Football Week in Michigan Airs on FOX

Highlights

October 10, 2017

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

The MHSAA Football Playoff Finals – powered by the Michigan Army National Guard – dominate the schedule for FOX Sports Detroit’s first annual “Football Week In Michigan” this November.

Over eight days – November 18-25 – the best in high school, college and professional football involving Michigan teams will be featured on a variety of FOX video platforms – FOX Sports Detroit, FS1, FOX Sports GO!, Big Ten Network and FOX over-the-air television.

MHSAA championship football games provide 10 of the 13 games during FWIM. The prep schedule begins on Nov. 18 with the two divisions of the 8-Player Football Finals live from the Superior Dome in Marquette on FOX Sports GO! Those games will then be re-aired early in the week on FOX Sports Detroit.

Seven of the eight 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 24-25 will be shown live on FOX Sports Detroit-PLUS, the exception being the Division 4 game on Nov. 24, which will be shown on a same-day delayed basis on FOX Sports Detroit that evening at 11:30 p.m. All of the 11-Player Finals will be available live on FOX Sports Go!

Over-the-air FOX television affiliates in Michigan also will have the option to carry 11-Player Final games in their markets if they have a local team participating in a game. Participating affiliates are: Alpena – WBKB-DT2 (11.2); Cadillac – WFQX-TV (32); Detroit – WJBK-TV (2); Flint – WSMH-TV (66); Grand Rapids – WXMI-TV (17); Lansing – WSYM-TV (47); Marquette – WLUC-DT2 (6.2); Sault Ste. Marie – WWUP-DT2 (10.2); Vanderbilt – WFUP-TV (45). Check local listings Thanksgiving week for games to be shown locally.

Football Week In Michigan officially was recognized last week in a Proclamation by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

FOX Sports Detroit’s MHSAA Football Playoff coverage begins Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. with the announcement of the pairings for the 2017 Playoffs on the Selection Sunday Show on FOX Sports Detroit-PLUS. Throughout the Playoffs leading up to the 11-Player Finals, the FOX Sports Detroit Prep Zone returns to feature four games each week which can be viewed live on FoxSportsDetroit.com and FOX Sports GO!

A share of the Mid-Eastern Football Conference title is on the line Friday (Oct. 13) at 7 p.m. when Norway hosts Lake Linden-Hubbell in a game that can be watched live on MHSAA.tv.

The winner of the game will tie Newberry for the league title. The Indians completed league play last week with a 28-14 win over Norway. Norway is 6-1 overall, and Lake Linden-Hubbell is 3-3.

Norway is one of more than 60 MHSAA member schools across the state participating in the School Broadcast Program, one of nearly a dozen schools to be streaming live video of its home athletic events using the NFHS Network’s Pixellot technology and one of three schools currently using Pixellot in their gymnasiums and football/multi-purpose fields.

Pixellot is a unit equipped with four High Definition cameras which cover the length of the playing surface and then focus on the ball and player movement to deliver the action. The unit communicates with the scoreboard to insert a time and score graphic on the screen. Ambient audio is picked up by the device, but the play-by-play of an in-person announce team also can be patched in.

In its ninth year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot is used by schools wishing to stream games but which lack the ability to staff the events. The SBP program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

Here’s this week’s MHSAA.tv schedule of video streams being produced by SBP members:

Tuesday, October 10

Girls Volleyball - Au Gres-Sims at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Negaunee at Calumet, 6:30 p.m.
Girls Volleyball – Grand Rapids Catholic Central at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Grand Rapids Catholic Central at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Merrill at Vestaburg, 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 12

Varsity/JV/Freshman Girls Volleyball - Paw Paw at Plainwell, 5 p.m.
Boys Soccer - Spring Lake at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
Boys Soccer - Otsego at Plainwell, 6:45 p.m.
Girls Volleyball – Wyoming Godwin Heights at Wyoming Lee, 7 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Troy at Lake Orion, 7 p.m.

