Irish Celebrate Homecoming Sky High

October 4, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

You’ve got to see this – from high in the sky – to believe it.

The disappointing news for Pontiac Notre Dame Prep from its Homecoming game last Friday was that the Fighting Irish fell to Detroit Catholic League AA leader Detroit Loyola by seven points.

But the Irish will remember fondly (and probably click on frequently) the video of this sky high view of the game including the team’s entrance to the field.

Thanks to a camera attached to a helicopter-like apparatus flown by local Aerial Imagery Works, Notre Dame was able to capture a rarely-seen view. See more by watching the brief video embedded at the bottom of this post. 

SLC-TV Rolls 300

It's fair to assume few television stations in Michigan have been as dedicated to the local football team as South Lyon's SLC-TV, which will celebrate a milestone broadcast Oct. 11 when South Lyon faces South Lyon East.

SLC-TV has followed South Lyon football home and away games for 31 years and will broadcast its 300th game that night. SLC-TV’s games appear on WOW network channel 19 and Comcast Southfield channel 90, which reaches 33 communities in metro Detroit.

Sports director Tedd Wallace will have done play-by-play for 298 of those games, and said he believes no station in America has done TV broadcasts of a team’s home and away games as consistently. Check out more about the network’s weekly work on its Facebook page

Friendly gesture to opponent in need

One of the most heart-warming parts of following high school sports is experiencing the camaraderie among athletes from opposing teams they likely know nothing about except for what they learn during competition.

Concord’s volleyball team shined especially brightly in this way last week.

Amazingly, Union City junior Marissa Mead played in her team’s match against Concord on Sept. 24 despite her home being destroyed by a fire that morning. As told by the Jackson Citizen-Patriot’s Leanne Smith, Concord’s players had heard about the tragic event and were surprised to then see Mead take her place as defensive specialist that night.

On the bus ride home, the Concord players decided they needed to do something to help Mead and her family. As a team, the players collected $80 – and then pushed the total to $300 with the help of teachers, parents and administrators. They delivered the funds in a card to Mead at Union City’s home match two days later.

It’s a gesture that might seem small, but speaks loudly to the awesome way our athletes relate to each other not just on, but off the court as well. Click to read the entire report.

Official of the Year

Marcy Weston, Central Michigan University’s Executive Associate Director of Athletics/Sports Administration and a longtime contributor to MHSAA officiating initiatives, has been named the Naismith Women’s College Official of the Year.

Weston spoke at the 2001 MHSAA Officials Banquet and has served as part of the association's officials committee and with the National Federation of State High School Associations as a liaison to its Basketball Rules Committee.

She also served as NCAA national coordinator of women’s basketball officiating from 1991-2005 after working as a women’s college basketball official from 1964-84. Click to read more from CMUChippewas.com

'Running' Raiders Pull Away with Scoring Bursts, Stifling Defense

By Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com

March 15, 2024

EAST LANSING – All it took for North Farmington to roll into the MHSAA Finals was staying calm.

Well, maybe it was also a puzzling defense and a handful of mini-runs on offense that contributed to Friday's 58-39 downing of Zeeland West in a Division 1 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.

Whatever it was, the win earned North Farmington (24-2) another crack at Oakland County rival Orchard Lake St. Mary's (26-1) in Saturday's 12:15 p.m. final. St. Mary's has ousted North Farmington from the last two MHSAA Tournaments.

While the Raiders did much right, it's easy to start with an offense which produced points in runs.

"We talk about runs all the time," said North Farmington coach Todd Negoshian, whose teams have won more than 200 games during his 13 seasons. "We want them to end other teams' runs and extend ours. We preach that it's a game of runs, which is important for us."

North Farmington scored the game's first seven points, and then when Zeeland West closed to within 13-11 early in the second quarter, the Raiders scored 12 of the next 18 points. They all but clinched the win with a 23-14 advantage in the third quarter.

North Farmington’s Landon Williams (10) gets a shot up over the outstretched arm of Zeeland West’s Trenten Bolhouse. At least some of those runs can be attributed to the team's demeanor, Negoshian said.

"At the start of the second quarter we calmed down and played within ourselves," he said. "We did a better job of calming down. It was very important in the second quarter that we kept our momentum going and stayed on the right track."

The other side of the coin was defense. North Farmington held Zeeland West (20-8) to just 30.8 percent (12 of 39) shooting from the floor, and only five 3-pointers in 21 attempts.

"Forty points is our benchmark," Raiders senior guard Landon Williams said. "Coach preaches that every day. Giving up 10 points a quarter is what we do. (Defense) is something we keep in perspective. We know that's what it takes to win games."

"We feel like we wear people out," Negoshian said of the defense. "Wearing people out is a big part of our success. It's a big key defensively."

Senior guard Tyler Spratt led North Farmington with 19 points and six rebounds. Williams had 14 points, five assists and three steals.

"We preach that basketball is a game of runs," Spratt said. "It's something we try to do every game – limit the other team's runs."

Zeeland West coach David Klyn said his team never did solve the Raiders' defense.

"They play a style of defense that is very difficult to go against – and they amped it up a level," he said. "They're hard to beat. You can credit that to chaos. It's the most difficult defense I've ever seen. When you get down against them, it's hard to come back."

"It's one of the most difficult defenses I've faced," said Dux Mr. Basketball Award finalist Merritt Alderink, who was held to nine points, four below his average. "It's hard to get anything going because they're all over the place."

Negoshian and his players are plenty familiar with their next opponent.

"They're four miles down the road, and the players know each other well," he said. "Trey (St. Mary’s star McKenney) is the best player in the state, and we know it's running the gauntlet to play them."

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) North Farmington’s Landon Williams (10) gets a shot up over the outstretched arm of Zeeland West’s Trenten Bolhouse. (Middle) The Raiders’ Rob Smith (1) finds an opening in the post. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)