Soccer Districts Kick Off on MHSAA TV

October 13, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

The first round of District play in the 2020 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Soccer Tournament highlights another full week of activity on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv.

Games this week begin Wednesday (Oct. 14).Here’s the schedule:

Wednesday – Oct. 13
Grosse Pointe North  vs. Detroit Cass Tech  - 4 PM
Macomb 'Anse Creuse North  vs. Port Huron  - 4 PM
Garden City  vs. Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy  - 5 PM
Lake Orion  vs. Utica Eisenhower  - 5 PM
Birmingham Seaholm  vs. Birmingham Groves  - 5:30 PM
Reed City  vs. Hart  - 5:30 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven  vs. Taylor Preparatory  - 6 PM
Fenton  vs. Davison  - 6 PM
Northville  vs. Walled Lake Western  - 6 PM
South Lyon East  vs. Milan  - 6 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore  vs. St. Clair Shores South Lake  - 6 PM
St. Joseph  vs. Sturgis  - 6 PM
Waterford Mott  vs. Utica  - 6 PM
East Lansing  vs. Swartz Creek  - 7 PM
Hemlock  vs. Saginaw Swan Valley  - 7 PM
Saline  vs. Belleville  - 7 PM
 
Thursday – Oct. 15
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood  vs. Madison Heights Lamphere  - 4 PM
Manchester  vs. Ann Arbor Greenhills - 5 PM
East Grand Rapids  vs. Wyoming  - 6 PM
Grand Blanc  vs. Lapeer  - 6 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian  vs. Grand Rapids Covenant Christian  - 6 PM
Novi  vs. Brighton  - 6 PM
Petoskey  vs. Bay City Western  - 6 PM
Clare  vs. Pinconning  - 7 PM
Comstock Park  vs. Portland  - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills  vs. Troy  - 7:30 PM
 
Friday - Oct. 16
Vicksburg  vs. Niles  - 6 PM
 
During the coming week, nearly 700 events at all levels in a variety of sports will be available on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.tv. Monthly subscriptions are $10.99.  Click for a complete list of upcoming games, and for a complete list of on-demand games


Fans also can type their school name into the search field on the MHSAA.tv page to search for events. Varsity games being streamed also have links from the MHSAA Website’s Score Center, and from the schedules on individual school pagesClicking on the green TV set icon listed next to an event will take you directly to a game. You can also watch on Roku enabled devices.

Here is a list of football and girls volleyball varsity events taking place over the coming week on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.tv (Home team generally listed first):

Football

Friday - Oct. 16
Dearborn Heights Robichaud  vs. Dearborn Heights  Annapolis - 4:30 PM
Lowell  vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern  - 6:55 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven  vs. Trenton  - 7 PM
Caro  vs. Cass City  - 7 PM
Chesaning  vs. Byron - 7 PM
Clare  vs. Harrison - 7 PM
Comstock Park  vs. Sparta  - 7 PM
Corunna  vs. Lake Fenton  - 7 PM
Dearborn Divine Child  vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood  - 7 PM
Detroit Catholic Central  vs. River Rouge  - 7 PM
Frankenmuth  vs. Birch Run  - 7 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central  vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern  - 7 PM
Grosse Pointe North  vs. Warren Woods-Tower  - 7 PM
Holt  vs. Portage Northern  - 7 PM
Hopkins  vs. Wyoming Godwin Heights - 7 PM
Houghton  vs. Negaunee  - 7 PM
Howell  vs. Brighton  - 7 PM
Kingsley vs. Sault Ste. Marie - 7 PM
Lake Orion  vs. Farmington  - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville  vs. Oakland Christian  - 7 PM
Manchester  vs. Michigan Center  - 7 PM
Maple Valley  vs. Webberville  - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Escanaba  - 7 PM
Mason  vs. Lansing Catholic  - 7 PM
Mayville  vs. International Academy of Flint - 7 PM
Millington  vs. Hemlock  - 7 PM
Montrose  vs. Otisville LakeVille - 7 PM
New Lothrop  vs. Durand - 7 PM
Niles  vs. Buchanan  - 7 PM
Northville  vs. Novi  - 7 PM
Ortonville Brandon  vs. Clio  - 7 PM
Ovid-Elsie  vs. Mt Morris  - 7 PM
Peck vs. North Huron  - 7 PM
Petoskey  vs. TBA - 7 PM
Plainwell  vs. Three Rivers  - 7 PM
Portage Central  vs. Battle Creek Central  - 7 PM
Rockford vs. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer  - 7 PM
Saline  vs. Ann Arbor Skyline  - 7 PM
South Lyon  vs. Highland Milford  - 7 PM
South Lyon East  vs. Waterford Kettering  - 7 PM
St Johns  vs. Fowlerville  - 7 PM
St Johns  vs. Fowlerville  - 7 PM
St. Joseph  vs. Richland Gull Lake  - 7 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore  vs. Battle Creek Lakeview - 7 PM
Stockbridge vs. Wyoming Lee  - 7 PM
Suttons Bay  vs. Mesick  - 7 PM
Traverse City West  vs. Cadillac  - 7 PM
Troy  vs. Pontiac  - 7 PM
Walled Lake Western  vs. Walled Lake Northern  - 7 PM
White Lake Lakeland  vs. Walled Lake Central  - 7 PM
Whitmore Lake  vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest  - 7 PM
Norway  vs. Manistique  - 8 PM
 
