 1 state poll -- swept Dearborn Divine Child, which is ranked No. 4 in Division 2. (MLive Detroit)

Another big start for Blissfield: The Royals won their own Farm Bureau Invitational, capping the effort with a 9-6 win over Temperance Bedford in the championship game. Blissfield is No. 10 in Division 3 and Bedford is No. 7 in Division 1. (Adrian Daily Telegram)

Early look at the top: Gobles and Decatur, Nos. 2 and 3 in the first state Division 4 poll, split a doubleheader. Neither will see many opponents as tough before they potentially meet again in the District. Notable: Gobles was Division 3 last season. (Kalamazoo Gazette)

Boys Golf

Rankings posted: Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in Divsion 1, DeWitt in Division 2, Jackson Lumen Christi in Division 3 and Auburn Hills Oakland Christian in Division 4 top the first polls of the year by the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association. (Click for full rankings)

Editor's note: Did we miss something? Comment below and tell us about it. Is there an event coming up that we should make sure to note? Comment or e-mail [email protected].

Cadillac Freshmen Wing, Westinghouse Become Wingmen for Each Other

By Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com

October 18, 2024

Lawson Westinghouse has a wingman.

Northern Lower PeninsulaHe really has several, but arguably no one closer than Dominic Wing, the 6-foot-5 freshman starting quarterback at Cadillac High School.

Westinghouse is also a freshman at Cadillac. A couple of other freshman, lineman Tanner Johnson and wide receiver/linebacker Will Howell, also are standing ready and willing to support.

Westinghouse, an avid long distance runner, likely will never play a down on the football field for the Vikings. But he’s usually helping the quarterbacks with drills at practice and looks like a member of the coaching staff on the sidelines during games.

He’s taken all road trips with the Vikings, sitting right next to Wing on the bus. Unfortunately, the road trip string is likely to end tonight when the Vikings head to Marquette for a matchup with league and playoff implications. Cadillac goes into the game 4-3 overall with a 3-2 Big North Conference record. Marquette is 5-2, 4-1.

Westinghouse can’t make the trip because he’s battling sickness complications from chemotherapy. He was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma a few years back.

He got good news earlier this season indicating he was cancer free, but had to return to chemo this week.

Wing, Johnson and Howell spend time daily with Westinghouse reading. Westinghouse had goals of reading the book “The Twin Thieves” by the end of the school year and trying to stay in school every day.

Tanner Johnson, Will Howell and Westinghouse read “The Twin Thieves” together. The boys try to get Westinghouse through a few pages every day. Wing is his primary reading partner, having developed a close bond with Westinghouse since transferring to Cadillac from Morley Stanwood this fall.

They first met at a basketball game last winter at Cadillac. They reconnected on the first day of school this fall and sat side by side during road trips to Midland, Gaylord, Sault Ste. Marie and Greenville as Cadillac recovered from an 0-2 start winning four of its last five games heading into tonight’s contest.

“I had a bunch of friends (at Cadillac), so I came up for a game,” Wing recollected. “(Lawson) saw me there, and he came up and introduced himself.

The friendship started to really take off with the first day of school, the two freshmen said. “(Lawson) wanted to be on the field, and we started reading in the mornings, which was really nice,” Wing recalled.

The special bond has led to a looser game warm-up and become a key to Wing’s mental preparations. It may be even more critical than Wing’s off-field opportunities to consult with a former NFL quarterback, John Wolford.

“We both talk the whole time on the bus rides,” Westinghouse said.

Wing treasures the conversation.

“We connect on the bus,” Wing said. “Once we get off the bus, he’ll get my warm-up ball and he’ll come over and watch me warm up, and I think it is pretty cool.”

Second-year coach Nick Winkler, who also serves as a special education teacher for Cadillac, loves how the new quarterback has connected with Westinghouse, who may rank as the most popular kid in school.

“Dom does a really good job of looking out for opportunities to take some time with Lawson during games and practice,” said Winkler. “Playing quarterback is hard enough as it is, so to intentionally do that speaks a lot to Lawson and a lot of people in the program.”

Westinghouse said he loves football and running. He recently asked his parents to buy him a football, and he’s been secretly practicing away from the football field. He also has run the Mackinac Bridge Labor Day event both ways every year.

Westinghouse keeps an eye on the action. One of the most memorable moments for Winkler, Wing, Howell, Tanner and Westinghouse is far from the best one though. Lawson found himself sick on the way back from the Sault victory, and the boys had an opportunity to comfort him and practice a little caregiving.

“It was a late-night bus trip back, and Lawson gets sick,” Winkler said. “Those guys really helped him out — I think that speaks to their character.”

Another freshman, Ty Pettit, cannot play football due to a health condition, but also has been welcomed to the team. He participates in quarterback drills and serves as an equipment manger. He also serves as the resident prankster on the team, according to Winkler.

“I mostly hang out with the team and encourage them to do their best,” Pettit said of his role.

Without Westinghouse tonight, Wing will rely more on his consultation with Wolford, who first connected with Winkler in Green Bay. Wing is coming off completing 14 of 18 attempts for 200 yards in last week’s win. He has one touchdown pass and no interceptions.

Wolford played for the Los Angeles Rams from 2019-2022 and then during then during the 2023 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His first NFL start was in place of injured Jared Goff in the 2020 regular-season finale, and he led the Rams back into the playoffs with a 10-6 victory. He became the first quarterback to pass for more than 200 yards and rush for more than 50 in his NFL debut. He also backed up Matthew Stafford as the Rams won the 2021 Super Bowl. 

‘‘Dominic’s grooming as a quarterback has not been normal,” said Winkler. “He has the opportunity to talk with an NFL quarterback every week if he wants to, and I would say that relationship would come second to what he and Lawson have developed.”

Wing will miss Westinghouse every time the offense comes off the field tonight.

‘I usually like to look for him and we give each other a little fist bump when I come off,” Wing said.

Tom SpencerTom Spencer is a longtime MHSAA-registered basketball and soccer official, and former softball and baseball official, and he also has coached in the northern Lower Peninsula area. He previously has written for the Saginaw News, Bay County Sports Page and Midland Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Manistee, Wexford, Missaukee, Roscommon, Ogemaw, Iosco, Alcona, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Leelanau, Antrim, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Presque Isle, Cheboygan, Charlevoix and Emmet counties.

PHOTOS (Top) From left, Ty Pettit, quarterbacks KaLenn Harsh and Dominic Wing, Lawson Westinghouse and Cadillac football coach Nick Winkler take a moment for a photograph during a recent practice. (Middle) Tanner Johnson, Will Howell and Westinghouse read “The Twin Thieves” together. (Below) Westinghouse keeps an eye on the action. (Practice photos by Tom Spencer; reading photo courtesy of the Cadillac athletic department.)