Century of School Sports: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 15, 2024
The story of school sports always has been, and remains, one of its most valuable commodities – a collection of memories tying together generations who have learned, competed and endured with their classmates, representing their communities over the 100-year history of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
High School sports in Michigan have had the great benefit of being featured prevalently in the state’s media going back to their start – first in the local newspaper, then over the local radio airwaves, followed by local TV stations and now joined by an online presence allowing anyone from anywhere to keep up with their favorite school team.
Once per season – Fall, Winter and Spring – during this 2024-25 “Century of School Sports” celebration, we’ll feature memories from several of our state’s storytellers who have played major roles in getting out the good word on school sports. Below is our first edition, taken from a survey of more than 20 media members past and present along with our longtime MHSAA historian and staff communications specialist.
Dad Role Provides Perspective for Role as Storyteller
Jack Doles, WOOD TV (Grand Rapids)
I have been covering high school sports in the state of Michigan since 1987. I have seen some of the most incredible games played at the Silverdome and Ford Field in the MHSAA football state championships. Nothing will top watching my son Tommy win a state championship with Grand Rapids Christian in 2012. They beat Orchard Lake St. Mary's in overtime 40-37. Drake Harris, who would go on to play football at the University of Michigan, had a game for the ages.
But the thing I'll never forget was interviewing my son afterward. I could hardly get the questions out. I wasn't the reporter for that game; that wouldn't be right. Still, I came away from that championship run with a different perspective. I saw first-hand how a school community rallies around a team. It gave me a better understanding of how we should try and cover teams and tournaments.
Sexton Takes Lansing on Unforgettable Ride
Brian Calloway, Lansing State Journal
One of the best things about high school sports is seeing teams take communities on special rides and to places they have never been before. I have seen it plenty with football teams I have covered, like Mason and Corunna last season making their historic runs to Ford Field. But the instance that stands out the most is when Lansing Sexton reached the Division 4 state championship game in 2014 under Dan Boggan. The trip ended with a 28-27 loss to Grand Rapids South Christian, but the experience marked a major moment for the Lansing School District, which has produced plenty of football talent over the years but never had any of its schools get to a football state final.
Livonia Schools Set Stage as 1st Class A Boys Soccer Finalists
Brad Emons, Detroit Free Press (formerly of Observer & Eccentric newspapers)
The first MHSAA Class A boys soccer championship game, on Nov. 6, 1982, ironically featured two Livonia schools, Stevenson vs. Churchill, at Flint’s Atwood Stadium.
Stevenson, coached by Pete Scerri and led by prolific goal scorer Gary Mexicotte, earned a 4-1 victory over the Chargers.
Reese Refuses to Let Championship Party End
Rob Kaminski, MHSAA communications coordinator since 1999
In a sport that has seen a host of repeat champions and schools with numerous Finals appearances, it’s a school that had only one shot at the Finals and made the most of it against long odds that comes to mind: The 2021 Reese Rockets.
The Rockets, in fact, had only reached the MHSAA Semifinals one other time (2010), and coach Angie Compton’s team was facing a tall task being asked to dethrone two-time defending champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central in the Division 3 championship match. SMCC was making its 11th Finals appearance. Before reaching the Final, however, Reese was extended to four sets in a thrilling 25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 28-26 victory over Muskegon Western Michigan Christian.
Facing the perennial power Kestrels the next day, Compton’s team appeared to be running on empty as SMCC took the first two sets, 25-18, 25-19. Unfazed, and actually singing and dancing to music blaring over the public address system during each break in the action, Reese pounded out a 25-25 win in set 3 and put the champs on the ropes with a 25-21 win in set 4 to tie the match, 2-2.
The Rockets would have to battle back from one last deficit, trailing in the see-saw fifth set, 9-7, before capping the Cinderella season on the second championship point of the night as senior Maddi Osantowski and junior Abby Karst combined for a block for a 16-14 victory. Osantowski finished with 34 kills and totaled 110 attack attempts while setter Aydan Dalak had 42 assists.