Saturday - Oct. 17
Traverse City St. Francis  vs. Ogemaw Heights  Oct 17, 2020 - 1 PM
 

Girls Volleyball

 
Tuesday - Oct. 13
Dearborn Heights Robichaud  vs. Hamtramck   - 4 PM
Multi-team Event @ Dollar Bay  - 4:20 PM
East Lansing  vs. TBA  - 5 PM
Galesburg-Augusta  vs. Martin   - 5 PM
Holt  vs. TBA  - 5 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill   - 5:30 PM
Grand Rapids Christian  vs. East Grand Rapids   - 6 PM
Mayville  vs. Caseville   - 6 PM
Plainwell  vs. Hopkins   - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North  vs. Dearborn Henry Ford Academy  - 6 PM
Sturgis  vs. Vicksburg   - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley  vs. Stockbridge  - 6 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere  vs. Warren Mott   - 6 PM
Hartland  vs. Canton   - 6:15 PM
Mt Morris  vs. Otisville LakeVille  - 6:15 PM
Brighton  vs. Howell   - 6:30 PM
Chesaning  vs. Montrose   - 6:30 PM
Erie-Mason  vs. Ottawa Lake Whiteford   - 6:30 PM
Grand Blanc  vs. Midland Dow   - 6:30 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian  vs. Thornapple Kellogg   - 6:30 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North  vs. Utica Eisenhower   - 6:30 PM
Maple City Glen Lake  vs. Frankfort   - 6:30 PM
Negaunee  vs. Calumet   - 6:30 PM
New Lothrop  vs. Ovid-Elsie   - 6:30 PM
Novi  vs. Northville   - 6:30 PM
South Lyon  vs. South Lyon East   - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian  vs. Plymouth Christian Academy  - 6:30 PM
Walled Lake Northern  vs. Highland Milford   - 6:30 PM
Whitmore Lake  vs. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist   - 6:30 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Sandusky   - 6:45 PM
Bear Lake  vs. Marion   - 7 PM
Bloomfield Woodhaven  vs. Dearborn Edsel Ford   - 7 PM
Brethren  vs. Manistee Catholic Central - 7 PM
Garden City  vs. Riverview - 7 PM
Grandville  vs. Hudsonville   - 7 PM
Kingsley vs. Leland   - 7 PM
Pentwater  vs. Baldwin - 7 PM
Rockford  vs. Grand Haven   - 7 PM
Waterford Our Lady vs. Warren Regina   - 7 PM
West Bloomfield  vs. Berkley   - 7 PM
Caro  vs. Vassar   - 7:30 PM
Cass City vs. TBA   - 7:30 PM
Dryden  vs. Akron-Fairgrove   - 7:30 PM
 
