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].
Flashback 100: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run
November 8, 2024
The MHSAA 11-player Football Playoffs have awarded 332 Finals champions over their first 49 seasons, and the total will grow by eight later this month.
However, only 22 of those titles have been claimed by teams from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. And of those, just one came in the state’s largest division.
That honor belongs to Escanaba, which won the Class A title in 1981, marking the first and only time a U.P. team has claimed the crown in either Division 1, Class A, or Class AA.
The 1981 Escanaba team, coached by the legendary Jerry Cvengros – who would later be inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame – was led by Kevin Tapani. A dynamic two-way player, Tapani starred at both quarterback and safety. The Eskymos finished the season undefeated at 12-0, outscoring opponents by a combined 345-67. They shut out six opponents and defeated Fraser 16-6 in the title game at the Pontiac Silverdome.
While Tapani excelled in football, his true passion was baseball. He was a standout in high school and went on to become a four-year starting pitcher at Central Michigan University. In 1986, Tapani was selected by the Oakland A’s in the second round of the MLB Draft. He went on to enjoy a successful 13-year career in the majors, earning a 143-125 record, with a 16-9 season in 1991 when he helped lead the Minnesota Twins to a World Series title.
In recognition of his athletic achievements, Tapani was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 and named one of the Minnesota Twins' 50 all-time greatest players.
The 22 U.P. teams to win an MHSAA 11-player football championship:
1975 – Ishpeming – Class C
1975 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1976 – Crystal Falls Forest Park – Class D
1979 – Ishpeming – Class C
1979 – Norway – Class D
1980 – Munising – Class C
1980 – Norway – Class D
1981 – Escanaba – Class A
1983 – St. Ignace – Class D
1992 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class DD
1993 – Kingsford – Class B
1993 – Iron Mountain – Class C
1997 – Lake Linden-Hubbell – Class D
1998 – Menominee – Class BB
2000 – Iron Mountain – Division 7
2002 – Negaunee – Division 6
2006 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Menominee – Division 5
2007 – Crysal Falls Forest Park – Division 8
2012 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2013 – Ishpeming – Division 7
2015 – Ishpeming – Division 7
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Nov. 1: Flashback 100: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Flashback 100: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Escanaba's 1981 Class A championship team, Tapani is in the second row, fourth from the right (#18). (Middle) Kevin Tapani from his Escanaba Wall of Fame Plaque. (Photos courtesy of Escanaba High School, and the MHSAA archives.)