Muskegon Reminds Us that It’s Never ‘Game Over’
Ron Pesch, MHSAA historian
Part of a rare double bill hosted at MSU's Spartan Stadium, the 2008 Muskegon-Davison Division 2 Semifinal provided countless Big Reds fans with the opportunity to depart early. And many did.
Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for unbeaten, top-ranked, and heavily-favored Muskegon. Turnover after turnover – six in total, including two muffed punts – aligned with a stellar performance by Davison's sophomore quarterback, Jake Thompson, and an opportunistic Cardinals squad. Davison led 21-13 at the half, 35-13 with 4:45 to play in the third quarter, and 35-19 with under five minutes remaining when a blown defensive assignment allowed Muskegon to cut the margin to 35-25 on a 77-yard TD pass. But a failed 2-point conversion meant the Big Reds still needed two scores.
For several in the press box, as well as the great majority in the stands, it was game over. However, in a game filled with life lessons, Muskegon's recovery of a pair of onside kicks – with touchdowns to follow – made the Big Reds’ eventual 38-35 victory the most improbable of improbable comebacks in MHSAA playoff history. It's still stunning to watch.
Good-bye to Legendary Program, Legendary Coach
Brad Emons, Detroit Free Press (formerly of Observer & Eccentric newspapers)
In the final year of Farmington Hills Harrison before it closed its doors, the state’s all-time winningest coach with a career record of 443-112-1 saw his team surrender a 14-7 fourth-quarter lead and fall in a Division 4 Regional Final at home to Chelsea, 21-14, on Nov. 11, 2018.
Afterward, legendary Harrison coach John Herrington addressed the media and said, “The only thing I thought about was Don Meredith and Monday Night Football. He used to say, ‘Turn out the lights, the party is over.’ I guess that’s my quote.” Herrington finished his career at Harrison with 34 playoff appearances, 13 state titles and five runner-up finishes from 1970-2018.
Mercy Completes Miracle at Calihan Hall
Mick McCabe, Detroit Free Press since 1970
(From its start as an MHSAA-sponsored sport in 1973 through 2006, girls basketball was played during the fall.)
On Dec. 11, 1982, the Flint Northern girls basketball team was well on its way to making MHSAA history. After three quarters the Vikings, who were attempting to become the first girls team to win five consecutive state championships, led upstart Farmington Hills Mercy by 19 points.
With less than seven minutes remaining the lead was 18 points, and Mercy was in trouble. Left with no alternative, Mercy applied a full-court trapping press and suddenly Northern began turning the ball over like crazy. The Marlins got within five when sophomore Amy DeMattia (13 points, 10 rebounds) scored three straight baskets to give Mercy the lead while Northern, which had 31 turnovers, responded with four consecutive turnovers. Sophomore Annette Ruggiero came up with a key steal and hit a free throw for a two-point lead and then another sophomore, Mary Rosowski, nailed a clutch free throw with 11 seconds left to seal the deal – a 61-58 win over the Vikings.
Junior Sarah Basford led Mercy with 20 points. Mercy started one senior, one junior and three sophomores, and the Marlins may have been too naive to realize they were supposed to be intimidated by Northern. After the final buzzer sounded, Mercy coach Larry Baker looked like he was in a daze as he wandered around the court repeating: “I don’t believe it ... I don’t believe it.” Neither did anyone else.
Grand Ledge Refuses to Lose in 1st Football Finals Trip
Tim Staudt, WILX (Lansing), in 53rd year of broadcasting
(Trailing 14-7 against Utica Eisenhower with less than a minute to play in the 2000 Division 1 football championship game, Grand Ledge scored 12 unanswered points – beginning with a 5-yard touchdown run by Matt Bohnet with 53 seconds to play, followed by an onside kick recovered by the Comets’ Collin O’Keefe, which led to a 45-yard game-winning scoring pass from Bohnet to Tim George with 22 seconds remaining. The 19-14 win gave Grand Ledge its first football Finals championship, notable as well as the team was coached by Pat O’Keefe, who at one time had the record for most baseball coaching wins in state history and remains second on that list.)