Wednesday - Oct. 14
Flushing  vs. Linden   - 5:15 PM
Holly  vs. Fenton   - 5:15 PM
Grosse Pointe North  vs. Marysville   - 6:30 PM
Petoskey  vs. Gaylord   - 6:30 PM
St. Joseph  vs. Richland Gull Lake   - 6:30 PM
Wayland Union  vs. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills   - 6:30 PM
Traverse City West  vs. Alpena   - 6:45 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Birch Run   - 7 PM
Bridgeport  vs. Saginaw Swan Valley   - 7 PM
Cadillac  vs. Traverse City Central   - 7 PM
Morley Stanwood  vs. White Cloud   - 7 PM
Waterford Our Lady vs. Riverview Gabriel Richard - 7 PM
Dearborn Divine Child  vs. Wixom St. Catherine - 7:15 PM
Clare  vs. Farwell  - 7:30 PM
Harrison vs. Gladwin   - 7:30 PM
Hemlock  vs. Millington   - 7:30 PM
 
Thursday - Oct. 15
New Lothrop  vs. Beal City   - 5:30 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Clio   - 5:30 PM
Armada  vs. Yale   - 6 PM
DeWitt  vs. St Johns   - 6 PM
Fowlerville  vs. Mason   - 6 PM
Mayville  vs. Kingston   - 6 PM
Plainwell  vs. Three Rivers   - 6 PM
Wayland Union  vs. Wyoming   - 6 PM
Williamston  vs. Lansing Waverly   - 6 PM
Warren Woods-Tower  vs. St. Clair Shores Lakeview   - 6:15 PM
Dollar Bay  vs. L'Anse   - 6:20 PM
Blanchard Montabella  vs. Remus Chippewa Hills   - 6:30 PM
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood  vs. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic   - 6:30 PM
Flint Powers Catholic  vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth   - 6:30 PM
Galesburg-Augusta  vs. Saugatuck   - 6:30 PM
Grand Blanc  vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill   - 6:30 PM
Highland Milford  vs. Walled Lake Central   - 6:30 PM
Ishpeming  vs. Hancock   - 6:30 PM
Kalamazoo Christian  vs. Lawton   - 6:30 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North  vs. Romeo   - 6:30 PM
Manchester  vs. Michigan Center   - 6:30 PM
Marcellus  vs. Three Oaks River Valley   - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian  vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest   - 6:30 PM
White Lake Lakeland  vs. Walled Lake Northern   - 6:30 PM
Whitmore Lake  vs. Westland Huron Valley Lutheran   - 6:30 PM
Calumet  vs. Ishpeming Westwood   - 6:45 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Cass City   - 6:45 PM
Bear Lake  vs. Onekama   - 7 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven  vs. Taylor Preparatory   - 7 PM
Escanaba  vs. Sault Ste. Marie   - 7 PM
Grandville  vs. Caledonia   - 7 PM
Hopkins  vs. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian  - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Houghton   - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Oakland Christian   - 7 PM
Rockford  vs. East Kentwood   - 7 PM
Troy Athens vs. Utica   - 7 PM
Kingsford  vs. Gladstone   - 7:15 PM
Bad Axe  vs. Vassar   - 7:30 PM
Caro  vs. Reese   - 7:30 PM
Dryden  vs. Peck  - 7:30 PM
Pellston  vs. Johannesburg-Lewiston   - 7:30 PM
Unionville Sebewaing  vs. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker   - 7:30 PM
 
Friday - Oct. 16
Bloomfield Hills Marian  vs. Dearborn Divine Child   - 7:15 PM
Wixom St. Catherine vs. Farmington Hills Mercy   - 7:15 PM
 
