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Video 2/17/16: Hoops, Hockey, Wrestling

February 17, 2016

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director

Each week, MHSAA.tv features highlights of events produced by schools involved in the MHSAA School Broadcast Program.

This week's package includes clips from the Saginaw Heritage/Midland Dow girls basketball game, Division 3 Individual Wrestling District at Montrose and the Cadillac/Alpena ice hockey game.


More than 200 hours of live streaming video from a variety of MHSAA postseason tournaments in winter sports begins on Saturday (Feb. 20) on a subscription basis on MHSAA.tv, with about one-third of that content being generated by student crews from 11 schools involved in the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program. 

The School Broadcast Program members will be producing tournament events taking place in their own buildings, as well as traveling to nearby tournament venues to stream action from Girls Competitive Cheer Districts and Regionals; District, Regional and Quarterfinal games in the Girls and Boys Basketball Tournaments; the Upper Peninsula Swimming Finals and one division of the MHSAA Skiing Finals. The participating schools are: Cedar Springs, Comstock Park, East Lansing, Flint Kearsley, Haslett, Lake Orion, Marquette, Montrose, Mt. Pleasant Tech Center, Negaunee and Rockford.

In its seventh 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.

The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions. 

All sporting events – Live or On-Demand – are available on a subscription basis only for their first 72 hours online. They become available for free, on-demand viewing approximately 72 hours following their completion.

Here is the schedule for winter MHSAA Tournaments on MHSAA.TV (As of Feb. 15, subject to change):

February 20

  • Upper Peninsula Swimming Finals at Marquette – 9 a.m.
  • Competitive Cheer Division 3 Districts at Comstock Park – 10 a.m.
  • Competitive Cheer Division 2 Districts at Cedar Springs – 10 a.m.
  • Competitive Cheer Division 1 Districts at Lake Orion – 11 a.m.
  • Competitive Cheer Division 4 Districts at Lake Orion – 4:30 p.m.

February 26

  • Team Dual Wrestling Quarterfinals at Mt. Pleasant – Div. 4 @ Noon; Div. 1 @ 2 p.m.; Div. 3 @ 4 p.m.; Div. 2 @ 6 p.m.

February 27

  • Team Dual Wrestling Semifinals at Mt. Pleasant – Div. 1 & 4 @ 10 a.m.; Div. 2 & 3 @ Noon
  • Team Dual Wrestling Finals at Mt. Pleasant – 3:30 p.m.
  • Competitive Cheer Division 3 Regionals at Rockford - 6 p.m.
  • Competitive Cheer Division 3 Regionals at Flint Kearsley - 6 p.m.

February 29

  • Division 1 Skiing Finals at Marquette – 10 a.m.
  • Class C Girls Basketball District First Round at Laingsburg
  • Byron v. Saranac – 5:30 p.m.
  • Laingsburg v. Carson City-Crystal – 7 p.m.

March 2

  • Class C Girls Basketball District Semifinals at Laingsburg
  • Game 1 winner v. Pewamo-Westphalia – 5:30 p.m.
  • Game 2 winner v. Bath – 7 p.m.
  • Class A Girls Basketball District Semifinals at Mt. Pleasant
  • Saginaw Heritage v. Bay City Western-Mt. Pleasant winner – 5:30 p.m.
  • Midland v. Midland Dow-Bay City Central winner – 7:30

March 3

  • Individual Wrestling First Round at Auburn Hills – 2 p.m.

March 4

  • Individual Wrestling Rounds 2-4 at Auburn Hills – 8:30 a.m.
  • Girls Competitive Cheer Finals at Grand Rapids – Div. 1 – 6 p.m.
  • Class A Girls Basketball Finals at Mt. Pleasant – 6:30 p.m.
  • Class C Girls Basketball District Finals at Laingsburg – 7 p.m.
  • Individual Wrestling Semifinals at Auburn Hills – 7 p.m.

March 5

  • Individual Wrestling Rounds 6-8 at Auburn Hills – 8:30 p.m.
  • Girls Competitive Cheer Finals at Grand Rapids – Div. 2 – 10 a.m.
  • Girls Competitive Cheer Finals at Grand Rapids – Div. 3 – 2 p.m.
  • Individual Wrestling Finals at Auburn Hills – 4:45 p.m.
  • Girls Competitive Cheer Finals at Grand Rapids – Div. 4 – 6 p.m.