One of the most remarkable comebacks in state finals football history was when Grand Ledge came back to defeat Utica Eisenhower at the Silverdome, rallying to win the Division 1 state championship under coach Pat O’Keefe in 2000.
Even for Those Disappointed, 8-Player Final Tremendous
Greg Miller, formerly of 9&10 News (Cadillac)
I had the misfortune of covering a great deal of sad state championship games where our local team would fall to a team from downstate. Few were more heartbreaking than the 2012 8-Player Football Final (the second year a state championship was awarded in 8-player football) at Greenville High School's beautiful football stadium.
The Bellaire Eagles had a 6-0 halftime lead but fell behind when Deckerville scored twice in the third quarter. The Eagles would try to rally in the fourth quarter, and eventually hit a massive touchdown pass with less than a minute to play to pull within a 2-point conversion of tying the game and likely sending it to overtime. Alas, the 2-point try failed, and the subsequent onside kick was unlucky as well.
As a bit of an introduction to a new brand of football that allowed so many small schools across the state to keep playing the game, it was a tremendous game – even if the team I was there to cover came up two points short.
Power of DeYoung’s 42 Resonates for Mourning Champion
Jack Doles, WOOD TV (Grand Rapids)
Back in 2002, the South Christian Sailors had a fantastic team. They were very talented and tight knit. During the playoffs, in the week of the Semifinals, one of their teammates, Derek DeYoung was killed in a car accident. At the urging of his father, a pastor, the Sailors decided to continue to play.
Derek wore number 42, and they scored 42 points in a win over Caro in the Semifinal. After the game, both teams and fans gathered together on the field and took a knee and prayed.
The Sailors then had to go to a funeral for their friend and teammate, and then prepare for a state championship game. Instead of being distracted, they came out focused and on a mission. Derek's brother wore his jersey with the #42 and led the Sailors onto the field. They hammered Riverview and won the state championship. Late in the game, they kicked a field goal that would give them 42 points. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Another incredible memory from covering high school sports.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Sept. 25: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTOS (Top) Clockwise from top left: Farmington Hills Mercy's Sarah Basford directs the offense during a 1982 Class A Semifinal against Lansing Everett. (2) Lansing Sexton's cheerleaders await their football team's entrance at Ford Field. (3) Farmington Hills Harrison football coach John Herrington sends a play in with quarterback Drew Stanton. (4) Reese volleyball players dance together during a break in the 2021 Division 3 Final. (5) The 1982 Livonia Stevenson boys soccer team takes a team photo used in the MHSAA Book of Champions. (Middle) Livonia Stevenson players carry their championship trophy after winning the 1982 Class A soccer title at Atwood Stadium. (Below) Members of the 1982 Farmington Hills Mercy girls basketball team pose for a team photo. (MHSAA file photos.)
Grisdale to be Honored for 40 Seasons on Call for Cheboygan Football
By
Tom Spencer
Special for MHSAA.com
September 13, 2024
When Jason Friday was in high school, there were two types of football fans in Cheboygan.
Folks either went to watch the Cheboygan Chiefs play under the lights, or they listened to the game on the radio called by play-by-play announcer Mike Grisdale.
Well, not much has changed. Friday, a 1992 Cheboygan grad, is now the school’s athletic director. And Grisdale is in the middle of his 40th season on the air.
What is changing tonight, though, is Cheboygan will officially dedicate the stadium press box to Grisdale in a special pregame ceremony before the Chiefs (1-1) take on Elk Rapids (1-1).
Former Cheboygan coaches, Grisdale’s family and people who have worked with him on the radio over the years will be on hand for the ceremony.
“We were able to get Dan Miller, George Blaha, Ken Kal and Dan Dickerson — radio broadcasters for all four Detroit sports — to record statements that we will play over the public address system,” said Friday. “Mike will be presented a smaller version of the plaque that we will be hanging in the press box, and he will have a chance to talk.”