Saturday - Oct. 17
Bad Axe  vs. TBA  - 8:30 AM
Fenton vs. TBA – Part 1   - 8:30 AM
Linden  vs. TBA  - 8:30 AM
Multi-team Event @ St. Joseph  - 8:30 AM
Chesaning  vs. TBA  - 9 AM
Flushing  vs. Grand Blanc   - 9 AM
Howell  vs. TBA  - 9 AM
South Lyon East  vs. TBA  - 9 AM
Cadillac  vs. Grandville   - 10 AM
New Lothrop  vs. TBA  - 10 AM
West Bloomfield  vs. Rochester Adams   - 12:30 PM
Grand Rapids Christian  vs. Farmington Hills Mercy   - 1 PM
Houghton vs. TBA   - 3 PM
Niles  vs. TBA  - 5 PM
West Bloomfield  vs. TBA   - 7 PM
 
Monday - Oct. 19
Multi-team Event @ Petoskey  - 5 PM
Negaunee  vs. Ishpeming Westwood   - 5 PM
Flushing  vs. Flint Kearsley   - 5:15 PM
Holly  vs. Linden   - 5:15 PM
Dollar Bay  vs. Ewen-Trout Creek   - 6:20 PM
Brighton  vs. Novi   - 6:30 PM
Galesburg-Augusta  vs. Kalamazoo Christian   - 6:30 PM
South Lyon  vs. Highland Milford   - 6:30 PM
South Lyon East  vs. Waterford Mott   - 6:30 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Warren Fitzgerald   - 6:30 PM
Walled Lake Northern  vs. Waterford Kettering   - 6:30 PM
Calumet  vs. Houghton   - 6:45 PM
Frankenmuth  vs. Essexville Garber   - 7 PM
Hemlock  vs. St. Louis   - 7 PM
Bay City John Glenn  vs. Bay City All Saints - 7 PM
Marcellus  vs. Lawrence   - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville  vs. Clawson   - 7:30 PM
 
Tuesday - Oct. 20
Marcellus  vs. TBA  - 5 PM
Southfield Christian  vs. Brighton Charyl Stockwell  - 5:30 PM
St Ignace  vs. Brimley   - 5:45 PM
DeWitt  vs. Williamston   - 6 PM
East Lansing  vs. Lansing Waverly   - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron  vs. Carsonville-Port Sanilac   - 6 PM
Mason  vs. Haslett   - 6 PM
Mayville  vs. Dryden   - 6 PM
Norway  vs. Carney-Nadeau   - 6 PM
Peck vs. Genesee   - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley  vs. Lansing Christian   - 6 PM
Munising  vs. Rapid River   - 6 PM
Chesaning  vs. New Lothrop   - 6:15 PM
Mt Morris  vs. Byron - 6:15 PM
New Lothrop  vs. Chesaning   - 6:15 PM
Otisville LakeVille vs. Ovid-Elsie   - 6:15 PM
St Johns  vs. Haslett   - 6:20 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore  vs. St. Clair   - 6:30 PM
Blanchard Montabella  vs. Vestaburg   - 6:30 PM
Frankfort  vs. Suttons Bay   - 6:30 PM
Highland Milford  vs. TBA  - 6:30 PM
Howell  vs. Salem   - 6:30 PM
Negaunee  vs. Hancock   - 6:30 PM
Northville  vs. Hartland   - 6:30 PM
Watervliet  vs. Lawton   - 6:30 PM
Whitmore Lake  vs. Novi Christian Academy  - 6:30 PM
Garden City  vs. Dearborn Heights Annapolis   - 7 PM
Gladstone  vs. Marquette - 7 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian  vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern   - 7 PM
Hopkins  vs. Comstock Park   - 7 PM
Kingsley  vs. Buckley   - 7 PM
Macomb Lutheran North  vs. Yale   - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest   - 7 PM
Saginaw Heritage  vs. Grand Blanc   - 7 PM
St. Charles  vs. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart - 7 PM
Troy Athens  vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley   - 7 PM
Kingsford  vs. Escanaba   - 7:15 PM
Cass City  vs. Caro   - 7:30 PM
 
Now in its 12th 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 the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 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. A portion of every subscription sold by an SBP 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.

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.

Northern Lower PeninsulaFolks 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.”

The Cheboygan stadium press box will be dedicated to the longtime broadcaster.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”

Grisdale is on the call for another Chiefs game. 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 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) 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.)