Friday, October 13

JV Football – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Norway, 3 p.m.
Boys Soccer – Grand Rapids West Michigan Aviation Academy at Wyoming Lee, 6 p.m.
Football - East Kentwood at Rockford, 7 p.m.
Football - Sparta at Comstock Park, 7 p.m.
Football - Owosso at Flint Kearsley, 7 p.m.
Football – Birmingham Brother Rice at Traverse City West, 7 p.m.
Football - Paw Paw at Plainwell, 7 p.m.
Football - Carrollton at Freeland, 7 p.m.
Football – Lake Linden-Hubbell at Norway, 7 p.m.
Football - Bessemer at Calumet, 7 p.m.
Football - Roscommon at Clare, 7 p.m.

Monday, October 16

JV Girls Volleyball - Plainwell Quad, 5 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Bay City Central at Freeland, 5 p.m.
JV Girls Volleyball - West Iron County at Norway, 6 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - West Iron County at Norway, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, October 17

Freshman Girls Volleyball - Allendale at Comstock Park, 5 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Oscoda at Rogers City, 6 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Allendale at Comstock Park, 6 p.m.
JV Girls Volleyball – Mt. Morris at Otisville Lakeville, 6 p.m.
Freshman Girls Volleyball – Mt. Morris at Otisville Lakeville, 6 p.m.
Girls Volleyball – Mt. Morris at Otisville Lakeville, 6:30 p.m.
Girls Volleyball – Carson City-Crystal at Vestaburg, 7 p.m.
Girls Volleyball - Lansing Everett at East Lansing, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, October 18

Girls Volleyball - Essexville Garber at Otisville Lakeville, 6:30 p.m.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 per month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on- demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. School Broadcast Program participants will also be selling Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA website.

Highlights of games produced in the past week by MHSAA School Broadcast Program members are back for another week. Featured events are in girls volleyball with Saginaw Swan Valley at Freeland, football with Newberry at Norway and boys soccer with Lansing Everett at Fowlerville. Highlights can be found each week on the MHSAA.tv website, the home page of the MHSAA Website and the MHSAASports Channel on YouTube.

More than 15 football games are featured each week on the State Champs! Sports Network Extra Point – powered by the Michigan High School Athletic Association – Saturday at 10 a.m. on FOX Sports Detroit.

The half-hour program features highlights from more than a dozen games each week, including clips from games produced by MHSAA School Broadcast Program members. The program airs multiple times each weekend on FOX Sports Detroit and on Comcast Channel 900, and will be archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.

Here are some of the games to be featured this week on State Champs! Extra Point:

Wyandotte Roosevelt at Gibraltar Carlson
Algonac at Richmond
Berkley at Farmington Hills Harrison
Detroit Catholic Central at Warren DeLaSalle
Grand Blanc at Livonia Franklin
Muskegon at Muskegon Mona Shores
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep at Portland
PLUS - Additional coverage from Grand Rapids, Lansing, Flint, Upper Peninsula and School Broadcast Program games.

The MHSAA also has a presence on other State Champs! Network programs throughout each weekend. The MHSAA Minute is a weekly part of the State Champs! High School Sports Show on FOX Sports Detroit at 9 a.m. every Sunday – with multiple replays on FOX Sports Detroit and Comcast Channel 900 throughout the week. That program also is archived on the State Champs YouTube Channel. Consult your local listings for additional playback times.

This week’s MHSAA Minute on State Champs talks about Selection Sunday.

The MHSAA also has content on the State Champs Scoreboard! High School Football Radio Show on Friday nights during the football and basketball seasons, originating on WXYT-FM (97.1) in Detroit and carried on more than 10 radio stations across the state. This Week In High School Sports and Be the Referee are weekly features on the program.

Highlights

Lake Orion Named SBP Best for 2018-19

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus

May 7, 2019

Lake Orion High School has been named the “Program of the Year” to headline the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program Excellence Awards for 2018-19.

The SBP Excellence Awards will award certificates and plaques to the schools which took individual honors, with the presentation dates and times to be announced.

Lake Orion claimed the top spot in three of the five award categories and placed in all five categories, capturing seven individual awards. The program demonstrated a good blend in a variety of sports covered – at home and on the road – and an overall command of the PlayOn! Sports software used for graphics and inserting commercials/features during the course of productions.

