Did you see that?
April 30, 2012
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
It's only the end of April. But a number of Michigan's contenders already are in championship form.
Check out our best of results, news and notes from the week that was April 23-28.
Boys Track
What a toss: Walled Lake Central junior Cullen Prena tossed the discus an incredible 187 feet, seven inches, to win the event at the Oxford Invitational by nearly 36 feet. In fact, the toss would've won every MHSAA Final dating back to 2003. Earlier in the week he broke the Oakland County record as well. He also won the shot put at Oxford. (Oakland Press)
Girls Track
South still on top: Reigning MHSAA Division 1 champion Grosse Pointe South earned a strong early win at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational ahead of a field that included annual powers Rockford and Williamston and a strong DeWitt team. Bay City Western won the boys meet. (Playmakers.com)
Baseball
Flint Final set: Goodrich’s Bob Foreback and Davison’s Timm Rye will bring more than 1,000 victories worth of experience into this season’s Greater Flint Area Baseball Tournament championship game when their teams face off on Memorial Day. The two will meet after emerging from the field this weekend. (Flint Journal)
How do you score that: Most telling lines from the Kalamazoo Gazette’s story about Comstock turning a triple play and three double plays in one game came from Comstock coach Rich Bailey: “We have not played particularly good defense. In fact, our defense has been a problem. The skill is there; the execution hasn’t been.” (Kalamazoo Gazette)
Girls Soccer
Poll position: Rochester Adams continued to affect the Division 1 rankings while moving up itself. Adams likely helped to knock rival Rochester out of this week’s honorable mentions with a 2-0 win Thursday. The Friday before, Adams downed then top-ranked Troy 4-1. The Highlanders have opened 7-0 and are ranked No. 3 in Division 1. (Oakland Press)
Boys Basketball
Flint Powers coach moves on: Tim Herman led the Flint Powers Catholic boys basketball program only seven seasons, but they were seven of the Chargers’ most memorable. Herman resigned his post last week after more than 100 wins and the team’s only MHSAA championship, in Class B in 2009. (Flint Journal)
Football
Michigan's finest take next step: At least nine former MHSAA athletes were drafted by NFL teams (by my count) over seven rounds Thursday through Saturday. They were:
- DE Nick Perry (Detroit Martin Luther King/University of Southern California) Green Bay, first round
- DT Mike Martin (Detroit Catholic Central/University of Michigan) Tennessee, third round
- QB Kirk Cousins (Holland Christian/Michigan State University) Washington, fourth round
- WR Keshawn Martin (Westland John Glenn/Michigan State University) Houston, fourth round
- CB Chris Greenwood (Detroit Martin Luther King/Albion College) Detroit, fifth round
- S Trenton Robinson (Bay City Central/Michigan State) San Francisco, sixth round
- LB Audie Cole (Monroe/North Carolina State University) Minnesota, seventh round
- RB Edwin Baker (Oak Park/Michigan State University) San Diego, seventh round
- K John Potter (Grand Haven/Western Michigan University) New York Jets, seventh round
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].
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.)