March 7

  • Class A Boys Basketball District First Round at East Lansing
  • East Lansing v. Lansing Waverly – 5 p.m.
  • Haslett v. Grand Ledge – 7:30 p.m.

March 8

  • Class A Girls Basketball Regional Semifinals at Mason - 6 & 7:30 p.m.
  • Class A Girls Basketball Regional Semifinals at Hudsonville - 6 & 8 p.m.

March 9

  • Class A Boys Basketball District Semifinals at East Lansing
  • Game 2 winner v. Lansing Eastern – 5 p.m.
  • Game 1 winner v. DeWitt – 7:30 p.m.

March 10

  • Division 2 Ice Hockey Semifinals at Plymouth – 5 & 7:30 p.m.
  • Class A Girls Basketball Regional Finals at Mason – 7 p.m.
  • Class A Girls Basketball Regional Finals at Hudsonville – 7 p.m.

March 11

  • Division 3 Ice Hockey Semifinals at Plymouth – 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.
  • Girls Gymnastics Team Finals at Rockford – 2 p.m.
  • Division 1 Ice Hockey Semifinals at Plymouth – 5 & 7:30 p.m.
  • Class A Boys Basketball District Finals at East Lansing – 7 p.m.

March 12

  • Division 2 Ice Hockey Final at Plymouth – 10 a.m.
  • Lower Peninsula Boys Swimming & Diving Finals – 3 locations – Noon
  • Girls Gymnastics Individual Finals at Rockford – Noon
  • Division 3 Ice Hockey Final at Plymouth – 2 p.m.
  • Division 1 Ice Hockey Final at Plymouth – 6 p.m.

March 14

  • Class C Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals at Flint Hamady - 6 & 7:30 p.m.
  • Class D Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals at Negaunee - 6 & 8 p.m.
  • Class D Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart - 6 & 7:45 p.m.

March 15

  • Class A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals at Fenton – 7 p.m.
  • Class A Girls Basketball Quarterfinals at Battle Creek Central or Class B Quarterfinals at Fowlerville – 7 p.m.  (Dependent on match-up)
  • Class D Girls Basketball Quarterfinals at Negaunee – 7 p.m. (Dependent on match-up)

March 16

  • Class C Boys Basketball Regional Finals at Flint Hamady – 7 p.m.
  • Class D Boys Basketball Regional Finals at Negaunee – 7 p.m.
  • Class D Boys Basketball Regional Finals at Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart – 7 p.m.

March 17

  • Class C Girls Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 1 p.m. & 2:50 p.m.
  • Class D Girls Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 6 p.m. & 7:50 p.m.

-          LIVE Post-Game Press Conferences after each contest

March 18

  • Class A Girls Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 1 p.m. & 2:50 p.m.
  • Class B Girls Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 6 p.m. & 7:50 p.m.

-          LIVE Post-Game Press Conferences after each contest

March 19

  • LIVE Girls Basketball Finals coverage of post-game awards & press conferences; plus Shooter’s Challenges and presentation of BCAM’s Miss Basketball Award

March 22

  • Class A Boys Basketball Quarterfinals at Grand Blanc – 7 p.m.
  • Class A Boys Basketball Quarterfinals at Lansing Eastern – 7 p.m.

March 24

  • Class C Boys Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 1 p.m. & 2:50 p.m.
  • Class D Boys Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 6 p.m. & 7:50 p.m.

-          LIVE Post-Game Press Conferences after each contest

March 25

  • Class A Boys Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 1 p.m. & 2:50 p.m.
  • Class B Boys Basketball Semifinals at East Lansing – 6 p.m. & 7:50 p.m.

-          LIVE Post-Game Press Conferences after each contest

March 26

  • LIVE Boys Basketball Finals coverage of post-game awards & press conferences; plus presentation of MHSAA’s Charles E. Forsythe Award and Scholar-Athlete Award; Shooter’s Challenges and presentation of BCAM’s Miss Basketball Award

Here’s the schedule of events School Broadcast Program members plan to stream this week for broadcast at MHSAA.tv. On-Demand listings may be available as soon as one hour following an event’s completion.

Wednesday, February 17

Thursday, February 18

Friday, February 19

Saturday, February 20

Monday, February 22

Tuesday, February 23

Wednesday, February 24

Schools interested in becoming a part of the School Broadcast Program should contact John Johnson at the MHSAA Office.