Here is the complete list by category of the schools and students being honored with this year’s SBP Excellence Awards:

Best Multicamera Production

First Place – Cedar Springs – Nathan Draper, Max VanderMeulen, Macie Huntoon, Katia Corwin, Mason Francis, Josh Allen, Jacob Meredith, Jacob Swinehart, Dylan Patterson, Austin Kibby, Tayvon Gardner, Rylee Kinzinger, Riley Smith – Football game v. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.

Second Place – Lake Orion – Sienna Gibson, Kevin McCormick Jr., Teddy Hirschfield, Jacob Johr, Becca Hamilton, Derek Dungan, Amanda Pordon, Eric Maxwell, Hunter Chambers – Boys Basketball game v. Rochester Adams.

TIE - Third Place – Cedar Springs – Nathan Draper, Max VanderMeulen, Macie Huntoon, Katia Corwin, Mason Francis, Josh Allen, Jacob Meredith, Jacob Swinehart, Dylan Patterson, Austin Kibby, Tayvon Gardner, Rylee Kinzinger, Riley Smith – Football game v. Gaylord.

TIE – Third Place – Lake Orion – Sienna Gibson, Teddy Hirschfield, Kevin McCormick Jr., Isabella Larsen, Derek Dungan, Alexandra Hill, Jenna Gaylord, Becca Hamilton, Eric Maxwell, Amanda Pordon, Alex Gustanski – Boys Basketball game v. Clarkston.

Best Student Play-By-Play

First Place – Lake Orion – Kevin McCormick Jr. & Teddy Hirschfield – Boys Basketball game v. Rochester Adams.

Second Place – Lake Orion – Kevin McCormick Jr. & Teddy Hirschfield – Boys Basketball game v. Oxford.

Third Place – Montrose – Daniel Sackrider & Chase Hobson – Boys Basketball game v. Mt. Morris.

Best Produced Commercial/Feature

First Place – Lake Orion – Kalee Kniess & Ryan Hammond – Feature: Beyond The Lights-Kyle Loken

Second Place – Montrose - Molly Dunton, Chase Hobson, Gabe Patterson, Joe Wade, Tansy Cook – Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth Commercial.

Third Place – Montrose – David Sackrider – Unsportsmanlike Conduct Podcast Promo.

Best Single Camera Production with PlayOn! Graphics

First Place – Lake Orion – Hunter Chambers, Kevin McCormick Jr., Emily Penrose, Holden Dholakia, Josh McCaffrey – MHSAA Boys Basketball Quarterfinal game – Detroit U-D Jesuit v. Roseville.

Second Place – Cedar Springs – Clyde Dykhouse, Nathan Draper, Graham Bayink – Football game - Zeeland East v. East Grand Rapids.

Third Place – Montrose - David Sackrider, Daniel Sackrider, Alex Morrow, Libby Scott - Girls Basketball game v. Mt. Morris.

Best Use of PlayOn! Graphics/Software

First Place - Montrose - David Sackrider, Daniel Sackrider, Alex Morrow, Libby Scott - Girls Basketball game v. Mt. Morris.

Second Place – Lake Orion - Kevin McCormick Jr., Teddy Hirschfield, Kalee Kniess, Marc Studier – Boys Basketball game v. Clarkston.

Third Place – Montrose - David Sackrider, Daniel Sackrider, Peyton Hobson, Tanner Sims, Drewe Conley– Football game v. Chesaning.

Here is the schedule for Spring sporting events to be streamed live on MHSAA.tv for May 7-21:

In its 10th year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events, with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot – the NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games but lacking the ability to staff events. The SBP also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $9.95 a month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. School Broadcast Program participants also are selling Season and Annual Passes at a discounted rate. A portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.

PHOTOS: (Top) From left, Lake Orion's Kaleena Kniess, Jenna Gaylord, Becca Hamilton, Josh McCaffrey, and Derek Dungan broadcast a volleyball match this past fall. (Middle) The football crew of Delaney Rogers, Ryan Hammond and Kniess hit the road for a game. (Photos courtesy of the Lake Orion School Broadcast Program.)