Naming the press box after Grisdale has been in the works for more than a year, Friday noted. Grisdale first learned of the plan when he was interviewing Friday during halftime of a football game last year.
“Jason surprised me on the air,” Grisdale recalled. “I was shocked, but honored and thankful.”
Grisdale, a 1979 Cheboygan grad, is humbled noting there are so many people who contribute to the radio broadcasts and football program. He remembers listening with his father to Jorden James and Bob Martin call Chiefs games when some of the older kids from the neighborhood were playing high school football.
“I have just been so fortunate to do it for this long and have become the go-to guy for historical information and perspective,” Grisdale said.
Grisdale, who has also done nearly 1,000 Chiefs basketball games on the air, along with some hockey and soccer, said his interest in sports goes back to his childhood.
Grisdale grew up in Cheboygan with three brothers in a neighborhood full of kids. Sports were a big part of their lives — collecting baseball cards, listening to the Detroit Tigers on the radio, and playing basketball, kickball and wiffle ball.
Grisdale, who also hosts a Saturday morning radio show from a local restaurant called “Coaches Corner,” vividly recalls trying to keep a scorebook while listening to high school basketball games on WCBY radio and dreaming of becoming the next Blaha, or Ernie Harrell, Bob Ufer, or Bruce Martin - four legendary broadcasters of Michigan professional and college sports.
While at Central Michigan University earning a broadcasting degree, Grisdale got extensive of on-air experience on student stations. He worked on Cheboygan radio stations during summers.
Some of his fondest memories of Chiefs broadcasts have come from the locations where they’ve played.
“I have enjoyed having the opportunity to cover games at places like the Pontiac Silverdome, Palace of Auburn Hills, Crisler Arena and the Breslin Center,” Grisdale said. “You remember the exciting moments and big games”
The 40 years on the air, along with earlier turns covering Marshall and Albion football and basketball games, are really just a blur to the highly-revered radio personality.
“The seasons just seemed to run together,” Grisdale said. “There were many, many times when the weather and the long road trips took their toll.”
Grisdale played football at Cheboygan High School and was an offensive end and a defensive safety on a 9-0 squad his senior year in 1978. He caught three touchdown passes that season. He also held for extra points, collecting snaps from his brother Mark, the Chiefs’ long-snapper.
Mike Grisdale doesn’t hesitate to point out the best player he covered was fullback Shannon Scarborough from the 1991 team that reached the Silverdome – “The all-stater was strong and fast and played both ways,” he noted. But Grisdale has loved all the players and teams over the years. “I do it because I enjoy promoting the kids, keeping the traditions alive, seeing the community come together, good sportsmanship, and being part of a team.”
Friday, who also has broadcast multiple games alongside Grisdale over the years, has enjoyed Grisdale’s efforts to promote every player.
“Kids always love to hear their name on the radio,” Friday said. “What I think he does better than anyone is to make sure the offensive and defensive linemen are consistently mentioned — those boys in the trenches often get overlooked, but not with Mike on the call.”
When Cheboygan installed NFHS Network cameras, the athletic department sought to successfully connect Grisdale’s radio broadcast through the video feed.
“That has been a huge bonus and something that many community members have told me they appreciate,” Friday said.
Grisdale, who also works part-time for Black Diamond Broadcasting in its Cheboygan studios and serves Mackinaw Health System based in St. Ignace as its marketing director, has no plans to end his broadcasting career.
“As long as our local radio station can keep the tradition alive and I am still around, it would be my privilege to keep it going,” Grisdale said.
Cheboygan High School games are carried on WCBY (Cheboygan) 1240 AM, 100.7 FM and 98.1 FM, and streaming at BigCountryGold.com.
Tom 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) Mike Grisdale, right, and partner Nate King broadcast a Cheboygan game from Central Michigan University. (Middle) The Cheboygan stadium press box will be dedicated to the longtime broadcaster. (Below) Grisdale is on the call for another Chiefs game. (Photos provided by Grisdale and the Cheboygan athletic department.)