1975 Class D Football Film Finds Way Back to MHSAA for All to Enjoy Again

By John Johnson
MHSAA Communications Director emeritus

April 11, 2023

Chasing history was one of the most enjoyable parts of serving at the MHSAA for nearly 34 years. Researching information, but especially what I considered for a long time to be talking to the “old guys” (now I’m one of them) and soaking up their verbal histories of our games.

It also involved chasing down old photos, broadcasts and game films – especially those which preceded our more modern video era beginning in the 1990s.

When I arrived at the MHSAA in 1987, there was a shelf of old 16mm film canisters of an assortment of Boys Basketball Finals from the 1950s to the 70s – certainly not a complete set. The Association would shoot some game action from each quarter and the trophy presentations. They’d be sent out to the participating schools to show to the students (I remember watching a Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart game in 1967 when I was in fifth grade). Some would find their way back to the office – most would not.

Will Robinson, the legendary Detroit Public School League coach who led Pershing High School to the league’s first MHSAA titles (in 1967 and 1970) after a district-imposed hiatus from 1931-61 from statewide tournaments, would pull my chain every time we saw each other about those games featuring Spencer Haywood and Ralph Simpson, among others. We never found them.

So it became a project to try and track down as many old game films of state championships as we could.

Any conversation with someone with a history tone always included a question about the whereabouts of a game film or video. One of those recently bore fruit.

When Crystal Falls Forest Park played in the 8-Player Football Finals at the Superior Dome in Marquette back in 2017, I spent a lot of time talking with living legend Bill Santilli, who led the Trojans to the Class D crown in the very first year of the tournament in 1975, and who would later coach the school to a second state title (2007) and serve as athletic director. He said he had a box on his desk collecting dust that he didn’t know what to do with – that box contained an old video tape from that game.

I uttered four little words – “Send It To Me.”

Posing with the championship trophy after the 1975 Class D Football Final are (left to right): Forest Park tight end Bryan LaChapelle, quarterback Richard Mettlach, head coach Dick Mettlach and running back Bill Santilli.After a while the tape arrived in East Lansing, and I got our video production friends at When We Were Young Productions/Rush Media in Wisconsin on it. This winter, they found someone who could convert it and sent me a file that was recently posted to the MHSAASPORTS Channel on YouTube. You can watch the Trojans play Flint Holy Rosary by Clicking Here or watching above.

There are all kinds of old game films/videos and artifacts in attics, closets, garages, etc., in every town.  Two of our Muskegon historians – Ron Pesch, the MHSAA’s history guy; and the old broadcaster, Jim Moyes, who called games on the radio for years in the Port City – can tell stories of their own about discoveries they have made. Moyes found all kinds of mementos while working on his book on the history of high school track & field in Michigan, and sitting with Ron at this year’s Girls Basketball Finals, he told a story of finding the mother lode of photographs from one of his other historical passions – silent film star Buster Keaton – who spent ten summers in the Actor’s Colony in Muskegon.

Pesch found a listing for Eleanor Keaton, Buster’s widow, using a telephone book (remember those?), made a phone call and shortly thereafter, on a vacation to California, was in her living room where he was loaned a photo album and family scrapbook containing all kinds of images from their time in Muskegon. Many of those images appear in a soon-to-be-released documentary, while the album and scrapbook now reside in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences library in Beverly Hills, Calif. You can preview the film by Clicking Here.

So if you think you have something of a state championship that could be utilized on a bigger platform and enjoyed by everyone, drop a note to [email protected]. If something needs to be converted to a more modern format, you’ll get a copy back, and the footage will be eventually viewable on the MHSAA’s YouTube channel.

To help guide your search, think in the following terms:

► Just about anything before 1990. But there are gaps during the 90s that need to be filled as well.

► Only Championship games and Semifinal games, unless something momentous occurred (like Richie Jordan’s 60-point game for Fennville against Bridgman in a Regional Semifinal in 1965, which is still an  all-time tournament single-game record for boys basketball).

► For a list of what’s in the MHSAA archives prior to 2000 – Click Here. A long-term project is to get all of the games on the list and up to about 2010 uploaded to the YouTube channel. Most games from 2013-14 on can be viewed on the NFHS Network, and some games between 2010 and 2013 are available for purchase as DVDs from PrepFilms.com.

PHOTO Posing with the championship trophy after the 1975 Class D Football Final are (left to right): Forest Park tight end Bryan LaChapelle, quarterback Richard Mettlach, head coach Dick Mettlach and running back Bill Santilli.